Fantasy Football Draft Prep: Ranking the Rookie Wide Receivers in Dynasty
Heath Cummings ranks his favorite rookie wide receivers in Dynasty.
- Heath's Dynasty Rankings: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends | Rookies
- More Rookie Rankings: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends
- More Fantasy Football:Dave Richard's Rookie Dynasty Rankings | Early 2018 Season Preview | Schedule Analysis: Best to Worst
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Before the NFL Draft, I thought this was a pretty weak wide receiver class. Their landing spots, for the most part, didn't make me feel any better.
My favorite receiver coming into the draft is now playing second fiddle to Julio Jones in a best-case scenario. The two receivers who have the most immediate opportunity for targets landed on teams that are among the most run-happy in the league. As a result, I didn't rank one rookie receiver among my top 50 in redraft rankings, but that doesn't mean they don't have any Dynasty value.
Below you'll find a breakdown of my top five rookie receivers as well as a list of every rookie who has cracked my top 80 in Dynasty. I would't take any of these guys before pick No. 9 in a rookie draft this summer.
27. D.J. Moore
I don't know exactly why I (along with most everyone else) anointed Calvin Ridley as the No. 1 rookie receiver over D.J. Moore, but the more I look at it, the more I prefer Moore. The fact that he's two years younger is enough of a tiebreaker for me.
Last year at Maryland, Moore caught 80 passes for 1,033 yards and eight touchdowns in 12 games. He wasn't facing SEC competition like Ridley was, but it's not like he was in the Big 12 either. His size could be a red flag if it wasn't for his intensity attacking the football and his demonstrated catch radius.
The one thing I may push back on is Moore's landing spot. I do think he has a chance to supplant Devin Funchess as Carolina's best receiver, but that won't make him Cam Newton's favorite target. The Panthers have one of the best pass-catching running backs in the league and a tight end who commands a large chunk of the target share. Look for Moore to be inconsistent in his first season, but as Olsen continues to age, the receiver's profile should rise.
31. Calvin Ridley
Ridley's landing spot in Atlanta doesn't provide a lot of opportunity in his rookie year at first glance. Taylor Gabriel only had 51 targets in 16 games last year while Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu hogged a whopping 47 percent of the targets. But Ridley is no Taylor Gabriel.
The rookie out of Alabama is an excellent route runner who should be a good complement to Jones as soon as he forms a connection with Matt Ryan. Assuming all goes well, he's an immediate threat to Mohamed Sanu's role in the offense.
Ridley doesn't have the upside to become a top-12 Fantasy receiver on a consistent basis, at least not without a huge share of his teams targets, but it's not hard to see how develops into a solid No. 2 in Fantasy who could have the occasional WR1 season due to touchdowns.
33. Christian Kirk
Christian Kirk came into the draft as arguably the best slot option in the class, and was drafted by a team with one of the best slot receivers in the game. While there's been some talk that Kirk can and will play outside with Larry Fitzgerald in the slot, I don't really expect the rookie to make a big impact in Fantasy until Fitzgerald is gone and he can move inside. But once that happens, Kirk could take off and be a PPR monster.
Kirk was taken in the second round after the Cardinals selected Josh Rosen in the first. I love the idea of these two growing up together, and if Rosen stays healthy they could be a special duo. Kirk is the only receiver other than Moore and Ridley who I'm comfortable taking in the first round of a rookie draft.
40. Dante Pettis
Dante Pettis has a sneaky opportunity earlier than many people think in San Francisco. Sure, he'll begin his career with Pierre Garcon, Marquise Goodwin and Trent Taylor ahead of him in the pecking order, but I wouldn't expect that to last past 2018. Garcon will be 32 years old before the season starts and missed half of 2017. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone if he's no longer the receiver he once was. Neither Goodwin nor Taylor have the potential to be as complete a receiver as Pettis.
With an offensive mind like Shanahan and a quarterback like Jimmy Garoppolo, there is huge potential for Pettis if he can quickly acclimate to the offense and earn the favor of both. I like his chances of becoming a starting Fantasy receiver by 2019 as much as any rookie not named Moore.
41. Anthony Miller
On the flip side, I'm not sure I like Anthony Miller's opportunity as much as most. I wouldn't be surprised if he earns starts in the slot in his rookie year but I don't have high expectations for his involvement in the offense. This figures to be a team that relies heavily on Jordan Howard, Allen Robinson and Trey Burton. The Bears will also use Tarik Cohen a lot in the passing game, while sprinkling in Adam Shaheen and Taylor Gabriel.
Miller was a second-round pick, so I'm sure the team has plans for him longterm, but it's hard to find a chunk of targets for him in the first two to three years. That's disappointing because he's an extremely talented receiver who topped 90 catches and 1,400 yards each of his last two seasons at Memphis. You just need to be prepared to wait on the talent.
Also in the top 80: James Washington, Michael Gallup, Keke Coutee, Courtland Sutton, Deon Cain, Antonio Callaway, J'Mon Moore, Tre-Quan Smith
















