Fantasy Football 2023 Rookie Rankings: Honorable Mentions

We have had time to digest the NFL draft, peruse depth charts and dig into the picks a bit. Now it’s time for the real work to begin for fantasy owners – preparing for draft season. As always, my prep begins in earnest post-draft, as I start thinking about these newcomers and the effect they’ll have on the existing players. These five rookies probably won’t be super impactful in 2023, but they have a chance. Keep them in mind as fliers when draft day hits later this summer, and keep tabs on their progress throughout the preseason.

C.J. Stroud, QB, Texans (Round 1, Pick No. 2 overall)

Stroud was a sensible pick for the Houston Texans, who are rebuilding a fairly barren roster and now have an essential building block in place. Stroud is a rock solid prospect, who was absolutely prolific at Ohio State throwing for 85 touchdowns and more than 8,000 yards in just two seasons. Stroud deals with some lazy criticisms, mostly that he was surrounded by ridiculous NFL-caliber talent at WR (true, but not his fault) and the stigma that tails Ohio State QBs who haven’t translated at the NFL level. Stroud is different from those types in that he is not reliant on the run game like Justin Fields was, or others before him who weren’t as good as Fields. Stroud is athletic enough to scramble, but he barely ran at all with the Buckeyes, rushing for just 108 yards last year and -20 in 2021.

Stroud is a pure pocket passer, and with protection and an improving receiving corps, he could eventually light up the league. That infrastructure isn’t built up quite yet though, so rookie year Stroud doesn’t figure to be much more than a fantasy streamer.

Jayden Reed, WR, Packers (Round 2, Pick No. 50 overall)

Reed would probably be more exciting if Aaron Rodgers were still under center. He did not put up monster stats last season – 55 receptions, 636 yards, five touchdowns – but we’ve seen big production from him before in 2021, and it’s his skill set that makes him attractive. At Michigan State Reed was most successful running curls, slants and corner routes per Reception Perception. 19.4% of his routes were nines, which he struggled with, but in Green Bay he’ll have Christian Watson taking care of those. Reed is being brought in to handle a lot of the intermediate and short stuff, and he has proven ability to win in contested catch situations making him a player new starter Jordan Love is likely to target. There is a world in which Jayden Reed is a playable option in full-PPR leagues as a rookie.

Jaylin Hyatt, WR, Giants (Round 3, Pick No. 73 overall)

Hyatt is a pure burner who hasn’t shown much ability to do much besides either run straight ahead past defenses, or cut it off into a dig or curl. And hey…that wasn’t so bad! He put up 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns last year for one of the SEC’s best offenses and averaged damn near 19 yards per reception. Hyatt is getting knocked for his limited route tree and for Tennessee’s offense essentially being designed to get him open, but he excelled at what was asked of him. These limitations probably eliminate the possibility of Hyatt turning into a WR1 as a rookie, but he brings exactly the type of downfield terror the Giants desperately need in their passing game.

The likeliest outcome for Hyatt is he makes a lot of splashy plays but doesn’t become someone you can rely on in Year 1. Still, his potential is tantalizing.

A.T. Perry, WR, Saints (Round 6, Pick No. 195 overall) 

Perry has struggled with drops in his college career, which is a big red flag. But it seems like the drops caused the hate to go too far. Perry fell to New Orleans in the sixth round of the draft, and his production at Wake Forest makes that seem like a steal. He averaged 1,194.5 yards across his final two seasons and tallied 26 touchdowns in that span. He’s a tall, outside receiver which would complement the smaller, versatile Chris Olave, and he showed he can use that big frame. Perry put up a 70.7% success rate vs. man coverage, and a 60% success rate vs. double coverage, and he was double covered on 13.2% of his routes. Olave will dominate snaps and targets in this passing game, but Tre’Quan Smith, Jarvis Landry, and Rashid Shaeed are all beatable. Perry has a decent shot at being the WR3 in this offense, and with Derek Carr in tow, and Alvin Kamara likely to miss time due to a suspension, he could flirt with relevance in deeper leagues.

Anthony Richardson, QB, Colts (Round 1, Pick No. 4 overall)

Richardson is going to be one of the most polarizing players in fantasy this summer. Richardson blew up the NFL Combine like few before him ever have, and his skill set – fantastic rusher – sets him up for fantasy success. Many will start drooling at the comparisons to Cam Newton and Jalen Hurts, but to me, those comparisons are a bit disrespectful to Newton and Hurts. While they were projects in their own way upon joining the NFL, they had been prolific producers in college with their legs and their arms. While both needed a lot of work before becoming credible NFL passers who could lead an offense from the pocket, there was statistical evidence that it was a possibility. Richardson sure has every physical tool possible, but his passing production is…uhhh….lacking. Richardson has thrown 24 career touchdown passes, 17 fewer than Stroud threw for last season. While Richardson has a very strong arm, his yards per attempt were just 7.8, and he posted a ghastly 53.8 completion percentage.

Can a QB succeed with low-end passing numbers? Sure. We have seen Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts and Justin Fields all do it at a high level. But while our game isn’t “real,” the real world does intervene. We might be happy with Richardson even if his passing stinks because the rushing numbers sustain him. But the Colts are trying to win real games, and if Richardson’s simply too erratic to consistently run their offense, Gardner Minshew is a steady hand they can turn to while Richardson gets acclimated. In fact, there’s a real chance that Richardson does not open the year as a starter. If we had guarantees that Richardson is the man in Week 1, he likely would crack the Top 10, but even then there is risk. Even Fields, who was a very raw prospect passing-wise, is ahead of where Richardson is currently and Fields wasn’t’ even averaging 150 yards per game. I’d be more excited about him with assurances that he’s the starter right away, but I do believe his passing game limitations lower the rookie year ceiling.