Dynasty Rookie Draft Advice: Troy Franklin, Luke McCaffrey, Ja’Tavion Sanders (2024 Fantasy Football)

The 2024 NFL Draft has come and gone. While the real NFL draft is over, the fantasy football drafts are just beginning! That’s especially true when it comes to dynasty rookie drafts. NFL Draft landing spots allow us to start to zero in on fantasy football and dynasty rookie draft pick values. Let’s dive into our dynasty rookie draft outlook and advice for a few rookies.

Fantasy Football Rookie Draft Outlook

Here’s what Fitz expects for a few rookies selected during the 2024 NFL Draft.

Commanders Draft Luke McCaffrey

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.

Check out his full dynasty rookie draft profile

Panthers Draft Ja’Tavion Sanders

The Carolina Panthers have addressed a need at tight end by taking Ja’Tavion Sanders of Texas with the first pick of the fourth round.

Sanders topped 600 receiving yards in each of his last two college seasons with the Longhorns, catching 54 passes for 613 yards and five touchdowns in 2022, and catching 45 passes for 682 yards and two touchdowns in 2023. He averaged 15.2 yards per catch in 2023 — an impressive number for a tight end.

Sanders has 4.69 speed, giving him appealing potential on seam routes. He’s good after the catch, and he has a terrific pair of hands. Sanders wasn’t charged with a single drop in 2023. He just turned 21, so there may still be some untapped potential here.

The 6-3½, 245 Sanders has suboptimal size for an NFL tight end, and he was able to do only eight reps on the bench press at his combine. It’s unlikely he’ll see much in-line work due to his lack of size and strength, and that could keep him off the field.

Sanders could start right away since the top tight end on the Carolina depth chart at the moment is Tommy Tremble. It’s possible that Sanders could earn enough talents to become fantasy-relevant right away, though it might be unwise to get too aggressive drafting Sanders, since the Panthers had the fewest passing yards in the league last season

In dynasty, I have Sanders ranked TE2 among rookies and TE21 overall. He’s likely to come off the board somewhere in the latter part of the third round of 1QB rookie drafts and in the fourth round of superflex rookie drafts.

Sanders’ predraft FantasyPros Expert Consensus ranking was TE26 in half-point PPR formats, and he had a predraft Underdog best-ball ADP of TE29. I have Wilson ranked TE29 for redraft.

Check out his full dynasty rookie draft profile

Broncos Draft Troy Franklin

The Denver Broncos finally stopped the unexpected draft slide of Oregon WR Troy Franklin, trading up to take him with the second pick of the fourth round.

Franklin was a big-play machine for the Ducks. After breaking out with 61 catches for 891 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior in 2022, Franklin went nuclear in 2023, with 81 catches for 1,383 yards and 14 touchdowns in 13 games. He averaged an impressive 3.32 yards per route run last season.

The 6-1½, 176-pound Franklin ran a 4.41 at the combine, and his speed shows up on tape. He’s good at tracking the ball and makes some impressive leaping catches — not surprising for a prospect who has a 39-inch vertical jump. Franklin is also a surprisingly good tackle-breaker after the catch for a slender receiver.

The big question with Franklin is how he’ll hold up in the NFL with his rail-thin frame. He has questionable playing strength, which could make him easy to jam at the line of scrimmage. Franklin was charged with nine drops last season.

The Broncos needed to add firepower at the position. Their top three receivers entering the draft: Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims and Josh Reynolds. Sutton is seeking a new contract and recently skipped voluntary team workouts. Mims is still unproven. Reynolds is basically just a depth piece. There’s immediate opportunity for Franklin to step in and play a significant, fantasy-relevant role for Denver.

As a bonus, Franklin is joining his quarterback of the last two years, Bo Nix, whom the Broncos selected with the 12th overall pick of the draft. Chemistry between Nix and Franklin shouldn’t be an issue.

For dynasty, I have Franklin ranked WR15 among rookies, WR68 overall. Expect him to come off the board late in the second round in 1QB rookie drafts, and in the mid-to-late third round in superflex rookie drafts.

For redraft, Franklin had a predraft FantasyPros Expert Consensus Ranking of RB73 in half-point PPR redraft leagues. Franklin’s predraft Underdog best-ball ADP was RB44. I’m closer to ECR, clotting in Franklin as my WR72 for redraft leagues.

Check out his full dynasty rookie draft profile