Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings

Now that the calendar has turned to February it’s time to really start digging into the 2016 NFL Draft class with dynasty fantasy football rookie rankings in mind.  Some players will be top picks or highly touted by Draft Gurus, but not be ideal for dynasty purposes.  Others will have had little production in college and look to be a mid round NFL pick, but might make all the difference down the road for your dynasty teams.  Doing the due diligence not only helps in dynasty, but also makes you a more informed redraft fantasy football player.  I mean who wanted to be in the position of not having David johnson stashed on their bench in redraft leagues?

QB Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings

*Overall this class of Quarterbacks is underwhelming*

1. Jared Goff – California – Goff is tall, but his build is not quite what you want from a franchise QB.  He could use some bulking up to help take NFL punishment.  He has some great intangibles as a thrower, but does not possess top notch arm strength.  He’s not ahead of where Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota were when they came out last year.
2. Paxton Lynch – Memphis – Lynch has the frame, hand size and arm strength you want from a franchise QB, but there seems to be something lacking.  He makes really strange throws when pressured and seems to get rattled at times.  His ex-coach did not give him a glowing review when pressed on his maturity and I thought that was a red flag.  He could be the next Ryan Leaf or he could be a better Joe Flacco.
3. Carson Wentz – North Dakota State – Wentz played at a small school, but produced big time while there.  He is bigger than ideal for an NFL QB, by that I mean at 6’6″ tall and over 230 LBS his mechanics can be an issue.  At the Senior Bowl he apparently impressed a lot of people with his work ethic, but also showed that he needs a lot of work to become a more polished product.
4. Christian Hackenberg – Penn State University – Hackenberg is still young, only 21, despite being in the news seemingly forever.  He was a 5 star recruit that stuck with Penn State despite the controversy and sanctions and had his best season under Bill O’Brien.  Over the last two years he’s been maddeningly inconsistent and suffered a lot of nagging injuries.  For a time it looked like he could be the next Andrew Luck, now it looks like he’ll be a nice bargain for a team looking to groom a back up or replacement down the road.
5. Connor Cook – Michigan State –  Cook is the last guy I would consider drafting in a traditional 10 or 12 team dynasty league.  I’m not a huge fan, but he does have nice size and decent arm strength.  Me’s just never impressed me as a QB as his Michigan State teams relied on great defense and physicality on offense.

RB Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings

*Overall this class of running backs is very top heavy with one big time player at the top and then some decent options in the second round*

1. Ezekiel Elliot – Ohio State University – I have to admit I am a bit biased when talking Ohio State players, but I think most are going to agree that Elliot is by far the top running back in this class.  He is fast, powerful and has shown excellent hands and route running out of the back field.  I’m such a big fan that I may buck my normal thinking of having a wide receiver as my number one draft target based on the both the overall WR class and Elliot’s unique talents.
2. Derek Henry – Alabama – Henry is so big and strong that it can be a bit worrisome when you look at past NFL comparables.  Not only production wise, but also longevity of production.  He was immensely productive at Alabama and I think in the right situation he could be a beast, especially in standard scoring leagues, but I am worried about how long he will last.  I actually like him a whole lot more redraft leagues than dynasty, but if I’m a win now that happens to have an early to mid 1st round pick he could be ideal.
3. Kenneth Dixon – Louisiana Tech – Dixon has a nice blend of running back skills and receiver skills.  He is quick with nice burst in the hole and shows the ability to be patient as holes develope.  I’m a big fan of his play, but of course I’m a bit worried that it came against lesser competition.  I also saw a tendency for him to carry the ball in the wrong hand, not a fan of that, but Elliot does that as well.
4. Alex Collins – Arkansas – Nice size for a running back and extremely productive in the SEC.  He ran behind a massive offensive line and showed the ability to let blocks set up and hit the hole with a burst.  I don’t think he’ll time as well as his posted 40, but as long as he runs under 4.6 I would still like him in this spot.  He finishes runs and has a nose for the end zone.
5. Jonathan Williams – Arkansas – What, another Arkansas running back?  You bet!  Williams was injured in 2015 so we have to go back to 2014 to see what you’ll be getting when you draft him.  I absolutely love his movement and feel in the hole.  He runs with great balance and finishes his runs.  If he gets a clean bill of health when the doctors check him out he could flash up draft boards.  Big time target for me.
6. CJ Prosise – Notre Dame – Usually I knock Notre Dame guys down a bit because they have all been over hyped over the years.  (I go back so long that I got burned by Derek Brown TE Giants in a keeper draft)  Prosise might be one of the rare underhyped Golden Domers.  Really like his feet and his ability to finish runs for positive yards.  He shows a good burst as well.
7. Paul Perkins – UCLA – A bit smaller, but seems to have good hands.  He looks fast on tape and I love the way he puts his foot in the ground and is decisive with his cuts.  Very interesting back, but doesn’t seem to be a true RB1.
8. Keith Marshall – Georgia – Marshall looks big and fast on tape.  When there’s a hole hie hits it at 100 miles an hour and can take it to the house.  He played behind some very good Georgia running backs in Todd Gurley and Nick Chubb, but Marshall still had a role.  Georgia has been so good lately at recruiting running backs that Marshal could end up being like the guys that were second thoughts in the 90s.  The Olandis Garys of the world.
9. Devontae Booker – Utah – Booker is tough to bring down, but he’s an older prospect who doesn’t have great speed.  I think he may get drafted higher than I am willing to go in dynasty leagues.
10. Jordan Howard – Indiana – Howard is big at 6’1″ and 225+ and he uses it well.  He likes to punish defenders at the end of his runs.  He seems a little stiff to me and lacks ideal agility in the hole to really be a great RB, but he could find himself on the better side of an NFL timeshare.

