Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Drafts: A View from the 1.10
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 be soon 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 1.10
The Pick: Zay Flowers, WR
There are always quick risers going into the NFL Draft, and I think Zay Flowers is one in this class. In ADP, he has moved up from 13 to 11 to 10 in the last three months. He was not highly recruited and barely made it into the top 1,200 in the 2019 class. He is only 5’9 and 182 lbs, but he plays bigger than his size and has great speed.
Flowers broke out in 2020 with 892 yards and nine touchdowns. Expectations were high his junior year, but injuries at the quarterback position cause him to have a down year in all categories. He came back for his senior year, and even on a bad team, he had his best year with 78 receptions for 1,077 yards and 12 touchdowns. He can take the defense deep, use short passes to get yards after the catch, and even go across the middle. Flowers has great acceleration, and his route running is already polished for a college player. His ability to start and stop out of breaks allows him to turn defenders around and achieve great separation.
I have loved watching Flowers the last two years and think he is a player that can be played out of the slot and even outside, despite his lack of height. I compare him to another player I loved last year, Jahan Dotson. I think Dotson is better with contested catches, but Flowers, in the right situation, could have an instant impact as Dotson did early in his rookie year. Flowers is my WR4 in this class, and getting him at 1.10, I think, could be a steal.
Zay Flowers is just flat out electric. Very skilled route runner with elite acceleration/burst & can take it to the house anytime the ball touches his hands…man he can play pic.twitter.com/ync5JzzEoV
— Braiden Turner (@bturner23) April 12, 2023
Trade Value
- 1.10/2024 1st for 1.05
- 1.10/2.11 for Jameson Williams
- 1.10 for Rachaad White/3.03
Possible Pivots
1 QB League Options
Rookie Selection 2.10
The Pick: Sean Tucker, RB
Sean Tucker was a 3-star player in 2020 and was ranked RB 58 in his class by 247 Sports. He only had three power five offers and chose Syracuse over Wisconsin and Rutgers. He showed immediately he was an explosive player and finished his time at Syracuse with over 3800 total yards and 31 touchdowns. This production is why many in the Devy community have loved him, but others have varying views of Tucker. In the last three months of ADP at DLF, Tucker has gone as high as 15th and low as 22nd.
Tucker increases his receiving every year and had his most receptions in 2022 with 36 but also had his lowest average yards per reception. He was the focal point of the Syracuse offense and had to carry the team because of the poor passing offense. Tucker has the speed to take it all the way and the power to break through tackles. His stats are even more impressive considering the low score of his blocking compared to other running backs in this class.
👀👀👀
Sean Tucker https://t.co/i9rsu4k1Sz
— Britt Sanders 🧩 (@TheFFSandman) April 12, 2023
Currently, Tucker is going off the board at RB9, which I think is way too low. I have him as a top-five back in this class and as RB4 behind Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Zach Evans. I know some like Zach Charbonnet better, but I think Tucker is more athletic and able to make people miss in space better. Tucker can handle a three-back role, and I think can jump right into being a starter right away.
Trade Value
- 2.10 for Sam Howell
- 2.10/3.09 for Geno Smith
- 2.10/DJ Moore/Jeremy Ruckert for DeVonta Smith
Possible Pivots
Cedric Tillman, Israel Abanikanda
Super-Flex Options
Rookie Selection 3.10
The Pick: Deuce Vaughn, RB
Deuce Vaughn, like Sean Tucker, was a low three-star prospect and was not even in the top 150 players in Texas in the 2020 class. He is only 5’6 and 166 lbs, but he plays bigger than his size and, at Kansas State, was a workhorse. With his size, many would have him as a receiving back. He did have over 1,200 receiving yards in college but also finished with 3,604 rushing yards and 34 rushing touchdowns.
Based on his size, he will not be an every-down back, but many think he could have a role like Darren Sproles. I think Vaughn is very talented, but the odds are against him having a successful career like Sproles. Many of the third-round selections are dart throws, but I would rather go for a wide receiver in this deep class or a running back that has a better chance of being a three-down back. I would rather take gambles on Eric Gray and Evan Hull in the third round. They both are good receiving backs and have more size to get a bigger role with a team.
Trade Value
- 3.10 for Samaje Perine
- 3.10 for Isaiah Likely
- 3.10 for Rashid Shaheed
Possible Pivots
1 QB League Options
- Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings: Cornerstone Report, Week 14 - December 13, 2024
- Dynasty Fantasy Football: Targets Acquired - December 6, 2024
- 2025 NFL Draft: First-Round Dynasty Rookie 1QB Mock - December 6, 2024
