In most years Malik Nabers would have been the clear-cut WR1 in rookie drafts, while also being in contention for the overall 1.01. But 2024 is definitely not most years. Sporting the deepest quarterback class in recent memory, in addition to a wide receiver group that rivals the fabled class of 2014, the value that can be had in the first round of Superflex rookie…...

J.J. McCarthy, the National Championship-winning QB of the Michigan Wolverines, wasn’t tasked with much passing volume in the Jim Harbaugh system but finished with a 27-1 record in two seasons as a starter, his only loss coming in the 2022 semifinals against TCU. In large part due to a lack of counting stats, McCarthy started the draft process as a second-tier prospect in the minds…...

After committing to LSU ranked as a four-star recruit and 68th overall player (WR9) in the 2021 draft class according to 24/7 sports’ high school rankings, it took Brian Thomas Jr. until his junior season to fully deliver on the promise he showed coming out of high school. But when he did break out, Thomas didn’t hold back. In 2023, Thomas led all of college…...

Years ago it was fashionable to argue about whether NFL prospect scouting should rely on film-based evaluation, or on the analytics and “box score scouting.” If the “analytics wars” don’t seem as contentious now, it’s mainly because most people are tired of arguing. But it’s also because those who championed film-based scouting have in many ways come to see the value of the advanced analytical…...

After being heralded as the best true-freshman WR of all time, we have had to wait two long years to find out which NFL city Xavier Worthy would call home. Although Worthy’s projected draft capital has fluctuated since his historic freshman season, he saw his stock rise substantially after breaking the NFL combine record in the forty-yard dash. With the trauma of the Bengals’ infamous…...

The running back position continues to be undervalued in the real-life draft. It’s even more challenging for undrafted RBs to make an impact in their rookie seasons. Since 2014, we’ve only had 14 RBs (6.5%) drafted in the first round out of 217 players. For context, 147 of the 217 running backs went on Day 3 since 2014. Over two-thirds of RBs (67.7%) went in…...

Hitting offensive line draft picks is the best thing you can do for the trenches on that side of the ball. It’s still useful for fantasy to evaluate how much personnel turnover each team will work through up front, and how rookies fit in. I’ve detailed the correlation between offensive line continuity and production metrics over the past 10 years, six of those at RotoViz…....

Marvin Harrison Jr. entered this weekend as the dynasty rookie WR1 by popular opinion and exited the weekend in the same state. Harrison is the son of a Hall of Famer, a former 4-Star recruit out of the vaunted St. Joseph’s prep in North Philadelphia, and a bona fide collegiate stud with two straight seasons of over 1,200 receiving yards and 14 TDs. On Thursday…...

Shawn Siegele continues to adjust his rookie rankings after Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft. Wow, Day 2 was just what it always is: thrilling, weird, heartbreaking, and more than a little bit odd when it comes to the players actually coveted by NFL teams. It’s also long. Ben Gretch and I streamed for almost five hours, covering the entire event for a special…...

Blair Andrews is updating his rookie rankings live during Day 3 of the 2024 NFL Draft. Here he presents his rankings in the form of a four-round tiered rookie draft. Follow along for updates on player movement and value shifts as Day 3 progresses. Round 1 J.J. McCarthy leapfrogs Drake Maye by landing in a much better immediate situation. Throwing to one of the best…...

Blair Andrews and Kevin Szafraniec are bringing you live landing spot reactions during Day 2 of the NFL Draft. Stay tuned to this space for instant reactions, the fantasy implications, and valuation shifts for both the rookies and the veterans. Pick 33 – Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills Keon Coleman landing with the Bills at pick 33 is about as good as it can get for…...

Shawn Siegele adjusts his top-50 rookie rankings live during Day 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft. You can check out the pre-draft version of this piece for even more detail and radio embeds (including trade-value agnostic rankings for the Big 6), but I’m now moving to the in-draft version for a little bit cleaner experience with the live updates. I’ll have risers in green and…...

Shawn Siegele ranks his top-50 rookie prospects as we reach Day 1 of the NFL. This exercise helps provide a bit of a baseline before all of the festivities over the next three days. If you liked the write-ups in the 2024 Rookie Guide, I’m going to build them out the next step today, diving deeper into the SIS stats and adding insight from the…...

On a recent episode of Ship Chasing, we ended up joking about both multiple universes and my contention that the battle for rookie 1.01 went six players deep. Pat and Pete suggested that I split myself into six individual Shawns and make the case for each. This is that series. And it’s just in time to help you calibrate expectations before the 2024 NFL draft…....

On a recent episode of Ship Chasing, we ended up joking about both multiple universes and my contention that the battle for rookie 1.01 went six players deep. Pat and Pete suggested that I split myself into six individual Shawns and make the case for each. This is that series. And it’s just in time to help you calibrate expectations before the 2024 NFL draft…....

On a recent episode of Ship Chasing, we ended up joking about both multiple universes and my contention that the battle for rookie 1.01 went six players deep. Pat and Pete suggested that I split myself into six individual Shawns and make the case for each. This is that series. And it’s just in time to help you calibrate expectations before the 2024 NFL draft…....

On a recent episode of Ship Chasing, we ended up joking about both multiple universes and my contention that the battle for rookie 1.01 went six players deep. Pat and Pete suggested that I split myself into six individual Shawns and make the case for each. This is that series. And it’s just in time to help you calibrate expectations before the 2024 NFL draft…....

On a recent episode of Ship Chasing, we ended up joking about both multiple universes and my contention that the battle for rookie 1.01 went six players deep. Pat and Pete suggested that I split myself into six individual Shawns and make the case for each. This is that series. And it’s just in time to help you calibrate expectations before the 2024 NFL draft…....