I think this year's rookie class is better than last year's

[dynastyninja]

This is a long post, but it's mostly because of the lists. I couldn't think of a good way to shorten them. When responding, I'd recommend not quoting me because it could end up being a really long page

I'm not sure how much in the minority I am, but I think that this year's rookie class is better than last year's class. I'm not saying that the 2015 class will have a better collective career than 2014 because that is very situation dependent and hard to predict, but I am saying that the talent across the board is better.

An important note is that I'm only looking at RBs and WRs for this discussion because that is our main focus in fantasy and where I focused the majority of my research pre-draft.

First, look at the running backs. This class is easily better. Gurley and Gordon blow everyone out of the water . For this discussion here is a list of the top rbs in each class (and I'm going off of CBS prospect rankings for the orders):
2014
Hyde
Sankey
Mason
Hill
Andre Williams
West
Freeman
Carey
Sims

2015
Gurley
Gordon
Coleman
Johnson
Abdullah
Ajayi
Johnson
Yeldon
Langford
Cobb

The more important list, and the one I want to focus on is the wide receivers:
2014
Watkins, Evans, Beckham
Cooks
Lee
Robinson
Latimer
Benjamin
Matthews
Moncrief
Adams
Landry
Ellington
Bryant

2015
Cooper, White, Parker
Perriman
DGB
Dorsett
Agholor
Strong
Smith
Greene
Coates
Funchess
Lockett
Conley
McBride
Hardy

I think the biggest thing here that separates this year's receivers from 2014 is the depth. The top three guys from each class are pretty even to me in terms of talent. In terms of pure talent (pre-draft, not counting situation) I would take the 2015 class afterwards.

It's very hard to break this down because there are so many people to discuss, but last year the only guys I really thought really had the talent to be very good in the NFL were the top 3 and then Matthews, Latimer, Robinson, Landry, Adams, Lee, Benjamin, and maybe Bryant. This is eight more guys, but it really tails off at the end for me.

If we're looking at this class after the top 3, the guys who I thought had the talent to be really good in the NFL were Perriman, DGB, Smith, Lockett, Strong, Coates, Funchess, Dorsett, Agholor, and then Conley. That is 10 receivers, and I feel a lot more confident about that group as a whole. Guys like Strong, Coates, Funchess, and Dorsett really help solidify that depth because I thought they all looked really good in college. The only thing preventing them from being taken higher is the crazy number of good receivers this year.


So if we go back to my main point, this year's class is definitely better to me. At running back it is very clear which class is better, and the wide receivers across the board are better to me in 2015. Thoughts?

[RichDynastyFB]

Rookie Draft cheat sheet version two: May 25th

Quarterbacks
1. Teddy Bridgewater, MIN
2. Johnny Manziel, CLE
3. Blake Bortles, JAX
4. Derek Carr, OAK
5. Zach Mettenberger, TEN
6. Logan Thomas, ARI
7. Jimmy Garoppolo, NE
8. Aaron Murray, KC
9. David Fales, CHI
10. Tom Savage, HOU

Running Backs
1. Bishop Sankey, TEN
2. Carlos Hyde, SF
3. Tre Mason, STL
4. Jeremy Hill, CIN
5. Devonta Freeman, ATL
6. Isaiah Crowell, CLE
7. Ka’Deem Carey, CHI
8. Lache Seastrunk, WAS
9. Storm Johnson, JAX
10. Terrance West, CLE
11. Charles Sims, TB
12. Andre Williams, NYG
13. James White, NE
14. Jerick McKinnon, MIN
15. Tyler Gaffney, CAR
16. James Wilder, CIN
17. Lorenzo Taliaferro, BAL
18. Marion Grice, SD
19. Dri Archer, PIT
20. DeAnthony Thomas, KC
21. Henry Josey, PHI
22. Kapri Bibbs, DEN
23. Silas Redd, WAS
24. Antonio Andrews, TEN
25. Alfred Blue, HOU

Wide Receivers
1. Sammy Watkins, BUF
2. Mike Evans, TB
3. Brandin Cooks, NO
4. Odell Beckham Jr., NYG
5. Jordan Matthews, PHI
6. Davante Adams, GB
7. Marqise Lee, JAX
8. Allen Robinson, JAX
9. Kelvin Benjamin, CAR
10. Donte Moncrief, IND
11. Cody Latimer, DEN
12. Paul Richardson, SEA
13. Martavis Bryant, PIT
14. Jarvis Landry, MIA
15. Jared Abbrederis, GB
16. Jeff Janis, GB
17. Robert Herron, TB
18. Brandon Coleman, NO
19. Shaq Evans, NYJ
20. TJ Jones, DET
21. Bruce Ellington, SF
22. Josh Huff, PHI
23. Quincy Enunwa, NYJ
24. Cody Hoffman, WAS
25. John Brown, ARI

