With the NFL draft behind us, it is now time to turn our attention to the upcoming fantasy football season. In the near future, many leagues will start drafting in their rookie, dynasty and redraft leagues. We rank the top rookies from each skill position (RB, WR, TE, QB) and give brief synopsis of how they should be viewed heading into your drafts. Rookie impacts are generated based on player skill, opportunity, situation and projected team performance. While our rankings below can be used for all formats, we will rank them primarily for the 2017 season and a separate dynasty rankings will soon follow.
2017 Fantasy Impact: Running Backs
2017 Fantasy Impact: Quarterbacks
2017 Fantasy Impact: Wide Receivers
1. O.J. Howard, TE, TB
I describe this pick as a luxury pick for the Buccaneers. I can’t blame them for taking the best available player, but they did already have last year’s breakout star, Cameron Brate. Tampa Bay did a nice job surrounding Jameis Winston with plenty of offensive weapons in the off-season, including DeSean Jackson and draftee Chris Goodwin. Howard is going to have to battle Brate for touches in this offense, and because of that, both players have to be downgraded a bit in their rankings. Brate was going to be ranked as a TE1 for me going into the season, but now with Howard there both of them are more of a high end TE2. No doubt the sky is the limit for Howard and he should surface an elite TE1 in the future, but for now, let others over-draft him higher than his production should warrant. Dynasty leagues should draft him with a 1st round pick.
2. David Njoku, TE, CLE
Njoku has elite athleticism and should have no trouble adjusting to the NFL game, once he works on his blocking technique. He’ll get the opportunity to play right away and unlike Howard he doesn’t much in the way of target sharing. I like his 2017 fantasy more than Howard and he should also have a bright future going forward. The downside to Njoku is that he has to rely on the quarterback play of either Brock Osweiler, Cody Kessler or DeShone Kizer in order to be successful. Re-draft leagues may want to pull the trigger on Njoku before Howard, but it should be the other way around for dynasty formats.
3. Jordan Leggett, TE, NYJ
Leggett is getting the third spot for me simply because of his opportunity and situation. Like many of the tight ends in this class, he needs to improve on his blocking and fix his reputation that he takes plays off and doesn’t give his all at times. While he’s not that fast, he’s big and can still stretch the field, giving the Jets a big target in the middle of the field. New offensive coordinator John Morton is coming over from New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers before that as the wide receivers coach. Both offenses that utilized the tight end position, unlike Chan Gailey’s spread offense. Without much competition at the position, and the Jets’ desire to play and develop the young kids, Leggett should see plenty of opportunity out of the gate. He could be drafted as low TE2.
4. Gerald Everett, TE, LAR
The rams made Gerald Everett a 2nd round pick (44th overall) and there’s no doubt that new Head Coach Sean McVay had an active role in making this pick. McVay, the youngest head coach in NFL history (hired at 30 yrs, now 31), was the former offensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins. As we know, Washington has a star tight end in Jordan Reed and one could see the some similarities between the two players. Even though Everett doesn’t have the football experience as a lot of players, I like him this high because of his situation. As of now, the only tight end on the Rams roster that Everett is competing with is Tyler Higbee, who doesn’t exactly have much experience himself. With improvement, Everett has a chance to not only play right away, but also be a weapon for quarterback Jared Goff. Everett could be drafted as low-end TE2 and will also have value in dynasty formats. Keep an eye on his situation during the preseason as to usage with the first team offense.
5. Evan Engram, TE, NYG
I seem to be lower on Engram than most, and it doesn’t have much to actually do about the player. I didn’t like the pick when the Giants made it because the Giants needed a tight end and they drafted a wide receiver in my opinion. There is no questioning the kids athletic prowess. In fact, he runs a 40 time faster than some wide receivers. I felt the Giants would benefit from a more traditional tight end type of player. Not only does Everett have to work on his inline blocking, but he actually has to line up on the line. Something he rarely did in college. Ben McAdoo is going to have to get creative with how he’ll be used, especially right away with Odell Beckham, Brandon Marshall and Sterling Sherpard already battling for targets. However, when they do figure this out, Everett will be a nightmare for defenses due to the athletic mismatch he will bring to the table. His dynasty outlook is much higher than his 2017 outlook, and you know those Giants fans in your leagues will reach on him in your drafts.
6. Bucky Hodges, TE, MIN
Without boring you just look up and read about Engram again because it’s a similar situation, except Engram is more talented. Hodges will create mismatches because of he’s more of a wide receiver and doesn’t line up as TE very often. He might not see the field that much in 2017 because Minnesota already has Kyle Rudolph. He shouldn’t be drafted in redraft leagues but could be taken in the later round of your dynasty drafts.
7. Adam Shaheen, TE, CHI
I questioned a lot of what Chicago did during the draft, and this was part of it. The Bears used a 2nd round pick on Shaheen and despite Gase’s comments that he could play right away, I believe he’s just too raw of a player at the position. He’s a big man and moves rather well for his size, but he’s going up against Zach Miller and Dion Sims for playing time. Both of whom should beat him without much trouble. He’s someone that I need to see more of, a lot more of, before I use a draft pick on him in any round.
8. Jake Butt, TE, DEN
Butt went later in the draft than anticipated, as Denver selected him with the first pick in the 5th round. His fantasy value relies mainly on the future and not in 2017. Not only is he recovering from an ACL injury, but Denver still employs Virgil Green, Jeff Heurman and ***SPOILER ALERT: One of my sleepers for this season, A.J. Derby. He’ll get his shot in the future but as of now should be left off draft boards.
9. Jonnu Smith, TE, TEN
Like Butt, Smith’s fantasy value is primarily in the future, but that might be as early as next season. He should come in to Tennessee and win the backup duties to Delanie Walker, and could see the field in two tight end sets or if Walker gets hurt. Both of those situations could very well happen. Despite being 33 years old, Walker has 2 more years on his contract and still looks as if he can be a productive tight end. Unless there’s a preseason injury to Walker, I won’t be drafting Smith, but he will be on my “watch list”
10. George Kittle, TE, SF
Kittle ranks last for me here because there are just too many tight ends in San Francisco right now. Vance McDonald, who the niners appear to be shopping, should be the #1 tight end to enter the season as long as he’s still on the team. If by chance he can work his way up the depth chart, obviously his value will go up with it. He’s another one of those “keep your eye on” type of players, but is worth a pick in dynasty leagues.
KEEPER/DYNASTY RANKINGS
- O.J Howard
- David Njoku
- Evan Engram
- Gerald Everett
- Jordan Leggett
- Bucky Hodges
- George Kittle
- Jake Butt
- Adam Shaeen
- Jonnu Smith
- Eric Saubert
- Jeremy Sprinkle
- Michael Roberts
- Mason Schreck
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