Most “NFL Draft Winners/Losers” articles you read are going to sound the same. They’re going to dole out 10 or so teams, mentioning five draft classes they liked and five they didn’t. Equally monotonous has become the same letter-grading system that every author uses to codify their analysis. This isn’t middle school, people! Lucky for you, Fantasy Alarm does not produce the typical. Instead, we will look at the winners of the NFL Draft and do it through a fantasy lens. Instead of just listing teams, there will be player names, rookie or not, and how April’s draft most positively affected their fantasy stock. Pay attention.
This is not one that exactly meets the eye without squinting, but through further thought it makes sense that Zeke was a big winner on draft night.
First and foremost, he’s entering this season without any suspension looming over him, and while it has nothing to do with the draft per se, it will undoubtedly allow him to improve over his still solid 2017 season.
Back to the draft though; in the second round, Dallas did what they do best – draft offensive linemen. They took Connor Williams, an athletic and versatile lineman out of Texas who many projected as a top-10 pick if he hadn’t been coming off of an injury during his 2016 collegiate season. Bolstering that already elite offensive line can only help the third year back, right? Running lanes for the Cowboys should return to their gaping 2016 form with Williams slated to man the starting left guard spot this season.
Beyond the improved offensive line is the Cowboys seeming strategy to double-down on the ground-and-pound offensive philosophy. With the retirement of Jason Witten and release of Dez Bryant , the expectation was that Dallas would look heavily at the skill positions early on. Instead they went defense in the first with the selection of Leighton Vander Esch and took the aforementioned Connor Williams in the second. It wasn’t until the selection of Colorado State wideout Michael Gallup that they Cowboys did anything to address the loss of decade-long go-to targets. While Gallup is an exciting talent, expectations are never high enough on a third-round pick that he will be asked to immediately fill in as a number one target. Instead he will be brought along at the pace of a normal rookie.
Because of all of this, deductive logic would lend to the idea that Zeke will be even more involved in the offensive game plan this season. Without any proven weapons, where else is Dak Prescott to turn to other than Ezekiel Elliott . Expect an uptick in overall usage (both carries and receptions) for Zeke in 2018, which while running behind an improved offensive line, should spell ample success for fantasy owners.
He’s 6-foot, 210 lbs., offers a unique speed to power blend, and compares reasonably with Jamaal Charles and Tevin Coleman . Ronald Jones was our second ranked rookie running back entering the draft process, and yet surprisingly was taken as the fifth overall at the position this past April. Despite the apparent slide, Jones luckily ended up in a perfect spot for him to flourish early on, which is something that fantasy owners should take note of.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had a rocky offseason of sorts, particularly in relation to the suspension of their star quarterback Jameis Winston for sexual harassment. But being undersold through this mess was the loss of former franchise running back Doug Martin , who took his talents (or what’s left of it) to Oakland, leaving a gaping hole in the Tampa Bay backfield. Let’s be honest, losing Martin isn’t that much of a real loss, as he has been rather unproductive over the last few seasons, but his absence has left a bruise on their former identity of what was once a complete offense. For a rookie back as talented as Jones is, jumping in to fill the starting void can only serve he and his team positively. With the lack of competition for touches, combined with the loss of Jameis Winston for the first month of the season, Jones is going to serve as the focal point of the Buccaneers offense, and early on. With all things being considered (the draft slide and loss of talent on his team) Jones actually ended up in a pretty good fantasy situation to kick off his career. Remember, you can’t be fantasy productive without touches, and Jones is slated to get plenty of them, and quickly.
This is by no means a ringing endorsement for the almost completely washed up Eli Manning , however the Giants and their new administration proved on draft night that they are going to push all of their Eli Manning chips into the middle of the proverbial poker table. First, they drafted Saquon Barkley – a generational, do-it-all, running back talent, who will occupy all of the focus of defenses for the foreseeable future. Then they followed up in the second round by taking the second most NFL ready offensive line prospect in the draft, in Will Hernandez.
With Hernandez anchoring the left guard position, while playing next to newest Giant – left tackle, Nate Solder – all while paving lanes for Saquon Barkley to prance through, defenses will have no time to focus on middle-aged Eli.
