If you’re in a Fantasy Football Dynasty league like I am, we’re re-visiting one of the key lists you need to develop each summer, to prepare for your draft, the Fantasy Football Rookie Dynasty list by position. Depending on your Fantasy Football Rookie Dynasty rules, the right draft pick can set you up for several league winning seasons in a row. The right picks will either land you a big points player, or arm you with the best trade options to build Fantasy Football championship teams. This article will focus on the top five rookie wide receivers for Dynasty consideration.
As we discussed in our running back review, before training camps even opened last summer, there was a lot of hype around Ezekiel Elliott‘s fantasy football value. It was hard to believe that Elliott, who seemed pretty immature off the field, would turn into a top ten Fantasy Football running back. But, as we all know, Zeke’s hype was well justified.
Unlikely Elliott, Michael Thomas was buried in many Fantasy Football Rookie Dynasty lists last summer, often landing around the five to eight spot among rookie wide receivers. But the 23-year-old Ohio State standout had an incredible rookie campaign in, what was expected to be, a crowded group of wide receivers for Drew Brees to target.
Thomas’ dynasty value depends on the Saints ability to keep Brees healthy, or to find and groom his replacement quickly, if they aren’t already. But with 92 receptions, over 1,100 yards, and nine touchdowns, you’d be foolish not to keep Thomas this year in your dynasty leagues. So how’s the next Michael Thomas? Let’s start with number five rookie wide receiver on our list…
Fantasy Football Rookie Dynasty WR Pick: No 5
Zay Jones was quietly one of the most exciting wide receivers to watch in college football last year. The 6′ 2” wide out from Austin, Texas had an eye-popping 158 receptions in just twelve games. That’s an average of over thirteen receptions per game. Defenders knew he was getting the ball, but clearly couldn’t stop him. Against one of the better defense backs system in college football, the Virginia Tech Hokies, Zay was able to snag ten receptions and pile up 115 receiving yards.
Jones averaged over 11.1 yards per reception, and totaled eight touchdowns. I would like to see Zay get into the end zone more, he averaged less than eight per season in his four-year collegiate career. But in the right system, Jones incredible production should turn into more TD’s for Zay.
With the 5th pick of the second round, the Buffalo Bills snagged Jones. The Bills have some good young receiver talent on their team, but expect Zay to be productive in his rookie season, and he should rapidly increase his production over the next two seasons. If the Bills can settle their quarterback situation (and team coaching and management), Jones could be this year’s Thomas.
Before the draft, though, keep an eye on Jones’ health. Zay already suffered a knee injury. But so far it doesn’t sound serious.
While we’re only addressing the top five wide receivers, Chris Godwin is nearly tied with Jones and there’s a good argument for a tie at number five. Godwin didn’t have nearly as many receptions as Jones, but he averaged over 16 yards per reception and piled up eleven touchdowns for the Penn State Nittany Lions last season.
Chris is a sneaky pick. With the DeSean Jackson signing, the Bucs have a very crowded set of wide outs, and Godwin likely won’t see much time on the field to start the season. But DJax career is winding down, and if Chris finds his way on the field, he could become a great alternative to Mike Evans.
Fantasy Football Rookie Dynasty WR Pick: No 4
At the beginning of the 2016-2017 College Football Season, JuJu Smith-Schuster was getting a lot of hype from the media. In the 2015-2016 season, Smith-Schuster snagged 89 receptions for 1,454 yards and ten touchdowns, in only his true sophomore season. Once a junior, the NFL was taking notice of the 6’1” wideout from Long Beach.
But in his final year as a USC Trojan, Smith-Schuster appeared to sputter out of the gate, with only one reception for nine yards and no touchdowns against Alabama’s stellar defense. It took JuJu five games to finally climb over the 100-yard mark last season, not what many were expecting. However, JuJue continued to regain his prowess as a top collegiate wide receiver throughout the rest of the season, capping the year off with seven receptions, 133 yards, and a touchdown against Godwin’s Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl.
Maybe because of the slow incline last season, the once likely first round pick fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 30th pick of the second round. But this is a steal. Smith-Schuster has a few stellar receivers to climb over on the depth chart, but it shouldn’t take long for JuJu to beat out Bryant and claim the number two spot opposite Antonio Brown. Even with an aging Big Ben and young receiving talent in Pittsburgh, Smith-Schuster is a great long-term wide receiver pick in Fantasy Dynasty leagues.
