Fantasy Football 2024: Top Preseason Sleepers, Funny Team Names and League Names (2024)

Fantasy draft season has officially arrived, and most managers will spend their pre-draft prep forming strategies for navigating the early rounds. That's understandable because drafting a bust in Round 1 or Round 2 is a quick way to sink a fantasy campaign.

However, smart managers will also be searching for sleepers to uncover in the later rounds. These unheralded players will often serve as flex options or bye-week fill-ins. Sometimes, though, they can help managers recover from an early round disaster.

A year ago, players like Kyren Williams, Puka Nacua and Brock Purdy went from being late-round fliers to league winners.

Here, we'll examine three of the top sleepers to know as the 2024 NFL preseason gets underway. We'll also examine a few fun league and team names for consideration on draft day.

Team Names

What's Up, Mahomes?

Dak, Dak Dak It Up

Tua Cool for School

Purdy Pickin'

Feel the Breece

Saquon, Can You See?

Half McCaff Triple Latte

Mixon It Up

Tyreek of Success

Can You Digg It?

Davante's Inferno

Flew the Coop

Kelce Ya Later

Kmet Special

Blushing McBride

Put the Kittle On

League Names

Dirty Dozen

10 Pin(heads)

Eight is Enough

Sleepers and Keeper

PPR Pros

Sunday Mistakes

Monday Morning Hangover

Race to Avoid Last Place

No Fun League

There Can Be Only One

Rookie quarterbacks don't always make an instant impact on the fantasy landscape, but we've seen signal-callers like Justin Herbert and C.J. Stroud buck that trend in recent years.

Stroud was a terrific starting option last season, tallying 4,108 yards, 23 passing touchdowns and three rushing scores in 15 games. Statistically, Chicago Bears rookie Caleb Williams could be in store for a very similar season.

Williams, the top pick in April's draft, has all the tools and intangibles needed to shine right away. The Bears, meanwhile have done a terrific job of surrounding the former Heisman Trophy winner.

Between D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, Cole Kmet, D'Andre Swift and Khalil Herbert, Williams will have no shortage of capable targets in 2024. Williams was known for generating big plays at USC, but if he can be a merely above-average distributor early in his career, he'll be a viable starting option.

With an average draft position (ADP) of 115.8, Williams is trending as QB14 and isn't being valued as starting material.

Williams may still go earlier than projected in some leagues because of name recognition. That probably won't be the case for Carolina Panthers rookie running back Jonathan Brooks. While Brooks was the first running back selection in April, he wasn't quite the star at Texas that Williams was at USC.

Brooks has also landed with a Panthers team that was flat-out bad offensively in 2023. Brooks may also have to compete with Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders for touches early in his career.

Yet, Brooks has the most potential to emerge as an every-down back in Carolina, and new head coach Dave Canales can maximize his potential.

"It all starts with the run game," Canales told The Season with Peter Schrager podcast (h/t NFL.com's Kevin Patra).

As the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator last season, Canales leaned heavily on running back Rachaad White. As a result, White racked up 1,539 scrimmage yards, 64 receptions and nine touchdowns. Brooks can have similar numbers as a rookie if he wins the starting job.

With an ADP of 78, Brooks is trending as RB25. in point-per-reception (PPR) leagues. It'll be a surprise if 24 backs out-produce him in 2024.

Rookies can make for great fantasy sleepers, but so can potential breakout players. The Detroit Lions appear to have one of those in third-year wideout Jameson Williams.

"I haven't seen anything that he can't do so it's been fun," Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said, per Tim Twentyman of the team's official website.

Williams showed some flashes toward the end of last season and finished his sophom*ore campaign with 24 catches for 354 yards and two touchdowns. While those numbers won't move the needle in fantasy, it's worth noting that Williams is in line for a much larger role.

Detroit lost No. 2 receiver Josh Reynolds in free agency, and Williams should be set to take over his role in 2024. Reynolds had a respectable 40 catches for 608 yards and five touchdowns last season, but Williams has more physical upside and could quickly eclipse those numbers.

There are a lot of proverbial mouths to feed in the Detroit offense, so Williams's ceiling may only be as a solid flex option. However, his ADP of 119.8 has him trending as WR49, and that's simply far too low.

*Average draft position from FantasyPros and based on PPR scoring.