At DLF, we offer a variety of dynasty rankings to share our values and guide dynasty managers towards building dominant and competitive rosters for years to come. Those rankings offerings include regularly updated top-250 lists for 1QB and superflex leagues, along with rookie, devy, IDP, and the original set of Cornerstone rankings in the dynasty space. We pride ourselves on avoiding “cookie-cutter” rankings and allowing our team of experts to present the rankings that they themselves use to build strong dynasty squads.
With that said, when we see a player ranked much higher or lower compared to consensus rankings, it can sometimes raise an eyebrow. While I never doubt or diminish these ranks, I do sometimes wonder why. What am I overlooking about this player that led to the aggressive placement in the data set? That’s exactly what I will try to answer in this series.
I’ve reached out to each of our team members who contribute any type of rankings to Dynasty League Football, asking them about the players they are highest and lowest on, compared to consensus ranks. I hope this series will shed some light on the thought process of our team and potentially change your thinking about individual players.
First up is our lead voice from the DLF Youtube channel, Addison Hayes, who is one of our Superflex Rookie rankers. Addison is bold in his thoughts, and our YouTube viewers likely won’t be surprised by this list of highs and lows among the incoming rookie class.
Rankings Outliers: Addison Hayes
| Higher | | Lower |
| Player | DLF Average | Addison's Ranking | Difference | | Player | DLF Average | Addison's Ranking | Difference |
| Kyle Williams | 22 | 16 | 6 | | Matthew Golden | 11 | 18 | -7 |
| Tre Harris | 18 | 13 | 5 | | Jalen Royals | 34 | 50 | -16 |
| Jaxson Dart | 12 | 9 | 3 | | Trevor Etienne | 31 | 40 | -9 |
1. Kyle Williams has been a big post-Draft riser after earning earlier-then-expected draft capital and landing in a spot where he could contend for a starting role early in his career. You’re above-consensus on Williams. How much does Stefon Diggs' presence impact that ranking? Also, does the Patriots' history of whiffing on wide receiver prospects concern you at all with Williams?
Addison Hayes: I love Kyle Williams. He is by far my favorite and probably most-rostered rookie in this year’s class. And to my credit, I was high on Williams coming into the draft and was hopeful he would be a Day Two pick to hopefully a good landing spot, and boy did both things come true. Williams is this year’s sleeper breakout rookie receiver, like Brian Thomas Jr. was last year and Rashee Rice was in 2023 – both of whom I was heavily in on as rookies.
To answer the questions about Stefon Diggs’ presence and the Patriots draft history bluntly – no, I don’t care at all about either. My pre-draft comp for Williams was actually Diggs, so for him to be able to watch and learn with the veteran is only beneficial, I think. Diggs himself is also a 32-year-old receiver coming off an ACL injury on effectively a one-year deal, as he can be cut next year to save almost $17 million in cap space. Sure, he’s looked good in the clips of camp we’ve seen already, but there’s a world where Diggs is just not who he was prior to the injury, especially at another year older.
To speak to the Patriots' wide receiver history, it doesn’t bother me. Each year and each prospect are independent of each other, even if they’re drafted to the same team. Plus, they have a new general manager, Eliot Wolf, who took over in 2024 and has only been with the Patriots organization since 2020, so any draft decisions New England made before him feel disingenuous to apply to Williams. Granted, Wolf seems to have swung and missed on Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker, but Williams is a substantially better prospect than both guys, and Wolf was the director of player personnel and operations in Green Bay when they drafted Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, and Davante Adams, so I also think he’s capable of some slam dunk picks.
Kyle Williams is a really good prospect. Prior to the NFL Draft, he was actually tied with Tetairoa McMillan, Luther Burden, and Travis Hunter as the top receivers in this class based on my model, then draft capital separated them out. He’s decently sized, runs a 4.4, is a great route runner and one of the best separators in the entire class, and has production to back it up at two programs in college. Plus, he has a better-than-fair chance to be Drake Maye’s WR1 for the foreseeable future. Williams is probably the most slept on receiver in this entire class, and I would not be shocked if he were a top-15 dynasty wide receiver this time next year.
2. Tre Harris was on a record-setting pace last season before suffering an injury. What pushes Harris up your board and how do you see him mixing in with Chargers’ top option, Ladd McConkey?