Tight Ends
1. Eric Ebron, DET
2. Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TB
3. Jace Amaro, NYJ
4. Colt Lyerla, GB
5. Troy Niklas, ARI
6. CJ Fiedorowicz, HOU
7. AC Leonard, MIN
8. Joe Don Duncan, NE
9. Arthur Lynch, MIA

Overall Top 50
1. Sammy Watkins, WR BUF
2. Mike Evans, WR TB
3. Brandin Cooks, WR NO
4. Odell Beckham Jr., WR NYG
5. Eric Ebron, TE DET
6. Jordan Matthews, WR PHI
7. Davante Adams, WR GB
8. Marqise Lee, WR JAX
9. Allen Robinson, WR JAX
10. Bishop Sankey, RB TEN
11. Carlos Hyde, RB SF
12. Kelvin Benjamin, WR CAR
13. Donte Moncrief, WR IND
14. Cody Latimer, WR DEN
15. Tre Mason, RB STL
16. Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE TB
17. Teddy Bridgewater, QB MIN
18. Jeremy Hill, RB CIN
19.Jace Amaro, TE NYJ
20. Devonta Freeman, RB ATL
21. Johnny Manziel, QB CLE
22. Blake Bortles, QB JAX
23. Isaiah Crowell, RB CLE
24. Ka’Deem Carey, RB CHI
25. Lache Seastrunk, RB WAS
26. Storm Johnson, RB JAX
27. Terrance West, RB CLE
28. Paul Richardson, WR SEA
29. Martavis Bryant, WR PIT
30. Jarvis Landry, WR MIA
31. Charles Sims, RB TB
32. Andre Williams, RB NYG
33. James White, RB NE
34. Derek Carr, QB OAK
35. Jared Abbrederis, WR GB
36. Colt Lyerla, TE GB
37. Jeff Janis, WR GB
38. Robert Herron, WR TB
39. Troy Niklas, TE ARI
40. Jerick McKinnon, RB MIN
41. Brandon Coleman, WR NO
42. Shaq Evans, WR NYJ
43. Zach Mettenberger, QB TEN
44. TJ Jones, WR DET
45. Tyler Gaffney, RB CAR
46. Logan Thomas, QB ARI
47. Jimmy Garoppolo, QB NE
48. Bruce Ellington, WR SF
49. James Wilder, RB CIN
50. CJ Fiedorowicz, HOU

The fallacy to this argument is we have not seen the 2015 rookies yet. Above are the DLF Rookie Rankings for May 25, 2014. This clearly illustrates that many of the 2014 rookies that didn't even make your list were highly regarded during the 2014 offseason, only to not realize those expectations when the NFL pads went on.

I daresay many of the highly touted rookies of 2015 will suffer a similar fate,

[evorzan]

That's a really strong take. I have more of a question than a thought: how does this affect how you are attacking your rookie drafts and trade proposals this offseason? Are you able to successfully rake in some of these players that you feel strongly about? What do your teams look like before and after any moves or acquisitions that you've made?

I personally bought heavily into the 2014 and 2015 drafts, trading depth for 1sts and trading out of the 2013 and 2016 1st rounds. 2014 was a success for me, player acquisition wise, and I'd like to do the same this year - curious to see how you're going about it.

[doktor]

That's a really strong take. I have more of a question than a thought: how does this affect how you are attacking your rookie drafts and trade proposals this offseason? Are you able to successfully rake in some of these players that you feel strongly about? What do your teams look like before and after any moves or acquisitions that you've made?

I personally bought heavily into the 2014 and 2015 drafts, trading depth for 1sts and trading out of the 2013 and 2016 1st rounds. 2014 was a success for me, player acquisition wise, and I'd like to do the same this year - curious to see how you're going about it.

This is a good point. I also moved some '16 picks to get into these '14/15 classes. It can be a risky business - studs could easily come out of '16... But '14 at least has shown to have paid off in this regard. '15 remains to be seen. I did make a power move for Parker though...

[Jason3123]

I won't agree that's better, but I won't disagree either. I think it's right on par, but different.

