When it comes to dynasty fantasy football, identifying cornerstone rookie draft targets is paramount to success. FantasyPros analyst Andrew Erickson has analyzed player potential, team situations and long-term outlooks, and he’s concluded these are three players every dynasty manager should prioritize.
3 Must-Have Dynasty Rookie Draft Targets
Concerns are his late breakout age at 21 years old, but it was in his third season as a redshirt sophomore (2022) when he totaled 762 receiving yards and seven scores en route to a 20% dominator rating. Be aware that he’s been competing for targets with arguably the best college football tight end of all time in Brock Bowers, since he’s been at Georgia. In 2022, AD Mitchell (2024 second-round pick) was also a Bulldog but was firmly behind McConkey on the depth chart. In the two games that McConkey played in 2023 without Bowers healthy, he posted his two highest yardage outputs of his final season.
When it comes to dynasty fantasy football, identifying cornerstone rookie draft targets is paramount to success. FantasyPros analyst Andrew Erickson has analyzed player potential, team situations and long-term outlooks, and he’s concluded these are three players every dynasty manager should prioritize.
3 Must-Have Dynasty Rookie Draft Targets
Concerns are his late breakout age at 21 years old, but it was in his third season as a redshirt sophomore (2022) when he totaled 762 receiving yards and seven scores en route to a 20% dominator rating. Be aware that he’s been competing for targets with arguably the best college football tight end of all time in Brock Bowers, since he’s been at Georgia. In 2022, AD Mitchell (2024 second-round pick) was also a Bulldog but was firmly behind McConkey on the depth chart. In the two games that McConkey played in 2023 without Bowers healthy, he posted his two highest yardage outputs of his final season.
The 6-foot 185-pound WR missed time in his final year at Georgia with injuries, which hurt his final counting stats. But he was still efficient, finishing 8th in the nation in yards per route run (3.26). Even so, McConkey’s game is characterized by his quickness, route polish, and speed rather than physical dominance. His agility in creating separation and his nuanced route-running skills allow him to find space in tight coverage. He will likely be more underrated than most other WRs based on his final-year stats and injuries, but it’s unwarranted. He ran a sub 4.4 at the combine and owned collegiate success at a top program like Georgia.
McConkey has the tools to transition effectively to the professional level. The Chargers traded up with the Patriots in Round 2 to select McConkey. He is on a very weak WR depth chart, so we could easily project the former Bulldog to lead the Bolts in targets.
Even though Jonathon Brooks went as the No. 1 RB, he wasn’t the only top RB to land in a great spot. Trey Benson was selected by the Arizona Cardinals at the top of Round 3 (66th overall). I love the spot for him on an ascending Cardinals offense with James Conner entering the last year of his contract. I fully expect Conner to still be the “bell cow” in 2024 if he is able to maintain his health. Obviously, that’s not a given. But in the meantime, Benson has the size/speed profile to flash his explosiveness while working in tandem with Conner. He posted a 51% missed tackle rate in 2023. If/when Conner goes down, it will be the Benson show in the desert.
Javon Baker couldn’t sniff the field at Alabama (he wanted the ball), so he transferred to UCF during the last two seasons of his college tenure. He enjoyed two strong seasons with the Knights, posting dominator ratings of 23% and 31%. The 6-foot-1, 202-pound WR was a big-play savant, owning the second-highest yards per reception (21.9) nationally in 2023. He ended the season fifth in yards per route run among the 2024 WR draft class (3.21).
Baker reminds me a ton of DeVonta Smith from a route-running and body-control perspective, but Baker has more size and YAC to his game. He was drafted by the Patriots in Round 4 but could make some noise on a relatively weak depth chart. Even though the Patriots drafted Washington’s Ja’Lynn Polk two rounds ahead of Baker, I think the 4th-rounder offers a much higher ceiling as a potential alpha in New England’s passing game. Baker finished fourth in targets and third in receptions of 20-plus air yards in 2023. The only other WRs in the class to do so? The consensus top-four (Marvin Harrison Jr., Rome Odunze, Brian Thomas Jr. and Malik Nabers), who were all selected in Round 1.
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