Fantasy Football Rookie Dynasty WR Pick: No 3
In our Fantasy Football Rookie Dynasty number three pick for running backs, we chose Cincinnati Bengals tailback Joe Mixon. And we’re going right back to Cincinnati for the third pick at wide receiver, John Ross. The Bengals clearly avoided all other needs, and focused on top skills players with greatest upside, in the first two rounds of the draft. Both Mixon and Ross have the potential to provide game-changing plays in their rookie season.
During the 2017 NFL Combine, Ross set a record 4.22 40-yard dash record. NFL media picked up on the stat and the Ross story exploded. Comparisons to DeSean Jackson were immediately being made. Whether the comparisons are right or wrong, they’re irrelevant.
After suffering a torn ACL and missing his 2015 college season, Ross exploded in 2016 with 81 receptions, 1,150 yards, and 17 touchdowns in only 14 games. The production caught the attention of NFL scouts. Most notably, Ross’ torn ACL clearly didn’t impact his results the following year.
We’ll see how John progresses during camp this summer, but I expect we’ll see Ross line up opposite Bengals’ star wide receiver A.J. Green to start the season. Green’s results last year were disappointing, but with all of the offensive weapons now swirling around Bengals QB Andy Dalton in Cinncinati, Green will get more looks, and Ross to have a decent first season, followed by an eventual emergence into the Bengals top role a few years from now. If Ross is available in the 8th round of your drop, grab him and keep him for a few years.
Fantasy Football Rookie Dynasty WR Pick: No 2
Mike Williams is having a very good 2017. Williams and the Clemson Tigers surprised many and beat Alabama for the National Championship last season. A few months later, the 6’4” 218 lbs wide out from Holly Hill, South Carolina became the 7th overall pick of the 2017 NFL draft. Now Williams is in Los Angeles, preparing for workouts with Philip Rivers and the rest of the Chargers receiving corp.
At the beginning of the 2015 season, Williams sustained a neck fracture and was carted off the field, in a game against Wofford. Mike wouldn’t return for the rest of the season. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney indicated the team would be fine without Williams at the time. But when Mike returned for the 2016 season, Clemson’s receiving game took a clear leap. Williams had 98 receptions with over 1,300 yards and eleven touchdowns in 15 games. During the National Championship, Mike had eight receptions, 94 yards, and a touchdown against a stellar Crimson Tide defense.
Now likely starting opposite Keenan Allen for the Chargers, Phillip Rivers has an awesome duo to sling the rock to each week. Rivers, now 35, continues to have 4,000 yard/30+ TD seasons, and shouldn’t stop this year. Over time, the Chargers will need to find Rivers replacement, and Allen needs to find a way to stay healthy, leaving each season early over the last two years. But that also means Williams will quickly emerge as a top receiving option in L.A., and for many years to come. Mike is a clear WR3 in all Fantasy Football leagues, and his value increases for dynasty leagues.
Fantasy Football Rookie Dynasty WR Pick: No 1
Last summer, I wrote about my Top 5 2016 CFB Wide Receivers before the seasons started. I had Corey Davis listed as the 2nd best receiver in the nation. I was clearly wrong, he was the top receiver.
During the 2016 season, Davis had 97 receptions for 1,500 yards, and 19 touchdowns in fourteen games. Corey had 52 touchdowns in his college football career, averaging 13 touchdowns per season, over four seasons, and over one touchdown per game. The 6’3” Wheaton, IL native became the 5th overall pick of the 2017 draft, where the Tennessee Titans grab him.
The Titans now have an incredible opportunity to groom a 23-year-old Marcus Mariota at quarterback throwing to the tremendously talented 22-year-old Davis. Mariota had a better 2nd season last year, only throwing nine interceptions, hitting 26 targets for touchdowns, and completing almost 3,500 passing yards.
Davis will immediately become a top target for Mariota, a unique situation for fantasy football rookie dynasty owners. In Corey’s first season in the NFL, he’ll already be a top WR3 target in most fantasy drafts. Davis already has an 87% ownership in most ESPN fantasy football leagues, and I expect the 40% ownership to climb rapidly over the summer in Yahoo leagues, as the media continues to talk about his upside. If you’re lucky enough to snag Davis in the 6th or 7th round, you could have a dynasty gem for many years to come.
Next: Rookie Dynasty Top Five RB's
Now that we’ve reviewed the top wide recievers or your Fantasy Football Rookie Dynasty drafts, we’ll begin to breakdown top tight end options. Look for the TE article soon. In the meantime, follow us on twitter, @fantasycpr, for updates.