Navigating Your Dynasty Rookie Draft: Late 4th
Editors note: Dynasty fantasy football leagues are now year-round leagues. Some leagues start the rookie draft immediately after the NFL Draft in late April. Others occur throughout the summer, with a majority happening in the last few weeks before the season kicks off. If you are in a dynasty league getting ready to have its rookie draft soon, you should find our Navigating Your Dynasty Rookie Draft series helpful. We reversed the order of articles this year, counting down from the late fourth round to the early first round.
Dynasty rookie draft season is the time of year when those teams who missed the playoffs turn their attention to the incoming rookie class, and delusions of grandeur take over until the games kick off. Rebuilders are full of glee as they hoard their picks, while contenders are scheming how they can pry some of those picks away, and dynasty players everywhere are champing at the bit to draft their favorite prospect.
This 12-part series will use the latest Superflex Rookie ADP data available at Dynasty League Football. We will focus on the player or players likely to be available in that specific range we’re covering, and will also include options based on the 1QB rookie ADP, whenever actionable, for those who play in that format.
The first round of rookie drafts includes the players we’ve been hearing about for months, if not years, but difference-makers can also be found in the second round and beyond. Each section will encompass four picks, and we will go four rounds deep to help you be as prepared as possible.
Dynasty managers often say late-round picks are worthless and there isn’t anyone worth adding after the third round. I adamantly disagree with this. While the chances of late-round picks becoming top-end players and hitting in fantasy is small, there are always outliers who prove that wrong.
Call me an optimist, but I love late-round picks. The chance of hitting on a diamond in the rough is so enticing. This year especially, I really like the options late in the fourth round of dynasty rookie drafts. I have even found myself selling future rookie picks to move back into the draft to grab some of my favorite players late in the fourth round. While these picks were based on the current ADP from DLF, all of these players are guys who I have personally targeted in my rookie drafts.
Superflex 4.09
Theo Johnson, TE NYG
The former Penn State TE enters the NFL following in the same path as some impressive former Nittany Lions. While they haven’t piled up the points in Happy Valley under head coach James Franklin, they have figured out how to recruit elite TE talent. Penn State has a nice run of TEs being drafted recently including, Mike Gesicki (Dolphins 2nd RD, 2018), Pat Freiermuth (Steelers 2nd RD, 2021), Brenton Strange (Jaguars 2nd RD, 2023), and this season with Johnson going in the fourth round to the New York Giants.
Johnson comes out of college with average production, but elite athleticism. His best season in college was his final year with 34 catches for 341 yards and seven touchdowns. But Johnson absolutely blew everyone away at the NFL combine where he put up a RAS score of 9.93. It was the ninth-best RAS score for a TE all-time among 1,199 players at the position since 1987.
Theo Johnson RAS score per Kent Lee Platte
Options/Strategy
The fourth round of rookie drafts is my favorite spot to take longshots on tight ends. The position is notoriously difficult to hit on, so if I’m not getting one of the top two or three TEs then I’m waiting until later in the draft.
Johnson is a great player to take a chance on with his elite athletic traits. He dropped in early rookie drafts due to Darren Waller still being on the Giants roster, but when Waller announced his retirement in June, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a price bump for Johnson in upcoming rookie drafts. Johnson took a significant amount of first-team reps early on in Giants camp, just feeding the fire.
Pivots
In all honesty, I could see you having to trade up to get Johnson in your rookie draft if the other owners in your league are paying attention. If Johnson isn’t still here when your pick comes up, I would definitely be looking at selecting the guy currently going at 4.11, who I will discuss in a moment.
If you are looking at other options if Johnson is gone, I am a big fan of former Ohio State TE Cade Stover, who went 26 picks later in the same fourth round as Johnson. Stover is interesting because his former Buckeye teammate CJ Stroud urged management to draft Stover. If the franchise QB, who just went second overall in the draft in 2023 is vouching for you, I’m in.
Superflex 4.10
Jacob Cowing, WR SF
This is my favorite late-round WR in this year’s draft. Cowing is a small receiver, I mean small. At 5-8, 168 pounds Cowing was one of the smaller WRs in the draft. But the guy can play. Cowing was an ultra-productive player in college. In five seasons, three at UTEP and two at Arizona, he compiled 316 catches for 4,477 yards receiving and 33 touchdowns. He never had less than 500 yards in a season and went over 1,000 yards twice. In his final season at Arizona he caught 90 passes for 848 yards and 13 TDs.
Jacob Cowing College Stats – Sports Reference College Football
While Cowing is knocked for being small, I’m not as worried about that as I would have been in the past. The game has changed and smaller receivers like the Eagles’ DeVonta Smith and the Vikings’ Jordan Addison have not been slowed down by their slender frames.
Options/Strategy
Cowing wasn’t selected until the fourth round of the NFL Draft by San Francisco. I would have liked to see him go a round earlier, but this was a loaded WR class. The draft class tied a record with seven WRs going in the first round, another three WRs went in the top five picks of the second round (four total WRs in the second), five in the third round, and four in the fourth round with Cowing being the last pick of the round.
When drafting in the later rounds of rookie drafts, I am looking for talent more than anything else. A guy in this round might not seem like he has a path to playing time, but that can change quickly. Cowing joins a loaded 49ers receiver room, but will it stay that way?
