I don't know if anyone else realized it, but last seasons draft class was special. So special that if you were to draft a team of all rookies last season, you probably did pretty well in fantasy. You had to draft the right ones of course. Well this got me thinking, what if you drafted a Fantasy football team of the best rookies from last season, what would it look like? So, I thought long and hard, organized my thoughts, and yada yada yada I was able to do it for draft length of 16 rounds! The best part is you can too! However, Before you get too excited here are a few things you should know.
-First off, this will really work best if you are a middle draft pick. This is because it will be hard to get the top player you will need if you want to do this draft right. The good news is there are 5 really good RBs you will be able to choose from in the first two rounds so there is a good chance you will get 2 of them.
-The other thing you will have to be ok with is passing up on some possibly really good rookies and other really consistent non 2nd year players.
-Also, this strategy will work out best for you in an 8-10 person league
-Lastly, you have to understand there’s a good chance you don’t get all of these players. The best way to get them is to take them earlier than they are projected to go. But, if are willing to do cope with these things, you will have the makings for an incredible team!
Now, here is what I have come up with:
1ST ROUND: Alvin Kamara, RB Saints; or Kareem Hunt, RB Chiefs
I would say the best player last season as a rookie was Alvin Kamara. Personally, I would say Kamara should 100% be your first pick for this strategy to work best. I highly doubt you will be able to get Kamara outside of the first round whereas I could definitely see you being able to get Hunt in the 2nd. Only for a last resort in the first round would I pick Hunt, even then I would probably look towards Fournette because I like him better.
2ND ROUND: L. Fournette, RB Jaguars; D. Cook, RB Vikings; or C. McCaffrey, RB Panthers
Leonard Fournette is definitely the guy I would look to get in the second. If not, I would be just fine with Cook or McCaffrey especially in a PPR league.
3RD ROUND: DeShaun Watson, QB Texans
The 4th round would be better, but I would say this is the third round is a safer spot to get him. After the way he played last season he is going to be looked at as a hot commodity even if it was for 5 or 6 games so really the sooner you can get him the better. (obviously not too early because then you won't be able to get Kamara).
4TH ROUND: Juju Smith-Schuster, WR Steelers
WR2 for the steelers and bound to be a solid WR2 for fantasy this season. This might not be what you want to hear, but there's a good chance you won't have a true fantasy WR1 on this team. Juju was the best wideout last season for this class and its going to be hard to change that when he has to compete with Antonio Brown for receptions.
5TH ROUND: Joe Mixon, RB Bengals
A RB bound to breakout next season, Mixon was the one who everyone thought was going to light up the field but never really did. He'll hopefully have a better chance this season to do so with Jeremy Hill now on the Patriots.
6TH ROUND: Cooper Kupp, WR Rams; or Corey Davis, WR Titans
A solid WR for the Rams, I don't expect things to change much for him from a statistical standpoint when they have the face of the franchise, Todd Gurley, who basically carried the offense to victory last season. Truthfully, it might get worse for Kupp with Brandin Cooks on the team, but I think Goff liked Kupp enough to still give him a solid number of targets.
Davis on the other hand is a long shot. He is a definite sleeper compared to Kupp, but certainly has athletic ability to do something in the league. He is my second choice to Kupp and last resort at this pick due to the facts that the Titans don't throw much, when they do its to someone more consistent and safe like their TE or a RB, and Davis didn't do much when he had the chance. Overall, Cooper is the safer pick.
7TH ROUND: Mike Williams, WR Chargers
Williams didn't see much turf last season because of injury, but if healthy he could possibly be a really good addition to the Chargers. He is a sleeper candidate, so don't expect to start him right off the bat.
8TH ROUND: Jamaal Williams or Aaron Jones, RBs Packers
For being rookies and really the only starters on the Packers, both RBs did very well last season. From my understanding, the Packers liked Williams better for the starting role, but Jones averaged a lot better than Williams did. I like both so if you can get either one get them because they could be good this season. I am assuming most people forgot about them too so this is a good spot to snag them.
9TH ROUND: Dede Westbrook, WR Jaguars
10TH ROUND:Evan Engram, TE Giants
11TH ROUND:Jaguars, DST Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jags defense was very good last season for what seemed like for the first time in a very long time, I guess you could say they are coming up on their second season as being a very good defense which works for me.
12TH ROUND: Zay Jones, WR
13TH ROUND:Mitch Trubisky, QB Bears
You might need a Back up QB, I can't promise you anything great from him, but the Bears trust him and they put a lot of talent around him on the receiving side of the ball this offseason, so I definitely am interested in him as a sleeper candidate and so should you.
14TH ROUND:Harrison Butkner, K Chiefs
15TH ROUND: David Njuko, TE Browns
The Browns are going to have a whole new team this season which could work out very well for Njuko. I guess we shall see though because he didn't do that great last season.
16TH ROUND: Trent Taylor, WR 49ers
I guess I will have to call him Mr. Irrelevant because he is the last pick for this draft. He is here mostly because the 49ers are a whole new team and the way he played last season, as little as it was, he did well with what he got and in my book deserves a chance on your bench especially since I basically ran out of players you should pick.