Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings: Who I'm Higher/Lower Than Consensus On

Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings: Who I'm Higher/Lower Than Consensus On

Alex Cupps debuts his dynasty fantasy football rankings on Fantasy Life and highlights a handful of players he's higher than consensus on and a handful he's lower on.

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Big news: I am stoked to announce that I just published my first-ever set of comprehensive dynasty fantasy football rankings on Fantasy Life! Dynasty has always been my personal favorite format, so I’m looking forward to creating content surrounding it over the season.

To kick things off, I started by comparing my personal rankings to consensus startup ADP over the past month (via DynastyDataLab). These are five players I’m higher and lower on than consensus.

Higher Than Consensus In My Dynasty Rankings

JAC_jaguars-logo.svgTrevor Lawrence | QB | Jaguars

  • Consensus: QB11
  • Cupps: QB7 (+4)

Over the last seven games of 2025, Trevor Lawrence finished as a top-five option at the position on average. The new offensive scheme implemented by Liam Coen last season has clearly been a game-changer for him. 

With five pass catchers coming off the board within the first 160 picks of drafts (not to mention two running backs as well), it’s clear the fantasy community is absurdly high on the 2026 Jaguars. I have my picks for favorites among those guys, but the safest bet is definitely just going with Lawrence himself.

NYG_giants-logo.svgCam Skattebo | RB | Giants

  • Consensus: RB18
  • Cupps: RB12 (+6)

I’ve talked this offseason extensively about how undervalued I believe Skattebo is in all formats, but particularly dynasty.

In my article on players that could define the 2026 season, I called out several of the areas Skattebo shined among ALL running backs as a rookie:

  • 15.96 FPPG (10th)
  • 27% First Down Market Share (% of team’s total first downs accounted for) (8th)
  • 25.9 receiving yards/game (7th)
  • 82.7 PFF Receiving Grade (7th)

RB18 is far too low for one of the most impactful rookie backs we’ve seen this decade.

IND_colts-logo.svgJosh Downs | WR | Colts

  • Consensus: WR47
  • Cupps: WR33 (+14)

I firmly believe 2026 will finally be the year of Josh Downs

He’s consistently been a top performer on a per-route basis—ranking ninth among all wide receivers in TPRR over the first three seasons of their careers. Of the eight receivers above him, 100% have posted at least one 16+ FPPG season.

Michael Pittman is gone; Alec Pierce’s outlook is uncertain due to injury … the runway is clear for the Josh Downs liftoff this year.

MIA_dolphins-logo.svgCaleb Douglas | WR | Dolphins

  • Consensus: WR95
  • Cupps: WR55 (+40)

I really want to be ahead of the market when it comes to rookies in dynasty. I am totally fine overspending on them if I believe they have a strong case to drastically rise in value. Being 40 spots ahead of consensus on Caleb Douglas is a perfect example of this.

I wasn’t a huge fan of Douglas’ production profile on its own, but when you combine it with his size/athleticism and draft capital, we get some really interesting comps:

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Given this list of names—guys like Allen Robinson, Terry McLaurin and DK Metcalf coming out as three of his closest comps—along with the nonstop buzz from training camp and preseason, Douglas is a guy I want to jump on quickly in dynasty.

PIT_steelers-logo.svgEli Heidenreich | RB | Steelers

  • Consensus: RB80
  • Cupps: RB54 (+26)

Another deep sleeper 2026 rookie for me is Pittsburgh Steelers RB Eli Heidenreich. Coming off the board in the 2026 draft at 230th overall, the path to production is obviously going to be difficult. However, Heidenreich had one of the most interesting receiving profiles I’ve seen among running backs not only in the 2026 rookie class, but over the past decade.

Across his college career, he averaged the following:

  • 11.5-yard avg. depth of target (100th percentile among RBs since 2014)
  • 14.2% avg. first downs/route (100th %)
  • 43% avg. receiving yard market share: 43% of Navy’s receiving yards came from Heidenreich alone (100th %)
  • 0.33 avg. targets/route (99th %)
  • 3.92 avg. yards/route (98th %)

Truly mind-blowing receiving production for a running back. The path to playing time might be muddy, but I’m extremely confident in Heidenreich’s fantasy-friendly skillset if he finds himself on the field.


