Cam Ward is about to breakout this season with some added help 🤝 #nfl #cfb #titans
It’s May 20th, and I’m about 50 rookie drafts deep so far. I have another 67 to go. I have been playing high-stakes dynasty fantasy football for the past decade, and never has a class felt this underwhelming. I have mostly tried to trade out of as many picks as possible for rostered players, but that’s hard when the general consensus is pretty low on this class, and no one is willing to trade 2027 picks.
There are two absolute no-brainer studs, in my opinion, in Jeremiyah Love and Kenyon Sadiq. I feel pretty confident that both Carnell Tate and Jordyn Tyson will have very good careers. After that, it is a complete crapshoot. Literally. There is a huge pile of crap. And out of that pile, there will be a few guys who come out of it and have some successful seasons when it comes to fantasy football. Here are the 3 guys I have found myself latching on to the most late in most rookie drafts:
1. Carson Beck: Arizona Cardinals
It might be a stretch to call Beck a sleeper because, in Superflex leagues, he is probably a mid-second-rounder in 12-team leagues. Let me preface this by saying I do not think Carson Beck will be a good NFL QB. But in a shit class, getting a QB that will be sure playing games by the time fantasy playoffs roll around is a huge get in the second round. The Arizona Cardinals’ over/under for wins this year is set at 4.5, tied with the Miami Dolphins for the lowest in the league.
There is zero chance they won’t make the move to Beck at some point in the second half of the season, to make sure they didn’t find the next Tom Brady. And as Brissett showed last year, even crap QBs can still score fantasy football points in this offense. If they do finish at the bottom of the league, Beck probably ends up only being a one-year investment, but it is the right class to take those risks.
2. Demond Claiborne: Minnesota Vikings
It looks like I might end up getting about 50 percent of Claiborne when all is said and done, unless he significantly rises boards here in the coming weeks. Again, let’s forget the player profile and talk about opportunity. Claiborne will only have the corpse of Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason between him and a big role in this Vikings offense.
While the draft capital and overall player profile aren’t great, I’ve seen enough Dameon Pierce’s and Jacory Croskey-Merritt’s to know that doesn’t need to be the only thing you look at when choosing who to invest in while playing fantasy football. He also brings something the other two don’t: speed. He has lateral quickness and a burst to the outside that two veterans simply don’t. If he can keep ball security concerns to a minimum, Claiborne can be in for a big role, even as a rookie.
3. Kaytron Allen- Washington Commanders
This might be our last opportunity to call Allen a late-round steal in your rookie fantasy football drafts. Early rookie camp and OTA reports have been extremely positive for the 6th-round pick out of Penn State. Allen already sent out a warning to his fellow running back room, which includes former Tampa Bay Bucs RB Rasahd White and the aforementioned Croskey-Merritt.
“I just feel like when players around me, they got no choice but to get better around me just because of my work ethic and how I go about playing football. I love football, so I put everything into it. And I just feel like if you’re around me, you gotta love football, or if not, it’s going to show”. Clean up in whatever aisle Dan Quinn was standing in when he heard that quote. With limited competition in front of him, Allen is going to be part of a committee early on, but can earn himself into a lead-back role if the chips fall the right way for him.
2026 NFL Draft Round 1 Live Watch Party | Picks & Instant Reactions
