We’re only a couple of days away from preseason kicking off with the Hall of Fame game. Ahhh football is here baby!

The sweet smell of training camps is in the air and that means we’re under a week away from seeing the 2019 rookie class hit an NFL turf for the first time.

Before the truth comes out, now is a good time to update our fantasy football dynasty rookie rankings following an eventful off-season.

We’ll break down how the Tyreek Hill situation affects Mecole Hardman, the James Williams cut (sniff), and a sleeper running back you’ll want to add on your radar.

It’s redraft season! Make sure to check out our draft kit for more content including rankings, sleepers, and focused team breakdowns! You can also find must-see content before your draft on our YouTube page, including a rollout of team previews and their fantasy value.

Fantasy Football Dynasty Rookie Rankings 4.0

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Mecole Hardman, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

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Mecole Hardman dropped nine spots since the last edition. Despite Tyreek Hill’s controversial off-season (to say the least), the NFL has decided not to suspend the Chiefs’ star wideout.

The uncertainty around Hill’s availability this season definitely boosted Mecole Hardman’s value in dynasty drafts in May/June.

However, while Hardman’s talent and skill-set make him an extremely valuable prospect, Hill’s presence does hit his year-one value.

New York Giants‘ Wide Receiver Room

Since training camp started, the Giants’ wide receiver room is hit with an absolute hecatomb.

Sterling Shepard went down with a fractured thumb, Corey Coleman tore his ACL and has been declared O.F.S., and Golden Tate is (as of now; he appealed) suspended the first four games.

This leaves a huge hole on the depth chart, hence translating to opportunity for rookies such as Darius Slayton. Slayton is a fast, lengthy wideout, who was already expected to compete for the WR3 role with Bennie Fowler, Cody Latimer and Russell Shepard.

This WR battle will be worth watching this offseason as it could impact redraft leagues as well.

Slayton is slotted in the 60 spot as he has been dealing with a hamstring issue since pre-draft workouts, something to monitor as camp rolls on.

Another rookie to keep an eye on is Reggie White Jr. out of Monmouth.

Bruce Anderson, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Speaking of opportunity, the Buccaneers’ backfield is a massive question mark. Peyton Barber is still very much replaceable, Ronald Jones failed to impress in year one, and a new coaching staff means a fresh start. All running backs on the roster will be looking to impress the new personnel.

Clocks reset for Barber & Jones and that works in rookie running back Bruce Anderson’s favor.

The North Dakota State alum has a huge opportunity to impress and grab a role in the Buccaneers offense. At the very least, he’ll be competing for the RB3 role on the depth chart with Andre Ellington.

Anderson was extremely productive in the FCS and has a very pro-ready build and skill-set. People seem to be realizing the opportunity Anderson is presented with and hype seems to be building.

I’ve received some pretty outstanding offers for Anderson in the past month, including Chris Carson for Bruce Anderson.

He’s a sleeper 100% worth keeping an eye on this offseason, as an eventual late-round flier in redraft leagues.

James Williams, RB, Free Agent

Now, the toughest part of this article. If you read prior versions of these rankings, you saw I was VERY high on James Williams, running back out of Washington State.

As a prospect, James Williams projected as the best receiving back in this class (he still does in my opinion). After being signed as a UDFA (to many people’s surprise) by the Chiefs, he was cut two months later. An even bigger surprise considering the Chiefs’ backfield situation. Therefore leading me to the inevitable drop down the rankings.

I couldn’t completely cut him out, as I still believe he has the talent to make a dent somewhere at the next level. Such an early cut does hurt my expectations though. Nevertheless, I still can’t picture a 2019 NFL season without James Williams having a role somewhere. But as of now, he remains team-less. Draft at your own risk (I’m hanging on to my shares).

Ezekiel Elliott Holdout

One of the biggest storylines this offseason has been the running back holdouts (following Bell’s 2018 holdout). First, came Melvin Gordon (backed up by the talented duo: Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson), then Ezekiel Elliott followed. After parting ways with Rod Smith and former ‘Bama lead-back, Bo Scarbrough, the Cowboys running back depth is very much in question.

America’s Team drafted two running backs in April: Tony Pollard, a receiving threat out of Memphis, and Mike Weber, a versatile back out of Ohio State.

Pollard already had value with Zeke present, but this situation does offer a small bump to his value. Pollard played as a hybrid WR/RB at times for the Tigers, along with being a very productive returner. He’ll more than likely be competing with Tavon Austin during the preseason.

I can’t imagine the Cowboys don’t give Zeke what he deserves, considering his importance (definitely more leverage than Gordon has). Pollard remains an interesting option in dynasty drafts.

DaMarkus Lodge, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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The Buccaneers receiving corp is pretty much locked down with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin holding the WR1 and WR2 roles. Beyond that, it gets blurry following DeSean Jackson‘s departure.

Essentially, the WR3 position on this team remains the 5th if not 6th passing option behind O.J. Howard, whoever starts at RB and Cameron Brate. But the new Buccaneers coaching staff may be attracted by DaMarkus Lodge, out of the dreaded Ole Miss receiving room, and his deep threat ability.

He’s an imposing receiver, tough to hold down on the line. He could complement well on the backside of the formation on the line. His route tree is rather limited to vertical routes, but with some refinement, he could turn into a fine WR2 over time.

Lodge will compete with Breshad Perriman (ew), Bobo Wilson (who Winston loves), Justin Watson, Scott Miller and Anthony Johnson (another rookie).

If Lodge plays his cards right, he can see some snaps from year one.

Top Targets/Sleepers

Here are eight RBs and WRs I found myself stashing/targetting a lot in my own dynasty teams.

RB WR Devin Singletary Deebo Samuel Ryquell Armstead Parris Campbell Bruce Anderson Andy Isabella Alexander Mattison Hunter Renfrow Myles Gaskin Kelvin Harmon James Williams KeeSean Johnson Elijah Holyfield Keelan Doss Alex Barnes Stanley Morgan Jr.

Positional Top-5

Rk QB RB WR TE 1 Kyler Murray Josh Jacobs N'Keal Harry T.J. Hockenson 2 Dwayne Haskins David Montgomery D.K. Metcalf Noah Fant 3 Drew Lock Miles Sanders A.J. Brown Jace Sternberger 4 Daniel Jones Devin Singletary Deebo Samuel Josh Oliver 5 Jarrett Stidham Darrell Henderson Parris Campbell Dawson Knox

Rookie Rankings

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