This is what we’ve been waiting for, fantasy football enthusiasts. The NFL Draft is under way, and we finally get to see where the rookie prospects are going to launch their professional careers. And NFL Draft landing spots allow us to start to zero in on fantasy football and dynasty rookie draft pick values. We look at tight end Ben Sinnott and how he’ll fit in with the Washington Commanders.
Throughout the draft, we’ll take a closer look at fantasy-relevant prospects, giving you an overview of their strengths and weaknesses, and assessing their fantasy value in both redraft and dynasty formats.
Let’s dig in.
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Fantasy Football Rookie Draft Outlook
Fitz’s Fantasy Football Outlook
The Washington Commanders have selected Kansas State’s Ben Sinnott with the 21st pick of the second round.
Sinnott became an important component of the K-State passing attack over his final two college seasons. He had 31 catches for 447 yards and four touchdowns in 2022, and 49 catches for 676 yards and six touchdowns in 2023.
Ben Sinnott is a terrific athlete who ran a 4.68 at the combine, recorded a 40-inch vertical jump, and posted a Relative Athletic Score of 9.73. He’s a solid route-runner who isn’t afraid to do the dirty work over the middle of the field, and he’s a beast after the catch. Sinnott broke 14 tackles last season. Sinnott also has reliable hands.
The biggest issue with Sinnott is size. At 6-3½, 250 pounds, he might not be an effective inline blocker at the NFL level, even though he was an effective blocker in college.
The Commanders needed a good young tight end. They added Zach Ertz in free agency, but Ertz is 33 years old and has lost 17 games to injury over the last two years. Washington now has reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels at quarterback, and the Commanders aren’t exactly loaded at wide receiver, with Terry McLaurin the only proven blue chipper at the position.
In dynasty, I have Ben Sinnott ranked TE2 among rookies and TE21 overall. He’s likely to come off the board somewhere in the third round of 1QB rookie drafts and in the fourth round of superflex rookie drafts.
Sinnott’s predraft FantasyPros Expert Consensus ranking was TE50 in half-point PPR formats, and he had a predraft Underdog best-ball ADP of TE33. I have Sinnott ranked TE35 for redraft.
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Thor’s NFL Draft Profile & Player Comp
Ben Sinnott (Kansas State)
6040/250 | RAS: 9.73
Player comparison: Sam LaPorta
Sinnott’s process reminds me so much of Sam LaPorta‘s from last year. I simply don’t understand why he doesn’t get more respect. Last year, Sinnott had a top-three PFF grade in this class, and he did it as a two-way tight end, a reliable blocker and a strong receiver.
Sinnott got plenty of snaps inline at KSU, but was also used extensively in the slot and lined up in the backfield. He’s an extremely good athlete, as he proved during the pre-draft process. He also knows how to run a route. An undersized childhood multi-sport standout in Iowa, Sinnott retained the body control as he built himself up from a 205-pound walk-on fullback.
Sinnott’s footwork in route breaks shows the kind of attention to detail required to work your way up from rock-bottom of a Power 5 depth chart to one of the team’s unquestioned offensive pillars. He doesn’t lose momentum in transitions, and is particularly adept on in-breaking concepts over the middle.
Nearly half his 2023 catches came between the hashes within 20 yards of the line of scrimmages. The NFL is going to love that. Sinnott is also a clear and present danger to the seam whose post-snap intentions must be monitored carefully.
Hockey, baseball, and basketball are three sports from Sinnott’s past, and all preach soft hands – last year, on 73 targets, Sinnott posted a sterling 4.0% drop rate. Not only a sure-thing with the easy stuff, he’ll also bail the quarterback out by spearing off-target throws outside his frame.
Sinnott is a handful after the catch. Among FBS prospects in this TE class, Sinnott finished No. 3 with 14 broken tackles last year, and No. 4 with 15 explosive plays. Sinnott wasn’t spoon-fed easy targets, either. Among the same group with 30-plus catches last season, Sinnott’s 10.1 aDOT ranked No. 1.
Sinnott is a high-effort blocker who gets to work. He was one of the Big 12’s best in this area last season. Due to strength and length limitations, it won’t be translating apples-to-apples against war-daddy edge rushers at the next level.
Where I saw that manifest on film against superior power was an inclination by Sinnott to try to become a human battering ram, throwing the force of his weight down into larger opponents at contact, in contrast to the more measured technique he reliably displays against defenders in his weight class.
This compensatory mechanism, of course, was not very effective, and had the effect of letting larger fish off the hook earlier. You can be comfortable keeping Sinnott in a phone booth against anyone around his size or smaller. Sinnott’s technique and effort were almost always sufficient to wall-off from the play-side in those scenarios.
Overall, I see an undervalued prospect. At present, Sinnott is being discussed as a Round 3 prospect, much like Sam LaPorta was one year ago at this time. I think Sinnott is a Round 2 value who can step in immediately and contribute.
Check out more NFL Draft profiles and player comps from Thor in our 2024 NFL Draft Guide
Dynasty Rookie Draft Rankings
Our analysts provide their latest rookie draft rankings below. And also check out our expert consensus dynasty rookie draft rankings!
More Dynasty Rookie Draft Advice
- DBro’s Dynasty Rookie Draft Primers
- DBro’s Top 50 Rankings & Player Notes
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