Top 100 Dynasty Rookies for 2024

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from former DLF contributor Travis May. Travis has been posting his top 100 rookies since as far back as 2017 here at DLF and we’re excited to host his initial 2024 rankings.

The Top 100 Dynasty Rookies for 2024 are here. If you’re new to this special I put together every year, it’s simple. This is a list of the top 100 incoming NFL rookies that I believe will be drafted and make a significant impact on fantasy football teams.

This is not necessarily a “how good this player will be for real football game impact” conversation. This is specifically designed for you to use as an initial data set in your fantasy football and NFL Draft research that could help you win fantasy championships for years to come! And of course, it’s here to help you learn a few fun things to help you sound smart talking football with your friends.

Believe me when I say this list has been a work in progress for years. Thanks to some truly odd college fantasy and devy leagues, I’ve been following most of these players since early high school. It’s a blast for me to finally see them in a position to dominate the college landscape, live their dream, and help you (the reader) win fantasy championships.

I used to keep things limited to offensive players, but for those of you who are super nerds like me, having some individual defensive players (IDPs) included is even better.

Some things to note as you read:

The position listed is where I believe they will play most frequently in the NFL:

• EDGE – Odd-front pass rushing outside linebackers or even-front pass rushing defensive ends
• DL – DTs & DEs that will work exclusively between the 0 and 5 techniques on the defensive line
• LB – Off-the-ball linebackers
• S – Players deployed between free safety, strong safety, box defender, and slot corner.
• CB – Players who will almost exclusively play slot or outside cornerback.

The scoring format assumed is Superflex (can start 2 QBs), PPR, and a balance between tackle-heavy and big-play (for the IDPs)

Without further ado, here is the very first Top 100 Dynasty Rookies for 2024:

Tier 1 – Elite NFL Prospects

The phrase “elite” gets a bit overused, but Caleb Williams, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Brock Bowers all profile like elite difference makers with rare production profiles.

1 – Caleb Williams QB1, USC

Williams has been the consensus QB1 in this draft class for more than three years, dating back to his dominance as a high school recruit, and he’s lived up to the hype along the way. 120 total touchdowns and 11,000 yards in just 34 career starts at USC with the uncanny ability to make purely magical off-script plays a la Patrick Mahomes has the entire NFL Draft world excited. Yes, USC struggled as a whole, but outside of a few games Williams played near perfection in college.

Analytically speaking, his profile is off the charts. He is the only QB prospect in the modern analytics era (past decade or so) to post three straight seasons of 90th percentile or better marks in two of the most meaningful metrics in existence today for QB analysis: Scheme Adjusted Pass Efficiency and my QB Modeling Composite.

[Scheme Adjusted Pass Efficiency adjusts for things that artificially inflate efficiencies like play-action, pre-snap motion, and average depth of target to give us a more accurate measure of QB skill independent of any boosts from schematic tendencies. The QB Modeling Composite standardizes and combines 16 variables (like EPA/play, Adjusted Net Yards Per Attempt, QBR, Rushing Yard Market Share, and more) into one composite score that compares all FBS QBs to one another for each individual season.]

In short, Caleb Williams is a unicorn. He may get picked apart for extending plays a bit too long at times, but his profile is impeccable.

2 – Marvin Harrison Jr. WR1, Ohio State

Marvin Harrison Jr. is of course the son of the Hall of Fame wide receiver with the same name, but he is a much more imposing athlete than his father. At 6’4”, 205 pounds, Harrison Jr. is rumored to run a sub-4.4-second forty-yard dash with agility times near the 100th percentile for receivers his size.

He’s been on a top-10 pick trajectory as soon as he scored three touchdowns in the Rose Bowl as a true freshman, posting back-to-back 1200-yard seasons after that.

Harrison Jr. is the only wide receiver prospect in the last 5 drafts to post back-to-back seasons with 3+ Yards Per Team Pass Attempt, a 30%+ Receiving Dominator, 0.25+ EPA Per Team Pass Attempt, and 0.03 Touchdowns Per Team Pass Attempt. All elite marks at key metrics that predict both draft capital and future success.

