Tue Jun 2nd 2026

Dynasty Stock Risers Since Last Year

• Smith-Njigba was drafted 32nd in last year’s draft and was drafted 6th in this year’s draft. He was a third-round pick a year ago and a first-round pick this year.
• JSN’s third-year breakout skyrocketed his dynasty stock. Last season, he scored 40 more points than he did in his first two seasons combined. He finished the season as the second-highest scoring wide receiver in fantasy. Thus, the incredible rise from a third-round pick a year ago to a top-half-of-the-first-round pick this year. In this start-up draft, he was selected ahead of Ja’Maar Chase and Puka Nacua, who are the only two players I have ranked ahead of JSN in my dynasty rankings. He’s rightly a first-round dynasty pick in start-up drafts, no matter the order of the top three receivers taken. JSN serves as a reminder to be patient with wide receivers drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. Sometimes they do take a few years to break out. The first-round receivers drafted in 2024 have disappointed for the most part, except Malik Nabers, who had an awesome rookie season before getting injured last year, and Brian Thomas, who will be on the dynasty fallers article next week. What if JSN’s year three breakout could be repeated by Marvin Harrison, Rome Odunze, Xavier Worthy, Ricky Pearsall, or even Xavier Legette? JSN’s stellar third season coincided with the hiring of a new offensive coordinator in Seattle, Klint Kubiak, and a new quarterback, Sam Darnold. None of the year-three receivers fit that bill perfectly, but Rome Odunze and Marvin Harrison are the closest, so they will have the best chance to breakout this coming year as JSN did last year.

Trevor Lawrence

• Lawrence was drafted 49th in last year’s draft and was drafted 27th in this year’s draft. He was a fifth-round pick a year ago and a third-round pick this year.
• Lawrence got a new head coach, Liam Coen, and everything changed for him as a result, especially during the back half of the season. He scored the most touchdowns of his career, including nine on the ground, and finished the season as the fourth-highest scoring quarterback. For the first time in his career, Lawrence’s dynasty managers have reason to believe he can live up to his once-in-a-generation quarterback hype from four years ago. His dynasty stock had fallen to the lowest point in his career before the last season, and now it is the highest it has ever been, at least in my rankings. He’s now my 12th-ranked quarterback. He’s finally paired with a great offensive coach who has added weapons around him. While Brian Thomas, mentioned earlier, fell off the cliff in his sophomore season and Travis Hunter was injured midseason, Jacobi Meyers and Parker Washington saw their dynasty stock rise alongside Lawrence’s last season, too. When a great offensive mind and an incredible quarterback prospect connect, things change for an entire offense. If I were to predict something similar for another quarterback this season, I would name Justin Herbert as the candidate now that he’s paired with Mike McDaniels. Herbert could easily see the most productive season of his career this season. Cam Ward could also be a prime candidate for improvement with his new offensive coordinator, Brian Daboll, and all the new weapons the Titans added in free agency and the draft, like Wan’Dale Robinson and Carnell Tate.

Kenneth Walker

• Walker was drafted 63rd in last year’s draft and was drafted 41st in this year’s draft. He was a sixth-round pick a year ago and a fourth-round pick this year.
• Unlike the other players on this list, Walker’s rise in dynasty value was not based on a stellar 2025 season. Walker finished last year as just the 20th-highest-scoring running back. With just 162 fantasy points, which was just 28 points more than the previous season and 17 and 9 points less than his rookie and second seasons. He produced near the same level last year as he always had, but the big difference was that he saved his best games for the playoffs and was the Super Bowl MVP. He scored 66 fantasy points in the three playoff games. That’s 40% of what he scored in the 17 regular-season games! His end-of-season performance on the biggest stage changes his value in the eyes of dynasty managers and the Kansas City Chiefs, who signed him as a free agent to be their leading running back. Walker’s signing with the Chiefs is undoubtedly the biggest reason his dynasty stock has risen since last year. The Chiefs know that they need a bigger playmaker in their running game and proved it by the offseason moves, letting Isaih Pacheco go and giving Walker the second-most money for a free-agent running back this year. The Chiefs are always one of the most productive offenses in the league with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid, so dynasty managers rightly expect Walker to be productive and score a lot more touchdowns in Kansas City than he did in Seattle, where they preferred Zach Charbonnet in the red zone over Walker. In Kansas City, I expect Walker to score the most touchdowns and fantasy points of his career.

