TAP FOR 6 MONTHS OF PREMIUM FREE 💰
X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

NFL Draft - Ideal Landing Spots for Fantasy Football

One of the most fun weekends of the year for the NFL season is the weekend of the NFL draft. Hope springs eternal for 32 teams. Well, maybe 31 since the Vikings traded their 1st round pick for Sam Bradford.

That hope and enthusiasm is also with fantasy football players, especially dynasty players as they hope their favorite prospects land in their favorite landing spots.

In this article, I will discuss some of my favorite matches made in heaven that I am hoping for this weekend.

Featured Promo: Looking for some more fantasy football action? Adopt a dynasty orphan team over at FFPC. Sign up today and get $25 off any FFPC league. Sign Up Now!

 

Ideal Draft Spots for Fantasy Football

Dalvin Cook (RB, Florida State) 1.19 Overall to the Buccaneers

This is far from an original take, as this is a pick that has been mocked by many mock drafters over the last four months, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a great fit. The Buccaneers' current RB1, Doug Martin, is suspended for the first three games of the 2017 season for the remainder of an Adderall suspension. Making a pick solely based on a player being out three weeks doesn’t make sense on its own, but there are other reasons this pick could work out well for both parties. Buccaneers RB2 Charles Sims has shown little to nothing in his first two NFL seasons and Jacquizz Rodgers in nothing more than a journeyman backup.

Cook dominated college football throughout his career with 4,300 rushing yards in 3 seasons, including two 1,600+ yard seasons and 19 touchdowns in each of the last two seasons. Cook was a big play threat his entire career and that has been something lacking in the Buccaneers backfield. Prior to a porous combine performance where he tested in the ninth percentile in Burst Score and Agility score on Player Profiler, Cook had possibilities of going in the top half of the first round. However, now his combine numbers could slide him all the way to the 2nd round, but the ideal scenario would be the Buccaneers selecting him at 19 overall to be the workhorse back in one of the NFL’s best young offenses with Jameis Winston.

 

Christian McCaffrey (RB, Stanford) 1.15 Overall to the Colts

Christian McCaffrey has been one of the most prolific college running backs in recent memory in the last two seasons. McCaffrey had over 4,500 total yards in the last two seasons with 29 touchdowns. McCaffrey easily has the highest dominator rating (percentage of team's total yards) among the top backs in this class with a 50.7% dominator rating, good for the 98th percentile among all college backs.  The Colts may be gun shy about heavily investing in a running back after sending a 1st round pick for Trent Richardson in 2013, but this is a new regime in the post-Ryan Grigson era.

The Colts only legitimate running back is Frank Gore and one of these days, he will actually retire. His effectiveness has certainly tailed off in the last two seasons. McCaffrey would be a jolt for the Andrew Luck-led Colts offense that could be very explosive with a legitimate passing game threat coming out of the backfield. Drafting McCaffery would take some of the pressure off of Luck and gives him another weapon in the arsenal.

 

Deshaun Watson (QB, Clemson) 1.12 Overall to the Browns

In the annual tradition of saying “Next year's Quarterback class is better than this one,” that was one of the reasons many people gave when the Browns opted to trade down in the 2016 NFL draft and not select Carson Wentz. The quarterback highlighted by many in the “Next year's Quarterback class is better than this one” reasoning in 2016 was the expected arrival of Watson. Many way too early mocks in 2016 had Watson being selected #1 overall by the Browns and a year later they may not even need to select him #1 overall to still have a shot at him.

Watson has been a victim of the intense lens and over-scrutinization that happens to many quarterbacks in the scouting process in today’s NFL. Despite the 49 MPH throw velocity that has been a large concern of Watson detractors, he still had three seasons of solid production with Clemson including 8,702 passing yards and 76 passing touchdowns in his two full seasons as starter. While some may think the Browns are a bad landing spot with their history of quarterbacks in the last 17 years, it is definitely solid from a fantasy standpoint. The Browns have a pair of solid backs in Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson with one of the more underrated wide receiver corps in the NFL today led by Corey Coleman and Kenny Britt and with the bevy of picks that the Browns have in the 2017 draft, they likely aren’t done investing in weapons for their young quarterback.

 

Corey Davis (WR, Western Michigan) End of the 1st round trade back up to Panthers

Corey Davis and his landing spot is one of the harder ones to peg as we enter NFL draft weekend. The fantasy community is in love with the wide receiver who had three consecutive 1,400 receiving yard-12+ touchdown seasons. However, it appears the NFL may be a bit more concerned with the wideout who had limited opportunity to play against top competition and then was unable to participate in workouts at the NFL combine or his pro day. The lack of combine numbers could be concerning enough for teams that he slides toward the end of the 1st round on Thursday.

