Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Rankings: Updated Tiers

Ken Kelly Posted On May 21, 2020

It’s been just about a month since the 2020 NFL Draft and things are starting to round into form. With a month’s worth of rookie draft data, updated rankings, more research and a ton of ADP analysis, draft tiers are clearly starting to form within this year’s rookie class. While ranking your rookies going into drafts is clearly important, understanding how they fit into the different tiers is even more critical as you can use that knowledge to maneuver around and acquire more picks, accurately value your draft choices and help reinforce your draft decisions.

With a month of post-draft information in the books, here are how things are shaking out.

TIER ONE

Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB KC
Jonathan Taylor, RB IND

We’ve seen these two players go either first or second in just about every draft out there. It’s hard to argue against either of them. While there has been talk about both of them beginning their careers as part of committee backfields, there’s little doubt both of them are going to rise to the top of their respective depth charts in short order. If you have one of the top two picks this season, you’re likely pretty pleased with either of these players.

TIER TWO

JK Dobbins, RB BAL

At this point, Dobbins looks to be in a tier of his own. While his short-term value may be suppressed by the presence of Mark Ingram, it’s clear the Ravens are going to have Dobbins as their future bellcow as soon as 2021. If you’re willing to wait and punt a bit on 2020 production, Dobbins is going to make for a fairly easy selection at 1.03. If you have a team destined to be really poor next season and are putting yourself in position to tank in order to get the 1.01 next season, I could see Dobbins go in the first two. However, it’s going to take some serious courage to take him over Taylor or Edwards-Helaire.

TIER THREE

D’Andre Swift, RB DET
Cam Akers, RB LAR
CeeDee Lamb, WR DAL
Jerry Jeudy, WR DEN

This is an interesting tier to say the least. Akers has great talent and landed in a good spot with the Rams. Their line is still very suspect and Akers may not have the upside of the three running backs ahead of him on this list, but he’s still a very talented player and should usurp the combination of Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown pretty quickly. Lamb and Jeudy are the two premier prizes of an incredibly deep receiver class. It’s fair to wonder just how both will be used in year one, but they have WR1 talent that will show up sooner, rather than later. Swift could be the big bargain in rookie drafts this year. He has real talent and while Detroit has been a historically terrible landing spot for running backs, all things have to come to an end. If you get Swift at 1.06 or 1.07, you’re likely pretty happy with that.

TIER FOUR

Jalen Reagor, WR PHI

There seems to be a clear top seven that have formed in drafts early on this off-season and Reagor has been the odd man out in almost all of them. Still, he’s looked like a near lock to be the 1.08 in most rookie drafts and his landing spot with the Eagles is obviously a good one. While there are a whole host of receivers who are going to go right around this area, it looks like you’re going to need a top eight pick in most drafts to acquire Reagor’s services.

TIER FIVE

Justin Jefferson, WR MIN
Henry Ruggs, WR LV
Tee Higgins, WR CIN
Michael Pittman, WR IND
Denzel Mims, WR NYJ

And here’s where the run on receivers really begins. Every one of these players has big upside and this almost becomes “dealer’s choice” at this point in a rookie draft. If you have a pick between nine and thirteen, you’re going to land a great prospect here – this is also a great place to maneuver in a draft. If you can pick up an extra pick and move back a spot or two, this is a great area to do just that.

TIER SIX

Brandon Aiyuk, WR SF

You could make a strong case for Aiyuk to move into the tier above, but we’ve consistently seen him ranked and drafted just outside that group. It’s quite possible he is being a bit undervalued as a few receivers taken in round two have overtaken him. Still, the difference between him and that next tier up is pretty minimal.

TIER SEVEN

Laviska Shenault, WR JAX
Bryan Edwards, WR LV
Antonio Gibson, RB WAS
Ke’Shawn Vaughn, RB TB

This tier includes two more receivers who will have a great chance to produce early for their teams. While there are some questions about each of them, this is a deep receiver class and grabbing one of these two is going to be a great pickup in a rookie draft. Gibson and Vaughn are both very intriguing running backs. Vaughn is going higher in many rookie drafts and could hit, but there’s real risk with assuming he’s the long-term answer in Tampa Bay. With Gibson, he seems to be a jack-of-all-trades type who will need a defined role in order to produce consistent fantasy points. In short, this tier has more risk than those above, but still some serious talent.

TIER EIGHT

Joe Burrow, QB CIN
Tua Tagovailoa, QB MIA
Zack Moss, RB BUF

The quarterbacks find themselves here this season and it seems about right. Both of them have the capability to be future QB1s. The positional value just isn’t there to justify taking them too much higher, though. As for Moss, he seems to fit the Buffalo offense perfectly and should find a way to carve into Devin Singletary’s usage rather quickly, though he projects as more of a long-term committee back.

TIER NINE

Darrynton Evans, RB TEN
KJ Hamler, WR DEN
AJ Dillon, RB GB
Chase Claypool, WR PIT
Anthony McFarland, RB PIT
Lynn Bowden, RB LV
Justin Herbert, QB LAC
Devin Duvernay, WR BAL
Van Jefferson, WR LAR
Joshua Kelley, RB LAC

This has become a big tier of ten rather quickly. Evans should take over for Dion Lewis and has upside if Derrick Henry ever leaves. Hamler lost value based on his landing spot. Dillon was a surprise pick, but could make for a nice stash with Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams on the last year of their deals. Claypool, Duvernay and Jefferson all look like good secondary receiving targets in rookie drafts. McFarland could see the field early with James Conner always nicked up. Bowden is a little lost in the shuffle at running back with the Raiders, but has rare ability. Herbert seems like a safe and easy pick at quarterback. Kelley could take the Melvin Gordon role in Los Angeles. So, in short, a lot of “coulds,” “woulds,” and “shoulds” with this group, but no sure things. Still, they all make for great picks in this area.

TIER TEN

Cole Kmet, TE CHI
Adam Trautman, TE NO
Jordan Love, QB GB
Antonio Gandy-Golden, WR WAS
La’Mical Perine, RB NYJ
Tyler Johnson, WR TB
DeeJay Dallas, RB SEA
Jalen Hurts, QB PHI

The players I personally like the best in this tier are Trautman, Gandy-Golden, and Dallas. While none of them look like productive players in the short-term, they all seem to have some nice upside. At this point in a draft, you just take your shots.

That’s how things are playing out. Who would you move up or down? Let us know in the comments below.

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Ken Kelly

Co-Founder at DynastyLeagueFootball

Ken is a corporate trainer by day an a tireless editor of dynasty content by night. His passion for the World Champion Seattle Seahawks is second only to his love of fantasy football and the dynasty format.

Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK