Dynasty Fantasy Football: 2024 Rookie RB Class Review
On the most recent Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast, Betz, and I reviewed the 2024 Rookie RB class.
I approached this review exercise like an annual dynasty-focused checkup with these questions in mind:
- What did this player accomplish as a rookie?
- What is the historical context of this player’s performance factoring in NFL Draft Capital?
- What questions emerge about their dynasty value moving forward?
These are essentially the “show notes” from our discussion from the podcast if you want to reference them later and bookmark this rookie review. For the full discussion, check out the episode.
2024 Rookie RB Class Review
Context for this Year’s Rookie Class
“Invest in Rookie RBs”, they said. 2024 said: Nah.
We saw the fewest total touches & yards from scrimmage from rookie RBs over the last decade.
It is also a great reminder how epic that 2017 class was: CMC, Fournette, Dalvin Cook, Alvin Kamara, Kareem Hunt
It was the first year since 2011 that two rookie RBs did NOT finished inside the top-24 at the position. Tracy was close but RB25 in fpts/RB30 in PPG
We will keep the discussion short surrounding the players we discussed on the podcast.
Bucky Irving | Round 4 Overall 125 | TB
Current Age: 22.4 || Rookie Drafts: RB6/2.12 in SFlex || Dynasty Startups: RB44 || Redraft: RB53
Stats That Matter
17 games – 207/1122/8 rushing + 52 targets for 47/392/0- Finished as the RB15
- From Week 10 on, he was the RB7 averaging 17.9 fantasy points per game seeing 30% of TB’s total rush attempts + targets
- Among all RBs with 75+ carries, he ranked 5th in YPC (5.42), 7th in Rush Success Rate, 8th in Explosive Rush Rate, and 3rd in MTF/Attempt
- Among all RBs with 25+ targets, his 1.63 YPRR ranked 6th best. For context, Jahmyr Gibbs is 4th at 1.67.
Historical Context
- 1,500+ scrimmage yards + 5.96 yards per touch is WILD stuff
Future Dynasty Questions
- Is he a locked-in top-10 dynasty RB?
- Would you rather have Bucky > Breece Hall or Kyren Williams?
Tyrone Tracy Jr. | Round 5 Overall 166 | NYG
Current Age: 25.1 || Rookie Drafts: RB11/4.02 in SFlex || Sept. Dynasty Startups: RB58 || Redraft: RB58
Stats That Matter
17 games – 192/839/5 rushing + 55 targets for 38/284/1– Finished as the RB25
- From Week 5 on, he was the RB15.
- He ranked 50th in Rush Success Rate but the New York Giants offensive line provides some context ranking 27th in Run-Blocking Win rate and 23rd in PFF Run Block Grade
- Among all RBs with 75+ carries, Tracy ranked 24th in YPC (4.37), 17th in Explosive Rush Rate, and 20th in MTF/Attempt.
Historical Context
- Since 2007, 79 RBs were drafted at age 24 or older. Only 14 of those RBs saw more than 100 touches their rookie year. Tracy saw 230, 2nd only to Alfred Morris on the list.
- He became one of 10 RBs since 2000 to hit 1000+ scrimmage yards in their rookie year at age 24 or older.
| Season | Player | Team | Age | Games | Yards from Scrimmage |
| 2012 | Alfred Morris | WAS | 24 | 16 | 1690 |
| 2000 | Mike Anderson | DEN | 27 | 16 | 1656 |
| 2001 | Anthony Thomas | CHI | 24 | 14 | 1361 |
| 2018 | Phillip Lindsay | DEN | 24 | 15 | 1278 |
| 2005 | Ronnie Brown | MIA | 24 | 15 | 1139 |
| 2024 | Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG | 25 | 17 | 1123 |
| 2007 | Ryan Grant | GNB | 25 | 15 | 1101 |
| 2015 | David Johnson | ARI | 24 | 16 | 1038 |
| 2013 | Andre Ellington | ARI | 24 | 15 | 1023 |
| 2010 | LeGarrette Blount | TAM | 24 | 13 | 1021 |
Future Dynasty Questions
- Will he be overvalued going into the off-season?
- Would you rather have Tracy or veterans David Montgomery or Joe Mixon?
Ray Davis | Round 4 Overall 128 | BUF
Current Age: 25.1 || Rookie Drafts: RB6/2.09 in SFlex || Sept. Dynasty Startups: RB50 || Redraft: RB50
Stats That Matter
17 games – 113/442/3 rushing + 19 targets for 17/189/3– Finished as the RB39
- Couldn’t get on the field consistently – excluding Weeks 6 & 18 without James Cook, never played more than 33% of the snaps
- Among all RBs with 75+ carries, he ranked 39th in YPC (3.91), 37th in Explosive Rush Rate, and 4th in MTF/Attempt.
Future Dynasty Questions
- Is he anything more than a James Cook insurance policy?
Isaac Guerendo | Round 4 Overall 129 | SF
Current Age: 24.5 || Rookie Drafts: RB9/3.05 in SFlex || Dynasty Startups: RB66 || Redraft: RB73
Stats That Matter
17 games – 84/420/4 rushing + 16 targets for 15/152/0– Finished as the RB46
When he was the dude, he performed:
- Week 8 (63% snaps): RB12
- Week 14 (56% snaps): RB2
- Week 15 (76% snaps): RB26
- Week 17 (61% snaps): RB12
Among all RBs with 75+ carries, he ranked 7th in YPC (5.00), 5th in Explosive Rush Rate, and tied-5th in MTF/Attempt.
Historical Context
Remember, this dude is a physical freak
Isaac Guerendo is a RB prospect in the 2024 draft class. He scored a 9.97 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 7 out of 1804 RB from 1987 to 2024.https://t.co/awjXiOBIw9 pic.twitter.com/RyITcWL4IJ
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) March 26, 2024
Future Dynasty Questions
- Will they tender restricted free-agent Jordan Mason?
- What price should CMC managers pay to insure the SF backfield?
Random Rookie RB Stats to Consider
The rest of this group had such few opportunities
Kimani Vidal was stuffed at the line of scrimmage on 58% of 43 rush attempts, 4th worst among RBs with 40 attempts.
Poor Dylan Laube. One carry on the season. It was a fumble.
time to dive into every Dylan Laube carry from the 2024 season: 📽️ pic.twitter.com/ytYX2fgFcr
— Kyle Borgognoni (@kyle_borg) January 10, 2025
Among 128 rookie RBs with 30+ rush attempts over the last decade, Will Shipley‘s rush success rate (26.7%) ranked 128th. Whoops. He gained two 1st downs on 30 carries.
Among 142 rookie RBs to see 5+ targets, Jaylen Wright‘s 1.3 yards per target is tied for 139th right ahead of some guy named Aaron Jones (1.2).
Packers Rookie RB Marshawn Lloyd had more games missed due to injury (7) than carries (6) on the season. Lloyd had a hamstring sprain, ankle injury that put him on IR, and appendeicitis that placed him on IR again.