NFL Draft Dynasty Fantasy Football: Day One Recap

Ryan McDowell Posted On April 24, 2020

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The anticipation of the NFL Draft has been building for months in dynasty leagues and there was doubt if the event would even take place in the midst of the spread of the coronavirus. Because of that, the grand scale event planned for Las Vegas was shut down and the first ever virtual draft was put in place. Let’s run though the picks and discuss their dynasty impact.

1 (1) – Joe Burrow, QB CIN

The Bengals wasted no time in making things official and selected the Heisman Trophy winner in Burrow. Unlike many rookie quarterbacks, Cincinnati seemingly has no plans to sit Burrow as a rookie and are still expected to move on from longtime starter Andy Dalton. Burrow walks into a solid situation with a stacked set of weapons including Joe Mixon, AJ Green and Tyler Boyd. He should immediately be considered a QB1 in dynasty leagues.

1 (5) – Tua Tagovailoa, QB MIA

While there had been multiple reports suggesting Tagovailoa would freefall down the board, he was ultimately selected by the Dolphins just as most have expected for a full year. The #TankforTua plan didn’t go exactly as expected for either side, but they still are together in the end. With Tagovailoa’s health still a concern, he could sit to start the season, with veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick holding down the starting job in the short term.

1 (6) – Justin Herbert, QB LAC

There was little surprise at the top of the draft. With Burrow and Tagovailoa gone, the Chargers made the obvious pick. Herbert was widely considered the third rated quarterback overall and with veteran Philip Rivers gone, Los Angeles needed a long-term answer. Sporting Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Hunter Henry and Austin Ekeler, it is easy to make a case that this is the best landing spot of the three top quarterbacks. Herbert will likely sit behind veteran Tyrod Taylor to start the season.

1 (12) – Henry Ruggs, WR LAS

There had been multiple reports surfacing over the past week that it might be Alabama’s Ruggs who would be the first wideout selected and that is just what happened. In old-school Raiders fashion, the silver and black opted for speed, nabbing the fastest player in the class. The Raiders need a WR1 and while Ruggs is not the typical player for that role, he should be a home run threat for Derek Carr. This landing spot and his WR1 status should help his dynasty value in rookie and startup drafts.

1 (15) – Jerry Jeudy, WR DEN

Another Crimson Tide wideout, Jeudy didn’t last much longer and will now be a rival of Ruggs’ Raiders. Jeudy was selected by the Broncos and will pair with breakout receiver Courtland Sutton to form an exciting young duo. This is an obvious big boost for second-year quarterback Drew Lock but with young tight end Noah Fant also looking for a larger opportunity, will there be enough balls to go around?

1 (17) – CeeDee Lamb, WR DAL

The first big shocker of the night came when the Dallas Cowboys ignored any need and scooped up the best player available in Lamb. With Amari Cooper now locked up to a long-term deal and Michael Gallup still on his rookie deal, no one pegged Dallas to look at the receiver position, but no one really expected Lamb to fall that far, either. Rookie drafts just got very interesting and Jeudy and Lamb could be seemingly capped as WR2s for their own teams while some of the lower-ranked wideouts have very enticing situations.

1 (21) – Jalen Reagor, WR PHI

Speaking of enticing, the big-play machine Reagor was the next wideout selected and could quickly become the new WR1 for Carson Wentz, who was last seen peppering converted quarterback Greg Ward with double-digit targets. Veteran Alshon Jeffery is almost certainly gone and there are bust concerns about JJ Arcega-Whiteside. Like Ruggs in Oakland, Reagor is not the prototypical WR1, but he might see that type of volume.

1 (22) – Justin Jefferson, WR MIN

Sometimes a plan comes together just right. The Vikings acquired this pick in exchange for disgruntled receiver Stefon Diggs and then replaced him with LSU’s Jefferson, who will live in the slot and catch everything Kirk Cousins sends his way. I already prefer Jefferson to his veteran teammate Adam Thielen.

1 (25) – Brandon Aiyuk, WR SF

The wideouts were flying off the board, so the 49ers had to make a move, trading up to select Aiyuk, the speedster from Arizona State. Aiyuk enjoyed a breakout season after N’Keal Harry left for the league a year ago and put himself in the first-round range with a strong Combine. With George Kittle serving as the top passing-game target and the Niners leaning on the running game, even this surprising draft capital likely won’t push Aiyuk into the first round of rookie drafts.

1 (26) – Jordan Love, QB GB

Another major shocker came as history repeated itself with the Packers trading up to select the quarterback Love, just as they had done years ago with Aaron Rodgers. Like Rodgers, expect Love to sit and wait his turn, likely for multiple seasons. That, combined with his raw game, pushes him far down the draft board. This will be a situation to watch for the remainder of the off-season.

1 (32) – Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB KC

Like clockwork. Every year there seems to be some fireworks at the end of round one and this time it came with the Super Bowl champion Chiefs selecting the only running back of the night. Edwards-Helaire was a huge part of LSU’s title run and as the best pass-catching back in the class, he fits perfectly into this Chiefs offense. It would not be an overreaction to consider using the 1.01 rookie pick on Edwards-Helaire.

Current Fantasy Rookie Rankings (Drafted Players Only)

1QB

1.01- Edwards-Helaire
1.02- Lamb
1.03- Jeudy
1.04- Reagor
1.05- Jefferson
1.06- Ruggs
1.07- Aiyuk
1.08- Burrow
1.09- Tagovailoa
1.10- Herbert
1.11- Love

Super-Flex

1.01- Edwards-Helaire
1.02- Burrow
1.03- Tagovailoa
1.04- Lamb
1.05- Jeudy
1.06- Herbert
1.07- Reagor
1.08- Jefferson
1.09- Ruggs
1.10- Love
1.11- Aiyuk

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Ryan McDowell

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

In addition to his senior leadership role here at DLF, Ryan is also a husband, father of three and PE teacher. Ryan is the commissioner of multiple dynasty leagues, most notably the Kitchen Sink Dynasty Leagues. Here at DLF, Ryan’s focus is on identifying, monitoring and analyzing player value.