Signal Focused 2018 Dynasty Rookie Rankings: Round Two

Wow. Time sure flies when you're having fun! Where was I? Happy belated Mother's Day and a preemptive Happy Graduation to all graduating in the upcoming weeks or those with kids graduating! As a father with a son graduating high school, I can tell you it feels bitter sweet. Kind of like the hearty slap on the back from an old friend you hadn't seen in years, but the slap hits a little off-target, spreading pool ripples of lower back-fat in all directions, followed by a most subtle wince hidden in your smile as you wait it out.

But enough about plotting vice grip handshake revenge, we have twelve more rookies to hype!

2.01 LAMAR JACKSON QB BAL

After struggling a bit to force players into a definitive "round one" order (followed by a few mini-benders), I was tempted to toss out the whole 2.01, 2.02 deal and just roll with tiers. Then I think "What would Captain Kirk do?" followed by beautifully over-acted dramatic pause: "Must...conform...to previous...format..." and here we are.

Looking over the list of rookies still on the board, none can compare with the "upside" of Lamar. Is "cloudside" a word? The fact is Baltimore traded up into the first round when they may have been able to wait a bit and not have had to pay all of the tacked-on goodies a 1st rounder gets in his contract. Or maybe it was for precisely that reason they did so, locking up a potential fifth year option. Coach John Harbaugh may have felt the squeeze of another down season or the whispers that Ravens owner Bisciotti had him on the hot seat. Whatever it was, signing QB Robert Griffin and drafting Lamar Jackson sure points to a new era coming to Baltimore. Dare I say an exciting era!

Jackson has a half-tube of Pringles on his shoulder, from his draft day slide, to being offensively told to consider switching positions, to being teased by the older kids growing up with Revenge of the Nerds references. I love the extra motivation that being slighted can give to elite athletes. My eyes bugged out when I converted his college stats into FFPC scoring: almost 44 FPTS/gm as a nineteen year old sophomore and over 42 per game as a 20 year old junior. Stop and think that through. That means for every excellent game where he drops 34 fantasy points, he must go off for 54 in the next in order to bring that average back up to 44!  Insane. Despite being a tad frail looking to the eyes, Lamar only missed one game in his three year career and seems to understand how to avoid the big hits. When you completely remove his rushing stats, his passing statistics compare favorably to names like Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers coming out of college. When you completely strip away his passing stats, his rushing statistics easily outshine those of fellow classmates Chubb, Guice or Barkley.  It's not a matter of IF he takes over in BAL, but rather WHEN? I do like quite a few players to come on this list, but nothing comes close to the upside a fully utilized Lamar Jackson provides, and that is the stuff dynasty dreams are made of.

2.02 Anthony Miller WR CHI

Despite a season lost early in his college career due to injury, Miller peaked well with back-to-back 92+rec, 1400+yards, 14+TD seasons.  He can withstand the punishment of a heavy target load as well as be the go-to guy for scoring touchdowns.  You know he's an elite scorer when it is easier to just count the games he failed to score (6) vs. the games he did score (20). In those 20 games, he hit paydirt a whopping 33 times!  Seems to get better as the year rolls along, and consistently shows up for the biggest rivalry and bowl games. Chicago is salivating over their new group of wideouts, and I have Miller earning the WR2 load in short order.

2.03 Christian Kirk WR ARI

"Captain Tate" is another guy who shines under the bright lights of big games. As a 19 year old freshman, Kirk put up almost identical numbers to 21 year old Calvin Ridley (in what was Ridley's best year back in 2015) despite playing in two less games. He then led the SEC in receptions as a sophomore, and closed strong over the final four games of his career averaging 7 receptions and 116 yards per game with five touchdowns. He's got a strong, durable build and is "Golden" with the ball in his hands. He has the talent to earn a starter role in Arizona immediately, and has one of the best possible mentors as well as a promising young QB. With David Johnson back to draw defenses his way, Kirk may have a shot at making some real noise right away.