While there are teams who could take Davis in the late 1st round, I think a trade back up could be a more likely and more attractive scenario. Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess have been fairly disappointing in the last two seasons and it was clear that Cam Newton didn’t have a dependable target outside of Greg Olsen. Adding Corey Davis could be a coup for the Panthers offense that struggled as the 21st ranked passing offense in 2016. The possibility of a Newton-Davis combo should be enough to have fantasy owners salivating at the very thought.




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

James Pearce Jr.

Arrested Following Police Chase
Christian Yelich

Unlikely to Replicate 2025 Campaign
Emilio Pagán

Emilio Pagan Could Regress After Career Year
Conner Capel

Rockies Sign Conner Capel to Minor-League Deal
Lou Trivino

Heading Back to Phillies
Keegan Akin

Loses Arbitration Case
Deandre Ayton

Enters Day-To-Day Status with Knee Soreness
Luka Dončić

Luka Doncic Deemed Day-To-Day with Hamstring Injury
Kristaps Porzingis

Targeting Post-All-Star Break Debut
Stephen Curry

May Remain Out Until After All-Star Break
Grayson Allen

to Be Re-Evaluated After All-Star Break
Keyonte George

Night Cut Short by Ankle Injury
Jamal Murray

Forced Out Late Saturday vs. Chicago
Xavier Edwards

Due for Another Big Season on the Basepaths?
Andy Pages

Still an Everyday Contributor Despite Dodgers' Big Signing
Noelvi Marte

Projected for Larger Role in 2026
Addison Barger

Coming Off a Busy Season in the Majors
Isaac Paredes

Trade Talks for Isaac Paredes Reportedly Intensifying
Christian Braun

is Upgraded to Available
Nikola Jokić

Nikola Jokic is Ready to Play on Saturday
Cameron Johnson

is Available to Play on Saturday
Buddy Hield

to Make Team Debut on Saturday
Keyonte George

is Cleared to Play on Saturday
Onyeka Okongwu

is Available to Play on Saturday
Malik Monk

Won't Suit up on Saturday
Jalen Smith

is Ruled Out for Saturday's Game
Quinn Hughes

Enters Olympics in Red-Hot Form
NHL

Juho Lammikko Returns to Switzerland
Pavel Zacha

Misses Olympics
Domantas Sabonis

Out Again on Saturday Night
Zach LaVine

Won't Play on Saturday
De'Andre Hunter

Sidelined on Saturday
Amen Thompson

Available Versus OKC, Will Come Off the Bench
Jakob Poeltl

Questionable for Sunday Afternoon
Drew Rasmussen

: High-Upside Starting Pitcher Option with Health Concerns
Gavin Williams

Looking to Build on 2025 Emergence in 2026
Jo Adell

Can Jo Adell Repeat 2025 Power Breakout?
Brandon Woodruff

Looking to Put Injury Woes Behind Him in 2026
Lawrence Butler

Can Lawrence Butler Bounce Back from Underwhelming 2025 Campaign?
Yasiel Puig

Found Guilty of Obstruction of Justice, Lying to Officials
Travis Kelce

Undecided on Playing Future, Leaning Towards Returning in 2026?
Kristaps Porzingis

Ruled Out Saturday Against Lakers
Brandon Nimmo

Carries High-Floor Profile into 2026
Trevor Story

Can Trevor Story Remain a Consistent Fantasy Option?
Spencer Strider

Carries High Risk Entering 2026
Drake Baldwin

Poised for More Productive Year 2?
Ben Rice

Could See More Time as Catcher Following Free-Agent Addition
CFB

Rutgers Hiring South Dakota Head Coach Travis Johansen as Defensive Coordinator
Vinicius Oliveira

Looks For His Seventh Consecutive Win
Mario Bautista

A Favorite At UFC Vegas 113
Kyoji Horiguchi

Set For UFC Vegas 113 Co-Main Event
Amir Albazi

Looks To Bounce Back
Rizvan Kuniev

Looks For His First UFC Win
Jailton Almeida

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Marc-Andre Barriault

In Dire Need Of Victory
Michal Oleksiejczuk

Looks For His Third Win In A Row
Michael Penix Jr.