Brandon Aiyuk has been disgruntled about his contract and wants an extension, but that hasn’t happened. He reacted by requesting a trade. The team says they aren’t moving him, but we have heard that before. Deebo Samuel will be 29 by the end of the season, and while he has been awesome for the 49ers, he also has never played an entire season in his career. San Francisco seemed to take out an insurance plan when they drafted Florida WR Ricky Pearsall with the 31st pick in the first round.
This would seem to push down Cowing, but Pearsall has already been hurt early in training camp.
Pivots
There are other positions you could target here in the draft. Moving out of this draft spot will be difficult unless you find a manager like me, who absolutely loves taking swings at longshots in the fourth round. There is a chance you could move this pick for a late third or early fourth-round pick or in 2025. Other than that, maybe you could shoot for an older veteran who is a WR3 currently on his team.
Superflex 4.11
Erick All, TE CIN
Iowa has become a tight-end factory over the last 25 years. Head Coach Kirk Ferentz has had 13 TEs drafted in the NFL since 1999. Dallas Clark was the first star TE from Iowa to get things going in 2003. He had a Pro Bowl career and won a Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts. George Kittle was drafted by the 49ers in 2017 and has made four Pro Bowls in six seasons. The 2019 draft saw TJ Hockenson and Noah Fant both go in the first round of the draft. Hockenson is quickly becoming one of the best TEs in the league, while Fant has had moderate success. Sam LaPorta was the second TE selected in the 2023 Draft, coming off the board in the second round to Detroit. He went on to have one of the most successful rookie seasons in NFL history, while finishing as TE1 in fantasy.
All’s only season at Iowa, he spent four years at Michigan, ended with a season-ending knee injury. The injury hampered All during the draft process and caused him to fall to the fourth round of the draft where the Bengals snagged him.
Erick All Player Profile per PFF.com
Options/Strategy
Earlier in the article, I said that the late rounds of rookie drafts are my favorite spot to target TEs. If I’m trying to pull a winning lottery ticket out of the lot, this is where I’m closing my eyes and scratching one off in hopes of seeing the $$$ signs. All might just be that winning lottery ticket.
Players can fall in the NFL Draft for a lot of reasons. High-end players who have shown their talent during their career but have struggled with off-the-field issues or injuries are prime pickings late in the real-life NFL Draft and in your fantasy rookie drafts.
The talent is there if All can get healthy. Currently, he is way down the Cincinnati depth chart behind newly acquired Mike Gesicki and veterans Drew Sample and Tanner Hudson. I think All is worth a stash at the end of your bench or on your taxi squad. I’m not confident anyone in front of him on the depth chart sticks around that long.
Pivots
If you are not feeling TE here or you have multiple fourth round picks and already have taken one, then I would consider the Chargers Brenden Rice, the former USC WR and son of NFL Great Jerry Rice, or Browns WR Jamari Thrash. Both players have an uphill battle for playing time but have shown the ability to make an NFL roster.
Superflex 4.12
Rasheen Ali, RB BAL
This is one of my favorite players to roster in rookie drafts. A couple of months ago you were getting him off the waiver wire, but Ali is a name that is starting to get hot.
The Ravens signed Derrick Henry to be their bell-cow back. He will get the ball all season unless he’s hurt. If he does get nicked up at some point, who is the handcuff RB to own in Baltimore?
I’m putting my money on Ali to eventually win the job. The former Marshall star had a fantastic college career. He broke out as a redshirt freshman with more than 1,743 total yards and 24 total touchdowns. He had a strange sophomore year where he was away from the team for most of the season with no good explanation from the team. But he bounced back last year with more than 1,000 yards rushing and 16 touchdowns. Ali also had 74 catches for 555 yards in those two seasons.
Rasheen Ali College Stats – Sports Reference College Football
Options/Strategy
Keaton Mitchell begins the season on the injured list, and really is just a change of pace big-play back. Justice Hill has been an ok in his career, but nothing special in his six years in the league. He also tore his Achilles tendon three seasons ago, taking away a bit of his explosiveness.
If it wasn’t for an injury at the Senior Bowl where he tore his bicep, causing him to miss the NFL Combine, I think Ali would have gone a lot higher than his fifth-round draft capital. He is an explosive runner and is one of the better pass catchers out of the backfield in this year’s rookie class.
There is an opportunity for Ali to work his way into the RB2 spot and the third-down back role with his receiving ability. At this point in the draft, I’m taking a shot on the upside of a talented back who went late in the draft. Will he ever be the man in Baltimore? The odds are against him, but I think he could end up being a premium handcuff.
Pivots
The other option in SF leagues is to grab a late-round QB with upside. If that’s the direction you want to go, I would be in on the Saints’ Spencer Rattler or the Jets’ Jordan Travis. Both could eventually earn the backup role with an eye to the future with aging quarterbacks ahead of them on the roster.
- 2025 Dynasty Rookie Early Look: Shedeur Sanders, QB Colorado - January 17, 2025
- 2025 Dynasty Rookie Early Look: Ashton Jeanty, RB Boise State - January 15, 2025
- 2025 Dynasty Rookie Early Look: Tetairoa McMillan, WR Arizona - January 10, 2025
