Fantasy Football: Dynasty Rookie Rankings

If you participate in the growing popularity of dynasty fantasy football leagues, here are some rankings to help you with your spring rookie draft.

Most of us seem to dabble in fantasy football each season, but there’s a growing number of leagues sticking to the dynasty format. Whether you are in a traditional 1 QB league, or a Superflex league (where 2 QBs can play), here are some rankings to help guide you through your spring rookie draft.

1. Marvin Harrison, Jr., Arizona Cardinals WR
2. Malik Nabers, New York Giants WR
3. Rome Odunze, Chicago Bears WR
4. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders TE
5. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears QB (Superflex ranking 3rd)
6. Xavier Worthy, Kansas City Chiefs WR
7. Brian Thomas, Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars WR
8. Jonathan Brooks, Carolina Panthers RB
9. Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders QB (Superflex ranking 4th)
10. Ladd McConkey, Los Angeles Chargers WR

The top ten features six wide receivers in what was a loaded class. Talent matters, but so does opportunity. Worthy isn’t the fourth-best WR in this draft class, but his opportunity in Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes throwing the football and Rahsee Rice facing a suspension could give him opportunities to thrive immediately. Bowers’ ability at a shallow position gives him a high ranking. For Superflex leagues, bump the QBs up to their spot and drop everyone else down accordingly.

11. Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills WR
12. Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers WR
13. Trey Benson, Arizona Cardinals RB
14. Adonai Mitchell, Indianapolis Colts WR
15. Xavier Legette, Carolina Panthers WR
16. Ja’Lynn Polk, New England Patriots WR
17. Jermaine Burton, Cincinnati Bengals WR
18. Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams RB
19. Malachi Corley, New York Jets WR
20. Drake Maye, Washington Commanders QB (Superflex ranking 7th)

My advice this season is to not force running back. Teams are always desperate for running backs but this class isn’t great and the wide receiver class is loaded this year, so take advantage of the talent falling down the board. Coleman gets the top nod in this group due to opportunity and his quarterback. Mitchell is very talented but slid in the draft because of attitude concerns. Same for Burton who could see a very quick path to becoming WR2 for Joe Burrow in Cincinnati.

21. Roman Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers WR
22. Jalen McMillian, Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR
23. MarShawn Lloyd, Green Bay Packers RB
24. JJ McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings QB (Superflex ranking 10th)
25. Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins RB
26. Troy Franklin, Denver Broncos WR
27. Javon Baker, New England Patriots WR
28. Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB
29. Bo Nix, Denver Broncos QB (Superflex ranking 15th)
30. Michael Penix, Jr., Atlanta Falcons QB (Superflex ranking 23rd)

To me, there’s a drop in talent after Irving, so I’m putting the last two highly drafted QBs there. After ranking 13 WRs in the top 20, only 4 fall from 21 to 30 as the talent at the position starts to dry up a little at this point. Once you clear these prospects, you should start focusing on players in ideal positions to perform and particular players where you like their upside.

31. Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers RB
32. Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills RB
33. Will Shipley, Philadelphia Eagles RB
34. Devontez Walker, Baltimore Ravens WR
35. Braelon Allen, New York Jets RB
36. Ben Sinnott, Washington Commanders TE
37. Luke McCaffrey, Washington Commanders WR
38. Ja’Tavion Sanders, Carolina Panthers TE
39. Audric Estime, Denver Broncos RB
40. Isaac Guerendo, San Francisco 49ers RB

The drafted positions start balancing out here as we see more of a run on running backs and a couple of tight ends as well. Vidal is an interesting prospect if you want to take a shot at him. We know Jim Harbaugh is going to want to run the football and it’s a crowded backfield but he could emerge as a Harbaugh favorite and start grabbing carries.

41. Malik Washington, Miami Dolphins WR
42. Tyrone Tracy, New York Giants RB
43. Dylan Laube, Las Vegas Raiders RB
44. Johnny Wilson, Philadelphia Eagles WR
45. Jamari Thrash, Cleveland Browns WR
46. Jacob Cowing, San Francisco 49ers WR
47. Theo Johnson, New York Giants TE
48. Isaiah Davis, New York Jets RB
49. Rasheen Ali, Baltimore Ravens RB
50. Cade Stover, Houston Texans TE

This last group has a few fun names that could surprise. Washington was a highly productive receiver at Virginia and could come in and earn targets with a nice camp. Laube doesn’t have much in front of him in Las Vegas and there are a couple of interesting tight ends that have good paths to playing time as well.

Defensive Player Rankings (IDP)

If you’re like me with your dynasty teams, individual defensive players are key. While defensive scoring is unique from league to league, these rankings are largely based on playing time, tackles, and sacks.

1. Laiatu Latu, Indianapolis Colts DE
2. Edgerrin Cooper, Green Bay Packers LB
3. Jared Verse, Los Angeles Rams DE
4. Junior Colson, Los Angeles Chargers LB
5. Payton Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers LB
6. Dallas Turner, Minnesota Vikings DE
7. Chop Robinson, Miami Dolphins DE
8. Trevin Wallace, Carolina Panthers LB
9. Darius Robinson, Arizona Cardinals DE
10. Chris Braswell, Tampa Bay Buccaneers DE

When we look at the top ten here, Latu is an easy top choice. He has a well-established pass-rushing arsenal and of any defensive rookie this year, he has the best chance to come in and record double-digit sacks. Cooper should start in the middle of the Packers defense and Verse may not get many sacks this year, but he should be able to help in the run game and record some tackles. Colson, Wilson, and Wallace all have paths to playing time where they should record plenty of tackles if they do, and these other edges all have great upside but may not be as productive as some of the others here as rookies.

11. Tyler Nubin, New York Giants S
12. Cole Bishop, Buffalo Bills S
13. Byron Murphy II, Seattle Seahawks DT
14. Cedric Gray, Tennessee Titans LB
15. Javon Bullard, Green Bay Packers S
16. Johnny Newton, Washington Commanders DT
17. Marshawn Kneeland, Dallas Cowboys DE
18. Mike Sainristil, Washington Commanders CB
19. Mike Hall, Jr, Cleveland Browns DT
20. Braden Fiske, Los Angeles Rams DT

Pick your flavor with this group. If you like safeties for tackles, start looking at this group of four. They may not be playmakers out of the gate, but if they’re on the field, they should record some tackles. If your league gives bonuses for DTs, you should shoot Byron Murphy way up your board (and boost Newton and Hall as well). Hall is going to be higher on my list than others you’ll find. I love his landing spot and his potential. I don’t keep many CBs on my roster, but the ones I do, I use nickels as they are in the action a lot more to create statistics for themselves. Sainristil should immediately slide inside.

21. Cooper DeJean, Philadelphia Eagles CB
22. T’Vondre Sweat, Tennessee Titans DT
23. Jonah Elliss, Denver Broncos DE
24. Calen Bullock, Houston Texans S
25. Kamren Kinchens, Los Angeles Rams S
26. Jeremiah Trotter, Jr, Philadelphia Eagles LB
27. Jaden Hicks, Kansas City Chiefs S
28. Tyrice Knight, Seattle Seahawks LB
29. Jordan Magee, Washington Commanders LB
30. Kris Jenkins, Cincinnati Bengals DT

If you are looking for a sleeper for rookie impact, look at Elliss. He has some nice pass-rushing moves and could record some sacks this season. If your league allows points on special teams, DeJean is a great play at CB. The rest of this group is littered with safeties and linebackers. Sweat and Jenkins are also two defensive tackles that can create problems this season and could potentially help out some teams this year.