The mock draft data has been suggesting that he’ll be a Top 5 pick in the NFL Draft for nearly a year now, and that hasn’t changed. Harrison Jr. is a truly special prospect.

3 – Brock Bowers TE1, Georgia

Bowers is the only two-time recipient of the John Mackey Award winner for being the best tight end in the nation. He posted the most productive first three seasons of any tight end in college football history. He ran a 4.5-second forty-yard dash at 240 pounds when he was still in high school. Bowers checks every single box you could possibly imagine for fantasy football success projection.

If you thought the Kyle Pitts hype train was ridiculous, just wait until people realize Bowers is an even better prospect than he ever hoped to be.

Tier 2 – Early First Round Locks

4 – Jayden Daniels QB2, LSU
5 – Drake Maye QB3, North Carolina
6 – Malik Nabers WR2, LSU
7 – Rome Odunze WR3, Washington

Based on the last 100+ mock drafts published over the last 6-8 weeks all four of the players in this tier are very likely to be selected inside the first 12 picks of the NFL Draft. They are just mock drafts, but this is the time of year that those mock draft datasets start to yield decent predictivity vs. actual draft outcomes.

Jayden Daniels rose from late-round pick to first round status thanks to his 100th percentile QV Modeling Composite season. He always had elite mobility, rushing for over 1000 yards in both 2022 and 2023, but Daniels took a huge leap in the deep passing game this season too. Daniels threw 22 touchdowns to zero interceptions on passes over 20 yards downfield in 2023. The upside is obviously tantalizing if he proves his Heisman campaign wasn’t a fluke.

Drake Maye is built more like your prototypical QB prospect (6’4”, 230 pounds), and put up absolutely bonkers numbers as a true sophomore. But he struggled for the first half of his junior year, throwing far too many interceptions, and taking more sacks than he needed to as well (sacked on about 20% of his pressures). The imperfect finish to his career leaves some questions, but he has all the physical tools to ball out and should still be a Top 5 pick.

Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze have battled all year long for the WR2 spot behind Marvin Harrison Jr., but it’s still not clear which one deserves the title. They both easily clear most meaningful production metric thresholds. Odunze profiles as the more physical receiver who wins at all levels of the field. But Nabers is the more efficient, faster receiver, who caught the vast majority of touchdowns 25 or more yards downfield. Nabers gets the edge due to a slightly better production composite overall, but it’s close.

Tier 3 – The Freaks

8 – Brian Thomas Jr. WR4, LSU
9 – Troy Franklin WR5, Oregon
10 – Michael Penix Jr. QB4, Washington
11 – Laiatu Latu EDGE1, UCLA
12 – Dallas Turner EDGE2, Alabama
13 – Jared Verse EDGE3, Florida State
14 – Chop Robinson EDGE4, Penn State

This tier is jam-packed with packed with athletic freaks at their position who bring unique value in some way at their position.

Brian Thomas Jr. likely has the best combination of size, speed, and on-field athleticism in the class. He’s 6’4”, 205 pounds, but scored 12 of his FBS-leading 17 touchdowns on targets 20+ yards downfield.

Troy Franklin consistently logged verified GPS tracking data peaks above 22 miles per hour nearly every week and posted the third strongest production profile among FBS WRs behind only Harrison Jr. and Nabers.

Michael Penix Jr. has perhaps the best deep ball in the entire class and posted back-to-back years above the 90th percentile in Scheme Adjusted Pass Efficiency. His primary concerns will be medical given his three season-ending injuries prior to his Washington years.

And wow, the top of this edge rusher class is special. Laiatu Latu may have medical red flags, but he led the FBS in sacks this season, pressuring the QB on over 20% of his pass rush snaps. Dallas Turner is bendy, strong, freaky athletic pass rusher who finished just behind Latu in pressure rate of around 19%. Jared Verse and Chop Robinson were a bit more inconsistent due to Verse attempting to adjust his playing weight and Robinson fighting through injury at times, but both will be mid to early first round picks given their special NFL edge defender traits.

