2017 Dynasty Rankings: Rookies

Patience. It’s not natural. No one is born with it. If you have kids you know this…it’s not the default. And this plays right into the benefit of the general fantasy population for the game’s most popular sport. It’s all inclusive, all right now.

Come on in, grab a beer. Have a seat and pick some football players for a little more than an hour. It’s so easy. Then, check it twice a week for five minutes total and dominate the emotional well-being of your co-workers, friends, and neighbors. Hell, sit behind a screen and obliterate complete strangers from around the world. And when Sunday rolls around you just gave yourself a reason to veg in front of the TV, be incredibly distracted at church, watch the stattracker on your phone while driving and totally neglect everyone of importance in your life for the sake of yelling at John Kuhn when he vultures a TD from anyone of fantasy relevance on the Packers. It’s simple and easy for everyone to play. Millennials rejoice! Participation! (As a millennial, I’d like to state on the record I will not give my kids trophies for finishing last…)

So, you can continue to be impatient and play with patsies in the redraft leagues, or you can step up your game and play with some patience in the dynasty realms of fantasy. It’s like moving from Novice difficulty to Hard mode. Legendary? We’ll get you there. In dynasty patience is a virtue, assets come in the form of current college prospects two years away, and your most important draft season happens in May-July instead of late August. And it’s the way die-hard fantasy addicts get to play all the freaking year round. Welcome to the best form of fantasy football!

Since we’re approaching the dynasty draft season, now’s the time for some RANKINGS! Overall ranks, positional ranks and then, today, rookie ranks will hopefully give you all the ammunition needed to compete not just this year, but for years and years. You’ve heard, “If you build it, they will come.” And what’s the “they” in our context? Belts. Belts on belts on belts. (Or trophies. Or money. Whatever. Just freaking win). So…here’s how you ‘build’ your team. Let’s start with the 2017 Rookies!

Note: I’ll touch on strategy after the ranks come out, but as a general marker I try to view dynasty football value through a three-year window.

Top 50 2017 Rookies

A few notes from the 50:

• Corey Davis is the clear #1 in this class. Some are saying he’s the clearest #1 we’ve seen in dynasty since Amari Cooper a few years back. I wouldn’t argue with his clarity, but Todd Gurley and Ezekiel Elliott seemed like locks for #1 the past two years. In general, you should target WR over RB, because their shelf life is so much longer. Again, in general. With Davis, though, you have a pairing of talent with opportunity. He steps into a WR-deprived system with a young and rising QB in Marcus Mariota. Given his size and playmaking ability in college Davis could catapult into the top 15 of WR. Typically you can’t expect massive numbers from rookie WR, but Davis may break the mold similarly to the crop we saw come out in 2014.
• This is a much deeper draft than year’s past. As you target draft picks and begin to , if you’re like me, stockpile them, the value of a 2nd rounder this year is equivalent to a mid-late 1st rounder last year. There’s great value bleeding into the beginning of the 3rd round with this class, especially at the RB position. Load up on some fliers late and let them blossom into great assets, a la Jordan Howard and, potentially, Wendell Smallwood and Devontae Booker last year.
• I put Fournette slightly over McCaffrey due to the seemingly immediate workload he’ll have coming his way. In the Jags offense he should get the goal line looks, while also toting the rock between the 20’s. If you follow Jacksonville’s draft patterns the past few years their trajectory seems to indicate a change of identity from the gun-slinging, play from behind offense two years ago to a more run-balanced bruising team that is led by the speed of their defense. In PPR formats, though, which is also now the standard for ESPN leagues starting this year (that’s a fun wrinkle), McCaffrey jumps to #2, while Fournette slips to the back end of the top 5 behind Ross and Williams.
• I’m really high on the talent of John Ross. Paired beside A.J. Green he could see some openings in the secondary, and actually elevate A.J.’s value by taking some attention from him. It will be interesting to see how they utilize his talent in comparison to their other dynamic rookie, Joe Mixon.
• Speaking of Mixon, start the countdown for Jeremy Hill finding a new home. Best fit? Carolina paired with McCaffrey. That’s a 1-2 punch that would save Cam from the punishment and make their offense dynamic. Will it happen? Haha, probably not.

Have thoughts on the rankings? Questions about other players? Well…

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Follow M@ on Twitter at @matthayes for far more than just fantasy advice.