The NFL Draft and its Fantasy Football Impact

As soon as the 2018 NFL Draft ended, of course I immediately turned my attention to the 2019 NFL Draft. Where else? But most people, I’ll call them normal people, start looking at how the draft will impact the fantasy football landscape. This article is for you.

Every NFL Draft sends ripples up and down team rosters. Some draft picks improve the fantasy outlook for established stars, and some draft picks mean nothing but bad news for the former fantasy darlings. Now is a good time to dig in, assess the damage, and start in on our fantasy football rankings.

Stock Up and Stock Down Following the 2018 NFL Draft

Stock Up





Ezekiel Elliott, RB Cowboys

Elliott is probably the most complete RB in the league, and when running behind an elite O-line, he made for one of the top players in fantasy football. The only things that could get in his way were game script and new holes opening up on the O-line depth chart. DAL helped themselves by preventing both issues, drafting Leighton Vander Esch in the first round to man the middle, and stealing Connor Williams in the second round to further establish their offensive line as best in the league. His stock couldn’t have climbed much higher than it already was, but every move the Cowboys made (including not re-signing Dez) only reinforced that Zeke will be the engine that powers the offense in 2018.

T.Y. Hilton, WR Colts

Hilton had a very disappointing season, with good reason. Luck missed the whole season, and Brissett often found himself without enough time to allow Hilton to get into the deep routes that are his bread and butter. Now, Luck is throwing balls again. The Colts also did surprisingly little at the RB position in the draft, which allows Hilton to maintain his market share. What they did do was draft two of the top interior linemen, in Quenton Nelson (best in the last decade?) and Braden Smith, which will go a long way toward keeping Luck on the field, and allowing Hilton the time to let his deep routes fully develop.

Jerrick McKinnon, RB 49ers

McKinnon’s stock had already started climbing before the draft, and it has skyrocketed since. Now being drafted as the RB12 (ahead of names like McCoy and Howard) McKinnon was already set to at least handle passing down work for SF. Then the 49ers drafted McGlinchey, the top-OT in the class, in the first round. Field-stretching WR Dante Pettis in the second will open things up underneath. Finally, the 49ers spent the next six draft picks fortifying their defense, which should help keep game script in the RB’s favor. It’s all lining up for McKinnon to eat.

Joe Mixon, RB Bengals

Mixon was my top-rated RB entering the draft last season, ahead of such higher-touted prospects as Fournette and McCaffrey. Problem is, I didn’t fully appreciate just how bad Cincy’s O-line would be. Then in this year’s draft, after having Ragnow swiped from them, they spent their first rounder on a pretty excellent Center in his own right, Billy Price. They then spent their next three picks on defensive players I was very high on, who should help create positive game script and more running situations. This year, Mixon realizes his full potential.

Ben Roethlisberger, QB Steelers

One of the best things to happen to Roeth is actually what didn’t happen. The Steelers didn’t trade Le’Veon Bell, as some had been speculating about. What they did instead was deal perpetual problem Martavis Bryant, and draft deep threat extraordinaire, and my #1 ranked WR in this year’s class, James Washington in the second round. I think they did little to address their defense (their first round Safety was a major reach) so game flow could encourage more passing to keep up with their opponents. Rudolph is no threat, and Big Ben should see this year’s draft as a net plus.



Stock Down





Julio Jones, WR Falcons

Julio Jones is an elite player in the NFL, there is no denying that. He is also elite in fantasy football, but that is due almost entirely to his market share. He has a really annoying knack for not finding the end zone, instead relying on a dozen targets for 150 yards every game to keep his points up. But what happens when another first round WR enters the picture? Balance on offense. Which is great in the NFL! But in fantasy, all it does is take targets away from Julio. His stock isn’t down super low; he’s still a top-WR. But where he would usually be unanimously considered second best in fantasy football, now he is probably somewhere around 4 or 5…

LeSean McCoy, RB Bills

There’s no risk of McCoy losing his job or losing touches due to competition… but every carry is going to be much more difficult this year than they were last year. Tyrod Taylor was a threat to run, making the option play a legitimate concern for opposing defenses. He was also a great deep-ball thrower, which helped keep safeties honest, away from the line of scrimmage. Tyrod is now replaced by a rookie. A rookie who really struggled with his accuracy on college. Defenses will be teeing off on Shady, and the Bills did nothing to offer him support in the form of other skill position players.

Evan Engram, TE Giants

Opportunity reigns supreme in fantasy sports, and Engram is fixing to lose a ton of them. Last season OBJ missed 11 games, and the running game was anemic. And so Engram had a great rookie season. This season, things will change. Beckham’s return has nothing to do with the draft, but addressing the run game sure did. They added a mauler of a run blocker in the second round, but the real jewel was, of course, adding the greatest RB prospect I’ve ever seen. Barkley not only instantly takes over as the focal point of the entire offense, but he is also most likely the second option in the passing game behind OBJ. With Shepard third in the receiving pecking order, that leaves Engram looking at a down year, despite his immense talent.

Devin Funchess, WR Panthers

This is less of an obvious Stock Down option, and more indicative of my personal opinions of players. Coming out of college, I was incredibly low on Funchess. I maintain that opinion of him today. The Panthers’ first round pick, D.J. Moore, on the other hand… that guy is a player. He brings the up-tempo pace and playmaking ability CAR is looking to instill in its offense, and can instantly unseat Funchess as Cam’s #1 wideout.

Russell Wilson, QB Seahawks

This one might seem a little counterintuitive, but bear with me. Last season, the Seahawks were historically bad on the ground. RBs accounted for exactly 1 rushing TD. Wilson had a piece, either on the ground or through the air, of every other TD the offense scored. That will not repeat this season. The Seahawks have seen to it. 20 TDs from last season walked out the door, when Jimmy Graham, Paul Richardson, and Luke Willson left as free agents. Instead of replacing any of that air production, the Hawks drafted potential workhorse Rashaad Penny to help shoulder the load. The Seahawks offense will be much more balanced this year, which means a smaller focus, and smaller stats, for Wilson.