Tier 4 – Maybe Missing Something

15 – Xavier Worthy WR6, Texas
16 – Keon Coleman WR7, Florida State
17 – Trey Benson RB1, Florida State
18 – Jonathon Brooks RB2, Texas
19 – Braelon Allen RB3, Wisconsin
20 – Jer’Zhan Newton DL1, Illinois
21 – Bo Nix QB5, Oregon
22 – JJ McCarthy QB6, Michigan
23 – Jeremiah Trotter Jr. LB1, Clemson
24 – Edgerrin Cooper LB2, Texas A&M

This group all likely sees early-round draft capital, but there’s perhaps something missing from each of their profiles that keeps them out of the top tiers for now.

Xavier Worthy had the earliest WR breakout in this class and separates easily, but there will be questions about his size and drops.

Keon Coleman makes a couple of wild plays per game, but disappears for long periods of time because he lacks separation ability against better corners and has the weakest production metrics among the Top 10 receivers in this class.

Trey Benson and Jonathon Brooks both clear significant meaningful production thresholds in yards after contact per attempt, breakaway run rate, receiving yard market share, and play with a fun, aggressive, explosive style. However, they both lack long track records with high backfield market share (predictive for feature back capabilities) and have significant injuries on their resume. Brooks of course injured himself just past November.

Braelon Allen was built in a lab physically, squatted over 600 pounds when he was 17, and ran for over 100 yards seven games in a row as a true freshman. His upside and feature profile potential are obviously there. His knocks come with efficiency and consistency struggles for much of year two and three.

Jer’Zhan “Johnny” Newton’s only knock will be his size, but his pressure and sack numbers are wild for his situation. Teams knew he was the only threat on the Illinois front and he still posted over 100 pressures and a dozen sacks over the past two seasons from the interior.

Bo Nix & J.J. McCarthy seem locked into QB5 & QB6 despite both putting up Top 10 QB Modeling Composite seasons in 2023. They’re both underrated mobile assets who execute the offense they’re within nearly perfectly. The questions come with Nix when we dive into how little he was pressured and how often his pass success came underneath. McCarthy was just never asked to carry his team, even in the National Championship game.

This is a bit low for your typical first off-ball linebackers in most rookie drafts, but this is a fairly weak class. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is the son of a former All-Pro linebacker, and plays like it for the most part, with an incredibly high stop rate. But he missed a ton of tackles this year. He has to clean that up. Edgerrin Cooper was a fast riser this season that does it all, racking up 10 sacks and allowing just about a dozen receptions all season long in coverage. But his successes in the pass rush and coverage are the opposite of last season’s performance. Is he a one-year wonder?

Tier 5 – Capital Boost Candidates

25 – Devontez Walker WR8, North Carolina
26 – Adonai Mitchell WR9, Texas
27 – Jalen McMillan WR10, Washington
28 – Ja’Tavion Sanders TE2, Texas
29 – Tyler Nubin S1, Minnesota
30 – Kamren Kinchens S2, Miami (FL)
31 – Bucky Irving RB4, Oregon
32 – Blake Corum RB5, Michigan
33 – Audric Estime RB6, Notre Dame
34 – Chris Braswell EDGE5, Alabama
35 – Bralen Trice EDGE6, Washington
36 – T’Vondre Sweat DL2, Texas
37 – Byron Murphy DL3, Texas

The latest available mock draft data on this tier shows high variance and uncertainty as to where these potential early-round picks may go. However, all of them have shown significant talent, and projectionable production, and could see a huge boost to their rank with some decent draft capital.

Devontez Walker’s calling card is peak speed of 23 miles per hour and single-handedly revitalized North Carolina’s offense this season when his transfer waiver was cleared. Adonai Mitchell scored a touchdown in five separate College Football Playoff games, and features like a dominant red zone threat, catching a touchdown on 20% of his career receptions. Jalen McMillan put up 1600 receiving yards in his last 20 healthy games and has been a carbon copy of Amon-Ra St. Brown since he was a high school recruit. If he gets mid-round capital too he might just be a steal.

