Sometime in the future -- presumably before the robots have assumed dominion over mankind -- fantasy analysts will have devised a metric that will get us closer to knowing with certainty which rookie prospects are destined for success in the NFL. I mean, there are a lot of smart people doing a lot of good work to give us a pretty solid clue about this sort of thing. But at the end of it, we're all sorta looking into a crystal ball and trying to divine the future.
Now that we've reached May and fantasy football mock drafts are back in our lives, let's look at some of the professional freshmen and prognosticate what their futures could mean for our fake dynasty football teams. There's a chance that many of these players don't make a major fantasy impact in Year 1 but the idea is that many of them will be valuable pieces not too far from now. Y'know, barring the whole robot thing.
Overall
- Saquon Barkley, Giants (RB1)
- Derrius Guice, Redskins (RB2)
- Sony Michel, Patriots (RB3)
- Nick Chubb, Browns (RB4)
- Rashaad Penny, Seahawks (RB5)
- Calvin Ridley, Falcons (WR1)
- Ronald Jones II, Buccaneers (RB6)
- Royce Freeman, Broncos (RB7)
- Kerryon Johnson, Lions (RB8)
- D.J. Moore, Panthers (WR2)
- Michael Gallup, Cowboys (WR3)
- Christian Kirk, Cardinals (WR4)
- Courtland Sutton, Broncos (WR5)
- Baker Mayfield, Browns (QB1)
- Sam Darnold, Jets (QB2)
- Lamar Jackson, Ravens (QB3)
- Josh Rosen, Cardinals (QB4)
- Mike Gesicki, Dolphins (TE1)
- Kalen Ballage, Dolphins (RB9)
- Anthony Miller, Bears (WR6)
- James Washington, Steelers (WR7)
- Nyheim Hines, Colts (RB10)
- DJ Chark, Jaguars (WR8)
- Dante Pettis, 49ers (WR9)
- DaeSean Hamilton, Broncos (WR10)
- Equanimeous St. Brown, Packers (WR11)
- Hayden Hurst, Ravens (TE2)
- Boston Scott, Saints (RB11)
- Dallas Goedert, Eagles (TE3)
- Mark Walton, Bengals (RB12)
- Ito Smith, Falcons (RB13)
- Josh Allen, Bills (QB5)
- Mason Rudolph, Steelers (QB6)
- Chase Edmonds, Cardinals (RB14)
- Antonio Callaway, Browns (WR12)
- J'Mon Moore, Packers (WR13)
- Jordan Wilkins, Colts (RB15)
- Danny Etling, Patriots (QB7)
- John Kelly, Rams (RB16)
- Kyle Lauletta, Giants (QB8)
QBs
- Baker Mayfield, Browns
- Sam Darnold, Jets
- Lamar Jackson, Ravens
- Josh Rosen, Cardinals
- Josh Allen, Bills
- Mason Rudolph, Steelers
- Danny Etling, Patriots
- Kyle Lauletta, Giants
- Luke Falk, Titans
- Tanner Lee, Jaguars
- Mike White, Cowboys
- Logan Woodside, Bengals
- Alex McGough, Seahawks
RBs
- Saquon Barkley, Giants
- Derrius Guice, Redskins
- Sony Michel, Patriots
- Nick Chubb, Browns
- Rashaad Penny, Seahawks
- Ronald Jones II, Buccaneers
- Royce Freeman, Broncos
- Kerryon Johnson, Lions
- Kalen Ballage, Dolphins
- Nyheim Hines, Colts
- Boston Scott, Saints
- Mark Walton, Bengals
- Ito Smith, Falcons
- Chase Edmonds, Cardinals
- Jordan Wilkins, Colts
- John Kelly, Rams
- Trenton Cannon, Jets
- Justin Jackson, Chargers
- Bo Scarbrough, Cowboys
- David Williams, Broncos
- Nick Bawden, Lions
WRs
- Calvin Ridley, Falcons
- D.J. Moore, Panthers
- Michael Gallup, Cowboys
- Christian Kirk, Cardinals
- Courtland Sutton, Broncos
- Anthony Miller, Bears
- James Washington, Steelers
- DJ Chark, Jaguars
- Dante Pettis, 49ers
- DaeSean Hamilton, Broncos
- Equanimeous St. Brown, Packers
- Antonio Callaway, Browns
- J'Mon Moore, Packers
- Tre'Quan Smith, Saints
- Richie James, 49ers
- Marcell Ateman, Raiders
- Jaleel Scott, Ravens
- Deon Cain, Colts
- Justin Watson, Buccaneers
- Keke Coutee, Texans
- Jordan Lasley, Ravens
- Braxton Berrios, Patriots
- Cedrick Wilson, Cowboys
- Daurice Fountain, Colts
- Tremon Smith, Chiefs
- Auden Tate, Bengals
- Russell Gage, Falcons
- Javon Wims, Bears
- Trey Quinn, Redskins
- Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Packers
- Damion Ratley, Browns
- Dylan Cantrell, Chargers
- Ray-Ray McCloud, Bills
- Austin Proehl, Bills
TEs
- Mike Gesicki, Dolphins
- Hayden Hurst, Ravens
- Dallas Goedert, Eagles
- Ian Thomas, Panthers
- Mark Andrews, Ravens
- Chris Herndon, Jets
- Will Dissly, Seahawks
- Jordan Akins, Texans
- Troy Fumagalli, Broncos
- Tyler Conklin, Vikings
- Dalton Schultz, Cowboys
- Jaylen Samuels, Steelers
- Jordan Thomas, Texans
- Durham Smythe, Dolphins
- Ryan Izzo, Patriots
Marcas Grant is a fantasy editor for NFL.com and a man who thought about doing his rankings via Magic 8-Ball but quickly realized that asking it a few hundred yes-or-no questions would quickly become tedious. Give him your obnoxiously esoteric fantasy rankings methods via Twitter @MarcasG. If you read all of that, congrats. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (marcasg9).