Likely being able to thrive on play-action and misdirection this season, Manning is slated for a bounce-back 2018. His offensive line is undoubtedly improved, while the presence of Barkley and now healthy wide receivers will give him plenty of options to dump the ball off to. With more time to throw and more guys to throw to, Eli should show improved decision making for the first time in years. Fantasy owners looking to take a flier on a backup quarterback late in their drafts should consider Eli this season.
For the first time in years, the Lions seem to have invested in the long-term viability of their franchise quarterback. Not only did they take a starting offensive lineman in the first round (C/G Frank Ragnow ) but they also followed that up with the most underrated running back in the class in Kerryon Johnson. To cap off their solid draft haul, the Lions snagged Oregon’s Tyrell Crosby in the fifth round – a starting caliber offensive lineman, who, in a real head-scratching move, slid deep into day three. In one weekend, the Lions may have potentially surrounded Matthew Stafford with three starting offensive players, something that they have never done throughout his hard-fought career. Most importantly they seem to have invested in a real running game this season, which is also something that Stafford hasn’t had in his entire NFL career. Keep in mind that the last back to rush for over 100 yards in a game for Detroit is Reggie Bush… In 2013!
According to our pre-draft positional rankings, Penny was the eighth ranked running back, or in other terms, a fourth-round pick. Then, on draft day, something miraculous happened ––
With much of the first round having come and gone, the Seattle Seahawks found themselves on the clock after trading back with the Packers. With much of their board cleared out, they shocked the draft community by selecting Rashaad Penny, running back out of San Diego State.
Look, Penny is a nice player with plenty of talent, but he by no means is worth a first round pick. Rather than dwelling on this puzzling allocation of draft capital, allow the fantasy owner in you to realize the possibilities. 1) Penny, with a first round label, will be instantly thrust into a starting role – an even split committee at worst – due to the investment that the franchise has in him. 2) Penny is a bruising back (aka: touchdown vulture), entering a talented offense (Russell Wilson , ever heard of him?), with seemingly no competition at his position.
From fourth round spell back to first round feature back, did anyone’s fantasy fortune turn more positively after the last weekend in April?
As the old adage goes when drafting a young quarterback, “once you get your guy, you spend the next decade building around him.”
After taking Mitchell Trubisky in last year’s draft, the Bears didn’t take much time in enthusiastically sticking to the plan, as this year they took a starting offensive lineman and two talented wideouts.
In James Daniels, the Bears got a capable offensive line prospect, one who offers ample versatility, athleticism, and intelligence. Truth be told, he may quickly prove to be the missing piece on the Bears underrated front line. In Anthony Miller , the Bears got our third ranked rookie receiver –– in the late second round! What a steal!
Miller, while slightly undersized, has the chops to make a living either inside or outside and eventually as a true number one option. In the worst-case scenario, he will quickly settle in as the number two option opposite Allen Robinson . In our view though, Miller has legit Steve Smith upside.
Far undersold from these other two picks is the selection of Javon Wims, a raw receiver, who showed his potential in flashes over his seasons at Georgia. On a roster needing an injection of receiver talent, Wims was an excellent late round value for the Bears.
Of their seven selections in this past draft, the Bears spent three of them ensuring the security and long-term viability of their most prized investment – Mitchell Trubisky . Good on Chicago for making their second-year quarterback a draft day winner for a second year in a row.
Ahh, the rich get richer.
As if Brady needed more help, the Patriots went out and grabbed him an electric running back in Sony Michel , while bolstering his protection in the selection of Isaiah Wynn . If that wasn’t enough, they found their Danny Amendola /Julian Edelman replace in the sixth round – he goes by the name of Braxton Berrios and may offer some fantasy production as early as Week 1.
As was the same with the mentioning of Eli Manning , Mitchell Trubisky , and Matthew Stafford , Brady’s fantasy stock only improved after draft weekend, as Bill Belichick spent key picks in securing Brady’s viability. The best thing for a fantasy quarterback is protection but giving him more options never hurts either. Through the draft, Brady got both.