rookie wide receivers

Jaxon Smith Njigba

Final WR1 Dynasty Rookie Wide Receiver Analytical Model Rankings

With another NFL Draft in the books, the final piece of the puzzle is now cemented for the final WR1 analytical model grades. We certainly saw a few surprise names early, “Hello, Jonathan Mingo!” and a few names that fell like once heralded five-star prospect Kayshon Boutte. Draft capital is a significant input into the model so we did see some realignment of the names in the re-draft WR1 model top 15 as well as a couple of new entrants.

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Jaxon Smith Njigba

’23 Rookie WR Analytics Spotlight Series: Don’t Overthink JSN

At this point in the off-season, I prefer to write articles on prospects that aren’t in that elite tier so that DFF members have a value-added when reading. After all most have likely heard quite enough about the top prospects in the class to make their decision one way or the other. For that reason, I haven’t done a deep profile on Jaxon Smith-Njigba. In my mind, he is a no-brainer prospect. 

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2023 Rookie Wide Receiver Analytics Spotlight: Nathaniel “Tank” Dell

Nathaniel “Tank” Dell is consistent with the new wave of undersized wide receivers recently ushered into the NFL. Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith, Justin Jefferson, Chris Olave, Rondale Moore, and Elijah Moore are redefining what it means to be a “prototype” wide receiver. Route running and the ability to create separation are being prioritized over physical size.

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JSN & The Slot Receiver

The fantasy community has adopted a strange tradition – hyping up a draft class a few years down the road, only to completely discredit them the year they’re to be drafted. Maybe not ‘completely’, but it certainly feels that way. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is one of the most recent victims of our yearly tradition. I want to discuss why that is and see if we can draw any significant conclusions about our views on slot usage and production.

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Draft or Pass: Jameson Williams

Jameson Williams is one of the most intriguing prospects in the ’22 class. Williams tore his ACL in January but had an incredible season for Alabama before being named as a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, which is awarded to the nation’s most outstanding WR in college. His incredible speed was displayed every weekend, regularly gashing opponents for chunk gains and long touchdowns, whether through the air or the return game, finishing his junior season with 79 catches for 1572 yards and 15 TDs. The only hole in his statistical profile is that he essentially did nothing until he got to Bama; with Ohio State, he totaled just 15 catches for 266 yards and 3 TDs in his first two seasons combined. Jameson offers a skill set that is required on every single NFL roster, his field-stretching ability could change the potential of an offense as well as possibly elevate other players around him, but I don’t think his stats will be a good representation of his value for the team that drafts him. 

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2022 DFF Superflex Rookie Mock 4.0: Round 1

Sports Illustrated reported that over 10 NFL Teams graded Desmond Ridder as a First-Round Talent. Should Ridder meet that expected capital, his dynasty value will skyrocket above 1.12. Landing Ridder anywhere in the second half of your rookie drafts is exceptional value. I would not be surprised to see Ridder valued higher than every quarterback from the 2022 class come this time next season.

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NFL Combine: “Does Size Matter?” Wide Receiver Edition

Every off-season the Combine comes and Twitter is ablaze with all of the size narratives. “If he’s short I’m not drafting him.” “If his BMI is too low I’m not drafting him.” “I don’t care what their size is, if they produce I like them.” “Size doesn’t matter!” “Size DOES matter!” What we do not see during this time is much real evidence with actual context. We are just given narratives or one-off examples of outliers. “Cooper Kupp ran a 4.65 and he just had the best WR season ever, 40 times don’t matter.” “DeVonta Smith has a BMI of 22.5 but he won the Heisman, I’m drafting him.” Today, my goal is not to fight for one side or the other. It is to look at the real numbers, with an unbiased eye and determine if these NFL combine metrics matter for fantasy football.

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