dynasty rookie drafts

mcgowan

2026 Dynasty Rookie RB1 Analytical Model: Rankings 5 to 1

Dynasty, Rookie / By /

After years of proven success with my WR1 Analytical Model outperforming NFL Draft Capital at predicting future fantasy success of rookie wide receiver prospects, I unveiled the RB1 Analytical Model last year.  Similar to my long-running WR1 model, which you can find here, this RB1 model was developed using a recipe of the most predictive advanced college statistics that prior NFL fantasy superstars exhibited. 

The goal of these analytical models is to outperform draft capital, as it should. After all, fantasy managers are trying to accumulate the most fantasy points. NFL teams are trying to win football games. For example, in 2024, Bucky Irving and Tyrone Tracy were drafted 6th and 12th in the NFL draft among running backs. The model ranked them 4th and 6th, respectively. 

You can find last year’s 2025 RB1 post-draft published model here. Our model was largely in line with draft capital, with 7 of the first 8 players selected in the NFL draft also in the model’s top 7. A big outlier came a little later. Our model ranked Jacory Croskey-Merritt 11th overall, despite the NFL drafting him 26th among all running backs. 

Now on to the 2026 class. 

This 2026 running back draft class isn’t good. It isn’t bad. No. It is downright atrocious. In these model series, I can typically find 15 “draftable” running backs and wide receivers with ease. Last year, 26 running backs were drafted. This year, even with a terrible overall 2026 class, I don’t have 15 running backs with a “draft-worthy” grade.

You can find the rankings for players 15 to 11 here. 

You can find the rankings for players 10 to 6 here. 

5. Emmett Johnson, Nebraska | RB1 Model Score: 38.0

Based on historical comps, Emmett Johnson’s RB1 Model score of 38.0 gives him a 34.1% chance of having at least one top-24 fantasy season in his career.

Historical Players With Similar RB1 Model Scores:

emmett johnson

The Good

Outside of Jeremiyah Love, Emmett Johnson seems the most likely to secure a role for an NFL team. Why? He is an excellent receiving back. He led all running backs in this class with 30.8 receiving yards per game and 3.8 receptions per game. This earned him 25 points towards his overall RB1 score. 

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stowers

Eli Stowers: The Tight End Built for the Modern Game

Dynasty, Rookie, Rookie Player Profiles / By /

Modern tight ends have one job above everything else: catch the football. Blocking matters. Athleticism matters. But if you can’t be trusted in traffic, none of it plays. Eli Stowers gets that. And it’s why his transition from quarterback to tight end has turned into one of the most impressive developments in college football. Stowers didn’t just convert positions. He became the focal point of Vanderbilt’s offense. In 2025, he led all FBS tight ends in receiving yards, and he did it by winning the same way every NFL tight end has to win: hands, feel, toughness, and consistency. At 6’4” and around 235-239 pounds, Stowers isn’t built like an old-school in-line blocker. He’s built like a modern weapon. And he plays like one. Production That Matters The breakout didn’t come out of nowhere. It was built year by year. In 2025, Stowers caught 62 passes for 769 yards, the most receiving yards by any tight end in the country. He averaged 12.4 yards per catch and played all 12 games as a centerpiece of the offense. The year before, he put up 49 catches for 638 yards and 5 touchdowns, earning First Team All-SEC honors and Mackey Award semifinalist recognition. Across three seasons at Vanderbilt and New Mexico State, he finished with 146 catches, 1,773 yards, and 11 touchdowns. That’s not gadget production. That’s real usage. How Stowers Wins Stowers catches the football first. That’s the foundation. He has strong, reliable hands and shows comfort working through traffic. He doesn’t panic when bodies are around him. He secures the

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2023 DFF SF Rookie Mock Draft – Pre NFL Draft: Round 3

Mock Drafts / By /

The DFF Army got together for its first analyst-only mock draft of the 2023 off-season. Here we randomly selected spots and then ran the draft in a linear order; the settings are Superflex and PPR. Hopefully, this can help give you an early sense of the players you should be considering at the top of your draft and the gems you will want to target later. Check out every second-round selection below and each writer’s reasoning behind their pick.  Click here to see the previous round. Rounds three and four are publishing soon! 

