Top-5 Fantasy Winners of the NFL Draft

By Kyle Dvorchak
Kyle Dvorchak

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas


The Cowboys could not come to a contract agreement with Dak Prescott and were forced to hit him with the franchise tag. They'll either be paying the ultimate price by giving him a mega-deal next season because of how incredibly set up for success they've made him.

Amari Cooper is one of the most historic wide receivers in the league based on his early career surge. Cooper's 2,903 yards by the age of 23 are the seventh-most ever. Gallup's first season was modest but by year two he had 1,107 yards in a single season. Both are 25 years or younger with room to improve yet. Then, the Cowboys go out and add CeeDee Lamb with the 17th overall pick. The Cowboys could be trotting out the best three-wide set in the NFL and they have multiple weapons in the backfield. Ezekiel Elliott is a talented rusher and Tony Pollard was 8th in the NFL in yards per touch as a rookie last season. Add Blake Jarwin and his 68th-percentile athleticism and Prescott will be physically incapable of throwing to an inefficient player on any given snap, regardless of formation or personnel. He should easily push into the second tier of quarterbacks behind Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson.

 

4. Ke'Shawn Vaughn, RB, Tampa Bay

Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians made it very clear that Ronald Jones was not their back of the future and he probably isn't even their back for right. Jones was benched multiple times for pass-blocking issues and now the Bucs have statue-passer Tom Brady under center. Arians is going to be delighted to pull Jones on every passing down for their 76th-overall pick .

Vaughn rushed 198 times for 1,028 yards in his final season at Vanderbilt and added 28 receptions through the air. He was used in all phases of the game and that's another trait Arians values, "You can see them all run; I want to see them catch". Now he has a back that can do that and one that has shown efficiency as a rusher. Drew Lock's departure torpedoed Vanderbilt's offense in 2019 but while he was under center in the previous season, Vaughn averaged a stunning 7.9 yards per carry on 157 rushes. He will push Jones for touches in Week 1 and could be a three-down back by the end of the season.

 

3. Drew Lock, QB, Denver

Drew Lock isn't as good of a passer as Prescott but his team has made even more of an effort to overhaul their weapons in the past few seasons. The Broncos have added Courtland Sutton, who posted an 1,100-yard season in his sophomore campaign, and Noah Fant, whose 562 receiving yards as a rookie are the 15th-most for a tight end. This draft was the real game-changer though.

Jerry Jeudy has been lauded as one of the best route-running prospects in recent years and they nabbed him with the 15th pick. To give themselves even more explosive upside on every play, they selected K.J. Hamler and Albert Okwuegbunam in the second and fourth-round respectively. Hamler posted 16.1 yards per reception in his final season at Penn State and Okwuegbunam ran a 4.49 Forty-Yard Dash at 6'6" and 258 pounds. Lock is surrounded with talented players and incredible athletes who will prop up his erratic, strong-armed passing style.

 

2. Jalen Reagor, WR, Philadelphia

Interestingly, this spot was mostly given to another wide receiver, Justin Jefferson. However, the Eagles have been adamant about adding downfield players around Carson Wentz for years. Nelson Agholor failed in that role (among others) and DeSean Jackson hasn't played a full season since 2013. With the field-stretching role still in flux, Howie Roseman and company selected TCU wide receiver Jalen Reagor with the 21st overall pick. Reagor owns 4.47 Forty-Yard Dash Wheels and dominated in college. He broke out at the age of 19 in his freshman season and peaked two years ago with 1,061 yards on 72 receptions. He also added 600 yards of special teams production in his final two seasons at TCU as a punt and kick returner. Between this and Philly's utter lack of options in the receiving game, Reagor is a lock to see the field often in Week 1. The Eagle's receiving corps is so weak that Alshon Jeffrey's ADP prior to the draft was the lowest among all 32 team's top-drafted receivers. Rookie wideouts have struggled to produce in year one recently but Reagor is set to buck that trend.

 

1. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, Kansas City

To keep it short, Clyde Edwards-Helaire just won the NFL Draft lottery. Kansas City was second in points per game at 29.9 last season and this includes multiple games without Patrick Mahomes under center. The prior season, Kansas City dropped 34.8 points per game.

Playing for the league's best offense has certainly been a boon to Damien William's value. Including his postseason games, Williams has scored 23 times in his past 20 games with the Chiefs.

Williams is not a special player. He played five seasons for the Miami Dolphins and never once supplanted their starting back. He was unable to top 50 carries in any of his seasons with the Phins. Dating back to his time at Oklahoma, Williams has no track record of shouldering the bulk of his team's backfield or even getting an above-average share of the carries.

On the other hand, if the Chiefs are spending a first-round pick on CEH, they believe he is the type of back who can command 200 or more touches in a season. If he comes close to approaching that number on an offense led by Mahomes. CEH will be an elite back for years to come.