The draft is over and there were a number of rookies who landed in a less-than-ideal offensive situation. How many can come in and be impactful for fantasy next season?
Several needy teams filled glaring holes in their offense via the draft. Landing spots determine who is going to be most impactful in their first season and who has more potential for success in the future. Let’s get into some rookies to the rescue for your fantasy football teams THIS year.
Running Back — Breece Hall, New York Jets
The New York Jets selected Breece Hall as the first running back in the draft. Hall will enter into what appears to be some sort of tandem in the making of the New York Jets backfield. The Jets drafted and heavily relied upon Michael Carter last year in the run game. With this move, the Jets have found their workhorse moving forward.
As time goes by in the NFL, we are seeing more teams getting two or more backs consistently involved in offensive schemes. In this case, Hall will look to take on an early-down role and Carter will transition to more of a pass-catcher and change-of-pace back. Similar to that of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt in Cleveland.
Breece Hall should be going first overall in almost every dynasty rookie draft. He has the potential to jump into a heavy workload immediately. Hall should be in the top 15 running backs overall to be taken in redraft and dynasty startup drafts. You should feel good about picking him up if he is still up for grabs in rounds three or four in single quarterback formats.
Wide Receiver — Drake London, Atlanta Falcons
London was a highly sought-after prospect out of USC. This year, he was the first wide receiver off the board to a struggling Atlanta Falcons offense. London’s addition adds a much-needed boost in size, speed, and play-making ability to this squad. He should be able to come in and produce immediately alongside Kyle Pitts.
The only question is how efficient will this offense operate with such a young receiving corps who have no chemistry with the new quarterback?
An upgrade at quarterback bodes well for Atlanta’s receivers for starters. Whether Marcus Mariota or Desmond Ridder starts come week one, London will only help improve the offense simply by drawing attention away from Pitts.
Rookie drafts are seeing London go within the first four picks (1.02-1.04). This seems about right, given his draft capital and opportunity for success in Atlanta.
I would hesitantly wait to even consider this pick until the later rounds, especially in start-ups. His value is going to be most beneficial as a plug-and-play stud for your bench with the potential to hop into starting lineups in his first year if the chemistry is right in Atlanta. Redraft leagues should see some of the same. I would draft him as a top 25 wideout with a top 15 or better upside.
Wide Receiver — Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers
The lengthy NDSU product will pack up and head to Wisconsin to join the Packers in his rookie season. Green Bay is arguably one of the best landing spots for an offensive rookie wide receiver to have immediate success. Especially now with Davante Adams out of the picture. Aaron Rodgers will have fun throwing the pigskin to Watson after his impressive leaping performances at the combine.
Watson was not a top wide receiver candidate coming into the draft. Only recently has he increased his draft stock with a solid performance at the combine. His size and potential for usage in Green Bay is nothing to shrug about though. The man will get his chance to be a rookie to the rescue in 2022 for many dynasty teams.
Rookie drafts are seeing Christian Watson come off the board regularly at the end of the first round. It has not been uncommon for him to slip back into the first few picks of the second round either.
Redraft leagues I believe are where the best value lies for picking Christian Watson. He will offer late-round capital for most teams to snag him as a substitute. Ideally making a high-upside prospect for benches. If Aaron Rodgers takes a liking to Watson, hold onto your seats. The 2022 season will be a fun one to watch.
Wide Receiver — Treylon Burks, Tennessee Titans
Going 18th overall to the Titans, Burks finds himself in a tough situation as far as production and usage is concerned. Tennessee is a run-first offense to say the least, and rightfully so. This considered, they gave up their biggest threat in the passing game in A.J. Brown in order to obtain Burks. He has some very high expectations coming in as a rookie to compete with Robert Woods.
Although it sounds like a bit of a long shot to expect a first-year player to come in and replace one of the leagues most elite. A.J. Brown made a name for himself as one of the leagues best wide receivers. Even in such a poor passing offense. It is no small feat for sure, but it has been done before. If anyone is a prime candidate to make it happen again, its Treylon Burks.
In dynasty rookie drafts, Burks is being taken early in the first round (right around 1.03). Pick him up tentatively later on in redraft leagues similarly to the before-suggested London. He will get lots of opportunity as one of Ryan Tannehill‘s top two targets. So there is big upside with him most likely being relied upon with Woods returning from a torn ACL.
Rookies to the Rescue in ’22 Digest
To be clear, in this class, Breece Hall is about the only rookie that can be safely drafted to contribute immediately in starting lineups. This article represents the athletes who have the best opportunities to turn their talent and potential into reliable fantasy production in their first season—ultimately coming to the rescue for fantasy owners sooner than the rest of their classmates.
Hall is heads above the rest of the class and will be utilized as such. He may defer some receiving duties to Michael Carter, but he will get a full workload every week. More touches tends to mean more yards and touchdowns in fantasy, he will see plenty this season.
The remainder of players on this list are not ranked in any particular order. Drake London, however, is one also set to see a lot of action by the looks of the Atlanta offense. His main concern would be the eventual-to-return Calvin Ridley if he sticks around with the Falcons.
Next, Christian Watson is set to compete for the wide receiver for Aaron Rodgers this season. He is set up perfectly to get a large target share starting as early as week one. Don’t expect Davante Adams-like production. But just in sheer volume he should be able to pull flex-worthy fantasy numbers in his rookie season.
Finally, Treylon Burks’ outlook with the Titans looks to be a promising one. The return of Woods only helps his case by taking defensive eyes off of him. He has the ability to turn looks into big yardage and plenty of visits to the end zone. The dark cloud around the quarterback situation will be the only thing that can hold him back.
Noteworthy Alternates
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