Navigating Your Dynasty Rookie Draft: Early 1st

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.

Superflex 1.01 - Caleb Williams, QB CHI

Ever since he took the job from Spencer Rattler as a true freshman, Williams has been destined to be the #1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. His 2022 season at USC was magical; he threw for 4,537 yards and 42 touchdowns and added 382 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground en route to a Heisman trophy. He took a small step back in 2023 compared to the standard he set, but it was still enough to secure his position as the unquestioned first pick.

Courtesy of Sports Reference.

Williams brings a lot of media attention with him, but most of that is just critics taking unfair shots and writing think pieces about his fingernails. Williams himself has done very little to warrant the intense scrutiny he’s received over the last calendar year. Every time he stepped on the field at Oklahoma or USC it was clear beyond doubt that he was the best player on the field.