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2023 Rookie Wide Receiver Analytics Spotlight: Zay Flowers

Rookie / By /

Each year I use an established analytical process (The WR1 Model) to forecast who the future dynasty elite wide receivers will be. You can find a detailed explanation of the process here. While some of the nine metrics utilized in the model (relative athletic score, film grade, and draft capital) are not yet finalized, we can begin to get a picture of who the players you want to target are. 

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Zamir White: 2022 Dynasty Profile

Dynasty / By /

Zamir White was the number one RB in his class coming out of high school and a top-ten national recruit before signing with the Georgia Bulldogs. “Zeus,” as he was called, unfortunately, tore his ACL late in his senior season, however, and then tore his other ACL in August 2018, which caused him to redshirt the fall. He worked hard and overcame these injuries, rushing for 408 yards and three TDs on 78 carries in 2019, playing behind D’Andre Swift.

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2022 DFF SF Rookie Mock Draft – Post NFL Draft: Round 3

Mock Drafts / By /

The DFF Army banded together once again for another 2022 DFF Superflex Rookie Mock–post Draft! Now that we have seen where all of the top talent that college football has to offer has landed, it’s time to update those draft rankings. Check out every third-round selection below and each writer’s reasoning behind their pick.

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2022 DFF Draft Coverage: Jerome Ford

All Access, Dynasty / By /

A talented back who boasts NFL-ready size, strength, and speed, Jerome Ford landed in a decent spot with Cleveland. Though his fifth-round draft capital is lower than desired, he will have an opportunity to learn behind a talented stable of RBs in Nick Chubb, Kareem Hunt, and D’Ernest Johnson. Ford does have more than adequate hands, so he could potentially be used in a change of pace, two-minute, or third down role this season if there is an injury or two ahead of him. He will most likely never serve as a lead back in the NFL, but pass-catching backs who garner 10-15 touches a game (which could be in his future as early as 2023) carry fantasy value. Expect to see him selected in the middle of the third round of your dynasty rookie drafts. 

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Dynasty Rookie Draft ADP Primer Post NFL Draft

Dynasty / By /

For each selection, I provided four options for the crowd to choose from.  The winner of that pick was then taken off for the next poll. If a player received too few votes he was also relegated from the next poll in favor of another option. We got solid participation with the first poll receiving over 600 votes at the time this was authored. This method created a pretty strong correlation of what a rookie draft might look like for your Superflex dynasty league.

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2022 DFF Draft Coverage: Khalil Shakir

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Shakir is a talented wide receiver that can carve himself a role in the NFL. The Bills have a very talented wide receiver room already with Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis, and Jamison Crowder. It will be very difficult for Shakir to find meaningful snaps and I would probably be avoiding him in all fantasy formats other than deeper dynasty leagues. I expect him to go somewhere in the late third or later of rookie drafts. 

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2022 DFF Draft Coverage: Troy Andersen

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Anderson joins a thin LB corps in Atlanta and a group of players that have struggled in the NFL. Deion Jones was once considered a rising star, but 2022 is likely his last chance to avoid the fate of an NFL journeyman. The other starter is likely Rashaan Evans, a former first-rounder that couldn’t earn a second contract in Tennessee. The presumptive third linebacker, Mykal Walker, hasn’t gained any traction. Anderson might not seem ready to overtake any of them this summer. Besides, the Falcons’ 2021 second-rounder, safety Richie Grant, couldn’t earn a significant role as a rookie. Anderson, however, has succeeded at everything he’s tried and is a far superior athlete to any of his aforementioned teammates.

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2022 DFF Draft Coverage: Nakobe Dean

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Nakobe Dean came in and produced as a true freshman at Georgia, earning the team’s Co-Defensive Newcomer of the Year Award (25 tackles, 1.5 for loss, two pass breakups). He led the Bulldogs with 71 tackles (1.5 sacks) in his first season as a full-time starter as a sophomore. Dean played through a torn labrum in his shoulder that season. In 2021, Dean was a first-team Associated Press All-American and All-SEC selection after recording 72 tackles, a team-high 10.5 for loss with six sacks, two interceptions (one returned for a TD), six pass breakups, and two forced fumbles in 15 starts for the national champions.

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