Dynasty Rookie Draft Advice: Will Shipley (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 Philadelphia Eagles have selected Will Shipley of Clemson with the 27th pick of the fourth round.

The 5-11, 206-pound Shipley is a fine athlete who ran a 4.45 at his pro day and posted a Relative Athletic Score of 9.58. He’s an accomplished pass catcher who had 69 receptions in his final two seasons at Clemson.

Shipley had 1,182 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2022, but his third and final season with the Tigers was a bit of a letdown, as he finished with 827 rushing yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games and ceded carries to teammate Phil Mafah.

A resourceful runner who leverages his above-average athleticism, Shipley should be a lock for a roster spot thanks to his pass-catching ability and versatility. But Shipley’s NFL potential could be limited. He’s not exceptional in any area, and while he’s a capable pass catcher, he’s a liability as a pass blocker.

Philadelphia isn’t an ideal landing spot for Shipley from a fantasy perspective. The Eagles added Saquon Barkley in the offseason and presumably will give him a heavy workload. The Eagles also have the very capable Kenneth Gainwell as a backup. Shipley isn’t likely to see much action as a rookie, barring injury.

For redraft, Shipley had a predraft FantasyPros Expert Consensus Ranking of RB75 in half-point PPR redraft leagues and an Underdog best-ball ADP of RB62.

For dynasty, I have Shipley ranked RB9 in this class and RB48 overall.

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Thor’s NFL Draft Profile & Player Comp

5110/206 | RAS: 9.68
Player Comparison: Eric Gray

A master-of-none type who will have to make it as a pass-catcher and special-teamer at the next level. Will Shipley tested well athletically at Clemson’s Pro Day, perhaps salvaging his stock after a down 2023 season. The issue with Shipley is that he doesn’t project to ever be his team’s best early-run runner. Also, he categorically cannot pass-block. For a player of that type, he needs to be an outstanding receiver — he hasn’t been, never breaching 1.00 yards per route run (YPRR) and dropping five balls the past two seasons.

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