Fantasy Football 2020: Dynasty Rookie Rankings, 1st-Round Mock After NFL Draft - Bleacher Report

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The NFL draft is over, which means the next drafting season will move into full swing as fantasy football players ramp up for the 2020 season.

This year's rookie class is full of skill-position players who will be afforded opportunities to make immediate impacts, which merits further investigation on who the best choices will be later this year.

Making the right moves in dynasty leagues is especially important in 2020 given the amount of wideout and running back prospects in particular. In other words, if you make the right choices on this class, then you could be finding a significant bedrock for your team for years to come.

On that note, here's a look at a top-12 ranking and first-round mock draft for rookie dynasty leagues as well as analysis on the top running back and wide receiver choices.

    

Dynasty Rookie Rankings and 1st-Round Mock

1. Kansas City Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire

2. Indianapolis Colts RB Jonathan Taylor

3. Baltimore Ravens RB J.K. Dobbins

4. Dallas Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb

5. Denver Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy

6. Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson

7. Detroit Lions RB D'Andre Swift

8. New York Jets WR Denzel Mims

9. Las Vegas Raiders WR Henry Ruggs III

10. Indianapolis Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr.

11. Los Angeles Rams RB Cam Akers

12. Philadelphia Eagles WR Jalen Reagor

       

Edwards-Helaire Unquestioned No. 1 Choice

LSU running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire will move from the NCAA's most explosive offense to the NFL's most potent one, meaning he stands to see plenty of touches out of Kansas City's backfield.

At worst, Edwards-Helaire should be a complementary piece alongside Damien Williams, the backfield's unquestioned leader in targets and receptions.

At best, he could get the lion's share of the carries and put up production similar to Chiefs rookie running back Kareem Hunt in 2017 (1,782 scrimmage yards, 11 touchdowns).

ESPN's Mike Clay is a big fan of the fit:

Mike Clay @MikeClayNFL

Say what you want about RBs, Edwards-Helaire with the Chiefs is an outstanding fit. Super elusive and excellent receiver. Fits the type of backs they target.

Graham Barfield of Fantasy Points noted how well Edwards-Helaire may do under head coach Andy Reid, who has helped turned some of his teams' running backs into fantasy superstars:

Graham Barfield @GrahamBarfield

Dating back to 2001, Andy Reid has coached a top-20 fantasy RB in 15-of-19 seasons (74%). 11 of those backs finished top-10 (53%).

Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network compared Edwards-Helaire to a former Chiefs legend and fantasy football superstar:

Daniel Jeremiah @MoveTheSticks

My comp for Clyde Edwards-Helaire is Priest Holmes.

And Tom Pelissero of NFL Network quoted a coach who pointed out where Edwards-Helaire's value will come through the most:

Tom Pelissero @TomPelissero

One coach told me new #Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire was the best player he saw on tape in this draft: "He's such a playmaker. He’s a good ball-carrier, but his value in the pass game is pretty substantial. He never gets tackled by the first guy." Another toy for Andy Reid.

Barfield also called Edwards-Helaire the clear rookie RB1 and a top-25 choice in redraft.

It's hard to argue otherwise. Edwards-Helaire is joining a phenomenal offense that scored 565 points in 2018, which is Mahomes' only full season as the starter (he missed two games last year with a knee injury).

The Chiefs have added Mecole Hardman and Edwards-Helaire since 2018, and it's easy to think the 2020 team could threaten the 2013 Denver Broncos' record for most points in a season (606).

In that regard, it doesn't matter that Mahomes has a ton of mouths to feed between tight end Travis Kelce, wideouts Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins and others. There should be plenty of opportunity for everyone to go around, Edwards-Helaire included.

He's the clear RB1 and top player in the dynasty rookie rankings and should be picked in the top three rounds of standard drafts as a high-end RB2.

     

Lamb Leads Wide Receiver Field

Putting Oklahoma wideout CeeDee Lamb at WR1 in the rookie dynasty rankings is based off two factors: betting on talent, and betting on long-term opportunity.

It's not based on short-term opportunity, which is Lamb's biggest fantasy drawback. Running back Ezekiel Elliott will likely soak up over 300 touches, some of which will occur in the pass game. And Lamb has to split targets with a verified star in Amari Cooper and a potential star in Michael Gallup.

But here's the thing: One could make the case that Lamb is the best wide receiver on the team right now, to the point where he should be the team's target leader by the end of the 2020 season.

Let's start with these eye-popping stats from college, for example:

NFL GameDay @NFLGameDay

Pick 17 - CeeDee Lamb According to @PFF, Lamb averaged 11.0 yards after the catch per reception in 2019, highest among draft-eligible WR in Power 5 conferences. https://t.co/a2jK8LCcbf

Andrew Gibson @1010XLAG

Most forced missed tackles among WRs since 2018 per @PFF_College: 1. Laviska Shenault Jr. — 44 2. CeeDee Lamb — 38 #Jaguars | #NFLDraft

SportDFW @TheRealSportDFW

Dallas Cowboys Draft: CeeDee Lamb PFF's most advanced WR EVER #Cowboys #CowboysDraft https://t.co/GLDDxmB0pI

Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus summed it up best:

"Lamb made some starting defenses look like scout teams with the damage he did after the catch. Since 2018, Lamb has broken the third-most tackles after the catch (38) and has tied for the fifth-most yards after the catch per reception (9.2). Of those 38 broken tackles, 16 came on targets of 10 or more yards downfield, which tied for second. And on those same targets, Lamb averaged an absurd 7.7 yards after the catch per reception. Lamb does just about everything at an elite level, and his after-the-catch ability is the highlight."

Lamb passes the statistical tests, and he passes the eye test as well:

Plus, it's conceivable that Lamb will be soaking up as many targets as he can manage in two years. Adam Levitan of Establish the Run noted the following about Cooper's contract:

Adam Levitan @adamlevitan

One note on CeeDee Lamb's long-term outlook: The "5-year, $100M" contract Amari Cooper just signed has zero guaranteed dollars after the 2021 season.

Granted, Cooper will only be 26 in June and is coming off his fourth 1,000-yard season, so chances are he'll be sticking around well into the 2020s.

Still, Lamb is a dynamic, explosive player who deserves all the looks he can get. The Cowboys should recognize this off the bat and feature him as early and often as possible.

If that does come to fruition, then taking Lamb ahead of other rookie wideouts in dynasty leagues who look to have more opportunity on the surface (e.g. the Las Vegas Raiders' Henry Ruggs III and the Minnesota Vikings' Justin Jefferson) will be a massive win for your team.

In standard leagues, consider him a solid WR2 candidate with borderline WR1 upside.   

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