Dynasty Rookie Draft Advice: Spencer Rattler (2024 Fantasy Football)

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.

Fantasy Football Rookie Draft Outlook

Fitz’s Fantasy Football Outlook

The New Orleans have selected Spencer Rattler with the 150th overall pick of the NFL Draft, making Rattler an intriguing prospect in superflex dynasty rookie drafts.

Rattler had a circuitous five-year college career that took him from Oklahoma to South Carolina and exposed him to very different offensive systems. He had an impressive first season as a college starter in 2020, throwing for 3,031 yards and 28 touchdowns in 11 starts. But in 2021, Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley benched Rattler in favor of a hotshot five-star recruit named Caleb Williams.

Rattler transferred to South Carolina and initially struggled behind the Gamecocks’ shaky offensive line. But Rattler caught fire in his final three starts of 2022, throwing for 1,044 yards and 10 touchdowns against Tennessee, Clemson and Notre Dame. In his final college season, he threw for 3,188 yards in 12 games, with 19 touchdowns and a 68.9% completion percentage.

The 23-year-old Rattler is an aggressive playmaker with a live arm and some mobility. Rattler improved his stock during the predraft process with a great week at the Senior Bowl and a nice showing at the NFL Scouting Combine. He performed well in both events and also left a good impression in interviews — an important component for Rattler, whose maturity has been questioned at times.

At 6-0, 211 pounds, Rattler lacks prototypical QB size. FantasyPros college football and NFL Draft analyst lists Jeff Blake as a player comparison for Rattler — not an unflattering comp. Rattler can be hyper-aggressive at times, which could lead to an elevated turnover rate when he faces NFL defenses.

On one hand, it’s not encouraging that Rattler fell into the middle of the fifth round after being viewed by some as a likely Day 2 pick. On the other hand, Rattler landed on a team that’s not exactly rock-solid at quarterback. Veteran Derek Carr had an uneven season in his first year with the Saints and heard from the boobirds in some of the Saints’ home games. Rattler could potentially be Carr’s successor.

For dynasty, I have Rattler ranked QB7 among the rookies, QB36 overall. He’ll be an afterthought in 2024 redraft leagues.

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Thor’s NFL Draft Profile & Player Comp

Spencer Rattler (South Carolina)
6002/211 | RAS: 4.13
Player comparison: Jeff Blake

Spencer Rattler is a short, aggressive pocket passer with a snappy arm. The NFL will appreciate his willingness to go through progressions and his poise with heat in his face. Rattler enters this draft process with all the pedigree and experience you’d want. He took 2,676 snaps over his five seasons and has proven that he can run multiple systems, playing with good and bad supporting casts.

Following the 2020 season, Rattler would have been the highest-ranked quarterback in this class. The No. 11 overall prospect in his recruiting class the year before, Rattler became the first hand-picked high school prospect to start for former Oklahoma HC Lincoln Riley (following Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray and Jalen Hurts). As a redshirt freshman in 2020, Rattler ranked No. 4 in the FBS with a 92.5 PFF grade. He was a magician, leading the FBS in PFF big-time throws when under pressure and passing grade out of structure.

But the next year, Rattler got the hook for Riley’s newest five-star recruit – a kid named Caleb Williams. Rattler transferred to South Carolina for the 2022 season. He prefers to play out of the shotgun with the field spread and likes to move around to give himself better vantage points to throw.

This was not a good fit behind South Carolina’s poor offensive line that ranked outside the top 100 in PFF pass-blocking grade both years. Suddenly, the rope Rattler’s high-wire game walked across was in a wind tunnel each snap. He struggled to adapt his game to that during the first 10 games of the season.

But the light came back on for the last three, with Rattler lighting up Tennessee, Clemson and Notre Dame for 10 TD and 1,044 passing yards. Though he had very little help in 2023 outside of WR Xavier Legette, Rattler showed that he had made progress as an in-structure quarterback.

Rattler excels at testing NFL money zones, 10+ yards down the field between the hashes. On throws 10-19 yards down the field last year, he posted a 90.9 PFF grade. On throws 20+ yards downfield, he posted an 88.8 PFF grade.

Rattler remains frustratingly inconsistent due to his live-by-the-sword-die-by-the-sword aggression. On days he doesn’t see the field well and runs cold, he can be rotten. On days he’s feeling it, watch out. He has enough pocket-passing skill to hang around the league as a backup quarterback for a long time. But if things click for him, he also has starter upside.

Check out more NFL Draft profiles and player comps from Thor in our 2024 NFL Draft Guide