Dynasty Rookie IDPs in the NFL Draft: Day Two Review
The NFL Draft’s faster-paced day two is always pretty intense from an IDP analysis perspective. If Thursday’s opening round was sort of a snoozer for IDPs, with just nine selected, Friday night brought the heat with defensive players flying off the board early and often.
Landing spot and talent brings opportunity, and I decided to rank each position group to try to provide some more immediate and actionable IDP takeaways.
Edge Rushers
From the first round:
1. Dallas Turner, MIN
2. Jared Verse, LAR
3. Laiatu Latu, IND
4. Chop Robinson, MIA
5. Darius Robinson (EDGE/IDL), ARI
6. Bralen Trice, ATL
Drafted in Round Three, Pick No. 74 (eighth edge rusher selected)
The Falcons haven’t had a double-digit sack season from a lineman since Vic Beasley in 2016. Of Atlanta’s current edge options, Trice may represent the best chance to end the streak. A seasoned and productive collegian, Trice has a game that is defined by power: powerful hands and a powerful rush. You won’t see him lean around a tackle. Trice will need snap volume to provide fantasy value, and he has a good shot at it in Atlanta considering the competition for snaps consists of Arnold Ebiketie, Zach Harrison, Lorenzo Carter and James Smith-Williams.
7. Chris Braswell, TB
Drafted in Round Two, Pick No. 57 (seventh edge rusher selected)
Braswell gives Tampa Bay a solid complement opposite the explosive YaYa Diaby. Solid across the board with his power and bull rush, hand usage and bend, Braswell does boast elite speed to work with off the edge. He’s fine as an edge setter, but rushes better out of a two-point stance. My guess is he becomes a good dynasty EDGE4 with upside to be a flex starter in big-play leagues. He at least renders Joe Tryon-Shoyinka useless in the vast majority of leagues.
8. Adisa Isaac, BAL
Drafted in Round Three, Pick No. 93 (tenth edge rusher selected)
A well-rounded stand-up edge, Isaac looks like a high-floor, low-ceiling fantasy option, at least for the first few years of his career. We’ve seen a couple of EDGE1s emerge from Baltimore once they wore different laundry (think Za’Darius Smith in Green Bay, and Matt Judon in New England). I’m interested long-term for sure, but I think through a fantasy lens, Isaac will take a while to register. At minimum in year one he should easily bypass Tavius Robinson and perhaps David Ojabo behind starters Odafe Oweh and Kyle Van Noy. Should Isaac show well early, the rise could come quickly – I’m not convinced the fantasy production will so long as he’s in Baltimore.
9. Marshawn Kneeland, DAL
Drafted in Round Two, Pick No. 56 (sixth edge rusher selected)
A power rusher without much else, Kneeland is a low-upside fantasy option who pairs with Sam Williams as rotational backups behind Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence.
10. Jonah Elliss, DEN
Drafted in Round Three, Pick No. 76 (ninth edge rusher selected)
Elliss joins a crowded edge room that lacks elite options. As a group, Nik Bonitto, Baron Browning, Jonathon Cooper and Drew Sanders can probably get the job done. Elliss adds another high-effort body on the small side of the edge rusher spectrum (6-foot-2, 248 pounds. 33-inch arms). Elliss isn’t bendy but his spin moves are fun, he comes off the line quickly, and he actually generates pretty good push.
With Browning and Cooper entering the final years of their rookie contracts, and Sanders an unknown as he transitions back to edge from off-ball linebacker, Elliss makes sense as a day three swing.
11. Jalyx Hunt, PHI
Drafted in Round Three, Pick No. 94 (11th edge rusher selected)
Coming from Houston Christian, Hunt will have a significant learning curve. If you can stash him on a large taxi squad for a few seasons, the payoff could be similar to what we now have in Bryce Huff. It’s just going to take a while.
Interior Defensive Linemen
From the first round:
1. Byron Murphy II, SEA
2. Braden Fiske, LAR
Drafted in Round Two, Pick No. 39 (fifth interior lineman selected)
It’s not fair to expect Fiske to come close to replacing the impact of Aaron Donald, but Fiske is at least a fun watch with spastic explosion and legit strength in a 6-foot, 292-pound body. Fiske of course lit up the combine with a 33.5-inch vertical jump and a 4.78-second 40-yard dash, and his 9.97 RAS is tempered only by seriously stubby 31-inch arms. Lined up next to sophomore standout Kobie Turner, Fiske has an opportunity to make an immediate fantasy impact as a rookie.
