Editor’s Note: Make sure you’re ready for your dynasty league rookie draft by checking out our 2019 Rookie Draft Guide, which is now updated with post-draft profiles for all your favorite prospects, our current Dynasty Rookie Rankings and our convenient Rookie Draft Cheat Sheet. Looking to move or acquire some of those picks? Make sure you take a look at our new Dynasty Trade Analyzer to get maximum value. There are simply no better resources out there for dynasty fantasy football draft preparation.
The third round is where you make some dart throws, as usual. There will be players in this round who fall in a lot of drafts and others who will simply be undrafted. At this point, you take your favorite sleeper and move forward. The consensus round three consists of a quarterback who fell in the NFL Draft, four more receivers who have a chance, one tight end who landed in a good spot and six running backs with varying levels of talent and risk. These are some of our favorite rounds to break down.
Let’s keep moving through the draft board!
If you missed it, make sure you check out our 2019 Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings: Consensus First Round and our 2019 Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings Consensus Second Round.
THIRD ROUND TIER ONE (LAST PLAYER IN THE FIFTH TIER OVERALL)
The tiers and commentary I’ll make on this post are my own, comprised of my opinions. Tier one in round three consists of the last player in the fifth overall tier and a quarterback who had a bit of a draft day slide.
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3.01 = Dwayne Haskins, QB NYG
Haskins was surprisingly just the third quarterback taken in the NFL Draft and the Redskins may have landed a steal with him with the 15th overall selection. He’s the first Big 10 quarterback taken in the first round since Kerry Collins (unbelievably) and should challenge Case Keenum early for the starting job in Washington. While the sample size is small and the Redskins need to add weapons, he inherits a good offensive line and landed in a solid situation. Many pundits believe the Redskins may have just landed the best quarterback in this year’s draft class and did so without trading future assets that could help him to do so. With Alex Smith‘s future up in the air and Keenum clearly a bridge quarterback, Haskins looks like a late second or early third round rookie pick and one who could start sooner, rather than later. At this point, it seems clear the career of Alex Smith could be over.
THIRD ROUND TIER TWO (SIXTH TIER OVERALL)
3.02 = Jalen Hurd, WR SF
Hurd is a converted running back who has great ability, but is still clearly learning the position. After the 49ers took Deebo Samuel, this pick seems like a luxury. Hurd will take some serious seasoning, but there’s a lot to like here as well. After all, he did start over Alvin Kamara at running back once upon a time at Tennessee – that’s no easy task. Hurd may end up being a swiss army knife type of player who struggles to find a role on offense. Still, there’s a real boom or bust quality to him and that will merit consideration, likely in round three of rookie drafts.
3.03 = Riley Ridley, WR CHI
Ridley could be more name than game. With Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, Anthony Miller and Cordarrelle Patterson all on the roster, he is going to find it very difficult to carve out early career value. While not nearly the athlete his brother Calvin is, Riley does have a technical makeup NFL teams will love as he’s a great route runner and displays a professional level in the technique department. Ridley looks like a third round pick in rookie drafts and will have a ways to go before making an impact in reality or fantasy. Patient owners could be rewarded, however.
3.04 = Terry McLaurin, WR WAS
McLaurin was taken in the third round as the Redskins went to the Ohio State well yet again after taking the aforementioned Dwayne Haskins. McLaurin is an athletic specimen, but also projects more as a special teams gunner and situational deep threat. The landing spot and draft capital used should be enough to merit consideration for him in round three. He caught 71% of his targets, which was ninth-best in the receiver class. He also averaged 14.3 yards per target, best in the class and caught 11 touchdowns, tied for sixth-most amongst all receivers this year. On the plus side, we also know he has the trust of Haskins and the Redskins aren’t exactly oozing with talented wide receivers.
3.05 = Jace Sternberger, TE GB
While clearly far from the elite prospects we have in this draft like Noah Fant and TJ Hockenson, Sternberger landed in a great spot for fantasy production if he can figure things out quickly. Jimmy Graham is clearly no spring chicken any longer and the Packers have a history of making talented tight ends fantasy relevant. Sternberger is still learning the position, but he came out of nowhere this year and played against some of the best competition in the country. It will take him a while to earn Aaron Rodgers‘ trust (doesn’t it for anyone), but there is some real intrigue with him now in the late second or early third round of a rookie draft.