Chris Olave

• Olave was drafted 88th in last year’s draft and was drafted 44th in this year’s draft. He was an eighth-round pick a year ago and a fourth-round pick this year.
• Olave did something last year that he had never done before. He stayed healthy. The result was the most productive year of his career with 170 fantasy points, finishing as the 6th highest scoring receiver. In addition to Olave’s health, he was made more productive by a new head coach, Kellen Moore, who runs the fastest-paced offense in the league and is an excellent playcaller. Coach Moore helped Olave live up to his talent and finally meet the lofty expectations of dynasty managers who drafted him early in the first round of rookie drafts four years ago. The final factor driving Olave’s huge rise in dynasty value over the last 12 months was the performance of rookie quarterback Tyler Shough. Olave’s production increased even more after Shough replaced Spencer Rattler as the Saints’ starter. Olave went from being strapped to a very uncertain quarterback situation to a certain one by the end of the season. All that remains now is for Olave to sign a new contract with the team to secure his future in New Orleans. This year’s start-up draft was before the NFL draft, so the manager who selected Olave with the 44th pick was not aware that the Saints would draft Jodyn Tyson in the first round. Still, I do not think Tyson’s presence will change Olave's dynasty stock. Both can be productive pieces of a fast-moving, high-scoring offense. I’m confident they will.

Tucker Kraft

• Kraft was drafted 84th in last year’s draft and was drafted 48th in this year’s draft. He was an seventh-round pick a year ago and a fourth-round pick this year.
• I can speak about Kraft’s 40-spot rise in dynasty because I was the manager who drafted him last year and this year at those spots in these two tight-end premium leagues. Last year, I drafted Kraft fully expecting a breakout season, and I was proven right. He was the top-scoring tight end before he was injured last year, and he still finished the season second in points per game, only behind Trey McBride. The Packers let several of their pass catchers go in free agency and trades this offseason, making for even less competition for targets in the future. I would not be surprised at all if Kraft, once fully recovered from his injury, becomes the Packers’ top target in the passing game, and there is no doubt that he will be the second most targeted player at worst. Kraft’s big play ability and run after catch numbers set him apart from every other tight end in the league. He led all tight ends with 9.1 yards after catch last year, with 325 total yards after catch and 108 yards expected after catch. He’s the closest thing in the NFL to peak George Kittle, and he’s just getting started. He’s my third-ranked dynasty tight end, just behind Brock Bowers and Trey McBride and ahead of Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren. His recovery from ACL surgery is on pace, and I expect him to start the season and pick up right where he left off last year.

Kyle Pitts

• Pitts was drafted 112th in last year’s draft and was drafted 56th in this year’s draft. He was a ninth-round pick a year ago and a fifth-round pick this year.
• Pitts continues to be an enigma for dynasty managers even after his career-best season last year with 122 fantasy points, finishing as the third-highest scoring tight end. The problem was that 28% of his fantasy points came in one game. Dynasty managers remember painfully or joyfully his ridiculous performance in the first round of the fantasy playoff last year when he scored 35 half PPR points or up to 51 points in tight-end premium leagues. Take away that game, and he would have finished as the 15th highest scoring tight end last year, just after AJ Barner and ahead of Colby Parkinson. Looking at it that way, there is little to be excited about. Still, a game like that is something Pitts is capable of doing. The sight of him doing so restored hope that he can perform to the level expected of him by dynasty managers when they drafted him in rookie drafts as a can’t-miss prospect. The Falcons added little by way of competition for targets this offseason, and they signed Tua Tagovailoa to compete with Michael Penix for the starting quarterback role. Most significantly, they hired Kevin Stefanski as their head coach, a coach with a history of making tight ends productive in his offenses, as he did last season with Harold Fannin. There’s reason for optimism and doubt with Pitts. His potential keeps him a player that many dynasty managers are still willing to bet on. He’s risen to 8th in my dynasty tight-end rankings, and he was the 8th tight end taken in this most recent start-up draft, though the manager who selected him commented that he hated to have to make that pick.