Lower Than Consensus In My Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings

NE_patriots-logo.svgTreVeyon Henderson | RB | Patriots

  • Consensus: RB12
  • Cupps: RB19 (-7)

I really, really want to like TreVeyon Henderson, but I’m afraid he’s always going to be a prospect the market likes more than I do. 

He was drawing “Jahmyr Gibbs lite” comps coming into the league, which leads me to my biggest issue with Henderson’s profile: his receiving skillset simply isn’t as strong as people give him credit for. In college, he was inefficient on a per-route basis:

  • 0.04 avg first downs/route (55th % among all RB prospects)
  • 1.14 avg yards/route (50th %)
  • 0.11 avg targets/route (19th %)

He didn’t do much to dispel these concerns in his rookie season either. Among qualifying RBs (>50 routes run):

  • 2.06 receptions/game (33rd) 
  • 0.93 yards/route (43rd)
  • 0.17 targets/route (32nd)

Falling below Rhamondre Stevenson in several of these categories as well, not what we want to see from the young RB who supposedly offered a dual-threat fantasy skillset. Especially considering the bearish camp reports recently, Henderson is a guy I’d love to trade out of before the season begins.

KC_chiefs-logo.svgRashee Rice | WR | Chiefs

  • Consensus: WR17
  • Cupps: WR26

I’m pretty bullish on Rice’s immediate outlook in 2026, but anything past that starts concerning me a bit. I’m not sold on him as a top-tier talent at the WR position—I believe his fantasy impact stems more from the situation and usage in KC specifically. This isn’t ideal, especially when we consider he’ll be an unrestricted free agent after the 2026 season.

It’s possible KC re-signs him, but with concerns surrounding his off-the-field issues, I’m guessing they let him test the market. I’d look to move off of him this year if you can afford to lose the points in your starting lineup.

GB_packers-logo.svgMatthew Golden | WR | Packers

  • Consensus: WR44
  • Cupps: WR56 (-12)

Golden is quite possibly the epitome of a ‘perfect’ sell candidate in dynasty for me. His prospect profile was extremely poor entering the NFL; he didn’t do anything in Year 1, and he’s still retaining value.

I didn’t draft much Golden in 2025 since I wasn’t a fan of the profile, but if I did have any shares left, I’d be sending out offers to move off of him wherever I could.

DET_lions-logo.svgIsaac TeSlaa | WR | Lions

  • Consensus: WR72
  • Cupps: WR86 (-14)

TeSlaa is essentially “Matthew Golden Jr.” for me. He’s cheaper, but I have the same sentiment here.

This was a prospect profile I felt was drastically overvalued entering the NFL, but considering he seems very good at making highlight-reel plays, there’s still a market out there. If I’m competing and can move off of TeSlaa for any future third-round rookie pick, or some cheap veteran points (Calvin Ridley, Jerry Jeudy, etc.) I would take it and run.

SEA_seahawks-logo.svgAJ Barner | TE | Seahawks

  • Consensus: TE17
  • Cupps: TE33 (-16)

This AJ Barner ranking really surprised me—I had no clue the dynasty community was so high on him! He finished 20th in FPPG last season with a very replaceable 8.66 points per game. 

Barner is currently ranked above the following TEs, all of whom I’d prefer to him:

Even scrolling down further, we see guys like Terrance Ferguson (TE25), which I feel strongly about as higher-upside bets than Barner. I’d be looking to move off of him ASAP at TE17 overall prices.


Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. Trevor Lawrence
    TrevorLawrence
    QBJACJAC
    PPG
    20.3
    Proj
    304.3
  2. Cam Skattebo
    CamSkattebo
    RBNYGNYG
    PPG
    14.2
    Proj
    204.3
  3. Josh Downs
    JoshDowns
    WRINDIND
    PPG
    6.7
    Proj
    149.9
  4. CalebDouglas
    WRMIAMIA
    Proj
    48.8

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