3. Johnny Newton, WAS
Drafted in Round Two, Pick No. 36 (third interior lineman selected)
Considering the value the NFL places on interior defensive linemen with pass-rush chops, it was surprising to see Newton slip out of the first round. He didn’t last long on Friday night, becoming the fourth player to come off the board – and to a terrible landing spot, to be frank. Washington of course already has Jonathan Allen and Da’Ron Payne on the inside, meaning Newton will enter the league as a rotational third option.
Payne is contractually safe for another couple of seasons, while Allen has less security but seems likely to play out the final two years of his contract. For dynasty we’ll need to be patient with Newton, but given his high-level upper-body moves, once he gets on the field we should see some fantasy production. Newton has a motor that runs hot all game long and projects as a natural 3-tech.
4. Ruke Orhorhoro, ATL
Drafted in Round Two, Pick No. 35 (second interior lineman selected)
Most expected Newton to be the first or second defensive tackle selected – and a first-round pick – so it was surprising to see Atlanta move up to grab Orhorhoro near the tippy top of the second round, kicking off a run of four defensive tackle selections over a five-pick stretch.
Orhorhoro, a bit of a developmental prospect, has great height and length at 6-foot-4 with 34-inch arms. At 293 pounds, he’ll need to add some pounds to his frame to be effective at the NFL level. If he can do that while retaining his quickness, he’ll have a shot to be effective for fantasy once veterans Grady Jarrett and David Onyemata – both of whom are on contracts that expire after the 2025 season – are ready to move on with their life’s work.
5. Michael Hall Jr., CLE
Drafted in Round Two, Pick No. 54 (eighth interior lineman selected)
Athletically quick and quick off the line, Hall is a nice prospect as a 3-tech despite not stuffing the stat sheet at Ohio State. At 6-foot-3 and almost 300 pounds, Hall is a little lean but will have time to add the weight while working behind Dalvin Tomlinson, Shelby Harris, Quinton Jefferson and Maurice Hurst. All but Tomlinson are on one-year deals, providing Hall with a path to year two relevancy if he shows NFL ability as a rookie.
5. Maason Smith, JAC
Drafted in Round Two, Pick No. 48 (sixth interior lineman selected)
If you value length in your defensive tackles, Smith is eye candy at 6-foot-5 with 35-inch arms. Powerful, violent and stout against the run, Smith should occasionally rotate in behind off-season acquisition Arik Armstead and Roy Robertson-Harris for the next few seasons. If you’re interested for fantasy, have a spot to stash him for up to three seasons.
6. Kris Jenkins, CIN
Drafted in Round Two, Pick No. 49 (seventh interior lineman selected)
Jenkins isn’t as big as his old man but plays with serious strength and power. He’s not much of a pass rusher though, and without rapid improvement in that area, his fantasy upside is pretty limited. He’ll start out by backing up B.J. Hill (with one year remaining on his contract) and Sheldon Rankins in Cincinnati.
7. T’Vondre Sweat, TEN
Drafted in Round Two, Pick No. 38 (fourth interior lineman selected)
A massive human at 6-foot-4 and 366 pounds, Sweat embodies the look of a nose tackle. And for all the talk about his athleticism, he has a history of struggling with his weight, in addition to off-field concerns. Nose tackles do not make for great fantasy assets, and Sweat is simply not worth a roster spot. His selection is great news for Jeffery Simmons – the less we see of him lined up over the center, the better.
8. DeWayne Carter, BUF
Drafted in Round Three, Pick No. 95 (ninth interior lineman selected)
Carter has intrigue as a 3-tech with the requisite size, but he looks more like an acceptable rotational interior defender than a fantasy points producer. He’ll slide in behind Ed Oliver, DaQuan Jones and Austin Johnson in year one, and will probably always be the DT3 or DT4 on a team’s depth chart.
9. McKinnley Jackson, CIN
Drafted in Round Three, Pick No. 97 (tenth interior lineman selected)
A stout nose tackle at 6-foot-1 and 326 pounds, Jackson can hold his ground. Unfortunately for fantasy he’s not taking any ground from the other guy. Hard pass.
Off-Ball Linebackers
1. Edgerrin Cooper, GB
Drafted in Round Two, Pick No. 45 (first linebacker selected)
After moving on from De’Vondre Campbell in the off-season, Green Bay needed a solid linebacker to pair with Quay Walker. They got more than a solid option in Cooper, who reads what’s in front of him quickly and attacks downhill with authority. Cooper has good size at 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, and 34-inch arms to pair with elite speed for a linebacker (4.51 40-yard dash).
