2019 Fantasy Football Dynasty Rookie Rankings: RB David Montgomery and Josh Jacobs at top, but WR dominate the list

Heath Cummings says rookie drafts should start with a pair of running backs before going very wide receiver heavy.

By Heath Cummings

May 6, 2019 at 5:22 pm ET • 3 min read

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Dynasty Rankings: RB | WR | QB | TE | Rookies

This was not the greatest skill-position NFL Draft class. Most everyone seems to agree on that. We also saw a lot of questionable fits as well as some highly touted prospects falling much further than expected. No arguments there. That might be where the agreements end.

Because there were so many "good" talents and so few "great" ones, I fully expect wild disparity in this year's rookie dynasty rankings. Guys like Mecole Hardman and Devin Singletary landed in situations that could be fantastic, while others like Hakeem Butler fell much further than we expected and may have a hard time carving out an immediate role. While these things happen every year, it just feels like they happened more often in 2019.

The one thing most people will be able to agree on is Josh Jacobs at the No. 1 overall pick. Unfortunately, I can't even do that. I liked Montgomery slightly more coming into the draft, and he landed on a better team that last year ran the ball almost 100 more times. Yes, Montgomery will share work with Tarik Cohen, but I expect him to beat out Mike Davis and handle most of the Jordan Howard role. If I could put the two in a tie for No. 1, I'd do it, but I'll take Montgomery's track record of handling a feature workload as the tiebreaker.

After Montgomery and Jacobs (maybe before depending on who you ask), rookie drafts should go heavy on the pass-catchers. I only have two other running backs in the first round, and an equal number of tight ends. The important thing to remember with both wide receivers and tight ends is that it's going to take patience. D.K. Metcalf has the upside of a downfield threat who absolutely wrecks this league, but he will have to improve as a route runner. N'Keal Harry may have a target problem in Year 1, but Julian Edelman isn't getting any younger and James White is a free agent after this year. Hakeem Butler and Andy Isabella will both benefit once Larry Fitzgerald retires and Kyler Murray matures. And of course, you should always expect tight ends to take a while to develop.

The quarterbacks in the rankings below are ranked as if you're in a one-quarterback league. In a two-quarterback league, I'd bump Kyler Murray into top-five consideration and Dwayne Haskins would be a borderline first-round pick. In that format I'd also move Drew Lock ahead of Will Grier because Lock will give you starting production while Grier sits behind Cam Newton. I still like Grier's long-term forecast more.

The biggest thing you're going to have to do is decide how much you want to weigh your opinion of the player's talent vs. the league perception and the fit. As an example, Butler was my No. 1 player before the draft. Hardman wasn't in my top 30. Talent matters, fit matters and draft position often dictates how many chances a player gets. Factoring all of those things in to play, here are my top-50 rookies for Dynasty leagues.