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.
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 Miami Dolphins have selected Malik Washington of Virginia with the 184th overall pick of the NFL Draft.
Washington went nuclear at Virginia last season after four unremarkable seasons at Northwestern. He had 110 catches for 1,426 yards and nine touchdowns in 12 games for the Cavaliers. Washington is a springy athlete who ran a 4.47 at the NFL Scouting Combine and posted a Relative Athletic Score of 8.88. The 5-8½, 191-pound Washington is a surprisingly hard to bring down. He broke 35 tackles at Virginia last season, five more than the second-most prolific tackle breaker in this WR class, Malik Nabers. Washington’s quickness and acceleration make him a tough cover for slot corners.
Washington is a somewhat overaged prospect who’ll turn 24 in October, and he was a one-year wonder in terms of production (though in fairness, the Northwestern offense was a sinkhole while Washington was in Evanston). He’s a small, short-armed receiver who figures to be used exclusively in the slot.
There wouldn’t appear to be much of an opportunity for Washington to become fantasy-relevant in 2024, since the Dolphins’ WR duo of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle is one of the NFL’s best. But Washington could win Miami’s No. 3 receiver job as a rookie, at which point he’d be one injury away from fantasy utility. Hill is on record as saying he intends to retire after the 2025 season.
In dynasty, I have Washington ranked WR18 among rookies and WR74 overall. Expect him to come off the board in the late second round or early third round of 1QB rookie drafts, or in the late third round or early fourth round of superflex drafts.
Washington’s predraft FantasyPros Expert Consensus ranking was WR123 in half-point PPR formats, and he had a predraft Underdog best-ball ADP of WR82. I have Washington ranked WR87 for redraft.
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Thor’s NFL Draft Profile & Player Comp
Malik Washington | Virginia
5084/191 | RAS: 8.88
Comp: Sterling Shepard
If Mitchell is our feast-or-famine explosion guy in-game, Washington is the meat-and-potatoes efficiency counterpoint. A Northwestern transfer who finally blew up last season after transferring to Virginia, Washington is on the older end for draft prospects. He had a very late breakout age, and has catch radius limitations, with short arms on a short frame. But Washington will almost assuredly be starting in the slot by some point during his rookie season. And he has the skill set to produce for years.
A sawed-off slot with a thick build, Washington has a powerful lower body. Springy, with strong leg-drive. He bursts off the line and threatens coverage plans immediately. Catch radius limitations aside, Washington makes the plays he’s physically able to. He’s very dangerous after the catch – a running back in the open field who bursts through arm-tackle attempts. Washington broke 35 tackles last year, five more than the next-highest finisher in this class (Malik Nabers).
It’s not the sexiest profile, and NFL stardom is almost assuredly not in his future. However, it would be a big surprise if Washington didn’t start for years as a valued efficiency/YAC cog out of the slot.
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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