In this article, I’ll make the case for five rookie draft targets. While I expect these five players to be some of my standout players this draft season, I will continue to aggressively target many other rookies, and I suggest you do too. This includes bijan robinson, anthony richardson, C.J. Stroud, Jaxon Smith Njigba, and a handful of others. Take advantage of fellow leaguers who don’t watch college football or are too risk-averse.
Rookies are extremely important in fantasy football. In dynasty leagues, they ARE the draft and in re-draft leagues, they can be season-defining draft picks or waiver pick-ups. Even with all the content out there, I still think the fantasy football market generally underestimates newbies to fantasy football redesigned.
Drafters don’t like to take players they haven’t seen play or know much about yet, and they underestimate the impact of late-season contributions. Rookies are more likely to get their best fantasy scores in the fantasy playoffs than they were at the start of the season.
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young bryce – QB, Carolina Panthers
The first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft is somehow falling asleep. anthony richardson offers tempting advantages and C.J. Stroud it is a punctual pin. However, there is a reason young bryce he was chosen before both of them.
Last year’s rookie quarterback class was terrible, and the fantasy football market has it against Bryce Young. Young is a guaranteed starter as long as he’s healthy and has the ultimate draft capital, borne out by objective and subjective scouting metrics. So why exactly is he being recruited behind jordan love, Kenny Pickettand brock purdy like the QB25? One reason is recency bias. The market has been burned by rookie quarterbacks in a big way in recent years, from trey lance in 2021 to the disastrous group of last year.
Another possible reason for Young’s ridiculously low ADP is the narrative surrounding his supporting cast. While the Panthers don’t exactly have the best receiving group in the NFL, Young has a talented young offensive line and a brilliant offensive mind like his head coach in Frank Reich.
One of my fantasy football philosophies is to prioritize talent over projectable volume. I think all too often fantasy players overestimate circumstantial factors that have nothing to do with a player’s individual talent. Despite all the great research out there on roster building and predictive stats, the bottom line is that recruiting real good players is what sets you up for success. Bryce Young is really good and I wrote an article supporting that claim before the draft. read it here and draft Young with confidence – he’ll make his teammates better.
jahmyr gibbs he was selected No. 12 overall in the NFL Draft, which surprised many. Clearly the Lions believed they were adding a multidimensional weapon, not just a running back. i wrote This article about Gibbs before the draft and called him “an explosive playmaker with the home run speed and receiving ability of an All-Pro RB” while comparing him to Jamaal Charles.
Some have questioned his landing place, but I think Detroit is a great place for him to carve out a very fantasy-friendly role. While david montgomery A solid player in his own right, Gibbs has a lot going for him in terms of situation. First, Detroit has an impressive offensive line, ranked in the top five by PFF.
In second place, Detroit threw its RBs at the fifth-highest rate in the league last season following its trade. T.J. Hockenson. I expect that rate to increase with Gibbs as the focal point of the passing offense. The Lions also lack established threats to catch passes outside of Amon-Ra St. Brown, so there should be plenty of targets for Gibbs. He will be by far their most explosive player while jameson williams He is serving his six-game suspension.
While Montgomery could be the primary goal-line rusher, Gibbs is a great bet to score some long touchdowns. His 4.36 40-yard dash confirmed the great speed he displayed in the movie. He expects home runs.
If the Dolphins sign dalvin cooki will be avoiding De’Von Achane in redraft leagues. He would still deserve consideration in the Dynasty Leagues, but Cook in Miami would be a huge detriment to his immediate value.
Achane was drafted with the 84th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was surprised he was still on the board. If the Dolphins don’t sign Dalvin Cook, it presumably means they’re happy with their RB room that features solid but unspectacular veteran RBs. Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson. He also doesn’t have the pedigree of Achane, who was extremely productive in his three years with the SEC.
Achane is already receiving positive reviews this offseason, as he ESPN Dolphins reporter Marcel Louis-Jacques identified him as an offseason standout.. While he lacks the size of a workhorse, Achane’s burst looks like a speed boost in a video game, and he’s built low to the ground, which should help him have natural leverage at just 5’8″. of 190 pounds at the combine, but is reportedly weighing up to 192 pounds in preparation for his rookie season. Achane explained that she had previously been unable to gain weight during college off-seasons because she ran track at Texas A&M..
A skilled receiver, Achane caught 60 passes for over 554 yards and five touchdowns in his three years at the university. In a potentially explosive offense without a standout WR3 or TE1, Achane could emerge as the third-best player on the team. I expect him to be a very efficient player, the only issue is volume. He selects talent and drops the chips.
Sharp fantasy players have been waiting derrick henry‘s fall for years. Henry is THE certified freak, but there will come a time when he falls apart. Tyjae Spears he’s a talented rookie with a path to an early-season role and tremendous contingent value if Henry is injured or traded.
Spears was selected 81st overall by the Titans, who had used their first two picks at offensive line and quarterback. Spears does not have an ABI and has a history of knee problems.. The Titans are at a crossroads of rebuilding and competition, so the only way to read a Day 2 RB pick, especially one with such sketchy long-term health, is that they plan to use him early. I’d be surprised if Spears isn’t the clear No. 2 RB behind Derrick Henry in Week 1.
Spears as a player is dynamic. He put up video game numbers at Tulane and capped off an incredible college career with a 205-yard, four-touchdown masterpiece against USC. Oh, and he can teleport.
Marvin Mims – WR, Denver Broncos
The Broncos have a packed WR room, but Marvin Mims is the only receiver on the roster of new head coach Sean Payton’s pick.
Mims’ curious pre-draft valuation (by media sites) was somewhat inexplicable and nonsensical by final draft capital as the 63rd overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Broncos did not spend a premium draft pick in it just to return punts. I personally ranked him as the 25th best prospect in the entire class..
He has legit deep speed (4.38), but he’s just 5’11” and 183 pounds. His frame is a bit more compact than some of the other small receivers in this class and his explosive lower body makes him a a threat from anywhere.In terms of ball tracking and coordination, especially on high difficulty catches, Mims is outstanding.
Yeah russell wilson bounces back with Sean Payton at the helm, Mims has the kind of exciting profile that fits his game. Wilson, in his prime, was an excellent deep-ball passer, and Mims has all the tools to be an excellent deep threat since his rookie year.