Says he's Ahead of Schedule After Knee Surgery
Cleveland Browns

Jim Schwartz Resigns as Browns Defensive Coordinator
Malik Nabers

Says his Rehab has Been "Phenomenal"
CFB

Oklahoma Hiring Former NFL Defensive Lineman DeShawn Williams to Analyst Role
CFB

Jahmal Edrine Charged with Sexual Assault, No Longer Enrolled at Virginia
Jakob Chychrun

Makes Big Impact in Thursday's Win
Brandon Bussi

Shuts Out Rangers With 16 Saves
Anze Kopitar

Reaches 1,300 Career Points
Mark Stone

Becomes First Vegas Player With 100 Multi-Point Games
Daniil Tarasov

Injured in Battle of Florida
Andrei Kuzmenko

Hurt Versus Vegas
John Carlson

Suffers Lower-Body Injury
Matthew Stafford

Named 2025 NFL MVP, Will Return in 2026
Jaxon Smith-Njigba

Takes Home Offensive Player of the Year Honors
Christian McCaffrey

Named Comeback Player of the Year
Tetairoa McMillan

Named Offensive Rookie of the Year
Myles Garrett

Unanimously Wins Defensive Player of the Year Award
Brad Marchand

Evan Rodrigues Among Panthers Absentees Thursday
Calum Ritchie

Rejoins Islanders Lineup as Second-Line Center
Zach Benson

Sits Out Second Straight Game
Pierre-Luc Dubois

Available Against Predators
Rickard Rakell

Out Thursday
Brayden Point

Won't Play in Olympics
Jonathan Huberdeau

to Have Season-Ending Hip Surgery
CFB

Houston, Vanderbilt, Tennessee Land Top-Three QBs in 2026 Class
Joe Mixon

Committed to Playing in 2026
CFB

Michigan Signs Top-15 Recruiting Class Despite Coaching Change
CFB

USC Finishes with No. 1 Signing Class in 2026
Valeri Nichushkin

Sets Up Three Goals Wednesday
CFB

Trinidad Chambliss Denied Medical Redshirt Waiver By NCAA
Ryan O'Reilly

Delivers Three Assists in Overtime Loss
Matt Boldy

Records Historically Fast Hat Trick Wednesday
Jet Greaves

Gives Blue Jackets Second Straight Shutout
CFB

Sam Leavitt to be Limited In Spring Practice
Jordan Love

Avoids Offseason Surgery
Matt Fitzpatrick

Back in Action at WM Phoenix Open
Sahith Theegala

Riding Hot Start Into WM Phoenix Open
J.J. Spaun

Looks to Regain Form at WM Phoenix Open
Viktor Hovland

a Volatile Option at WM Phoenix Open
Rasmus Hojgaard

Aims to Build on Solid Start to 2026
Brian Harman

Looks to Find Form at WM Phoenix Open
Daniel Berger

Has the Tools to Go One Step Higher at Scottsdale
Max Greyserman

Searching for Consistency at WM Phoenix Open
Jake Knapp

Wants Revenge at WM Phoenix Open
CFB

Joey Aguilar Granted Temporary Restraining Order Against NCAA
Joel Dahmen

Carrying Momentum Into WM Phoenix Open
Corey Conners

Unlikely to Contend at Scottsdale
Sepp Straka

Seeks a Rebound After The American Express
Jordan Spieth

Healthy Heading to WM Phoenix Open
Keith Mitchell

Building Momentum for Event in Scottsdale
Tom Hoge

The Tom Hoge Roller Coaster Heads to Scottsdale for WM Phoenix Open
Rickie Fowler

Worth a Look at WM Phoenix Open
Xander Schauffele

Making Second Appearance at Phoenix Open
Collin Morikawa

Needs a Bounce-Back at Waste Management Phoenix Open
Hideki Matsuyama

Has a Shot to Challenge at the Waste Management Phoenix Open
Max Homa

Playing Well Heading to Waste Management Phoenix Open
Ben Griffin

Will Need to Find Approach Game to Compete in Phoenix
Michael Penix Jr.

Matt Ryan Not Committing to Michael Penix Jr. as the Starting QB
NASCAR

Billy Horschel Unlikely to Right the Ship in Phoenix
Matthew Stafford

Doesn't Need Offseason Back Surgery
CFB

Joey Aguilar Files New Lawsuit Against NCAA Seeking Sixth Year of Eligibility
Davante Adams

Expected to Return to Rams in 2026
Los Angeles Rams

Rams Sign Sean McVay, Les Snead to Contract Extensions