3.06 = Rodney Anderson, RB CIN
The oft-injured but explosive Anderson fell all the way to the bottom of round six in the NFL Draft and the Bengals finally ended his slide by taking him with pick #211 overall. Anderson will have a tough road to making the final roster, even with Mark Walton being let go earlier in the off-season. He’ll likely battle fellow sixth round rookie Trayveon Williams for the right to backup Joe Mixon when and if Gio Bernard moves on after next season. There are few players with the upside of Anderson. Unfortunately, there may also be none with his injury history. Anderson is going to be a third or fourth round rookie selection for owners who love to attempt to hit home runs…and also owners who tend to strike out. Batter up!
3.07 = Dexter Williams, RB GB
We pretty much nailed this one with our pre-draft summary in the Rookie Draft Guide. Williams fell all the way to the middle of round six and landed with the Green Bay Packers at pick #194. With Jamaal Williams and Aaron Jones spearheading a committee, he’ll slide in and try to make his mark early in camp in an attempt to win a roster spot. With neither Jones or Jamaal Williams having been able to clearly run away with the job, an opportunity for this young rookie could reveal itself. He’s a third rounder at best in rookie drafts, but one with some sleeper appeal.
3.08 = Benny Snell, RB PIT
Snell was an ultra-productive running back in the SEC and gained more than 1,000 yards in each of the past three seasons. He also boasted an impressive 5.3 yards per carry average on a total of 737 carries while at the University of Kentucky, playing against elite competition. On the flip side, Snell only caught 29 passes in his three year career as a Wildcat and absolutely bombed the combine. He should slot in with Pittsburgh as insurance to James Conner and Jaylen Samuels. Snell looks the part of a future committee back, but one with some limited upside, making him a third or fourth round selection in rookie drafts.
3.09 = Trayveon Williams, RB CIN
Williams fell to pick #182 in the NFL Draft and the Bengals likely found their replacement for Mark Walton as a result. With Gio Bernard in the last year of his deal, Williams should be on the roster long-term. However, he’ll have to battle Rodney Anderson for a spot on the roster. He’s a highly productive player from the SEC and could have some long-term value if his talent translates and wins the camp battle with Anderson. He looks like a third or fourth round pick in rookie drafts.
3.10 = KeeSean Johnson, WR ARI
After taking Kyler Murray first overall, the Cardinals spent three of their next six draft picks on receivers, adding Andy Isabella, Hakeem Butler and Johnson. It’s a tough break for KeeSean as he has an uphill battle to make the final roster and avoid the practice squad. Still, he has potential and should be treated as a late round rookie pick. The Cardinals do love his route running ability and that could vault him ahead of the others in camp.
3.11 = Ryquell Armstead, RB JAX
Armstead fits the profile the Jaguars tend to like as a physical runner and this landing spot is sneaky good. Jacksonvile is starting to lose patience with Leonard Fournette and while there’s a long road ahead to fantasy relevance for Armstead, he’s going to be a popular third or fourth round pick as a sleeper in dynasty league rookie drafts.
3.12 Alexander Mattison, RB MIN
The Vikings took Mattison late in round three as the backup to Dalvin Cook and a replacement for Latavius Murray, who signed with New Orleans in free agency. Minnesota was really needing to find an insurance policy for Cook and Mattison should provide just that. However, it’s hard to find a ton of value for Mattison unless Cook was to get hurt. He has the looks of a third round pick or handcuff for Cook owners in dynasty leagues.
Best of the rest: Bryce Love, Daniel Jones, Drew Lock, Gary Jennings, Darius Slayton, Mike Weber, Kahale Warring, Darwin Thompson, Jordan Scarlett, Travis Homer, Josh Oliver, Dawson Knox, Myles Gaskin, Will Grier.
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Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
Funny. 3.01 Dwayne Haskins QB NYG. know how you feel about NYG pick.
This is one of the ugliest 3rd rounds I’ve ever seen in a rookie draft. I’m glad I was able to ditch all my 3rds before being stuck with them this summer.
No Darwin Thompson love? Great landing spot, Damien Williams has a lot of injury history and is not a proven workhorse. Seems like he’s got a much better path for touches than these rbs in a much better offense
