Fantasy Football Rookie Stock Watch: Risers and fallers from 2020 NFL Draft

Fantasy Football rookie tight end risers, fallers and rankings

The rookie tight end who saw the largest lift in his fantasy football stock after the NFL Draft was UCLA product Devin Asiasi, taken in the third round by the Patriots. The transfer from the University of Michigan was an afterthought in a fairly weak tight end crop, and was absent from many pre-draft rankings, my own included.

Asiasi now has our attention, as he has arguably the clearest path to playing time of any rookie tight end. He’ll battle fellow rookie Dalton Keane and a host of underwhelming veterans for the opportunity to start in Week 1 for the Patriots.

Cole Kmet sat atop the seven tight ends we ranked back in March. He stays atop our rankings for now, despite finding himself mired in a logjam of several Chicago Bears tight ends. At one point, he was one of ten tight ends on the roster; his toughest competiton now comes in the form of Jimmy Graham, a former Pro Bowler in the twilight of his career who hasn’t been relevant for fantasy purposes since 2017.

Adam Trautman of Dayton rises from third to second in our rankings on the heels of his selection by the New Orleans Saints. Trautman possesses rare athleticism for the position, which he put on display at the NFL Combine:

Missouri’s Albert Okwuegbunam was reunited with his college quarterback on draft day, and if it weren’t for the presence of Noah Fant, he’d be higher in our rankings than he already is. Yet, as the fastest tight end at the combine, it’s not hard to envision the Broncos employing more 12 personnel to give Drew Lock ample opportunities to sync up with his former teammate.

LSU playoff hero Thaddeus Moss, who finished just outside our rankings prior to the draft, got a lift by signing as an undrafted free agent with the Washington Redskins. Not only does Moss have a great shot of making the roster, he has a legitimate opportunity to become the starter.

Meanwhile, Florida Atlantic’s Harrison Bryant, our second-ranked tight end, tumbles down our rankings after being drafted in the fourth round by the Cleveland Browns. It’s hard to imagine a worse landing spot after the team threw a bunch of money at Austin Hooper in free agency, but talent finds a way; the fact that the Browns spent a bit of draft capital on him offers a glimmer of hope…

Brycen Hopkins of Purdue also drops a few spots, and I wasn’t overly high on him, to begin with. It’s not hard to envision him beating out Gerald Everett as the Rams’ TE2, but he’ll have a tough path to targets behind Tyler Higbee and a solid wide receiving corps led by Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods.

Hopkins now ranks behind Packers rookie Josiah Deguara on my list, an agile Cincinnatti prospect. However, the Rams rookie is notched just above Hunter Bryant, as the former Washington Husky will have a hard time making a splash as an undrafted rookie free agent for the Detroit Lions.

Updated dynasty rookie tight end rankings:

1. Cole Kmet, CHI
2. Adam Trautman, NO
3. Devin Asiasi, NE
4. Albert Okwuegbunam, DEN
5. Thaddeus Moss, WAS
6. Harrison Bryant, CLE
7. Josiah Deguara, GB
8. Brycen Hopkins, LAR
9. Hunter Bryant, DET
10. Colby Parkinson, SEA

In the coming days and weeks, we’ll turn our attention to established, rostered NFL players and examine their fantasy football fortunes. Stay tuned as we go division-by-division to highlight the risers and fallers, starting with the NFC.