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Fantasy Football 2019: Dynasty Mock Draft, Rankings and Tips for Team Names
August 25, 2019
Fantasy football comes in all types of flavors, from daily leagues to season-long draft and auction formats. For fantasy fans looking to emulate the thrill of being a real NFL general manager, there's nothing like a dynasty league.
In dynasty formats, players are drafted and kept over the long haul. Most players will be kept for several years, occasionally being replaced through annual rookie and free-agent drafts. This means successes and failure during your draft won't just impact a single season. They're likely to follow your franchise for the foreseeable future.
If you're just joining a dynasty league or looking to start your own, you'll need to take a different approach than the one you're used to. You'll want to prioritize young players who will still be in their prime several seasons from now—and pay less attention to elder statesmen like Tom Brady and Drew Brees.
Here, you'll find some help in the form of a first-round dynasty mock draft, a Top 25 ranking of dynasty targets and a closer look at some incoming rookies worth building around.
We'll also examine some fun ideas for your dynasty team name.
2019 Dynasty Mock
1. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
2. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans
3. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers
4. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
5. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints
6. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys
7. Odell Beckham Jr., WR, Cleveland Browns
8. Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
9. Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers
10. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints
11. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
12. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns
Dynasty Top 25
1. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
2. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers
3. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans
4. Odell Beckham Jr., WR, Cleveland Browns
5. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints
6. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys
7. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
8. Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers
9. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints
10. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
11. Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
12. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns
13. Tyreek Hill, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
14. Amari Cooper, WR, Dallas Cowboys
15. David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals
16. Todd Gurley, RB, Los Angeles Rams
17. Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons
18. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings
19. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs
20. Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
21. Melvin Gordon, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
22. Stefon Diggs, WR, Minnesota Vikings
23. James Conner, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
24. George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
25. Kerryon Johnson, RB, Detroit Lions
Rookies to Target
It's already been established that when building the foundation of your dynasty team, you want to target players who are going to remain in their primes for the next several years. Naturally, rookies are a good place to start.
The problem with targeting rookies, however, is that they are unproven in the NFL—you know, just like in real life. Getting stuck with a rookie who doesn't pan out is quite painful for dynasty managers. Just ask anyone who took a chance on Johnny Manziel five years ago.
With this in mind, we'll examine two rookies who seem more likely to hit than to miss.
Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
Former Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray was the first overall pick in this year's draft. More importantly, he's already been tabbed to start for the Cardinals beginning in Week 1. That's important because it means you'll get immediate value from Murray, even if he struggles early.
This comes in contrast to a former draft bust like Manziel or Paxton Lynch, guys who weren't even low-end options out of the gate.
You're not drafting Murray to be a low-end starter, though. You're banking on his upside and hoping that he develops into a special signal-caller in the Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson mold. Starting out in an innovative Kliff Kingsbury offense should—in theory—put Murray on the fast track toward becoming a high-level quarterback.
It will, of course, be up to Murray to execute.
"This offense is going to be fast, and it's going to rely on spread principles, and it's going to put lots of decision-making on the quarterback's shoulders because of the multiple choices he has to make when he surveys the field," Peter King of NBC Sports wrote.
There is some risk with Murray, as there is with any unproven player, but the 22-year-old does have the potential to carry your fantasy team for the next decade.
Josh Jacobs, RB, Oakland Raiders
Unlike in traditional fantasy leagues, running backs are not always the prime position to target in dynasty drafts. While they're still often the leading scorers on a yearly basis, a shorter shelf life means that backs will likely only have a handful of prime years.
If you're going to target a running back high, you had better make sure he's going to have an every-down role.
Oakland Raiders rookie Josh Jacobs has the skill set to be an every-down back for the next half-decade—in time, of course.
"He won't be the feature back until he earns it," head coach Jon Gruden said, per ESPN's Paul Gutierrez. "He's got to prove he can get up time and time again."
This year's rookie class features several other talented running backs—Miles Sanders, David Montgomery, Devin Singletary and Damien Harris, to name a few. However, Jacobs is the one most likely to develop into a true workhorse within the next couple of years.
Dynasty Team Names
When naming your dynasty team, there are two basic approaches you can take. The first, and most traditional, is to play off one of your centerpiece players.
Just keep in mind that your players—and your league-mates—are going to stick around for a while. So, if you name your team Fournetter or Worse, and Leonard Fournette is no longer in the league three years from now, you're likely in store for a little mockery.
The other route you can take in dynasty leagues is to play on the dynasty format itself. You can add time-related puns or in-jokes that show where your team first started—Still Kickin' it with Mahomes could be fun in a few years.
Here are some suggestions based on potential dynasty building blocks aged 25 or younger:
That's What I Like About JuJu
The Golden McCaffreys
Saquon Is the Loneliest Number
Hot Chubb Time Machine
Lights, Kamara, Action
Baker, Baker One Nine
Goff My Lawn
Country Roads, Take Mahomes
Deshaun of the Dead
Blame It on the Dwayne