Welcome to another Dynasty Rankings update. I’ll once again be taking you through all the latest fantasy-relevant news and how it impacted my dynasty rankings. If you haven’t already, make you subscribe to Razzball so you can enjoy all the awesome tools and content we have on the site. As every dynasty league is different and every team has different needs, I’ve taken a neutral approach to my rankings, assuming PPR, 4-point passing touchdowns and a roster of 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, 1TE, 1FLEX. I’ve also balanced win-now value and building for the future so my rankings sit somewhere in the middle of those two extremes. If you need help valuing players in your specific situation, message me on Instagram @TheFantasyFirstDown or on Twitter @FantasyFirstDwn, plus you can find my full positional and rookie rankings at ffdfantasyfootball.com If you need IDP rankings you can find them on my website while I also do paid personalized rankings, as advertised on Razzball last year. Contact me if interested.
Wide Receivers contract news
It’s that time of year when elite wide receivers push for contract upgrades. After Justin Jefferson reset the WR market, CeeDee Lamb is looking to get in on the act. Reports suggest the Cowboy won’t report to training camp until he gets an extension. I doubt Lamb will sit out any games this season and I don’t anticipate this impacting his play. In fact, players approaching free agency often play better. Lamb remains my top wide receiver but the increasing possibility of a move during free agency has him moving closer to Jefferson in my dynasty rankings. There are few free agency landing spots that would be better than his current Cowboys situation so any move is likely to mean a fantasy downgrade. Lamb owners should be hoping for an extension this offseason. Tyreek Hill is another looking into a contract upgrade. The exact quote from Hill himself is that he’s “looking for a new deal”. While Hill is scheduled to make more than $120 million over the next three years, he has few guarantees after 2024. Given his stated desire to retire at the end of his current contract and the wording of his statement, I expect he will still only sign until about 2026 (if at all), meaning this has little fantasy impact.
Rookie receiver buzz
While the veterans are looking to get paid, most rookies are just looking to get onto the field. A couple have made significant steps in that direction. Ladd McConkey is getting all sorts of buzz from Chargers beat reports, with Justin Herbert joining in on the lovefest stating the rookie has “picked up the offense so easily”. Fellow second rounder Ja’Lynn Polk has also been making positive strides and looks poised to take a starting outside receiver spot, with Kendrick Bourne on the other side and Demario Douglas in the slot. These are just two examples of the myriad of buzz we’ll encounter during the pre-season. While positive buzz is better than the alternative, I won’t be making any dynasty ranking changes based on pure speculation and coachspeak.
Veteran running backs rise
There will always be speculation regarding backfields entering the season. When it comes from team reports, I always take it with a large grain of salt until training camps make depth charts more obvious. Nevertheless, here’s a few notable reports. James Conner is reportedly the lone starter in Arizona, with Michael Carter the change of pace back and Trey Benson purely a backup until Conner is a free agent next offseason. I personally agree that Conner will have a significant role. He’s one of the Cardinals’ best players and has been an excellent runner when healthy. I expect Benson to have a minor role in the offense, but I expect that role will grow as the season progresses while the inevitable Conner injury will thrust him into the starting role. The Carter comment is just plain inaccurate to me. Kyren Williams is also reportedly the clear starter in LA while Blake Corum will be the breather back. This is likely accurate but it doesn’t change my stance that Corum is one of the best backups to roster given his massive upside. Saquon Barkley is the third veteran feeling the love. Reports suggest Barkley should make a CMC-style impact in Philadelphia, while the tight ends are also likely to have more of an impact. This feels more like the media just saying stuff at this point in the offseason. Barkley will be great this season but none of these three reports will have a notable impact on my rankings. I would suggest that Conner is someone I wouldn’t trade away until the season starts though. His value will likely be at its greatest in Week 5 or 6 before tailing off towards the end of the year.
The Falcons get the Rams treatment
Everyone in the Falcons building seems very excited about this year’s offense. Compared to last year’s steaming pile of dung, I suspect anything would look positive, plus the official team website is unlikely to make negative statements, but I still found some comments on the site notable. Ike Hilliard, the WR Coach, suggested the team would play faster while WR Drake London said the team would pass more often. These comments both reflect what we expected from new OC Zac Robinson, a Sean McVay student. Both statements suggest a pass-heavy, up-tempo offense with plenty of speed. While Darnell Mooney and Rondale Moore still aren’t exciting to me, I do see Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Kirk Cousins as possible league winners if you can get them for the right price. Cousins is particularly interesting in fantasy, as his age precludes rebuilding teams from being interested and the addition of Michael Penix Jr will scare off many suitors. I like the idea of picking him up for cheap in any league, unless you’re already locked in with a pair of strong quarterbacks.
A Ram gets the Falcons treatment
Sean McVay has suggested Tyler Higbee is a candidate to start the season on the PUP list. Higbee will turn 32 before the end of the season and has likely reached the end of his fantasy usage. He’s droppable in the vast majority of leagues. While Colby Parkinson will likely deputize for Higbee at the start of the season, he still doesn’t crack my Top 200 as I don’t think his role is fully locked in for good and I think the Rams starting tight end job is a low-upside role in general these days. In deep, TE-premium leagues, Parkinson is worth a speculative add if you’re desperate for a starter.
As always, please leave your comments and dynasty trade questions below and please consider subscribing to make use of the many awesome tools available on the Razzball site. I’ll be back next week with more dynasty updates.
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