The NFL Draft has come and gone and a new batch of rookies are here for us to tie our hopes and dreams to. Although there’s some supreme talent in this class, I decided through this exercise that I honestly hate about 80% of the landing spots for the top tier guys.
It’s not that I don’t love Gibbs, JSN or Zay Flowers still. It’s more the hatred for their situation compared to where we had spent the last 2 months mocking them to. Is Zay Flowers still going to be great? Probably. Would he have been better in Kansas City? Duh.
Now the first question I know I’ll be asked is “Is this for Dynasty? Single QB league? PPR? Redraft?” and the answer to them all is “Yes”. I’ll admit maybe it’s just a general vibe of lazy but I won’t be doing a new ranking for every type of league.
What you’ll find below is more a guage of who I truly believe will be a fantasy football player worth noting from start to finish/
I know in a Superflex or 1QB league that the QBs are going to be much higher but let’s lean this one more towards 1QB league’s with a flex option (PPR of course). Some general thoughts below before you scroll down to the list!
Gibbs and JSN give me some big red flags right out the gate. I love them both but I honestly despise the Lions RB situation (yes, even without Swift and Williams) and I have some big reservations about trusting Geno Smith for 2 straight years. Are they the 1.02 and 1.03? Of course, don’t overthink it. I’m just not spending a lot of draft stock to trade up for them.
Out of the top receivers, Jordan Addison is my favorite landing spot by far. I’m a big fan of some of the later round guys (Downs, Hyatt, Mingo) but Addison should instantly be a viable starter in Minnesota.
After Gibbs, I’m looking for the opportunity to have a significant role with these RBs. Achane offers the upside of a young athletic back that Mostert and Wilson just don’t have right now. Unless Miami finds another back this offseason, Achane could be a sleeper for the Dolphins.
I also love Roschon Johnson’s landing spot. Despite the ranking (mainly because of where he was drafted), I would entertain Johnson ahead of both Achane and Charbonnet because the Bears need a bruiser. That being said Foreman has proven to be a good journeyman but if the Bears want to find their next starting back, Johnson has upside.
Tight ends are weird this year so my strategy is to just see which ones are being taken early. Kincaid will most likely go first in every draft from this TE class but Mayer provides a clear path as a starter and we’ve never seen something like Washington in Pittsburgh until now. Sam LaPorta, Tyler Kraft, Luke Musgrave and Luke Schoonmaker are all names to monitor that could easily find themselves in the top 15 at the position come years end.
Some names to research before your rookie draft – Jayden Reed, Tyjae Spears, Tank Dell, Pika Nacua and DeWayne McBride. All of these guys have the formula – talent + opportunity = fantasy relevance.
| Player | Team | Position |
| Bijan Robinson | Atlanta Falcons | RB1 |
| Jahmyr Gibbs | Detroit Lions | RB2 |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Seattle Seahawks | WR1 |
| Jordan Addison | Minnesota Vikings | WR2 |
| Quentin Johnston | LA Chargers | WR3 |
| Zay Flowers | Baltimore Ravens | WR4 |
| Devon Achane | Miami Dolphins | RB3 |
| Zach Charbonnet | Seattle Seahawks | RB4 |
| Roschon Johnson | Chicago Bears | RB5 |
| Anthony Richardson | Indianapolis Colts | QB1 |
| Dalton Kincaid | Buffalo Bills | TE1 |
| Bryce Young | Carolina Panthers | QB2 |
| Kendre Miller | New Orleans Saints | RB6 |
| C.J. Stroud | Houston Texans | QB3 |
| Josh Downs | Indianapolis Colts | WR5 |
| Jonathan Mingo | Carolina Panthers | WR6 |
| Marvin Mims Jr. | Denver Broncos | WR7 |
| Michael Mayer | Las Vegas Raiders | TE2 |
| Jalin Hyatt | New York Giants | WR8 |
| Tyjae Spears | Tennessee Titans | RB 7 |
| Jayden Reed | Green Bay Packers | WR9 |
| Sam LaPorta | Detroit Lions | TE3 |
| Tank Dell | Houston Texans | WR10 |
| Cedric Tillman | Cleveland Browns | WR11 |
| Tank Bigbsy | Jacksonville Jaguars | RB8 |
| Rashee Rice | Kansas City Chiefs | WR12 |
| Will Levis | Tennessee Titans | QB4 |
| Luke Musgrave | Green Bay Packers | TE4 |
| Chase Brown | Cincinnati Bengals | RB9 |
| Israel Abdanikanda | New York Jets | RB10 |
| Luke Schoonmaker | Dallas Cowboys | TE5 |
| Hendon Hooker | Detroit Lions | QB5 |
| Zach Evans | Los Angeles Rams | RB11 |
| Darnell Washington | Pittsburgh Steelers | TE6 |
| Deuce Vaughn | Dallas Cowboys | RB12 |
| Pika Nacua | Los Angeles Rams | WR13 |
| A.T. Perry | New Orleans Saints | WR14 |
| Tucker Kraft | Green Bay Packers | TE7 |
| Parker Washington | Jacksonville Jaguars | WR15 |
| Michael Wilson | Arizona Cardinals | WR16 |
| Eric Gray | New York Giants | RB13 |
| Stetson Bennett | Los Angeles Rams | QB6 |
| Brenton Strange | Jacksonville Jaguars | TE8 |
| DeWayne McBride | Minnesota Vikings | RB14 |
| Dorian Thompson-Robinson | Cleveland Browns | QB7 |
| Kayshon Boutte | New England Patriots | WR17 |
| Xavier Hutchinson | Houston Texans | WR18 |
| Chris Rodriguez Jr. | Washington Commanders | RB15 |
| Charlie Jones | Cincinnati Bengals | WR19 |
| Jake Haener | New Orleans Saints | QB8 |
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