Cooper is a problem off the edge or as a blitzer. I’m a sucker for guys who make plays in the backfield, and Cooper had 17 tackles for loss in 2023 and 30.5 over his career. And with his speed and smooth turns, he can run with guys up the seam in coverage. You hope that length will help him in zone drops and keeping passes from getting over his head, but he’s clunky in his backpedal.
He’s also “leggy,” so I do worry a little about him in run support, though he had college production with an 84-tackle senior year. Cooper’s also not a big hitter and it can take him some effort to get guys down.
Cooper’s selection is of course terrible news for anyone counting on Isaiah McDuffie as a fantasy starter. The fourth-year linebacker will maintain his status as the Packers’ third linebacker and is still a fine bench stash in case of injury to Walker or Cooper.
2. Junior Colson, LAC
Drafted in Round Three, Pick No. 69 (second linebacker selected)
Meet the new coach, same as the old coach. Reunited with Jim Harbaugh, Colson landed in a prime landing spot for early linebacker snaps. The Chargers brought in 32-year-old vet Denzel Perryman on a one-year deal in the off-season, and otherwise return second-year pro Daiyan Henley – a draft pick of a previous regime.
Colson has youth – he’s just 21 – and physicality on his side. One concern I have is he’s a high tackler, wrapping up ball carriers around the shoulder pads too often. It’s a recipe for a high missed tackle rate.
3. Payton Wilson, PIT
Drafted in Round Three, Pick No. 98 (sixth linebacker selected)
We anticipated the medicals could be a concern, and they obviously were. Multiple knee and shoulder surgeries caused Wilson – a borderline first-round talent – to tumble to the end of day two. The question of course becomes how limiting will they be at the NFL level, and how much will those injuries shorten his career? Wilson played full seasons in 2022 and 2023 and excelled as a sixth-year senior, capturing the Butkus Award as the nation’s best off-ball linebacker. And he lit up the NFL Combine, registering a 9.81 RAS thanks to a 4.43 40-yard dash. Of course if you watched him run sideline-to-sideline you knew he was fast.
Ultimately the Steelers got a high-effort player and a team leader, an off-ball who is smooth in coverage and can carry backs and tight ends in man, a good tackler and an effective pass rusher. It’s a steal if he holds up to the physical rigors of the NFL game.
Off-season acquisition Patrick Queen is the lead linebacker for the next two to three seasons. And Pittsburgh also has Elandon Roberts and Cole Holcomb, recovering from a devastating knee injury, under contract for 2024. Headed into his second season in 2025, Wilson could find himself in a prime spot for heavy snaps opposite Queen. And even if the injuries cut short his career, we could see three to four seasons of LB1-2 production.
4. Trevin Wallace, CAR
Drafted in Round Three, Pick No. 72 (third linebacker selected)
Wallace has the athleticism you look for in a day-two linebacker, but his recognition skills are wanting. And as long as he stays clean, he can fly to the ball. He’s too often nullified once engaged by blockers though. I’m not overly optimistic about the Panthers hitting on this selection, but Wallace has some time to learn behind Josey Jewell, whose contract keeps him safely in Carolina for the next two or three seasons, and Shaq Thompson, who has a year remaining on his deal.
5. Ty’Ron Hopper, GB
Drafted in Round Three, Pick No. 91 (fifth linebacker selected)
Excellent as a pursuit linebacker, Hopper landed in a tough spot in Green Bay behind Quay Walker, fellow draftee Cooper and McDuffie. Unless something is going on with Walker that we don’t know about – perhaps the team is growing tired of his antics? – Hopper doesn’t have a great path to snaps. At least I like the player.
6. Marist Liufau, DAL
Drafted in Round Three, Pick No. 87 (fourth linebacker selected)
We know Mike Zimmer demands physicality from his linebackers, and Liufau likes to play physically. Like Wallace though, he’s too easy to draw out of position with motion, fakes and eye candy. He’s not a good coverage linebacker, and not a productive one either, with just 118 total tackles over 25 games in 2022-23. Dallas was a good-looking landing spot with Eric Kendricks, Damone Clark and Demarvion Overshown as the top three returning options, unfortunately Liufau doesn’t look like an upgrade on the existing inventory.
Safeties
1. Tyler Nubin, NYG
Drafted in Round Two, Pick No. 47 (first safety selected)
If any team needed to come out of the draft with a starting-caliber safety, it was the Giants. Nubin should quickly rise to the top of the heap here over the likes of Jason Pinnock, Jalen Mills and Dane Belton.
