Shawn Siegele provides his updated 2021 dynasty rookie draft projections after Day 1 of the NFL draft. Does Najee Harris solidify himself above Travis Etienne? Can Trey Lance vault Justin Fields? Rashod Bateman and Kadarius Toney are going in opposite directions, but how much do they move?
Last year, I provided live updates of my projected rookie draft as players came off the board in the NFL draft. I’m doing a similar activity this year. It helps me prepare for the rookie drafts that will start immediately and helps me judge trade values in devy leagues and already-drafted startups.
I’m projecting what I believe will happen, not giving my own rankings. But that also can alert me to values. For example, last year I was projecting Joe Burrow and Jonathan Taylor as the first two picks even after Taylor fell to Miami and Clyde Edwards-Helaire went to the Chiefs. Edwards-Helaire ended up rising to No. 1, and that provided an exploitable value, as Taylor and Burrow are first-round startup picks a year later.
A week ago, I used the RotoViz TriFlex startup ADP to provide readers with a sense of where rookies were likely to go. I’ll include that ADP along with my new projected rookie draft to give a sense of risers and fallers.