Ja’Tavion Sanders could have played edge rusher, defensive line, offensive line, or receiver coming into college but thankfully for us went with tight end. His athletic giftedness and back-to-back 600+ receiving yard seasons make him the clear TE2 in the class.

Both Tyler Nubin and Kamren Kinchens play a physical brand of safety that leads to high tackle totals, but also bring every-down versatility and playmaking ability to give them opportunities to play ball hawk in centerfield. There will be serious debate between the two for top safety.

Bucky Irving, Blake Corum, and Audric Estime all profile quite differently from one another, but could all be in the mix for RB4 depending on how the capital and landing spots shake out. Irving is the high efficiency, explosive runner with elite receiving chops and slight size concerns. Corum is perhaps the best runner of the trio, but likely has athletic limitations for dominant pro projections. And Estime looks like he just got done eating the opposing defense for breakfast at 5’11”, 230 pounds. He’s going to see significant early down and short-yardage looks.

Chris Braswell, Bralen Trice, T’Vondre Sweat, and Byron Murphy all see first round mock draft capital less than 10% of the time at this point, but with a good draft process could rise. Braswell wrangled 13 sacks and brought pressure nearly 20% of the time. Trice has all first tools, but frankly struggled with pressure consistency and actually getting home on sacks. Sweat is a run-stopping monster at 365 pounds, but needs to wreak more pass rush havoc. Murphy brought more pass rush pressure than any interior defensive lineman in the country, but also had one of the highest missed tackle rates. None of these players are perfect, but all have first round upside.

Tier 6 – Peculiar Profiles

38 – MarShawn Lloyd RB7, USC
39 – Ja’Lynn Polk WR11, Washington
40 – Roman Wilson WR12, Michigan
41 – Will Shipley RB8, Clemson
42 – Ray Davis RB9, Kentucky
43 – Dillon Johnson RB10, Washington
44 – Junior Colson LB3, Michigan
45 – Calen Bullock S3, USC
46 – Javon Bullard S4, Georgia
47 – Adisa Isaac EDGE7, Penn State
48 – Gabriel Murphy EDGE8, UCLA
49 – Leonard Taylor DL4, Miami (FL)
50 – Brandon Dorlus DL5, Oregon

MarShawn Lloyd finally looked like the fringe five star talent we always knew he was this past fall. His 8.2 yards per touch was 0.7 more than any other power conference running back in the nation. Why did it take him four years to look like the player we thought he could be?

Ja’Lynn Polk’s year four looks great, but it only came to complete fruition because Jalen McMillan missed significant time with an injury. Before that, he was the clear WR3 on his own team.

Roman Wilson has potentially sub-4.4 forty-yard dash speed, he’s as skinny as a rail, but caught 12 touchdowns this past season. An odd projection and scheme fit, to say the least.

Will Shipley is a do-it-all running back with consecutive 1000-yard seasons with 30+ catches in a struggling offense, but doesn’t have top-tier physical traits or efficiency numbers. Solid floor with a questionable ceiling.

Ray (Re’Mahn) Davis tallied over 1100 yards in a season for three different schools (Temple, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky). He runs downhill, angry, and just proved he could bring some receiving value this past season too.

Dillon Johnson played most of his career in the strangest air raid scheme known to man at Mississippi, but succeeded both there and at Washington. 173 career receptions, feature back build, and an aggressive running style will make him an early Day 3 favorite for many.

Junior Colson misses less than 5% of his tackles and is a shutdown cover linebacker who gave up just three receptions longer than 10 yards on the entire season. Isn’t a projected early pick right now, but should be.

Calen Bullock & Javon Bullard play very different versions of the safety position and don’t measure similarly at all, but both are aggressive ballhawks with top-end speed. Bullock is a tall lanky athlete that can line up anywhere. Bullard is small and compact, but powerful, especially for a free safety type.

Adisa Isaac and Gabriel Murphy were the second-best edge rushers on their own team, but also finished Top 25 in the nation in creating pressure among outside defenders. Adisa Isaac is the freakier athlete.

