george-pickens-steelers-wr.jpg

There are people who would tell you that rookie-only rankings shouldn't change all that much from the NFL Draft until we see them play real football. And I can empathize with that position, but seeing as the current year is the most important and most predictable year in Dynasty, I can't agree with it. It's just important to have a good reason for moving players. Two that have skyrocketed have been George Pickens and Dameon Pierce.

Pickens has been viewed as a future star since he was in high school and only fell to the second round because of injury and non-football concerns. The fact that he landed in Pittsburgh, where they've done a phenomenal job of developing receivers appears to be paying immediate dividends. Pickens has been the star of camp and everyone who speaks of him in Pittsburgh sounds like they're in love. I believe he's already better than Chase Claypool and has more long-term upside than even Diontae Johnson. Now that he's in this system and properly appreciated, I have no problem vaulting him into the first round.

Pierce was a guy I had in early Round 2 with Tyler Allgeier as guys I thought could earn Year 1 roles but may not have long futures as feature backs. But like Pickens, he's proven his worth much faster than I expected, so much so that the expectation now is that he'll lead the team in rushing in Week 1. This seems like the perfect guy for the end of Round 1 in rookie drafts because those teams are usually contenders. I still don't know what Pierce's five-year window looks like, but he could be the second or third most valuable rookie this year. That's worth plenty to a contender.

Other risers in the rankings below are Brian Robinson (maybe the Commanders RB1?), Wan'Dale Robinson, Zamir White, and Jalen Tolbert. 

The five columns to the left the player's names are (from left to right): June PPR ranking, August PPR ranking, non-PPR ranking, Superflex ranking, and tight-end premium ranking. The color coding signifies tiers.