Dynasty Fantasy Football 2022 NFL Draft Impact: Veteran Winners and Losers from Day One
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Dynasty players have been looking forward to this weekend for weeks, maybe even months. For the third straight season, the first round of the NFL Draft was expected to be full of wide receivers and it delivered in spades yet again. By the end of the night, a whopping six wideouts were taken. With all the talented players entering the league, NFL veterans will feel the impact, some fearing for their respective jobs while others will breathe a sigh of relief, at least for 24 hours. Let’s take a look at some of the players (not just wide receivers) who could see their dynasty value affected by this first round rookie class.
However, before we do that, I just have to share some very important observations from tonight’s draft.
1.) The kid who was all jacked up at the Giants pick showed more emotion and fire than any Giants player has in the last five seasons. Next year, he should announce all the picks.
2.) Ickey Ekwonu needs a new tailor. His entire outfit didn’t fit and most of America was just hoping his pants wouldn’t split. They later showed a box jump of Evan Neal where he split two sets of 48″ boxes. If Ekwonu would have tried that in those pants, they would have flown all over the Las Vegas strip. While he’d still fit right in with the things you see in that city, it was a little uncomfortable.
3.) I’m sure Tyler Smith did have to work hard to get his legs healthy when he was young. However, it seems to me Forrest Gump had to deal with a bit more and he killed it for Alabama.
4.) I learned today our podcast host Dan Meylor had to use cow skin on his leg when he slashed his open in a work accident. I’ve always felt there was something a little odd with him, but I didn’t believe he was made of animal parts. It explains quite a bit, though I didn’t picture him as Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs, or I guess Silence of the Cows.
Anyway, on to the veteran winners and losers.
Winners
Marcus Mariota, QB ATL
The Falcons passed on a quarterback and instead added USC wide receiver Drake London in the top ten. While Mariota is still not much more than a stopgap option for Atlanta, the addition of London at least gives him a better chance to survive in a post-Calvin Ridley era.
Result: Winner in the short-term as long as he’s not replaced in the next 48 hours.
Jalen Hurts, QB PHI
The Eagles have said all off-season Hurts was their guy and they backed that up not just by passing on a quarterback, but also by making the move of the night and trading for all-world receiver AJ Brown. Hurts is all out of excuses and needs to make improvements in the passing game, but he has a major opportunity to be successful next season.
Result: Winner at the moment. He still has much to prove, but he now has the arsenal to do it.
Jared Goff, QB DET
While Goff is far from the long-term solution for the Lions (and they could find his replacement in the next day or two), the addition of Jameson Williams should help him out quite a bit. With the pair of Amon-Ra St. Brown and Williams, Goff has some great options to go along with TJ Hockenson, DJ Chark, and D’Andre Swift. The needle doesn’t move much here, but he came out ahead on night one.
Result: Winner at the moment. Let’s see if the Lions add some competition.
Rashod Bateman, WR BAL
The Ravens trade of Marquise Brown was one of the biggest stunners of the night. The receiver depth chart for the Ravens now consists of Bateman, Devin Duvernay, James Proche, and Tylan Wallace. They all move one spot up in the pecking order and even though Baltimore is one of the most run-heavy teams in the league, someone has to catch the ball. Bateman now has a golden opportunity to establish some real dynasty relevance.
Result: All of these players are minor winners, though Bateman is clearly the most exciting.
Daniel Jones, QB NYG
After New York didn’t pick up the fifth-year option on his contract, rumors were swirling the Giants could have been targeting a quarterback with their treasure trove of draft picks. In the end, they went with an edge rusher and a tackle in round one. While Jones is clearly on the thinnest of ice, he survived for at least one more day.
Result: Winner at the moment, but stay tuned. There’s really not much excitement surrounding him any longer.
Sam Darnold, QB CAR and Drew Lock, QB SEA
These two were clearly in danger of losing their respective jobs (and still are through draft weekend). However, both franchises chose against taking a quarterback in round one and while neither is safe and Baker Mayfield is still looming out there for one of these teams, they can certainly breathe a little easier tonight.
Result: Temporary winners, but it’s hard to see either of them ending the weekend with any of their flailing value left unscathed.
Devin Singletary, RB BAL
Persistent rumors have been connecting the Bills with running backs like Breece Hall and Kenneth Walker III for months. In the end, Buffalo passed on the position and instead focused on cornerback. Singletary still has to make it through tomorrow, but this was a good night for anyone who has him on their dynasty rosters.
Result: Clear winner at the moment, but far from out of the woods.
Zach Wilson, WB NYJ
Many believe the Jets won the first round as they somehow came out of it with Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson and Jermaine Johnson. Zach Wilson will now have the likes of Elijah Moore, Corey Davis, and Garrett Wilson to throw to – that’s a clear upgrade from what they’ve been rolling out there the past few years. Zach has a long way to go, but the Jets are seemingly doing the right things to help him.
Result: Clear winner.
Jameis Winston, QB NO
The Saints were another popular team mocked to take a quarterback and they passed on the position in the end. In addition, they traded up for Ohio State’s Chris Olave to ensure they had some Michael Thomas insurance. It’s a solid development for Winston, who is trying to prove he’s the long-term answer in the Crescent City.
Result: Clear winner at the moment, but let’s see if the Saints take a quarterback over the weekend.
Losers
Aaron Rodgers, QB GB
Look, A-Rod is A-Rod and he’s going to produce. Still, it had to be frustrating for Packer fans to see six receivers taken in the top 20 picks, leaving them in the cold with their two late first round picks. Look for Green Bay to add to the depth chart in the coming days.
Result: Loser on paper, but he’s good enough to win and produce with just about anyone.
Mitchell Trubisky, QB CHI
On a night where few real fantasy losers emerged, Trubisky likely took the biggest hit. After the Steelers surprisingly signed him in free agency, they followed it up by drafting the hometown kid in the form of Kenny Pickett. While Trubisky has seemingly increased his value over the past year, his chance at being a long-term answer in Pittsburgh just got a whole lot tougher. Truth Biscuit should start the season, but the leash is going to be short and Pickett will be salivating to get a chance. #buzzkill.
DeVonta Smith, WR PHI
The addition of AJ Brown immediately drops Smith down a peg as he’s no longer the alpha receiver for the team. While the Slim Reaper still has great potential, the addition of Brown to a run-oriented team doesn’t exactly help his dynasty stock.
Rondale Moore, WR ARI
Just when we thought Moore had moved squarely on the dynasty map, the Cardinals pulled a rabbit out of a hat and landed Marquise Brown from the Ravens. With DeAndre Hopkins, Brown, and AJ Green all in the mix, it’s hard to see a really clear path to dynasty relevance for Moore in the short-term. Meanwhile, Green has been moved to droppable after the trade.
Ryan Tannehill, QB TEN
The Titans already run the ball a ton, capping the upside of Tannehill. However, the trade of AJ Brown just took away his star target. While Treylon Burks has a lot of promise, expecting him to match the production of Brown as early as his rookie season seems insane.
Saints Receivers
New Orleans tried to patch things together without Michael Thomas last season and the combination of Kenny Stills, Tre’Quan Smith, and Marquez Callaway just didn’t move the needle enough. The addition of Olave hurts that trio unless Thomas misses more time.
We’ll be back tomorrow night with more winners and losers.
Ken is on Twitter at DLF_KenK
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