NFL Draft Impact on Fantasy Football

After the NFL draft, a lot of new rookies and already established players’ potential fantasy football production has changed drastically. These lists discussed the most important changes that should help you during your next fantasy football or dynasty football drafts.

Rookie Players heavily affected by the NFL draft: 

1. Jeremiah Love - He is position proof, so the Cardinals do not affect his value too much, except that as a top-three pick, he will likely be getting every touch week one.
2. Carnell Tate - Drafted top 4 increased his value heavily, especially because of 0 competition from the Titans’ receivers and tight ends.
3. Jordan Tyson - His spot in New Orleans will be rough to start with due to the competition, but after the first year, Olave is likely to be gone, and Tyson still will have a very competent quarterback to be attached to in Tyler Shough.
4. Kenyon Sadiq and Omar Cooper - Both got sent to a nightmare spot in the Jets. They have essentially no quarterback, heavy competition in Garret Wilson and Breece Hall, and a coaching staff that is notorious for ruining talent. It will be a miracle if either of them is productive in their first year.
5. Makai Lemon - He is in the same boat as Tyson. Both very talented receivers, both going to a team with strong competition and a solid quarterback. Makai is still expected to produce and will likely become the only receiver for the Eagles after Devonta Smith’s contract ends in two years and AJ Brown gets traded before the start of this season.
6. Jadarian Price - As the backup for Notre Dame behind Love, Price was not expected to go to the first round at all. But now this is a great sign for him. He got taken with the last pick in the first round by the Seahawks, who have shown that they love using running backs as a prime piece in their offense. Kenneth Walker was the Super Bowl MVP for Seattle, having 27 attempts for 135 yards against the Pats. Overall, after the draft, Price has leapfrogged many of the rookies, and there are high expectations for him next year.
7. KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston - These two were both in competition for the fourth-best receiver in the draft, and now they are both on the same team. The Browns selected KC in the first round and Boston in the second. This is not a great spot for either of them. The Browns may lack any receivers, but they still have a very talented tight end and running back in Harold Fannin and Quinshon Judkins, who both will take a significant share of the snaps. Neither of these receivers can produce a notable amount until the Browns find a good quarterback, so don’t expect these two to do well this year, but they still have good potential for the following years.
8. Eli Stowers - The Eagles' second-rounder is a very good receiver; however, he is very poor at blocking, and with heavy competition on the Eagles, he is likely going to be a gadget receiver with a few designed routes per game. Makai Lemon is a slot receiver, so he will likely be competing with Stowers as well, and as the Eagles' first-round pick, he will definitely have a majority share. Even if AJ is traded, Stowers will have to compete with Lemon, Smith, and Barkley, all demanding a heavy share of touches. 
9. Kaytron Allen - He is the Commanders' sixth-round draft pick, and he is heading to a high running back competition team as an unimpressive rookie. He is a dart throw in case the depth changes due to injuries or trades, but even then, he isn’t going to be very valuable.

Non-Rookie Players affected by the NFL Draft: 

1. Tyler Allgeier - He is on the verge of becoming a completely impactful player for your team after Jeremiyah Love got drafted to the Cardinals.
2. Cam Ward - He will likely be so much better with a competent alpha receiver.
3. Wandale Robinson - He might produce a little less, but likely will maintain production because he won’t be covered by the CB1 and will be focused on by defenses.
4. Chris Olave - Because of Jordan Tyson, he is likely to produce less next year, but will still be a great WR 2 option for your fantasy team.
5. Garrett Wilson - With his contract resigning, Garret Wilson will be stuck with the Jets until 2030 while competing the whole time with Kenyon Sadiq and Omar Cooper. He is a very talented receiver, so he is still likely to produce, but almost definitely at a wide receiver two instead of one.
6. AJ Brown - There were already heavy rumors and an almost guarantee that AJ Brown would get signed to the Patriots. Now, after the Eagles drafted Lemon in the first round and the Patriots didn’t draft a receiver despite it being a real need, it isn’t even a question whether or not he will be a Patriot. His value and production are likely to skyrocket with Drake Maye as his quarterback and being the receiver one for the Pats in front of Doubs.
7. Ashton Jeanty - The Fernando Mendoza pick was not a surprise to anyone and is a big upgrade from Geno Smith. Along with Mendoza, the Raiders also took a few offensive linemen to help the weakest part of their team. All of the Raiders’ picks will help Jeanty significantly, and he is expected to be a top-five running back next season.
8. Cam Skattebo - After the rumors of the Giants drafting Jeremiah Love, Skattebo’s value and potential production were going to drop by a ton, but thankfully, the Cardinals drafted Love before the Giants had the opportunity, so Skattebo will almost definitely have the Giants’ run game for himself.
9. RJ Harvey - After drafting Jonah Coleman, Harvey will have to compete with him and JK Dobbins for touches, so he is highly likely not to produce at the amount he did last year, and his future production is equally questionable.
10. Zach Charbonet - Will the first round pick of Jadarian Price Charbonet be expected to at least split carries 50/50, so his upside will be nonexistent next year, but his contract expires next year as well, so his fantasy relevance is not completely gone.

These rookie mock drafts are for dynasty football, showing how these rookie rankings changed because of the NFL draft.

As you can see, there is a large difference between the two drafts. Before the NFL draft, I actually had Fernando Mendoza ahead of the top three receivers, but now, due to the high draft spots, Mendoza has dropped to the 1.05. Jadarian Price has also jumped five spots to get into the middle of the first round, and all the quarterbacks have been dropped quite a bit. Overall, this draft has changed a lot of these rookies and other players’ values for better and for worse, but the star of this class, Jeremiyah Love, hasn’t wavered at all and is looking to be a generational player.

Robert '28

Journalism Student