Lance's Rookie Fantasy Ninjas 2023

I did this for the first time last season. The premise is that it seems like every season we see at least one rookie pop-up out of nowhere, and often that player plays an integral role for their fantasy team in the playoffs. Some recent examples were Darius Slayton (5th round pick in 2019 and #35 WR in fantasy), James Robinson (Undrafted in 2020 and #7 RB in fantasy), Elijah Mitchell (6th round pick in 2021 and #26 RB in fantasy), and Tyler Allgeier (5th round pick in 2022 and #28 RB in fantasy).

In order to be considered for this the player has to be flying relatively under the radar and has to have been a day 3 pick or went undrafted. Here are my top five ninjas to watchout for:

5) WR Demario Douglas (New England) - 6th Round

A longshot, but this would be a typical Belichick thing to happen. By that I mean he spent a second round pick on a Receiver last year, and it would fit right in with past circumstances that this 6th round pick would blow up. Douglas fits well into New England's system, the question is whether or not he can earn a big role as a rookie.

4) WR Puka Nacua (LA Rams) - 5th Round

Despite having Cooper Kupp, Receiver is a weaker position group for the Rams. I don't view Skowronek as a starter and I feel Van Jefferson is more of a WR3 type. Nacua should have the opportunity to earn playing time provided the Rams don't bring in anyone else.

3) RB Chase Brown (Cincinnati) - 5th Round

Now that the contract has been sorted out there's less concern over Joe Mixon going into this season, but there's still the misdemeanor charges that are currently pending, and there's his usage (over 1500 touches to date). Don't be surprised if Brown gets a healthy amount of work this season so that the Bengals can both keep Mixon fresh for a deep playoff run, and see what they have in Brown going into next season (when they could opt to move on from Mixon).

2) WR Xavier Hutchinson (Houston) - 6th Round

Hutchinson is a physical possession Receiver with reliable hands. He's exactly the kind of guy you want on the field to help build your young Quarterback's confidence. The starting Receiver positions for Houston should be up for grabs and I think Hutchinson has the talent to snag one this preseason.

1) DeWayne McBride (Minnesota) - 7th Round

Technically Roschon Johnson fits into the scenario I laid out above, but I listed him as my rookie sleeper so I'm excluding him here. McBride is an easy choice for this exercise in my opinion. He should not have fallen to the 7th round. He averaged 7.1 YPC at UAB! That's outstanding. And a bulk of his yardage came after contact. All eyes are on Alexander Mattison for this Minnesota backfield, but I'd suggest you keep one eye on McBride too.