Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Drafts: A View from the 1.12

For many dynasty players, the highlight of the off-season is the annual rookie draft, and we are now mere days away from many of those drafts kicking off. Once our respective dynasty teams are eliminated from contention (and sometimes even before), we tend to turn our attention to the incoming rookie class, and delusions of grandeur take over. In fact, dynasty players spend nearly the entire off-season preparing for how they will use their draft picks or if they will use them at all.

In this twelve-part series, our team will use the latest data available here at Dynasty League Football, namely our April Superflex Rookie ADP and the Dynasty Trade Finder, to ensure you are as prepared as possible when your draft begins. Based on our most recent ADP data, we'll suggest the player you could soon be adding to your team, and if you don't like that, we'll also include a potential pivot option. In addition, we'll include options based on the updated 1QB rookie ADP for those who play in that format. Finally, using the Dynasty Trade Finder, we'll examine some recent trades that have taken place with each specific draft pick.

We all know the first round of rookie drafts includes the players we've been hearing about for months, if not years, but difference-makers can be found in the second round and beyond, as well. Because of that, we'll also address the other picks that accompany each respective first-round draft slot.

Rookie Selection 1.12

The Pick: Josh Downs, WR

A former four-star recruit out of high school, Josh Downs got off to a slow start in his college career thanks to being stuck behind solid producers and eventual NFL receivers Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome. Once that pair moved on, Downs took over and was quickly the Tar Heels best offensive weapon. Downs racked up over 2,300 yards and 195 receptions the past two seasons and didn't miss a beat following the transition from Sam Howell this season. Downs led the ACC in receptions each of the past two years. Despite his diminutive size, coming in at 5'8" and 171 pounds, Downs was among the leaders in the class in contested catches, totaling 13 on the year.