The WR depth is better, but the 2014 class has more superstars in my opinion. Cooper, White, Parker are nice, and although Cooper holds his own against OBJ/Watkins/Evans, White and Parker do not IMO. Not in terms of prospects. Evans and Watkins were elite prospects. Cooper is an elite prospect, but White burst on the scene out of nowhere, so to me he doesn't have as much pedigree as those 2. Parker, although 3 nice seasons, didn't break out completely till his senior year, and had he entered the 2014 class, he wouldn't have been a first round pick.

The RB class is much better though. Especially at the top. Gurley, Gordon and Yeldon all easily out rank the 2014 class IMO. Abdullah and Duke also help make the class much stronger IMO, even Coleman.

The TE class blows though compared to last year. Ebron, Amaro and ASJ absolutely destroy this class. Maxx holds his own IMO but the rest...ehh.

Back to the WR class. I think 2015 has some nice WR's, where as 2014 has more stars, especially if Bryant continues to develop. Cooks, Robinson and Matthews though elevate the 2014 class to a whole different level than the 2015 2nd tier guys of Perriman/Agholor/DGB.

Great post though, strong take. We are all benefitting as dynasty players the last 2 years.

[auggiedoggies]

I agree on the RBs (obviously) but strongly disagree on the WRs.

Looking at a lot of the "mid round" wrs from this year's draft, I see a lot of metrics guys who struggle with the small things that are needed to be a successful NFL WR. I'm talking about guys like Coates, Funchess, Conley, Strong (who just kinda sucks at everything), Lockett. And I'm not a big fan of Dorsett or Agholor. For me, I actually think this WR class is going to end up being a big time disappointment.

It's just so rare for a WR class to end up like last years. Look at the guys who went in the 2nd round of the NFL draft. J Mat, A Rob, Latimer, Adams, Landry. That's crazy!

Not to mention, I think the top 3 from 2014 blow the top 3 from this year away. I would rank it:

OBJ
Evans
Cooper/Sammy


White/Parker

I just don't see it with this year's class. I like DGB and Perriman, but I don't think they're going to end up being that close to the A Rob/JMatt tier.


Love the take though, well thought out and very reasonable!

[Friction]

It's so hard to comment on this until at least this season, and possibly further. Rookies wrs usually take awhile to develop, but we should at least get an idea once the games are played. I am really interested to see how DGB looks on the field, if he gets actual significant snaps, and the rbs. Also, I really want to see if the sophomores live up to the hype, and who regresses or takes the next step. Obj, Evans, Cooks and Robinson are extremely hyped for having a season (or less mostly) under their belts. It was a deep class though when even guys like Adams, John Brown, Bryant, and Landry made larger than expected strides in their first year.

[dynastyninja]

I agree on the RBs (obviously) but strongly disagree on the WRs.

Looking at a lot of the "mid round" wrs from this year's draft, I see a lot of metrics guys who struggle with the small things that are needed to be a successful NFL WR. I'm talking about guys like Coates, Funchess, Conley, Strong (who just kinda sucks at everything), Lockett. And I'm not a big fan of Dorsett or Agholor. For me, I actually think this WR class is going to end up being a big time disappointment.

It's just so rare for a WR class to end up like last years. Look at the guys who went in the 2nd round of the NFL draft. J Mat, A Rob, Latimer, Adams, Landry. That's crazy!

Not to mention, I think the top 3 from 2014 blow the top 3 from this year away. I would rank it:

OBJ
Evans
Cooper/Sammy


White/Parker

I just don't see it with this year's class. I like DGB and Perriman, but I don't think they're going to end up being that close to the A Rob/JMatt tier.


Love the take though, well thought out and very reasonable!

I think where we differ on the wide receivers is I'm comparing the classes before they actually played in the NFL. I'm fairly certain that you're looking at how they rank in a startup today because you have OBJ and Evans over Sammy (something we almost never saw before the 2014 draft). I'm talking the talent level of this class compared to the talent level of last year's class pre-draft. Situation and other factors affect how they do in the NFL.

As for the rest of the guys, I really don't like Robinson that much and would take quite a few guys from this class over him. I like JMatt a lot, but talent-wise he isn't above guys like DGB, Perriman, Lockett, and Smith.

