Fantasy Football 2016: Rookie Rankings and Top Team Names for Young Stars

For Fantasy football owners, it seems like there are fewer options at skill positions in 2016 when it comes to rookies.

So it goes when the 2015 class was one of the most loaded of the past decade. Not only did Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota provide insurance at quarterback behind starters, Amari Cooper, Todd Gurley and Melvin Gordon provided solid production, so long as owners could avoid landmines such as Kevin White and DeVante Parker.

This year, the situation is much tougher to figure out. Here's a look at rookie rankings based on standard scoring leagues:

Rank	Player	POS	Team
1	Ezekiel Elliott	RB	DAL
2	Corey Coleman	WR	CLE
3	Michael Thomas	WR	NO
4	Josh Doctson	WR	WAS
5	Sterling Shepard	WR	NYG
6	Laquon Treadwell	WR	MIN
7	Jared Goff	QB	LA
8	Derrick Henry	RB	TEN
9	Will Fuller	WR	HOU
10	Kenneth Dixon	RB	BAL
11	Kenyan Drake	RB	MIA
12	Devontae Booker	RB	DEN
13	Carson Wentz	QB	PHI
14	C.J. Prosise	RB	SEA
15	Jordan Howard	RB	CHI

It's not hard to see why this is so difficult. The best quarterback is Jared Goff of the Los Angeles Rams, which isn't an inspiring situation, Gurley or not. The best running back, Ezekiel Elliott of the Dallas Cowboys, will post surefire production if he can stay healthy—but he's already run into his first injury issue and it's the first week of August.

Wideout is much more encouraging, but guys like Corey Coleman and Laquon Treadwell have so-so quarterback situations, while guys like Josh Doctson, Sterling Shepard and Michael Thomas, for now at least, find themselves buried on depth charts.

But rookies normally are simple depth picks, and these guys fill the role well. They do even better in dynasty and keeper leagues but offer plenty of value in the later rounds of standard formats, too, though the gap between Elliott and the rest is gigantic.

Top Team Names for Young Stars

LaQuantum Physics

Andy Clayton-King/Associated Press

With the way Laquon Treadwell measures out, one would think he's an experiment under some hard-to-understand tagline created by scientists.

The No. 23 pick in the draft by the Minnesota Vikings, Treadwell comes in at 6'2" and 221 pounds. He also ran a 4.63 40-yard dash and posted a vertical of 33.5 inches at his pro day.

This aggressiveness at the line of scrimmage and ability to go up and get the ball at its highest point over smaller defensive backs helped him post 1,153 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns last year at Ole Miss.

Fun name aside, Treadwell might have some problems producing right out of the gates if he's slow to adapt to pro speed. Others such as Stefon Diggs and Charles Johnson are ready to make an impact right away, not to mention Minnesota remains a run-first team with Adrian Peterson.

Still, it's nice to have this name in the back pocket just in case.

Shake It Goff

Ryan Kang/Associated Press

The above might be what Goff needs to do after his rookie season.

Provided Goff wins the camp battle with Case Keenum, the 6'4", 215-pound California product doesn't seem to have much to work with on paper. Gurley will line up behind him, but a receiving corps of Tavon Austin, Kenny Britt and Brian Quick looks much the same as the ineffective one in recent years.

Granted, Goff tossed 45 touchdowns to 13 interceptions last year and has already drawn rave reviews in camp from notables such as NFL Network's Gil Brandt:

If Goff can ride Gurley and pick apart what defenses give him with the box stacked, he could make out as a nice fantasy spot starter here and there.

If not, well, the name applies.

Zeke and Destroy

Health is the only thing separating fantasy owners from a draft bust and massive production from Elliott.

Everyone knew as soon as the Cowboys drafted Elliott fourth overall the team's goal was to ride him like a workhorse back and round out an offense headlined by Tony Romo and Dez Bryant.

NFL Network's Mike Mayock put it best: "A couple years ago DeMarco Murray carried the football 449 times, had 2,200 yards, and I think Elliott is a better football player. You plug him in there behind an offensive line that's in their prime, and you take a ton of pressure off a 36-year-old Tony Romo."

At 6'0" and 225 pounds, Elliott is a bulldozer of a back who ran for more than 1,800 yards in each of his final two seasons at Ohio State with 18 or more touchdowns in both campaigns.

Zeke and Destroy, indeed. So long as he can stay on the field, the old fantasy adage "touches equals production" absolutely applies to Elliott, who will get the benefit of opposing defenses playing on heels instead of toes while attempting to shut down an elite passing game.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats. Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com.