Erickson’s Must-Have Dynasty Rookies (2023 Fantasy Football)

Check out a few of my must-have dynasty rookies that I’m targeting in rookie drafts and beyond. And you can find all of my must-have dynasty rookies in this article.

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Must-Have Dynasty Rookies

Here are the players I’m targeting at the end of the first round of rookie drafts and beyond:

Kendre Miller (RB – NO)

Kendre Miller spent his first two seasons in a two-way platoon with Zach Evans before the latter transferred to Mississippi. Miller flashed talent in limited sample size, leading the FBS in yards after contact per attempt (5.06) in 2021. But with Evans gone in 2022, Miller was thrust into the RB1 role for the Horned Frogs, where he posted a career-high 23 percent dominator rating. The bell cow rushed for nearly 1400 yards at 5-foot-11, 215 pounds (identical to Bijan Robinson), and his size is enticing in addition to the efficiency he displayed on a per-play basis at the college level. Miller’s career of 3.14 yards per play ranks fourth best in the class. He’s explosive with the ball in his hands, as indicated by his 21 rushes of 15-plus yards last year (tied for the fifth-highest in the class).

Per Sports Info Solutions, Miller also posted the 4th-lowest bust run rate (percentage of plays that resulted in EPA below -1) and finished first in his class in broken tackles per 100 touches (18).

Miller did not test at all during the pre-draft process (recovering from post-season knee surgery), but that didn’t stop the New Orleans Saints from investing a third-round pick in him during the 2023 NFL Draft. Miller is an ideal home-run hitter and 1-2 punch fit with veteran Jamaal Williams should Alvin Kamara miss anytime.

Marvin Mims (WR – DEN)

Marvin Mims was an elite producer at the collegiate level, hanging a 23 percent dominator rating in three years as an Oklahoma Sooner. He burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old freshman with a 24 percent dominator rating, triggering an early-age breakout. Mims led the team with 37 catches for 610 receiving yards and nine receiving touchdowns. He also finished fifth in the nation in yards per route run (4.07) and seventh in PFF receiving grade (89.1). The 5-foot-11 and 183-pound wide receiver would cap off his college career strong with over 1,000 receiving yards as a junior, averaging 20 yards per reception for the second straight season. Mims was a fiend with the ball in his hands, finishing seventh in his class in yards after the catch per reception (8.1) despite a high average depth of target (17.0).

It’s rare to find a wide receiver like Mims who can make plays after the catch and win downfield. Mims finished third in the FBS in receiving yards and fifth in targets on 20-plus air-yard throws in 2022. He also offers ability as a punt returner. The one concern about his production profile is that the majority of it came against zone coverage looks. He only caught nine passes in man coverage. But in today’s NFL, the WRs that can find the soft spots in zone coverage tend to turn into PPR monsters.

Based on his profile alone, Mims was emerging as one of “my guys” in this overall lackluster wide receiver class. But his 2023 NFL Scouting Combine showing cemented his status for me inside my upper echelon of rookie WRs. The Oklahoma Sooner ran a 4.38 40-yard dash (90th percentile), jumped a 39.5-inch vertical (89th percentile), leaped 129 inches in the broad jump (89th percentile), and posted a 6.9 3-cone drill (72nd percentile). His impressive testing, early-age production, deep-threat prowess, and ability to win after the catch are all reasons to be “in” on Mims for rookie drafts. The dude still isn’t even 21 years old yet.

Mims would go on to be drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round (63^rd overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft, solidifying his status for me as the clear-cut No. 5 WR in the draft class behind the four 1^st-rounders.

As I wrote in my NFL Draft Grades article, I initially wasn’t thrilled about the Denver landing spot for Mims. With incumbent WRs like Tim Patrick, Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton already on the roster, this hardly seems like a smash spot for Mims. But under the new Sean Payton regime, there is no telling what’s in the Broncos’ long-term plans. So WR could become more of a pressing need and Mims could find the field sooner rather than later as a second-round pick that is also Payton’s first-draft pick at the helm of the Denver Broncos. The second-round draft capital also suggests decent fantasy value in Year 1 based on the trends I’ve studied in valuing rookies in fantasy football.

At worst, Mims can fill the much-needed deep-threat role vacated by the often-injured K.J. Hamler. Watch him emerge as Russell Wilson‘s new favorite moonball target.