Nubin has a wide receiver background and build at 6-foot-1, 199 pounds and 32-inch arms, and it translates into plays on the ball. He’s versatile, with the ability to play in the box, in the post, or in split safety coverages. He’s not an elite athlete and sometimes takes bad angles to the ball, but overall Nubin is a good tackler.
2. Javon Bullard, GB
Drafted in Round Two, Pick No. 58 (second safety selected)
One of my favorite IDP prospects of this class, Bullard (5-foot-10 and a shade under 200 pounds) has elite read and react skills working downhill. He sees it quick, and he screams downhill from the free safety spot – very much like Antoine Winfield Jr. He has excellent closing speed on anything in front of him. He’s versatile too, having played a lock-down slot defender role in 2022. He joins former Giant Xavier McKinney in Green Bay to form a lethal safety duo.
3. Cole Bishop, BUF
Drafted in Round Two, Pick No. 60 (third safety selected)
An NFL Combine winner with a 9.82 RAS, Bishop carries box safety size at 6-foot-2 and 206 pounds. He’s pretty much a do-it-all safety with ability to effectively man half the field as a split safety, be a physical presence in the box, and play off-coverage as a slot or overhang defender.
Buffalo is experiencing a changing of the guard at safety, bidding adieu in the off-season to long-time stalwarts Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde. The Bills extended Taylor Rapp through 2026, and brought in Mike Edwards on a one-year deal. Bishop may play a part-time role as a rookie, but is slotted into full-time work as early as 2025.
4. Kamren Kinchens, LAR
Drafted in Round Three, Pick No. 99 (sixth safety selected)
If the Rams are interested, I’m interested. On a wide-open depth chart behind Kamren Curl – Quentin Lake, Russ Yeast and Jason Taylor II are the other current safety options – Kinchens has a shot to see meaningful snaps as the season progresses, and perhaps gain fantasy relevance. He’s worth a late rookie draft pick in leagues that require a couple of safety starters given his aggressive downhill nature and ball production (11 interceptions over the past two seasons).
5. Tykee Smith, TB
Drafted in Round Three, Pick No. 89 (fifth safety selected)
Smith has a well-rounded game as a split-field or box safety. I don’t know that he’s going to be anything more than a big nickel option, and he’ll be playing at least behind Winfield Jr. and Jordan Whitehead for 2024. There’s appeal, but given the position and draft capital, in most fantasy leagues Smith is just a waiver wire option.
6. Calen Bullock, HOU
Drafted in Round Three, Pick No. 78 (fourth safety selected)
At 6-foot-2, 188 pounds, Bullock in no way has the size to hold up in the box. And his game is very much geared toward the post. I don’t see any fantasy appeal here.
Cornerbacks
Note: For the sake of my sanity I’m not going to provide a write-up on every corner selected on day two. There are too many, and the position is pretty fungible for fantasy. So I’m only going to focus on my three favorite picks from the evening.
1. Mike Sainristil, WAS
Drafted in Round Two, Pick No. 50 (eighth cornerback selected)
It’s fine to question Sainristil’s overall length – he’s 5-foot-9 with sub-31-inch arms. It’s not a huge deal though considering he’s a slot defender, and you’re not asking him to move outside. Sainristil only played two seasons on defense after converting from receiver, but he looks the part. And if you love physical inside corners, you love Sainristil. He’s a big hitter, and aggressive to the ball when working downhill.
He really showed the ability to quickly read what was in front of him and break. He had six interceptions as a senior, and took two of those to the house. A Mike Hilton clone, he should provide plenty of big plays in Dan Quinn’s aggressive defense. Sainristil’s selection likely pushes last year’s second-round pick, Quan Martin, from the slot to free safety.
2. Cooper DeJean, PHI
Drafted in Round Two, Pick No. 40 (fourth cornerback selected)
DeJean was the draft crush of many, and it was a surprise to see him slip out of the first round. Massively productive with 116 total tackles and seven interceptions over his final two seasons in the black and gold, there are still questions about his ultimate positional fit in the NFL. The Eagles also happened to be stacked at defensive back, with high-priced veterans Darius Slay and James Bradberry locked up for the next couple of seasons. Avonte Maddox returned to help with slot duties along with rising second-year safety/slot Sydney Brown. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and Reed Blankenship are the starting safeties. Oh, and of course the Eagles selected Quinyon Mitchell in the first round.
3. Andru Phillips, NYG
Drafted in Round Three, Pick No. 70 (11th cornerback selected)
Gives the Giants a potential replacement for free agent Adoree Jackson on the outside, and certainly an upgrade at slot defender over Darnay Holmes.
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