Rookie Rankings for Dynasty and Keeper Leagues
This year has a very promising, prevalent crop of potentially prolific fantasy rookies. From a trio of uber-talented RBs in situations to excel, to underrated WRs making the best of the opportunities given. There’s no shortage of excitement for this upcoming 2017 fantasy football season. With seemingly everyone having their own favorite sleeper or underdog it’s sometimes difficult to weed out the wisdom from the weeds needing to be pulled.
Every year there’s usually one name everyone wants to float around as a surefire hero that must be drafted or your fantasy team will be doomed and this year is no different. Leonard Fournette has been as hyped as Ezekiel Elliot as the next big rookie RB to hit the league by storm, but I would strongly advise you to think twice about drafting him as strongly as I would advise you against wearing a cutoff shirt with a three piece suit. As talented as Fournette is, he has not found himself on a team with an offensive line that could carry the corpse of Al Davis to a thousand-yard season. Don’t get caught up in the hype, the evidence is out there for all your favorite rookies if you’re willing to do the research, but don’t worry, Fantasy Couch has your back!
If you haven’t seen it yet there is a clip from Jaguars camp of Leonard getting a warm welcome to the NFL by one of his teammates on the defensive line and that won’t be the last. With a mysterious foot injury keeping him out of the Jaguar’s Week 2 preseason bout with the Buccaneers, there are already numerous concerns and question marks surrounding the 4th overall NFL draft pick who’s playing in Duval County.
One man I was hesitant on after he fell hard in the NFL draft was Dalvin Cook. So far it looks like he’s kept his head on his shoulders and his nose on the grindstone. While it will be interesting to see if Latavius Murray can make up for lost reps in camp from his nagging injury, it looks like it’s become Cook’s job to lose. Even with the starting role, it will be difficult to succeed in an offense with Sam “Bad ACL” Bradford at the helm. Sometimes all it takes is opportunity to get your chance at success in the NFL and if Cook can keep his momentum going he could pan into a quality NFL starter.
Zay Jones is a rare talent in a bit of a pickle of a situation. When he was going to be the slash to Sammy Watkins‘ dash, now an inconsistent and injury prone Jordan Matthews replaces the talented albeit also injury-prone Watkins. Now with only Shady McCoy as a more threatening target, Zay Jones could see a lot more attention from opposing teams.
Another man that fell on draft day but is making the best of his situation is one I’m very impressed with so far this preseason–Dede Westbrook. He was the Biletnikoff Award winner for best wide receiver in college last year and despite landing in a precarious Jaguars position, he’s been showing up at camp and preseason. With Allen Hurns shaping out to be a one-hit-wonder and Marquise Lee already injured, Westbrook could find himself facing a lot of garbage-time points as the WR2 for Jacksonville.
As discussed on a recent podcast, there are also whispers of the second coming of Megatron in Detroit with Kenny Galloday. Although he has been impressive, taking advantage of his snaps, expectations must be tempered when it comes to the crowded WR core in a depressing Lions dink and dunk offense. No doubt he is definitely worth keeping an eye on as his size and catching ability are ideal for what Matt Stafford wants to throw bombs to, but his lack of sideline awareness and subpar route running makes for an unreliable target for the veteran looking for clutch 3rd down sideline receptions and a risky fantasy play as it could limit his red zone targets as well.
As with every year we must always watch out for injuries and while hopes for Mike Williams becoming and IR slot or waiver gem remain strong, cross your fingers for Corey Davis as his hamstring has been nagging in camp and we may not even see him in the unofficial dress rehearsal of Week 3 Preseason which would be very bad for the young wideout still looking to build a rapport with Marcus Mariota. Meanwhile John Ross is finally back at practice in Cincinnati and already turning heads. It will be interesting to see if he plays Saturday, but he should show up Week 3 (Preseason) against Washington where we will take a good look at what the fastest man in the NFL has to offer. Does this Bengals fan writing this article greatly want to see Josh Norman vs. A.J. Green round 2? Of course, but Norman vs Ross? That is football porn for everybody.