Leonard Taylor and Brandon Dorlus both got off to fast starts in the pressure department this season, but they also project to fill less productive roles at the next level. If Taylor is a true nose tackle his production will be capped immensely. If Dorlus slots in as a dirty-work five tech in a 3-3-5 (his perfect profile fit) there will be a major tackle ceiling for him too.

Tier 7 – Role Dependent Upside

51 – Xavier Legette WR13, South Carolina
52 – Ladd McConkey WR14, Georgia
53 – Jermaine Burton WR15, Alabama
54 – Johnny Wilson WR16, Florida State
55 – Brenden Rice WR17, USC
56 – Malachi Corley WR18, Western Kentucky
57 – Terrion Arnold CB1, Alabama
58 – James Williams S5, Miami (FL)
59 – Cole Bishop S6, Utah

Xavier Legette did absolutely nothing until year five. The statistical signal from year five and six production is essentially zero for projecting success among wide receivers. He was only productive because they had no one else. He will be the most overdrafted receiver in this draft class.

Ladd McConkey and Jermaine Burton are very different players, but both were never supremely productive for Georgia (or Alabama). They have skill sets that fill a very specific role at the next level, but may not be fantasy production darlings.

Is Johnny Wilson really a wide receiver prospect at every bit of 6’7”, 235 pounds? No. He’s probably the TE3 in this class once a team converts his position. Too athletic at his size not to stick in the league for a long time.

Brenden Rice is of course the son of Jerry Rice, so he’ll be overdrafted by a couple rounds. He deserves some praise after scoring a dozen touchdowns this season, but overall his 40th-percentile production profile by most measures leaves plenty to be desired.

Malachi Corley is built like a running back, but don’t let that fool you. He caught over 250 receptions in his final three seasons for Western Kentucky. He should be a productive slot-only type with flex-worthy weeks galore.

Why is a cornerback even mentioned in this piece? Aren’t they just completely streamable? Yes, but Terrion Arnold is the only first round pick outside corner with a propensity for high tackle volume, slot usage, and even safety potential in his future.

James Williams and Cole Bishop are both tall, long safeties who can play all over the field. Williams could have converted to edge rusher if he wanted to at 6’5” and long arms. But they both also show some inconsistencies in coverage, giving up some big plays at times due to their aggressiveness. They’ll need some good coaching to stick long-term.

Tier 8 – Promising Potential

60 – Jordan Travis QB7, Florida State
61 – Cody Schrader RB12, Missouri
62 – Michael Hall Jr. DL6, Ohio State
63 – Ruke Orhorhoro DL7, Clemson
64 – Kris Jenkins DL8, Michigan
65 – Darius Robinson EDGE9, Missouri
66 – Ben Sinnott TE3, Kansas State
67 – Jaheim Bell TE4, Florida State
68 – Theo Johnson TE5, Penn State
69 – Cedric Gray LB4, North Carolina
70 – Payton Wilson LB5, NC State

Jordan Travis posted three straight 85th percentile or better pass efficiency seasons on top of leading Florida State to an undefeated season last fall. He’s an underrated passer, and despite his age could still see round four draft capital.

Cody Schrader led Division II in rushing yards before he dominated the SEC putting up over 1800 yards from scrimmage and finishing eighth in the Heisman voting. He certainly lacks elite traits, but it’s hard to argue with his production.

Michael Hall Jr., Ruke Orhorhoro, Kris Jenkins, and Darius Robinson create a pretty robust middle tier of defensive line prospects. Yes, Robinson was mainly an edge rusher, but he’s massive enough (just shy of 300 pounds) to flex anywhere along an NFL defensive line. However, that shift in implied role makes him more of a projection than the other three. Hall, on the other hand, almost exclusively plays right defensive tackle. He logged an elite pressure rate from there, but his lack of positional versatility seems to be hurting his draft capital projection. Orhorhoro is a proven pressure-generator, but misses tackles at three times the rate of most first round defensive lineman prospects. Conversely, Jenkins misses almost zero tackles, but just simply doesn’t generate nearly any pressures (surprising, given his hype).