2.04 Dallas Goedert TE PHI

Small school, schmall school, Goedert's a Beast!  At 6' 5" and weighing 256 lbs, Dallas (Pro Day) ran a faster 3-cone time than Calvin Ridley, a faster short shuttle than D.J. Moore, jumped vertically higher than James Washington and broader than Rashaad Penny. You want catch radius? Try adding his almost 35" arms and over 10" hands to said frame. How about production you ask? Over his final two seasons, Goedert averaged 82 receptions, 1202 yards and 9.5 TD's! Those are silly wideout numbers coming from your TE! In FFPC's 1.5 PPR for Tight Ends, that is what you call The Moniez. The way the Eagles went as hard as they did to snatch him from the Cowboys grasp, I'm betting they have a plan in place to use him as an offensive weapon ALONGSIDE Ertz, not after.

2.05 Baker Mayfield QB CLE

Baker's a stud Texas high school QB who walks on to Texas Tech and wins his first five games in a row averaging 321 total yards per game, scoring 10 total touchdowns to 5 interceptions before injuring his knee. He sat out a year then transferred to Oklahoma and proceeds to Crush Box(score)™ (#fake™) combining for 4100+ yards and 43 TD's (11-2), 4100+ yards, 46 TD's (11-2), and 4600+ yards, 46 TD's (12-2) while having his 20 total interceptions (in three seasons) virtually cancelled out by his 18 rushing TD's.  His moxie is contagious and his will to win is what will help Cleveland most of all. Surrounded by a Browns offense sprinkled with elite level NFL players, his upside is extraordinary.

2.06 Jordan Lasley WR BAL

Lasley has the talent to force his way into a respectable role on most any NFL team, and gets a nice bump for being drafted to join Baltimore's Land O' Misfit Toyz WR corps. Crabtree can lead the misfits in 2018 as Flacco runs out of rope to hang himself, and everyone preps for THE FUTURE when Lamar will be running the island. Jordan got into trouble doing those same things your early college buddy  did trying to chase a good time while being under aged. Trying to get into a club with a fake I.D., being in possession of alcohol, kid stuff. His statistics and traits had some giving him a first round grade, with Steve Smith praising his juice and Cali swag. I'm banking on him using his draft slide as motivation and putting his sweet routes and explosive ability to challenge for a top three receiver role with the Ravens this year, and expanding with the youth transition right around the corner in Baltimore. Lasley is 21 and led this years wide receiver class with close to 28 PPR Fantasy Points per game. Buy low!

2.07 Courtland Sutton WR DEN

Courtland was inside most pundit's top three wide receivers from this class, benefiting greatly by being one of the bigger guys coming out.  I admit I raised my eyebrows when I saw his sweet 3-cone time showing nice feet. My problem ranking him higher are based on being completely cock-blocked year one, unless you think Case Keenum and the vaunted Bronco passing game can float three WR's for fantasy. I do not. My other problem is the wide open passing system at SMU pumping out fakey WR stats the way Oregon does for RB stats. The only guy to come out of SMU that has an NFL resume worth its salt is one of the guys blocking his path in Emmanuel Sanders, and even he peaked as a teams WR2. Hell, that Joe Blow Mr. Irrelevant Trey Quinn transferred over from LSU and alpha'd the top target load away from Sutton outperforming him in receptions, yards and receiving TD's in his first year in their system and outshining him down the stretch and in their bowl game. Not saying Sutton is a mirage, but I see more of a role player and don't see a player who can dominate at the NFL level.

