Editor’s Note: As our coverage of the 2016 NFL Draft and its impact on fantasy football continues, we bring you our 2016 winners and losers series. These articles accompany our individual SWOT articles for over 30 prospects, as well as our IDP reviews and mock draft submissions. We’ll follow that up with team-by-team draft reviews because, you know, that’s kind of what we live for.
Make sure you’re ready for your dynasty league rookie draft by staying up on all these articles, checking out our rookie draft guide, rookie rankings, rookie draft cheat sheet and mock draft rooms. There are simply no better resources out there for dynasty fantasy football enthusiasts.
Without further delay, let’s review the post-draft fantasy winners and losers from the NFC West.
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Outside of a few picks from the Seahawks and the Rams, there aren’t many rookies to get too excited about for fantasy purposes in the NFC West.
Before we get into the winners and losers, let’s take a look at all the offensive skill positions drafted by each team in the division.
Seattle Seahawks
C.J. Prosise, RB, Notre Dame (Round 3, pick #90)
Nick Vannett, TE, Ohio State (Round 3, pick #94)
Alex Collins, RB, Arkansas (Round 5, pick #171)
Kenny Lawler, WR California (Round 7, pick #243)
Zac Brooks, RB, Clemson (Round 7, pick #247)
Arizona Cardinals
None. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
Los Angeles Rams
Jared Goff, QB, California (Round 1, pick #1)
Tyler Higbee, TE, Western Kentucky (Round 4, pick #110)
Pharoh Cooper, WR, South Carolina (Round 4, pick #117)
Temarrick Hemingway, TE, South Carolina State (Round 6, pick #177)
Michael Thomas, WR, Southern Miss (Round 6, pick #206)
San Francisco 49ers
Jeff Driskel, QB, Louisiana Tech (Round 6, pick #207)
Kelvin Taylor, RB, Florida (Round 6, pick #211)
Aaron Burbridge, WR, Michigan State (Round 6, pick #213)
Winners
C.J. Prosise
The talented, but inexperienced receiver turned running back, from Notre Dame, can come in and contribute immediately as a pass catcher. If Thomas Rawls’ ankle has not healed by training camp, then the rookie could be in for an even bigger workload. Prosise only has one season at the running back position so he isn’t without his flaws. He is is completely exposed in pass protection and has a lot to learn in that regard if he is going to help keep Russell Wilson upright behind a potential sieve-like offensive line.
Jared Goff
The Rams, unfortunately, did not have any early draft capital to spend on weapons after trading up to select Jared Goff first overall. That didn’t stop them from trying to surround their young signal caller with as much receiving talent as possible. Los Angeles added two receivers and two tight ends on the third day of the draft to go with what they already had.
Michael Thomas
Despite falling all the way to the sixth round, Thomas has a legitimate shot at being the most productive receiver on the Rams. Tavon Austin has gotten much better but he isn’t a prototypical wide receiver. Kenny Britt hasn’t been able to return to the success he had early in his career before gruesome knee injuries robbed him of potential superstardom. Thomas is a skilled at making plays in the air and Goff is accurate enough to place the ball in positions where only Thomas can go up and get it. If the offensive line can protect Goff long enough to deliver the pass this could be a combination to be excited about for fantasy.
Torrey Smith
The 49ers didn’t spend a pick on an offensive skill position until the sixth round. Smith is the only proven receiver on the team and is in a good position to get fed targets in Chip Kelly’s up-tempo offense. Both DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin had fantasy WR1 type seasons under Kelly as his primary receiver so I believe that Smith could see similar success in 2016.
Carlos Hyde
Similarly to Torrey Smith, Hyde will have little competition for carries in 2016.
Losers
Thomas Rawls
I love Thomas Rawls. As long as his ankle heals before training camp I think the starting job is his and I honestly am not scared of competition from the rookies. That said, we can’t ignore the fact that the Seahawks drafted three more running backs. If the injury lingers and Prosise continues to impress running with the ones, then Rawls’ fantasy value could be in jeopardy.
San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback
Everyone assumes that Colin Kaepernick will be the Niners starter Week 1 but we honestly don’t know yet. It could very well be Blaine Gabbert. Either way, the team didn’t do much to help out the position in terms of adding weapons. They did add three offensive linemen so perhaps they can at least keep the quarterback upright before he throws an incomplete pass or an interception.
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Do you see any upside in Marquez North with the Rams? I did not see him on this list but the DLF Cheatsheet puts him at 42 in rookie ranks.
Thanks, the new site is awesome!
I do like Marquez North but I can’t imagine he contributes this season. He is definitely one to watch for because of his NFL size and reliable hands, but he is an uninspired route runner and I have concerns about his ability to separate at the NFL level. His biggest issue is his ability to stay healthy. North is certainly worth a flier in the 4th round of rookie drafts though. I think I probably left him off the list because he was a UDFA and was focusing on drafted players. My apologies.
