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 wide receiver Luke McCaffrey and how he’ll fit 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.
- 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Dynasty Rookie Draft Simulator
- DBro’s Dynasty Rookie Draft Primers
- 2024 NFL Draft Guide
Fantasy Football Rookie Draft Outlook
Fitz’s Fantasy Football Outlook
The Washington Commanders have selected Luke McCaffrey of Rice with the final pick of the third round.
The brother of 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey and the don of former Broncos WR Ed McCaffrey, Luke McCaffrey certainly has good bloodlines. But the youngest McCaffrey’s path to the NFL was a circuitous one.
Her launched his college career as a quarterback at Nebraska and played sparingly there before transferring to Rice. He was a quarterback in his first year at Rice but them=n switched to wide receiver. McCaffrey had 58 catches for 723 yards and six touchdowns in 2022, then took things to another level in 2023 with 71 catches for 992 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2023.
The 6-1½, 198-pound McCaffrey is a fine athlete who posted a Relative Athletic Score of 9.44. He has excellent hands, with only three drops on 120 targets last year. McCaffrey also excels in contested catch situations.
McCaffrey has only been playing wide receiver for two years, so he’s a work in progress. He’ll need to refine his route-running to compete against the top competition he’ll be facing in the NFL.
McCaffrey lands in a pretty good spot in Washington. He’ll be behind Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson on the depth chart, but he should be able to pass Dyami Brown and Olamide Zaccheaus on the depth chart,
For dynasty, I have McCaffrey ranked WR19 among the rookies and WR88 overall. Admittedly, the fact that McCaffrey squeezed into Day 2 of the draft has me rethinking those rankings. I may have to move him up.
In redraft, I tentatively have McCaffrey ranked WR97.
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Thor’s NFL Draft Profile & Player Comp
Luke McCaffrey | Rice
6015/198 | RAS: 9.44
Comp: Josh Reynolds
It might be surprising to hear that the son of a longtime NFL standout receiver and the brother of one of the NFL’s best current players is a late-bloomer. But that’s Luke McCaffrey: The former four-star dual-threat quarterback struggled mightily across three seasons at Nebraska and Rice (with a stop at Louisville for a few weeks in between) before finally deciding to switch positions for his final two campaigns at Rice.
McCaffrey took quickly to his new post, dropping a 131-1732-19 line over two seasons. He was a base big-slot in college who moonlighted on the boundary (70/30 snap split). McCaffrey has the athleticism to get deep and the concentration and hands to make plays in the third sector. His tape is littered with catches where he caught the ball in congested quarters.
Anecdotally, McCaffrey easily led this receiver class in completed catches where his helmet flew off because of a hit. He’s a street-fighter at the catch point – multiple times I witnessed him ripping a should-be interception away and turning it into an incompletion or huge catch. He was a superb 17-for-28 in contested situations last year.
Very strong hands in general. Only three drops despite being targeted 120 times in 2023. Since he’s only been playing the position for two years, his routes remain a work in progress – but he understands both coverage concepts and leverage. McCaffrey was dangerous enough with the ball in his hands that Rice would manufacture touches for him on end-arounds. No surprise for the former skilled scrambler. McCaffrey had 25 broken tackles in the last two years with zero fumbles. If his route-running continues to improve, he’s going to provide big ROI on his draft slot in April.
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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