[Franky Four Fingers]

I actually really like both draft classes. Colleges seem to be producing many more NFL ready wrs than in years past. But if we're simply going on pedigree 2014 far outclasses 2015 for the wrs. DGB didn't even play college ball last year, Dorsett never had a single 1000 yard season in college, White was a one year wonder, Parker was literally hurt every year & Smith only had 33 total catches last year (that's with 3 extra games between big 10 title game and national title games)
Don't get me wrong I'm heavily invested in this years class with my one team ive drafted for (Ajayi, David Johnson, M. Jones, Langford, Dorsett, & Smith) but last years wr class was a cut above. Jordan Mathews is SEC all time leaving reciever, Allen Robinson led the big 10 in consecutive seasons, Evans & Watkins were beasts. Benjamin helped lead Seminoles to a title, et ... I hope I'm wrong and this years class turns out to be similar but I think the rbs will be the cream of this years crop with several dissapointments among the wrs

[M-Dub]

I really hope you're right, because I have eight of them.

[DynoScout]

I don't agree but the difference likely boils down to just a handful of evaluations, like Allen Robinson and Nelson Agholor.
Robinson slipped to the mid-second and Agholor was drafted 1.20, but I had Robinson graded top 20 and Agholor as a top 50. I'm just a guy with a hobby, so take it with a grain of salt.

I will point out that the CBS sports 2014 prospect list used above omits some RB/WR that I was pretty high on, like John Brown, Isaiah Crowell, Jerrick McKinnon, and Paul Richardson.

[jeffster]

I agree on the RBs (obviously) but strongly disagree on the WRs.

Looking at a lot of the "mid round" wrs from this year's draft, I see a lot of metrics guys who struggle with the small things that are needed to be a successful NFL WR. I'm talking about guys like Coates, Funchess, Conley, Strong (who just kinda sucks at everything), Lockett. And I'm not a big fan of Dorsett or Agholor. For me, I actually think this WR class is going to end up being a big time disappointment.

It's just so rare for a WR class to end up like last years. Look at the guys who went in the 2nd round of the NFL draft. J Mat, A Rob, Latimer, Adams, Landry. That's crazy!

Not to mention, I think the top 3 from 2014 blow the top 3 from this year away. I would rank it:

OBJ
Evans
Cooper/Sammy


White/Parker

I just don't see it with this year's class. I like DGB and Perriman, but I don't think they're going to end up being that close to the A Rob/JMatt tier.


Love the take though, well thought out and very reasonable!

I basically agree with auggie on everything here. RBs aren't even a discussion; 2015 appears far better at this stage. For me though, when I split the WRs from 2014 and 2015 into tiers, I like nearly every tier from 2014 better than 2015. Particularly the top and middle. And if Sammy hadn't landed in such a crap situation, he would certainly be higher than auggie has him. I also like Cooks nearly at the White/Parker level, but I seem to be higher than most.

The only place I sort of like the 2015 class better is on the deep long-term fliers, like Kenny Bell and Tre McBride. I've stashed them everywhere I could.

[FiremanEd]

I love hearing some people say 'X has more talent than X'. I read those things and it is such a moving and biased scale that I don't even know what it means half the time. Half the time it's just pure athleticism, others it is upside due to their measurables, and other it is their refined technique. Perhaps it is a different discussion all together, but I'd be interested to have people define 'talent' and the qualities associated with it.

To the topic - Coming into the league as a positional group, i would say;

QB - 2015. I've always liked Teddy, but his stock crash at pro day dropped the positional outlook. It was a weird, but semi-warranted situation since guys don't look that bad as top picks. Winston/Mariota would have topped the list of combined.

RB - 2015. The class is deeper and overall more talented.

WR - 2014. There are guys to like in this class, but 2014 had top depth this class doesn't and equally good top end talent. Admittedly I would have Amari>Watkins coming out (preference on style) and White>Evans, but outside of that the 2014 class toe-to-toe down the line was superior I think.

TE - 2014. More high-end talent and depth.

[Dynasty DeLorean]

I think Cooper/Parker/White could be better than everyone except OBJ for the receiver group last year. And Gurley/Gordon are likely better than anyone from last years RB group. So over the last 2 years, 4 of the top 5 rookies could be from this year and I suppose that would make it better. But only time will tell. People were tripping over themselves for Watkins last year, and while I think he can be a good player I don't think he'll live up to the 1.01. Same with Mike Evans, he'll have to show he's more of a consistent threat than Vincent Jackson was.

[evorzan]

I wrote an article for DLF with my takes on this subject. You can find it here: http://dynastyleaguefootball.com/2015/0 ... is-better/