Ben Sinnott, posted the best career production profile outside of the top two tight ends in this class. Jaheim Bell is an undersize versatile swiss army knife that could be used a la Delanie Walker in his prime. Theo Johnson simply profiles like the standard successful athletic archetype at the position.

Cedric Gray and Payton Wilson both totaled more than 220 total tackles over the last two seasons and figure to be green dot candidates early in their careers even if they miss out on early-round capital. Cerebral defenders with range. Gray misses a few too many tackles, and Wilson lacks top-notch athleticism, but in a weaker class they’re solid options.

Tier 9 – Long Shots or Safe Plays

71 – Michael Pratt QB8, Tulane
72 – Jaylen Wright RB13, Tennessee
73 – Jase McClellan RB14, Alabama
74 – Rasheen Ali RB15, Marshall
75 – Kimani Vidal RB16, Troy
76 – Nate Wiggins CB2, Clemson
77 – Kool-Aid McKinstry CB3, Alabama
78 – Cooper DeJean CB4, Iowa
79 – Maason Smith DL9, LSU
80 – Jacob Cowing WR19, Arizona
81 – Ricky Pearsall WR20, Florida
82 – Spencer Rattler QB9, South Carolina

Once we get this deep we’re swinging for the fences or looking for values with capital or a landing spot where they should be on the roster for a good while.

Michael Pratt & Spencer Rattler are the last couple QBs in this class who might actually hold a starting job under the right circumstances. Pratt was a Top 5 G5 quarterback two years in a row. Rattler still has the deep ball and arm talent to convince a GM to give him a shot in the middle rounds.

All three of the cornerbacks in the class should be rostered over anyone below this tier. Dejean offers some interesting return value if that matters for your leagues.

Jaylen Wright and Jase McClellan both led their respective backfields and possess balanced skill sets to succeed after an injury ahead of them on a depth chart.

Rasheen Ali and Kimani Vidal both have strength of schedule questions on their profiles, but were incredibly productive at their peaks.

Tier 10 – Best of the Rest

83 – Sione Vaki S8, Utah
84 – Jaden Hicks S7, Washington State
85 – Jaylan Ford LB, Texas
86 – Jonah Elliss EDGE10, Utah
87 – McKinnley Jackson DL10, Texas A&M
88 – Braden Fiske DL11, Florida State
89 – Jamari Thrash WR21, Louisville
90 – Malik Washington WR22, Virginia
91 – Javon Baker WR23, UCF
92 – Ainias Smith WR24, Texas A&M
93 – Tahj Washington WR25, USC
94 – Joe Milton QB10, Tennessee
95 – Tanner McClachlan TE7, Arizona
96 – Jared Wiley TE7, TCU
97 – Dallin Holker TE8, Colorado State
98 – Daijun Edwards RB17, Georgia
99 – Kendall Milton RB18, Georgia
100 – Frank Gore Jr. RB19, Southern Miss

These final 18 names could be shuffled around quite a bit based on capital and landing spots. They’re mostly intriguing due to one aspect of their game that brings unique value.

For instance, Sione Vaki is not only a fantastic middle-round safety prospect, but he also posted one of the most efficient running back seasons this year out of necessity for Utah.

Braden Fiske doesn’t have high pressure or sack rates, but he does an excellent job forcing multiple offensive lineman to account for him on every play, intentionally creating havoc all over the line.

Javon Baker finished Top 20 in air yards in 2022, but then converted that potential production at a higher clip in 2023 to become one of the best deep threats in the country, averaging 22 yards per reception.

And last, but not least, Frank Gore Jr. is finally in the NFL, unfortunately missing out on the potential to be his dad’s teammate by just a couple of seasons. He’s a bit undersized, but he put together nearly 5000 yards from scrimmage in four years. It would be fun if he hits.

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And that’s all folks. My declaration deadline Top 100 Rookies manifesto for the 2024 NFL Draft is complete! Find me on X (Twitter) @FF_TravisM if you have questions, want to share your own favorite incoming rookies, or perhaps enjoyed this monstrosity of an article. Also, you’ll find all my work here soon at AtoZSports.com where I just started as the College Football Managing Editor. Enjoy NFL Draft season!