WR Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings

1. Laquon Treadwell – Ole Miss – Treadwell is a beast.  He wins with physicality and excellent ball skills.  He’s god after the catch and is a tremendous blocker so you know coaches are going to want to have him on the field all the time.  He will probably run a decently slow 40 time, high 4.6s, so you may see him fall in some mock drafts or in some rankings, but don’t get scared off.
2. Tyler Boyd – Pitt – Boyd has decent size at 6’2″ 190 and looks to have decent speed on tape.  I think he’ll run higher than his posted times, probably mid 4.5s, but he may be the best route runner in this class.  From the slot or outside he make DBs look silly.  He also attacks the ball when it’s in the air and is excellent after the catch.
3. Michael Thomas – Ohio State – Thomas was my number 2 WR for much of the season, but Boyd showed me a lot more this year than Thomas was able to.  Thomas is big and fast and looks like he can beat man coverage pretty easily.  As he learns how to run routes better he could develop into a high end WR2 in fantasy, but I would be pushing it saying he’s a future WR1.  At least he still has room to grow as OSU was a running team in 2015.
4. Josh Doctson – TCU – Doctson is going to score TDs in the NFL.  He has unreal ball skills and his height and leaping ability will mean he stays on the field even in short yardage.  His route running is a bit disappointing at this stage.  He doesn’t separate as easily as I had hoped.  I don’t see very scary speed, but he’s still a downfield threat with those ball skills.
5. Sterling Shepard – Oklahoma – Shepard can get open in phone booth.  He’s so quick in and out of his breaks that he could step on the field on day one and excel in the slot.  He attacks the football and shows nice skills running after the catch.  He’s not flashy because he’s not big, but man he is going to be useful in PPR leagues.
6. Corey Coleman – Baylor – Coleman has tremendous speed and big play ability.  He’s not DeSean Jackson, who was a tremendous hands WR plus being a speed merchant, but Coleman could be a very nice NFL WR2 down the road.  Coleman has a lot of hype because his highlight tape is ridiculous, but his route tree was limited and he needs to work on getting rid of false steps.  I like Coleman, but I can’t see taking him as a top 5 rookie pick, which is where I see him going lately.
7. Leonte Carroo – Rutgers – Carroo is a physical specimen who has the upside to develop into a low end WR1.  If you are looking for big time upside at the bottom of your rookie draft 1st round Carroo is your guy.  He had some off the field baggage this year so I have some hesitance to go all in, but I have always liked his big play ability,  He needs to work on his route running on curls and comebacks.
8. Will Fuller – Notre Dame – Fuller is a bit undersized as a downfield threat, but I love his ball skills.  I like his route running a lot and think has room to improve at the next level with better QB play.
9. Pharoh Cooper – South Carolina – Cooper is not very fast, but he is a football player in every sense of the word.  He’s extremely tough with excellent run after the catch ability.  He plucks the ball out of the air with his hands and goes after it when going up for contested catches.  His lack of speed and height keep him away from the top half of my WR rankings, but I would love to land him if I needed a WR3 in PPR leagues.
10. Braxton Miller – Ohio State – Converted Quarterbacks don’t usually work out at the next level.  I’m glad he had at least one year of competition at the collegiate level before trying this in the NFL.  Miller is fast and extremely strong for a slot WR, which is where he would ideally play.  His route running is awful at this point yet defenders can’t stay with him because of his natural physical gifts.  the biggest thing is his hands.  He has great hands and is tremendous after the catch.  A lot of upside, but he is one of the older WRs in this class.

TE Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings

*Oh how I wish OJ Howard or Jake Butt came out*

1. Hunter Henry – Arkansas – Hunter Henry has nice hands and decent size.  He’s not extremely fast so he’s not a huge big play threat, but he’s a solid TE.  Not a great in-line blocker, but will probably be a TE2 pass catcher out of the gate.
2. Austin Hooper – Stanford – I like Hooper, but once again he’s not going to blow your doors off as a prospect.  He’s not fast and not overly strong, but has nice hands and runs good routes.
3. Beau Sandland – Montana State – Big TE with very good speed who played against lesser competition.  I would rather throw a dagger on the unknown then take most of the TEs in this class.
4. Nick Vannett – Ohio State – Vannett is huge and has nice speed with gigantic hands.  He hasn’t produced at Ohio State which makes taking him a big gamble if you’re light on tight ends.
5. Kivon Cartwright – Colorado State – I watched a decent amount of Colorado State the last two years and Cartwright always catches my eye.  He’s got huge hands and could be a nice sneaky late TE pick.