2.08 Calvin Ridley WR ATL

Out of respect for the masses, I tried to like Ridley, but just could not latch on to anything I saw as special. IMO, he flashed as a "freshman" and everyone assumed he was like 18 or 19 years old and his "young phenom" reputation stuck. Little did they know he was a full two or three years older than most freshman, and although the QB and scheme got worse for receivers at Alabama post-Cooper, Ridley's stats just didn't impress whatsoever. His back-to-back 7 TD seasons look OK until you realize Bama was playing borderline NFL length 15 game schedules those years. Did he go out with a bang in his walk year? Nope, more like a whimper with 5 TD in 14 games, and yardage in the measly 30's in his final three games as he just faded into the Crimson Tide roster vs. standing out.  How did he do under the pressure of big games? He fizzled. Over his last seven Bright Light games he laid eggs, averaging 29.7 yards per game and scoring 2 TD in 7 games. His crazy looking head fakes while running patterns at the combine were uncommonly weird. He measured smaller (6 foot 1/2 inch) and lighter (189 lbs) than listed in college and his lack of athleticism was exposed in the jumps and footwork drills. He was not impressive in the gauntlet with one drop and two double clutch catches and he failed over and over to stay inbounds during the passing drills. Lasley looked much better across the board at the combine, managing through awareness and body control to stay inbounds and catch the ball more cleanly despite his "drops" reputation. My BOLD PREDICTION is Lasley will have a better NFL career than Ridley, who will turn 24 during his rookie season.  I'd like to rank Ridley even lower, but feel so many smart people like him, that maybe I'm the one who is wrong to some degree.

2.09 Keke Coutee WR HOU

Moving from one of the oldest rookies to one of the youngest, Keke finished his impressive career at the age of 20. His stats show a well rounded game, going for 93 rec, 1429 yards and 10 TD's as a true junior with plenty of big plays mixed in. With only three "dud" games to 10 solid ones, Coutee finished strong over his final two, combining for 20 rec, 355 yards and a TD. The Texans have little depth after Hopkins and Fuller, and I can see Coutee earning the WR3 role pretty easily. Not sure that means much, but Keke has the talent to stick around in the NFL and can step right in should Fuller once again miss a chunk of games as he has each year.

2.10 Tre'Quan Smith WR NOR

Tre'Quan is a difficult player to put a finger on. He seems more like a deep threat scoring artist, but also mixes in big reception grinder games now and then, showing his range. His speed and jumps were nice, but his career best is only 59 receptions on a team that threw for 265 completions, over 4000 yards and 37 TD's last year. Landing in New Orleans is also muddled, as Michael Thomas and a healthy Cameron Meredith form a nice sized block in his path to targets. I can see him replacing the Ted Ginn role soon, and think he is more talented than Coleman and the rest, so we should see him in action sooner than later. His upside looks good and he has the swagger I like, especially now that he has an undefeated season on his football resume. Track even more closely if Meredith shows any lingering issues with his health.

2.11 Nyheim Hines RB IND

There was a lot of buzz around Hines after being the fastest RB at the combine, but I've got a bit of THE FEAR when it comes to one-year wonders. For a guy everyone seems to want to slot into some Kamara type role, what he did with his allotment of receptions last year was borderline disgusting. With as much speed as Hines flashed on tape, he somehow managed to average less than six yards per reception in 2017 and hasn't scored via the pass in two and a half seasons, despite being peppered with 81 receptions over that period. His career high for touchdowns before last season was two, and he seemed to have been used primarily as a receiver in 2016, with 43 receptions to only 13 rushing attempts and zero touchdowns. He looked like a track sprinter playing football, not a football player with track speed, and his combine was not pretty to watch, with sloppily timed footwork, weak ball tracking and poor hands. He seems to lose all of his speed when trying to cut, allowing defenders to close in on him. Love his top gear if he can get a lane to run through, but his football moves just seem forced and unnatural, limiting his upside at the next level.

2.12 Richie James WR SF

"I'm Richie James, Bitch!" San Francisco redeemed themselves after burning a way-too-early pick on what may turn out to be a special teams return man in Pettis. James had back-to-back outstanding seasons in 2015 (108 rec, 1492 total yards, 10 TD's) and 2016 (105 rec, 1964 total yards, 16 TD's) prior to getting banged up in 2017 and thus slipping way down in the draft. Chip meet shoulder. He even measured bigger at the combine than listed in college, coming in at a similar height/weight combo to Antonio Brown. Size requirements for wide receivers has been blown out of proportion; pull up your most recent draft, and you'll see an almost perfect mix of large, medium and smaller WR's throughout the early, middle and even late rounds. Richie James has what it takes to become a star in the NFL. Time to stop sleeping on him.

So there you have it, your SIGNAL FOCUSED TOP 24 ranked rookies for the 2018 dynasty season. Some will be hits, some will miss, such is life.

Check back in now and again for many more articles to come.

Hope you enjoyed.