Four complete rounds of rookie rankings, 48 players total, for your viewing (and drafting) pleasure. Throw your two favorite darts to make-up the final 50 if you so choose. These rankings assume superflex, as the title would suggest, and obviously full-point PPR. Inside the top-48, I ended up with: 5 quarterbacks, 15 running backs, 24 wide receivers, and 4 tight ends; historic (deep) wideout class, whereas the running backs find a cliff quickly, and the tight ends are maybe all-time bad.
Now, if for whatever reason these rankings aren’t enough for you (please don’t @ me and hurt my feelings as a result), you can always find more premier rookie rankings at PlayerProfiler. Additionally, the boss Nate Liss was kind enough to allow the “I’m Outraged” Patrons into his mind, as he dropped his top-36 over here. They’re worth the price of admission alone.
I’ve been sharing some of my rookie thoughts in previous weeks, sharing my top wide receivers here, and top running backs over here. So, going through these four rounds, most of this won’t look too surprising to you guys if you caught the earlier tweets/takes. Enjoy regardless.
Round 4
Not much to say about this round/tier. Gabriel Davis probably is my favorite bet for “chance to outplay” draft position. I like the build at 6-2, 216, and he’s fairly high-end across the board (80th percentile, or higher) at multiple metrics of note:
Eno Benjamin checked a lot of boxes pre-draft, but his near-undrafted status should be a red flag, especially on a roster that wants to go four wide and pass – a lot.
Darnell Mooney was one of this year’s late-game riser (right up to the weeks that preceded the draft). He’s small, had questionable competition, but certainly appears explosive enough. Chicago is out from underneath Mitchell Trubisky, so expect that offense to be in flux for a little while now (but likely headed in the “right” direction).
Round 3
Too high or too low on Zack Moss? You decide. I think Buffalo is a pretty decent spot but is he destined to just work in tandem with Devin Singletary for the long-term? He has an impressive broken tackle rate coming out of school, and clearly handled the workload, but I think he’s kinda just-a-guy.
Devin Duvernay also appears to be polarizing. Baltimore has Hollywood Brown who profiles as a more explosive (likely more talented) player out of the slot. But Brown is small, and has an injury history. Duvernay could have his window open immediately. Decent capital, and he’ll be able to fill the downfield threat/speed role nicely if called on:
Round 2
Justin Jefferson will likely have to start and cut his teeth on the outside, before moving back inside and potentially flourishing post-Adam Thielen.
Henry Ruggs was the first wideout off the board and walks into big-time volume in Las Vegas under Jon Gruden, a coach that has a history of peppering his WR1’s (and also a coach that hasn’t had one to build around since his return to the sidelines; that should change in 2020).
Jalen Hurts is the future in Philadelphia; QB3 may be a little “hot” for some folks but I believe in the talent-character combination and, worst case, the Konami Code-upside (floor). This is the type of player that gets pushed-up my board; just gimme the high percentiles and plus-athlete and I’m cool going down swinging.
Tee Higgins has a chance to grow with his new QB1 and could gobble-up the leftover volume post-A.J. Green (Higgins looks, at least, somewhat similar in build and could win in similar ways).
I’m higher on Michael Pittman Jr., as well. We’re always weary of the players that don’t declare early, but Pittman used his time at school wisely. He parlayed the senior campaign into a strong Combine and eventually, early-round draft capital.
Round 1
I love Jonathan Taylor as much as the next guy; elite prospect coming out in the Saquon Barkley-realm of backs. He looks pretty special through multiple lenses (film or metrics). The talent has never been in question. However, I’ll happily take the plus-pass catching back tied to 24-year old Patrick Mahomes for the near future (and having play-calling wizard Andy Reid on his side isn’t a bad thing, either). Chiefs called Clyde Edwards-Helaire a “better version of Brian Westbrook”. Sometimes, these decisions don’t have to be hard.
Sidebar: Admittedly, chasing situation, or avoiding it in other cases, is a questionable process. Landing spot certainly matters, and should be weighed, but talent should be at the top of our evaluations. All that said, I think adding someone like Mahomes into equation as a proverbial “tiebreaker” or “rule-breaker” makes a ton of sense as well.
Speaking of good landing spots, that’s J.K. Dobbins in Baltimore. Tied to MVP and all-around stud Lamar Jackson, where the ground game is annually the focus, and the runway looks to open after 30-year old Mark Ingram starts to wind down.
Cam Akers is a somewhat raw-yet-talented back that’s only 20-years old. I personally believe the Rams missed their window of opportunity and will now put some kinda gross ball on display, but Akers has a chance to be the focal-point on the ground.
CeeDee Lamb shockingly fell to 17 overall back in March inexplicably. We assume Dallas will be the right thing and pay Dak Prescott; Lamb’s full impact won’t be felt until Amari Cooper moves on.