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Dynasty Rookie Drafts: Takeaways for Each Position (2023 Fantasy Football)

Dynasty Rookie Drafts: Takeaways for Each Position (2023 Fantasy Football)

The NFL Scouting Combine has really devolved into more of a TV spectacle than a mode of heavily weighting prospect scouting. Lions head coach Dan Campbell summed it up perfectly at the beginning of this year’s event. “You don’t grade off somebody out here in pajamas,” he remarked. He meant that the meat and potatoes of scouting and player evaluations was already done, based on in-person scouting and film study. The combine is merely here for our viewing eyes and NFL Network sponsorship dollars. I still love it.

It’s difficult to surprise someone who has worn himself into the shell of a living human being over evaluating these prospects through hours of game tape, but some performances certainly raised my eyebrows and caused me to put a pin in a prospect’s file to give them a more detailed look before the draft

Dynasty Rookie Draft Kit

Dynasty Rookie Drafts

The WR Group is Lacking a True Alpha Dominator at X

That is, unless my Stefon Diggs comp for Jaxon Smith-Njigba comes to fruition. There are more than a few holes to poke in this year’s WR class. Overall, they are really small. Only Quentin Johnston from TCU stands out as a top prospect who can win with size. Jordan Addison and Zay Flowers are going to be fantasy contributors right away in the NFL, but it will need to come via their superb route running and quickness after the catch. JSN has all the chops, as long as his hamstring troubles are in the past.

Bijan Robinson is the Only Can’t-Miss Offensive Prospect

I keep hearing the same question from friends and coworkers who seek my advice for their dynasty teams. “Is Bijan Robinson worth all of this hype?” The stud RB from Texas is unequivocally the 1.01 in dynasty rookie drafts (even Superflex) and is fetching huge bounties in dynasty trades, long before we know for whom he will take snaps in the NFL. I can say with 99.9% certainty that Robinson is indeed worth it. There haven’t been very many RBs I’ve ever evaluated where I needed to re-watch every game just to find one area of growth in his game. No, he doesn’t have any weaknesses. Saquon Barkley had a boom-bust running style that didn’t lend as well to one-cut zone schemes coming out of Penn State. Jonathan Taylor had a bout with fumbling at Wisconsin. Bijan is great at everything. He checks every single box, and his Combine performance darkened it in ink.

The “Big Four” QBs are Really a Big Three

Make no mistake: Four QBs will be selected in the top 10 of the upcoming NFL Draft. Unfortunately for one of those teams, they will get a prospect with staggering bust potential. Bryce Young‘s knock is his size, although he was absolutely legendary at Alabama against the fiercest possible college competition. C.J. Stroud put together one of the most impressive throwing sessions in the history of the NFL Combine and solidified himself as the odds-on favorite to go first overall to Carolina. Anthony Richardson is the most athletically gifted QB in NFL history and possesses all the intangibles that can turn him into a perennial fantasy superstar.

The odd man out is Will Levis from Kentucky. He lost out at Penn State to mediocre starter Sean Clifford. He transferred to Lexington and was able to show off his immense throwing talent and above-average athleticism in an overly simplified spread offense. His flaws were obvious on tape and surprisingly still very present in Indianapolis. His “cannon” of an arm looked pretty much the same as Richardson’s and Stroud’s (with less accuracy and precision). I was certain I was going to be forced to move Levis up my personal board after the Combine, but he was meh. I could easily be wrong, but the other three appear to be in another galaxy when it comes to transitioning to the pro game.

The TE Market is Getting More Solid (But Not for Fantasy)

This class of incoming rookie TEs is deep. The class has a top dog in Michael Mayer from Notre Dame that is the total package. He’s good at everything and reminds me a lot of Greg Olsen. Zack Kuntz and Darnell Washington are gigantic physical freaks. Sam LaPorta and Dalton Kincaid are savvy route runners with plenty of juice. I don’t expect any of them to become a TE1 for fantasy. They are going to be good blockers and timely receiving options, but none of them have the ‘It’ factor that a team can build an offense around like Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews. It’s a good thing, though, that we can bolster our rosters with these guys on the cheap and hope that one of them proves me wrong. Guessing which TEs will be fantasy stars before they’re even drafted is darn near impossible anyway.

2023 Fantasy Football Best Ball Draft Advice

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