Alec Pierce

• Pierce was drafted 238th in last year’s draft and was drafted 59th in this year’s draft. He was a nineteenth-round pick a year ago and a fifth-round pick this year.
• Pierce is far and away the player whose dynasty value rose the most over the last twelve months. He went from being a player drafted as a late-round depth piece a year ago to a player drafted to fill a starting role this year. Pierce, like Pitts, was a bit of an enigma last year, too, because so much of his production was based on big plays. He had only 47 receptions, but 1,003 yards receiving, giving him a ridiculous NFL-leading 21.3 yards per catch. There’s no way he can produce like that again. His best games were with Daniel Jones at quarterback, but he was lost midway through the season and will possibly not be ready to start this season, so there’s another red flag against Pierce. On the positive side, however, the Colts let Michael Pittman go in free agency, Adonai Mitchell in a trade, and signed Pierce to by far the highest wide receiver contract in free agency this season. They place all their bets on Pierce. He cannot be a one-trick pony next season. He has to become a do-it-all receiver playing alongside Josh Downs and Tyler Warren. I am not sure he can do it, and I would not have drafted him as early as he was drafted in this most recent startup draft. I doubt most dynasty managers would have drafted him this early either. He was drafted ahead of Ladd McConkey, Zay Flowers, Rome Odunze, Marvin Harrison Jr., Jordan Addison, DeVonta Smith, and Luther Burden. All of these players are ranked far ahead of Pierce in my rankings, where he sits as my 46th-ranked receiver, just four spots ahead of his teammate, Josh Downs. Pierce should absolutely have a gigantic rise in dynasty rankings from a year ago, but not as high as he rose in the eyes of this particular manager.

Daniel Jones

• Jones was drafted 105th in last year’s draft and was drafted 62nd in this year’s draft. He was a ninth-round pick a year ago and a sixth-round pick this year.
• A year ago, Jones was drafted late in a superflex league because he had signed a one-year prove-it deal with Indianapolis, and it was uncertain he would even earn the starting role. A year later, he has signed a two-year deal to remain with the team and build upon the surprisingly awesome start to the season he had last year before getting injured. Jones became last year’s Sam Darnold, as a first-round quarterback left for dead to sign with a new team and get a second chance and make the most of it. I’m not saying Jones will parlay his bounce-back year into a Super Bowl win like Darnold, but he’s a startable quarterback in superflex leagues and deserves to be drafted as highly as he was in this most recent startup draft. He finished 13th in points per game last season, as coach Steichen masterfully crafted the most efficient offense in the league. The Colts were averaging 29.75 points per game last season before Jones got injured. Jones made the offense run, and he can do it again after he gets healthy. His Achilles injury could make him less likely to run the ball, so I expect fewer fantasy points on the ground. Still, he’ll run an offense well with one of the best offensive minds and best running games in the league with Jonathan Taylor. What a huge bounce-back season from last year, let alone how far his dynasty stock has fallen since the end of his time with the Giants! Finding a starting quarterback at pick 105 two years ago is like finding gold.

Javonte Williams

• Williams was drafted 148th in last year’s draft and was drafted 73rd in this year’s draft. He was a fifteenth-round pick a year ago and a seventh-round pick this year.
• This last player is one I drafted myself, getting Williams eight rounds ahead of where he was drafted a year ago as my second running back, drafted with every expectation to start in my lineup every week for years to come. A year ago, Williams signed a one-year prove-it deal with the Cowboys, and prove it he did! He scored the most fantasy points of his career (208) and finished as the 11th-highest-scoring running back. He was rewarded by the Cowboys, who signed him to a three-year deal to be their lead back of the future. A year ago, the uncertainty in a start-up draft was the competition in the backfield with Miles Sanders and rookie Jaydon Blue. Williams smoked them all right out of the gate, and Sanders and Blue hardly saw the field last year. Malik Davis surpassed them to become the team’s top backup, even. Williams always had the potential to be a productive leading running back, but injuries and a coaching staff committed to a committee approach kept him shackled in Denver. Once given the full load in Dallas, he proved he could not only hold up physically, but he could produce to the level his dynasty managers had hoped when they drafted him five years ago. He was only 21 when drafted, so he’s just 26 now. He’s also not had as many carries as a five-year veteran because he missed a lot of time with injuries. There’s no reason to believe he can’t be a very productive back over the next three years. I was thrilled that he fell to me at the 6-7 turn this year, and I am even more amazed that a year ago I traded Cedric Tillman for Williams straight up. I’d say that worked out pretty well for me!

Leave your comment using the form below

Name
Comment
Enter the code