College Football Fantasy Five: Flying Under the Radar in the Big Ten for 2024

This article is part of our College Football Fantasy Five series.

College Football Fantasy Five: Underrated Big Ten Players for College Fantasy Football 2024

With just over a month to go before we start delving into the core of College Fantasy Football drafts, it's time to take stock of each of the major conferences and the other conferences to determine what players should be on your radar in later rounds. It would be easy to go ahead and recommend the highest projected/rated players, but we won't do just that; we'll go even deeper into our projections to recognize some players with huge upside entering the 2024 season.

Top Projected Players in the Big Ten

Quarterback

1.) Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
2.) Will Howard, Ohio State
3.) Miller Moss, USC

Running Back

1.) Darius Taylor, Minnesota
2.) Jordan James, Oregon
3.) TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State

Wide Receiver

1.) Evan Stewart, Oregon
2.) Tez Johnson, Oregon
3.) Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State

TE

1.) Colston Loveland, Michigan

2.) Luke Lachey, Iowa

College Fantasy Football Tools

• Flying Under the Radar in the SEC for 2024 (7/2/24)
• College Football Depth Charts
• College Football Targets
• College Football Custom Rankings
• College Football Futures
• Heisman Trophy Odds

Under The Radar and Undervalued Big Ten Players for 2024

5.) Pat Bryant, WR, Illinois

Bryant enters the 2024 season as the potential No. 1 receiver for the Fighting Illini. This offense was better than expected in 2023 at 25 points per game, and QB Luke Altmyer returns for some consistency in the passing game. Someone must replace the 82 catches and 1,055 yards gobbled up by Isaiah Williams, who is now with the Detroit Lions.

Moreover, Illinois' defense is anticipated to struggle, so the team will need to throw the ball in most games. Bryant will be available in later rounds of CFF drafts and could push triple-digit targets in 2024, giving him plenty of upside.

4.) Zachariah Branch, WR, USC

Branch flashed as a true freshman, particularly in the return game, as he took a kickoff for a touchdown in Week 0 against San Jose State and a punt return for a score against Stanford in Week 2. That didn't necessarily translate to receiving production in USC's explosive offense, as he had just 31 catches on 47 targets for 320 yards and two touchdowns. 

However, his sophomore year will be different because he'll enter the season as the team's top receiver in the slot and is ready to impact the receiving game. Four of the Trojans' top six receivers departed at the end of the year. Branch should have a great season, a bonus for fantasy rosters.

3.) Will Rogers, QB, Washington

Rogers was underrated at Mississippi State, and here he is under the radar again with the Huskies. It doesn't really make sense, as he's one of college football's most productive signal callers, with 12,315 yards and 94 touchdown passes.

Yes, it will be somewhat of a rebuild after Kalen DeBoer's departure to Alabama, but they landed Jedd Fisch. Fisch was impressive at Arizona over the last few years, and the Huskies will also benefit from transfer WR Jeremiah Hunter from Cal. Rogers and Hunter will likely be a lethal combo for opposing defenses, no matter what the rest of the team looks like. 

2.) Kaden Prather, WR, Maryland

You could realistically roll with Prather or teammate Tai Felton because Maryland projects to have one of the better wideout groups in the Big Ten this next season. Both receivers will likely be available in the later rounds of fantasy drafts because it's not necessarily exciting to go after guys in the Terrapins' offense, especially with teams like Oregon and USC in the conference now.

Underestimating HC Mike Locksley would be a mistake, though, as his offenses historically have outperformed their expectations. Just remember that Taulia Tagovailoa became the Big Ten's all-time leading passer and that's all you need to know when putting some draft capital towards Prather.

1.) Donovan Edwards, RB, Michigan

Maybe it does make sense to fade the National Champions, who lost most of their starting lineup (including all of the offensive linemen) to graduation or the NFL, but I see an opportunity here. Edwards was absolutely dynamic when serving as Robin to Blake Corum's Batman; the two did great things together.

Although the quarterback situation is a bit murky in Ann Arbor, I think that only adds to the value for Edwards, who should easily put up over 200 carries this season. Plus, it's Michigan; whoever they have waiting in the wings at the offensive line is going to beat up on most inferior opponents. The first two games against Fresno State and Texas will be a lot of fun, and there's a great chance Edwards will be electrifying right from the start.