Dynasty Rookie Rankings Update (Post-NFL Draft Edition)

2 years ago by Matt Wispe

Boy, the draft can seriously turn things on its head. Pretty much the only thing that stayed steady from the pre-draft process was that Saquon Barkley is the 1.01.

And while there were some near-perfect landing spots, many intriguing rookies landed in non-ideal locations and the late second round has lost some of its shine.

Here are the updated post-draft rookie rankings, now that we know where these prospects will be playing next year. But beyond just ranking them, I'm going to take a look at the biggest rookie risers and fallers.

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Post-Draft Rookie Rankings

RANK	POSITION	NAME	TEAM
1	RB	Saquon Barkley	New York Giants
2	RB	Derrius Guice	Washington
3	RB	Rashaad Penny	Seattle
4	WR	D.J. Moore	Carolina
5	RB	Ronald Jones	Tampa Bay
6	RB	Royce Freeman	Denver
7	RB	Sony Michel	New England
8	RB	Nick Chubb	Cleveland
9	WR	Calvin Ridley	Atlanta
10	WR	Christian Kirk	Arizona
11	RB	Kerryon Johnson	Detroit
12	WR	Courtland Sutton	Denver
13	WR	Anthony Miller	Chicago
14	TE	Mike Gesicki	Miami
15	QB	Baker Mayfield	Cleveland
16	WR	Tre'Quan Smith	New Orleans
17	WR	Michael Gallup	Dallas
18	WR	Dante Pettis	San Francisco
19	QB	Lamar Jackson	Baltimore
20	RB	Nyheim Hines	Indianapolis
21	WR	J'Mon Moore	Green Bay
22	WR	D.J. Chark	Jacksonville
23	WR	James Washington	Pittsburgh
24	WR	Equanimeous St. Brown	Green Bay
25	RB	Chase Edmonds	Arizona
26	RB	Kalen Ballage	Miami
27	WR	DaeSean Hamilton	Denver
28	RB	John Kelly	LA Rams
29	TE	Mark Andrews	Baltimore
30	TE	Dallas Goedert	Philadelphia
31	WR	Daurice Fountain	Indianapolis
32	RB	Jaylen Samuels	Pittsburgh
33	WR	Keke Coutee	Houston
34	WR	Deon Cain	Indianapolis
35	RB	Jordan Wilkins	Indianapolis
36	QB	Sam Darnold	New York Jets
37	QB	Josh Rosen	Arizona
38	WR	Cedrick Wilson	Dallas
39	RB	Mark Walton	Cincinnati
40	WR	Allen Lazard	Jacksonville
41	RB	Josh Adams	Philadelphia
42	TE	Hayden Hurst	Baltimore
43	RB	Ito Smith	Atlanta
44	WR	Antonio Callaway	Cleveland
45	RB	Bo Scarbrough	Dallas
46	WR	Richie James	San Francisco
47	WR	Justin Watson	Tampa Bay
48	WR	Auden Tate	Cincinnati

Biggest Risers

Ronald Jones landing in Tampa Bay was about as good of a landing spot as you could hope for. With Doug Martin gone, only Peyton Barber, Jacquizz Rodgers, and Charles Sims stand in the way of consistent carries for Jones. Jones was my RB7 pre-draft and now he ranks as my RB4. Jones scored 20 total TD during his final season and amassed more the 1700 total yards from scrimmage. If Jones becomes the lead RB, his volume immediately makes him valuable as a rookie.

Anthony Miller was a WR that I really liked despite age concerns, but his volatile draft projections made it nearly impossible to rank him as a top-five WR. Then he landed in Chicago with a young QB who showed flashes and an undefined WR corps. The current WR2 is Taylor Gabriel, who failed to take over the same role in Atlanta in 2017. If Miller can carve out a role as the WR2 alongside Allen Robinson, he could be a viable WR as a rookie.

Pre-draft, had you asked me if there was any way I'd rank J'Mon Moore over Equanimeous St. Brown, I'd have called you crazy, but draft stock holds value. Moore was the first of three WRs selected by Green Bay in the draft. While a fourth round selection doesn't usually lead to immediate touches, the potential to be a WR with Aaron Rodgers adds value to a prospect. It's unlikely that any of the WRs selected surpass Randall Cobb on the depth chart (or potentially Ty Montgomery if he returns to WR), but Cobb's contract expires after 2019 and he's a potential cut candidate after 2018. Whoever takes over the WR2 role in that offense has top 24 WR potential.

Raise your hand if you were super familiar with Daurice Fountain before the draft. Now, raise your hand again if you're lying. Fountain wasn't a highly regarded prospect, but landing in Indianapolis in the fifth round boosts his value significantly. Fountain posted a 0.367 dominator in his final season for the Northern Iowa Panthers. While there are legitimate health concerns about Andrew Luck, the potential to be a starting WR for Luck makes Fountain a valuable third round pick.

Biggest Fallers

Why Philly? Why? Why did the Eagles have to take Dallas Goedert to serve as their second TE. Goedert was my top TE in the pre-draft rankings and was a borderline first round pick as my 11th overall player. But then he was selected to serve as a low-volume player. Trey Burton had enough flashes to earn himself a contract in Chicago, but he was only a truly valuable fantasy TE when Zach Ertz missed time. Goedert still appears to be a decent prospect, but if the Eagles don't use him consistently, he'll likely just take up space on your bench.

Akrum Wadley appeared to be a decent RB prospect, but 32 teams passed on him for seven rounds. He was immediately signed as an undrafted free agent with Tennessee, but with Derrick Henry and the addition of Dion Lewis, Wadley will have a tough climb up the depth chart. Wadley has potential long-term value and if your league has taxi squads, he's a valuable stash, but he's likely a wasted roster spot for more than a season.

Auden Tate looked like a great prospect until the combine and then he had a terrible showing which caused his stock to plummet. He did manage to land with a team that appears needy of a WR2, but his selection in the late seventh round fails to provide any optimism that he'll be given much of a chance. He'd likely need an injury to see a substantial amount of snaps.