Fantasy Football Draft Outlook: Mike Evans, Diontae Johnson, Stefon Diggs (2024)

It’s never too early to start looking ahead at the fantasy landscape to see which expert consensus rankings you disagree with the most. There’s plenty of value out there being overlooked, as some in the space may be overreacting to disappointing seasons specific players had last year. The inverse is also true, as some fantasy managers may ignore changing circumstances and draft athletes higher than they should based on last year’s stats. Which players do our featured experts project differently than their peers? Check out our full article here. Below we dive into a few notable picks.

Fantasy Football Draft Advice

Mike Evans (WR – TB)

“I currently have Mike Evans as my WR26. He led all receivers with 13 receiving touchdowns last season, which really padded his fantasy numbers. He has not reached 80 receptions since 2018, so if he has just a little regression in his touchdowns totals, his fantasy numbers could take a big hit. Plus, you have to worry about an overall regression in production because of his age (31).”
– Jeff Paur (RTSports)

Diontae Johnson (WR – CAR)

“Given his relative youth and ability, Diontae Johnson stands out as the best offensive weapon on the Carolina Panthers roster right now. And it’s not particularly close. So why, then, is he listed as if he’s still stuck in a hapless Pittsburgh offense as the WR41 in the consensus ranks? Bryce Young had his struggles last season, but rookie head coach Dave Canales will install his offense in Carolina this year after successful stints in Seattle and Tampa. With Johnson continuing to get open at will, I doubt he’ll have much trouble finding targets. He should find himself once again hovering around WR2 territory in 2024.”
– Jeremy Shulman (Fantasy Football Universe)

“Diontae Johnson is criminally underrated as the WR41 in the rankings. He was the WR42 in half-point PPR scoring and the WR37 on a points-per-game basis among wide receivers, with at least nine games played in 2023. Yet, his situation has drastically improved from last year. Johnson gets a quarterback upgrade in Bryce Young, who should be significantly after the Carolina Panthers improved their offensive line and hired head coach Dave Canales this offseason. More importantly, he has limited competition for targets and is one of the better route runners in the NFL. Zay Flowers, Jordan Addison, and Chris Godwin have no business being ahead of Johnson in the rankings.”
– Mike Fanelli (FantasyPros)

“Diontae Johnson, currently being ranked as the consensus WR41, is the ranking I disagree with the most. Johnson is being valued too low because his new situation on paper seems to be a downgrade for fantasy. However, last year, we saw how Carolina could provide fantasy value when Adam Thielen was producing as a WR1 early in the season before falling off with coordinator changes and his age perhaps catching up to him. Now Diontae can come in and be the new WR1 option for Bryce Young where he will be peppered with targets due to his ability to get open through elite route running. Beyond that, Dave Canales, as the new head coach, has shown a great ability to scheme guys open, as seen with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin last year. Despite all the worries around Bryce Young, I believe Diontae will still produce for fantasy and should be closer to a WR2 than a WR4 as he is currently ranked.”
– Dylan Licciardo (FF Gamers)

Stefon Diggs (WR – HOU)

“Stefon Diggs should not be viewed as a top-24 WR as the newest member of the Houston Texans. ECR has him listed as the WR21. But 2023 was a terrible year for Stefon Diggs. From Week 10 onward, Diggs was the WR45, averaging a meager 7.3 points and 42 receiving yards per game. Khalil Shakir had more receiving yards than Diggs over this time frame. This makes it tough to draft Diggs confidently, coming off career lows across the board entering his age 31 season. Even with C.J. Stroud as his QB, competition from both Tank Dell and Nico Collins could mark the end of Diggs’ alpha WR status in fantasy football.”
– Andrew Erickson (FantasyPros)

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NFL Mike Evans Diontae Johnson Bryce Young Zay Flowers Jordan Addison Chris Godwin Adam Thielen Stefon Diggs Khalil Shakir C.J. Stroud Tank Dell Nico Collins