Now that the combine is finished, and athletic testing is official, a real order can begin to form for rookie rankings. Nothing can be finalized until after the draft but considering all the information gained within the last week, the mold has begun to form on which prospects have the best odds at future success. Below are the first set of post-combine rankings for quarterback (QB), running back (RB), wide receiver (WR) and tight end (TE). For now, this will stay short and sweet. The rankings are based on a combination of college production and athletic testing, along with film review. While there won’t likely be BIG movement in rankings over the next couple of months, tweaks could occur after pro days and medical or off-field information is leaked.
Let’s take a look at the 2019 rookie landscape
QUARTERBACK
When evaluating a quarterback class for fantasy football purposes, avoiding unneeded work is essential. While it’s nice to do due-diligence on later round quarterback prospects, the reality is, there simply isn’t a lot of wiggle room for developmental quarterbacks to emerge. Even if a later round (drafted after round four) quarterback does develop into a starting caliber quarterback, it will likely take multiple years for them to emerge, and even then, being a starter alone doesn’t provide much fantasy upside unless it’s a super-flex or two QB format. Since 2010, 27 QBs have thrown for 4,000 passing yards in a single season, only three we drafted beyond round three in the NFL draft (Kirk Cousins, Tom Brady and Tony Romo). Point being, there’s very few quarterbacks that are actually successful in the NFL and focusing on the ones with the highest probability of success can conserve time. While this isn’t split into tiers (yet), Dwayne Haskins and Kyler Murray are certainly a step above everyone else and should both be put in positions to produce fantasy-wise in their first season. Kyle Shurmur is a prospect that could emerge as a nice value if he does indeed find a home in the top three rounds of the NFL draft.
RUNNING BACK
This will be the first year since 2014 where there’s real questions if a RB will be selected in round one, which is representative of the strength of the class. Between a relative (compared to other classes) lack of prolific production and high-end athletic testing, this crop of RBs will not likely deliver top-end results, especially compared to 2017 and 2018. With that considered, there are some players with redeeming qualities. Between Darrell Henderson, Josh Jacobs, Damien Harris and Miles Sanders, one or two featured RBs should emerge. Rodney Anderson and Bryce Love are the forgotten RBs of this class, but not in these rankings. If evaluating all prospects for what they could be at their ceiling, then Anderson and Love need to be taken very seriously as top RBs in this class. Players like Myles Gaskin, Trayveon Williams, Mike Weber and Travis Homer all profile as solid secondary NFL RBs, and there’s certainly fantasy value to that. David Montgomery will rise if a team drafts him in the top three rounds, but beyond that, his overall profile isn’t nearly as impressive as the current hype would lead on.
WIDE RECEIVER
After the combine, all bets are off on this WR class. Between weight-adjusted athleticism and overall speed to burn, the 2019 WR class is setting up to be special. The top tier of N’Keal Harry, A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf should all be drafted in round one of the NFL draft and provide true top-end fantasy production from early on in their careers. Beyond them, Parris Campbell, Hakeem Butler, Emanuel Hall and Kelvin Harmon bring a ton of upside to the table as second or third round selections. And that’s leaving out elite athletic testers Miles Boykin, Andy Isabella, Darius Slayton and Stanley Morgan. The second and third tier of this class resembles the vaunted 2014 class, where strong prospects were pushed down the draft order purely because of the immense amount of talent around them. The volume of quality prospects in this WR class will buoy the lack of top-end talent the RB class lacks.
TIGHT END
Noah Fant is the belle of the 2019 TE class ball, and there isn’t much up for debate after the combine. While his teammate T.J. Hockenson tested out well and certainly deserves praise, he’s not in the same realm as Fant. Both should find their way into the first round of the NFL draft, with Fant becoming a top 20 selection, and potentially receiving an opportunity at year one production. It’s always tough to rely on tight ends in their rookie season, but Fant may warrant some consideration. Beyond the Iowa TE’s, Irv Smith and Zach Gentry both bring appealing upside to the table. While neither tested out in an elite fashion, they both placed impressive pass-catching ability on film and should be selected in the top three rounds of the NFL draft. Jace Sternberger, Caleb Wilson and Kaden Smith are a tough tier to decipher currently and letting the NFL draft sort out that tier is an acceptable process.
