For many dynasty players, the highlight of the off-season is the annual rookie draft, and we are now mere days away from many of those drafts kicking off. Once our respective dynasty teams are eliminated from contention (and sometimes even before), we tend to turn our attention to the incoming rookie class, and delusions of grandeur take over. In fact, dynasty players spend nearly the entire off-season preparing for how they will use their draft picks or if they will use them at all.
In this twelve-part series, I’ll use the latest data available here at Dynasty League Football, namely our April superflex Rookie ADP and the Dynasty Trade Finder, to ensure you are as prepared as possible when your draft begins. Based on our most recent ADP data, I’ll suggest the player you could soon be adding to your team, and if you don’t like that, I’ll also include a potential pivot option. In addition, I’ll include options based on the updated 1QB rookie ADP for those who play in that format. Finally, using the Dynasty Trade Finder, I will examine some recent trades that have taken place with each specific draft pick.
We all know the first round of rookie drafts includes the players we’ve been hearing about for months, if not years, but difference-makers can be found in the second round and beyond, as well. Because of that, I’ll also address the other picks accompanying each first-round draft slot.
ROOKIE SELECTION 1.01
THE PICK: BIJAN ROBINSON, RB TEXAS
Everyone has heard of Robinson, as he’s been a candidate for the 1.01 overall pick since his first year at Texas.
Chart courtesy of Sports Reference CFB
That season, he immediately made an impact, displacing Roschon Johnson and Keontay Ingram. Robinson led the team in carries but showed ridiculous efficiency compared to the other running backs. He averaged 8.2 YPC, compared to 5.2 for Johnson and 4.7 for Ingram. Additionally, he displayed receiving ability, with 15 catches for 196 yards and two touchdowns.
After 2020, Robinson became Texas’s workhorse back, dominating carries for the next two seasons. He maintained solid efficiency despite the added workload and became a touchdown machine. He totaled 35 touchdowns over his final two college seasons, even though Texas’s offense regressed from 2020. Finally, he added some awards in 2022, as he won the Doak Walker Award for the nation’s best running back and was a Consensus All-America selection.
