This article is part of our Dynasty Strategy series.
Thanks to the reporting from too many good football writers to name who were on the ground at Senior Bowl practices, we have some new information already about this year's rookie class. These rankings are updated in light of those reports.
The players will be grouped into tiers in addition to the descending ranking order. The more notable changes since the last publication are addressed.
EDIT: Sorry but I forgot to include Darius Slayton (WR, Auburn)*, Olamide Zaccheaus (WR/RB, Virginia) and Isaac Nauta (TE, Georgia)* who should be in Tier 7 somewhere
Tier 1
1. D.K. Metcalf, WR, Mississippi*
2. Marquise Brown, WR, Oklahoma*
3. N'Keal Harry, WR, Arizona State*
4. A.J. Brown, WR, Missisippi*
Tier 2
5. Josh Jacobs, RB, Alabama*
6. Damien Harris, RB, Alabama
7. Darrell Henderson, RB, Memphis*
8. Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma
9. Emanuel Hall, WR, Missouri
Tier 3
10. Kelvin Harmon, WR, North Carolina State*
11. Andy Isabella, WR, Massachusetts
Isabella is still a good prospect and one of the top dynasty assets of the draft, but he probably didn't help himself at the Senior Bowl practices. He struggled at times to secure clean releases from the slot, where he most easily projects for snaps at 5-foot-9, 186 pounds, and while it's not something I personally care about he might face criticism for his mounting reputation as a body catcher. Whereas I thought he could propel himself to the top 40 this week, I think it's more likely he's capped himself at the mid-second round. I'd be shocked if he fell past the fourth, though.
12. Parris Campbell, WR, Ohio State
Tier 4
13. Rodney Anderson, RB, Oklahoma
14. Mecole Hardman, WR, Georgia*
Hardman wasn't at the Senior Bowl as an underclassman but I lowered him in my rankings all the same and figured I should mention it. I'm still very high on Hardman and pretty much think everyone else is wrong right now, but the objective odds of that being true are not very good. Hardman is a bit of a project as a recent CB convert, and if he falls to the fourth round it might be hard for him to get the number of development reps he needs to harness his potential fully. I'm buying at the discounted price if I get the chance, but there's no need to pay up in the meantime.
15. Preston Williams, WR, Colorado State*
16. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, WR, Stanford
Tier 5
17. Deebo Samuel, WR, South Carolina
Along with Penny Hart, Samuel was called not only one of the best receivers at the Senior Bowl but one of the top players generally. His age is advanced – he turned 23 recently – and that cheapens the value of his otherwise encouraging college production a bit, but his Senior Bowl showing was strong enough that he convincingly neutralized those concerns for the time being. I projected him as a 3rd-to-5th round pick before the Senior Bowl but he's looking like a 2nd-to-4th now. I doubt he'll test great at the combine but if he does Samuel could become a compelling prospect.
18. Devin Singletary, RB, Florida Atlantic
19. Elijah Holyfield, RB, Georgia
20. Dwayne Haskins, QB, Ohio State
Tier 6
21. Dillon Mitchell, WR, Oregon*
22. Trayveon Williams, RB, Texas A&M*
23. Mike Weber, RB, Ohio State*
24. Irv Smith, TE, Alabama*
25. T.J. Hockenson, TE, Iowa*
26. Justice Hill, RB, Oklahoma State*
27. Bryce Love, RB, Stanford*
28. Kaden Smith, TE, Stanford*
29. Noah Fant, TE, Iowa*
30. Lil'Jordan Humphrey, WR, Texas*
31. Penny Hart, WR, Georgia State
I'm definitely guilty of overlooking Hart, assuming his disappointing senior year production was a sign that his earlier dominance was a flash in the pan. At 5-foot-8, 180 pounds, I couldn't convince myself that he'd have the physical projection to offset his production decline. That was dumb.
By all accounts, Hart was murderously good all week and was perhaps the toughest cover among the Senior Bowl receivers. When you recall the early-career production he showed at Georgia State – accumulating nearly 1,100 yards and eight touchdowns in 13 games as a true freshman – it suddenly becomes clear that he finished under 700 yards in 2018 for reasons mostly outside of his control. I compared him to Trent Taylor going into the Senior Bowl and that remains fair for the most part, but I think at this point that he's better than that.
32. Greg Dortch, WR, Wake Forest*
33. KeeSean Johnson,WR, Fresno State
34. Hakeem Butler, WR, Iowa State*
Tier 7
35. Antoine Wesley, WR, Texas Tech*
36. Gary Jennings, WR, West Virginia
37. Jakobi Meyers, WR, North Carolina State*
38. John Ursua, WR, Hawaii*
39. Anthony Ratliff-Williams, WR, North Carolina*
40. David Sills, WR, West Virginia
41. Riley Ridley, WR, Georgia*
42. Jaylen Smith, WR, Louisville
I still believe in Smith as a prospect, but I needed to drastically lower his dynasty value projection because it doesn't look like he'll be drafted in the first four rounds, which would be awful for his opportunity projection. Smith hasn't stood out at Senior Bowl practices, and while his age-adjusted production says he's a gamer anyway, there's no reason to think any NFL teams think similarly right now.
43. Karan Higdon, RB, Michigan
44. Caleb Wilson, TE, UCLA*
45. Miles Sanders, RB, Penn State*
46. Tony Pollard, RB/WR, Memphis
47. Ty Johnson, RB, Maryland
48. Jace Sternberger, TE, Texas A&M*
Tier 8
49. Jarrett Stidham, QB, Auburn
50. Drew Lock, QB, Missouri
51. Terry McLaurin, WR, Ohio State
McLaurin did very well for himself at the Senior Bowl and should test very well as an athlete, but as a redshirt senior with advanced age it's difficult to reconcile his perceived upside with the fact that he only really produced one season, and at an age where he was often a couple years older than the competition. His athleticism gives him some real tools to work with, though, and he might have earned the third-most praise at receiver this week behind Samuel and Hart.
52. Keelan Doss, WR, UC-Davis
53. Alex Wesley, WR, Northern Colorado
54. Anthony Johnson, WR, Buffalo
55. Dexter Williams, RB, Notre Dame
The Senior Bowl recognized Williams as the best running back in practice this week, which helps him build some momentum in a class where the field is wide open. Williams has a bit of a character history and was a late bloomer at Notre Dame, but he was highly productive in 2018 and makes a fine sleeper to emerge with NFL snaps given how horizontally-oriented this running back class is.
56. David Montgomery, RB, Iowa State*
57. Jordan Scarlett, RB, Florida*
58. Benny Snell, RB, Kentucky*
59. Jalin Moore, RB, Appalachian State
60. Ryquell Armstead, RB, Temple
61. Travis Homer, RB, Miami (FL)*
62. Qadree Ollison, RB, Pittsburgh
63. Hunter Renfrow, WR, Clemson
64. DaMarkus Lodge, WR, Mississippi
65. Tyre Brady, WR, Marshall
