NFL Dynasty League Rookie Sleepers
Sep 16 | 2020
Miami Dolphins RB/WR Lynn Bowden Jr.
Bryan Woolston - Associated Press
As wildly entertaining fantasy football is, entering a dynasty league takes the love of fantasy football to the next level.
Instead of only being able to see your draft picks or auction buys on your team for one year, a dynasty league allows you to build the squad of your dreams. If you are savvy enough with draft picks and on the waiver wire, you could turn your fantasy football team into a feared group that is in the hunt for the league title year after year.
What makes dynasty leagues so interesting is your ability to find rookies and stash them on your roster, allowing them time to find their footing in the NFL. While players taken in the first couple rounds of April’s NFL Draft are scooped up earlier, we are going to look at some possible future studs who were selected in the third round of later in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Indianapolis Colts QB Jacob EasonAbbie Parr – Getty Images
Jacob Eason – QB – Indianapolis Colts
There weren’t many other spots Jacob Eason could have landed in the NFL that would have been better than Indianapolis. The Colts signed veteran quarterback Philip Rivers during the offseason before drafting Eason, which means Indianapolis doesn’t need their fourth-round pick to step in and contribute right away. Instead, Eason can soak up knowledge from Rivers, backup Jacoby Brissett this year, and position himself to take over the quarterback job in 2021 if the Colts don’t bring Rivers back for a second season.
Eason started his college career at Georgia, tossing 16 touchdowns as a true freshman after coming to Athens as a five-star recruit. In the first game of his sophomore season, Eason was injured, which allowed Jake Fromm to take over, leading to Eason transferring to Washington, where he threw 23 touchdowns in 2019.
Eason was an intriguing prospect coming out of college because he has the measurables that scouts drool over, standing at 6-foot-6. Once Indianapolis decides to move on to Eason, he’ll have talented targets like Parris Campbell and Michael Pittman Jr. to work with. Once Eason gets to take a shot at earning the starting job, don’t expect him to give it up for a while.
Arizona Cardinals RB Eno BenjaminRick Scuteri – Associated Press
Eno Benjamin – RB – Arizona Cardinals
Eno Benjamin was one of the most electric running backs in college football the last two seasons. After seeing limited carries for the Sun Devils in 2017, Benjamin started making noise in 2018 by rushing for a school record 312 yards against Oregon State. In the last two seasons with Arizona State, Benjamin rushed for at least 100 yards in 15 games.
So why am I so high on a running back that was taken in the seventh round? Location, location, location. Not only will Benjamin be playing professionally just 30 minutes away from where he played college football, but he is also now part of one of the most promising young teams in the NFL. Benjamin joins quarterback Kyler Murray and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s dynamic offense.
Currently the Cardinals have Kenyan Drake and Chase Edmonds ahead of Benjamin at running back, but neither has been able to consistently stay healthy at the NFL level. It doesn’t feel like “if” Benjamin gets a shot to carry the load at running back, but more “when”. Once Benjamin gets a taste of the starting running back role, expect him to run with the opportunity.
Antonio Gandy-Golden – WR – Washington Football Team
Antonio Gandy-Golden might not have the name recognition that some of the wide receivers taken before him, but that doesn’t mean Gandy-Golden doesn’t have talent. The wide receiver from Liberty amassed three straight seasons of at least 1,000 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns.
What could set Gandy-Golden up for success is he’ll have a young quarterback to grow with. Dwayne Haskins will be entering his second season in the nation’s capital, and has to be happy to get a wide receiver who can go up and get the football and compliment the speedy Terry McLaurin. While McLaurin will likely get most of the love from Haskins since the two were teammates at Ohio State, expect Haskins to look Gandy-Golden’s way plenty in the future.
Lynn Bowden Jr. – RB/WR – Miami Dolphins
If you were looking for one word to describe Lynn Bowden Jr., it would be versatile. During his time at Kentucky, Bowden started his career as a returner, graduated to wide receiver, and last year was the team’s leading rusher while playing quarterback. Bowden was the recipient of the Paul Hornung Award as college football’s most versatile player in 2019.
The start of Bowden’s NFL career has been a little odd after the Las Vegas Raiders recently traded Bowden, who they selected in the third round of April’s NFL Draft, to the Miami Dolphins. Don’t let the trade scare you away from picking up Bowden, as he should have plenty of opportunities to make an impact on a young team that will be building around quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Expect Brian Flores to try and find creative ways to use Bowden in the future, as he could wind up being used in many of the same ways Percy Harvin was.
Cleveland Browns TE Harrison BryantKathy Hitchcock – Palm Beach Post
Harrison Bryant – TE – Cleveland Browns
How good is Harrison Bryant? Even though the Cleveland Browns already had Austin Hooper and David Njoku, they couldn’t pass up on the Florida Atlantic tight end. Bryant was the winner of the Mackey Award last year as the best tight end in college football, marking the first time a player from a Group of Five team won the award. Bryant finished the season with 65 catches for 1,004 yards and seven touchdowns.
With the depth Cleveland has at tight end, they don’t need Bryant to be a star right away, but they do have big plans for him in the future. With a young quarterback like Baker Mayfield to work with, Bryant could become one of Mayfield’s favorite targets going forward. While Mayfield was at Oklahoma, one of his favorite targets was Mark Andrews, and you could see a similar relationship develop with the talented Bryant.
