I belong to a dynasty fantasy football league that’s in its 3rd year now. And for those who don’t know what a “dynasty league” is, it’s a fantasy football league where the entire roster is carried over from year to year, and the draft is only for rookies. It’s a 12-team league with 29-man rosters and you start 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, a TE, Kicker, and Team Defense. We held our inaugural draft in 2008 (for veterans and rookies).

Last year, which was the first time I even tried to research rookies for a fantasy draft, I realized that there wasn’t a whole lot of information online ranking only rookies. So I decided to post the results of our own draft to help other players understand where the rookies are being drafted.

And good luck in your own fantasy drafts!

First Round

1. Jahvid Best
2. Ryan Mathews
3. CJ Spiller
4. Dez Bryant
5. Sam Bradford
6. Ben Tate
7. Montario Hardesty
8. Toby Gerhart
9. Mike Williams
10. Dexter McCluster
11. Demaryius Thomas
12. Golden Tate

My pick: Just like in regular fantasy football, the RBs leapt off the board right away, with half the picks at that position, leaving my team in a tough position at #7. I desperately needed some young RBs because my top guys the past year have been Thomas Jones and LaDainian Tomlinson, and they’re going to be put out to stud in the next year or so. Should I choose the higher-rated #2 WR on my board? Or fill my biggest need with the #6 RB? In the end, I chose Hardesty over Demaryius Thomas because Hardesty should be the feature back in Cleveland. His skills match up pretty well with the West Coast offense. He’s a good receiver and blocker in addition to being a punishing runner.

Best pick: Jahvid Best as the first pick of the draft. Anyone who has seen him play knows how electric he is. His impact on the Lions offense should be huge — as long as he can stay healthy, that is. It’s a little surprising of a pick, though, because there is SO much concern about his injury history.

Biggest surprise: Actually, this 1st round went pretty close to my own rankings, so the big surprises of the 1st round were only minor. It’s a toss-up between Gerhart and Mike Williams. I had Gerhart rated #12 overall and Williams #14, so they’re not that big of a reach at this point.

Second Round

13. Arrelious Benn
14. Jimmy Clausen
15. Colt McCoy
16. Jermaine Gresham
17. LeGarrette Blount
18. Jonathan Dwyer
19. Brandon LaFell
20. Tim Tebow
21. Jimmy Graham
22. Jordan Shipley
23. Anthony Dixon
24. Eric Decker

My pick: Following a theme, here, I still wanted to beef up my RB corps, and Jonathan Dwyer is my 7th-rated RB and my 13th overall-ranked player. It was a no-brainer for me. He should fill the backup RB role in Pittsburgh in 2010, and should pay immediate dividends on a team that expects to return to its power-running roots in 2010. And if Mendenhall gets hurt or lands in the doghouse again, Dwyer should be able to pick up the slack.

Best pick: Outside of my own pick, it’s another toss-up between Brandon LaFell and Jordan Shipley. I think the 2nd round is too early to be picking project players, and a lot of guys who were picked here fall into that category. LaFell and Shipley look like they’re going to have immediate impact on their teams and be pretty reliable right out of the gate. Shipley might even have the most immediate impact of any rookie WR this year because his skills match up so well with how the Bengals want to use him — as a super-quick slot receiver with fantastic hands. LaFell should also be the starter in Carolina across from Steve Smith.

Biggest surprise: Jimmy Graham. He defines the term “project”. He only played football for one year at Miami and didn’t really show much production. He IS super athletic and has a high ceiling, and may be a big red-zone target on the high-powered Saints, but he hasn’t really shown anything at all yet. But people look at him and immediately think of Antonio Gates.

Third Round

25. Carlton Mitchell
26. Joe McKnight
27. Mardy Gilyard
28. Damian Williams
29. Emmanuel Sanders
30. James Starks
31. Taylor Price
32. John Skelton
33. Anthony Moeaki
34. Riley Cooper
35. Charles Scott
36. Abdul “Deji” Karim

My pick: There are going to be some really good players coming out of this round — and some guys who will fade into oblivion. I hope my pick, Damian Williams, the WR in Tennessee, is one of the former. He’s a really polished WR who has good speed, runs crisp routes, and is very disciplined. All three of those aspects separate him from the Titans’ 2009 rookie WR star, Kenny Britt, and might make him an even better pro than Britt. Plus, Britt is in Jeff Fisher’s doghouse because he’s out of shape and lacks work ethic. Williams was my 16th-rated player and 8th-rated WR.

Best pick: Carlton Mitchell. Everything I’ve seen and heard about this guy makes him seem like a future superstar. He has great size, speed, toughness, and good hands. Plus, he only has Mohamed Massaquoi and Brian Robiskie ahead of him, really. Now, last year, I loved Robiskie (I actually drafted him in the 2nd round of the draft in 2009 because I thought he was the most pro ready of the WRs), but he did nothing. He may still bounce back, but I think Mitchell is much more talented and has a future in an improving Browns offense.

Biggest surprise: Riley Cooper. Karim was also a surprise, but I had Cooper ranked #55 overall — and the 21st-ranked WR. He’s just too far down the depth chart in Philadelphia. And even though I think he’s a solid player, there’s no way he’ll be a bigger part of the passing game than Desean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Brent Celek.

Fourth Round

37. Andre Roberts
38. Dezmon Briscoe
39. Marcus Easley
40. Rob Gronkowski
41. David Reed
42. Tony Pike
43. Mike Kafka
44. Dorin Dickerson
45. Zac Robinson
46. Anthony McCoy
47. Jacoby Ford
48. Ed Dickson

My pick: I was really hoping that Dezmon Briscoe would fall to me at 39, but no such luck — he went one pick too early. So I settled for Marcus Easley, who could be a big contributor as a rookie starter on the Bills. Of course, that’s certainly no guarantee of success. It’s the Bills, after all. But he is a big target with OK speed and good effort. His hands are inconsistent, but they are improving. He was the #33 overall player on my list and the 14th WR.

Best pick: Dezmon Briscoe. He has great size and good speed to go along with excellent concentration, athleticism and body control. Knocks against him are his lack of upper-body strength and the fact that he seldom ran routes inside. But once Ochocinco or Antonio Bryant leave town, Briscoe will be able to step right in.

Biggest surprise: Mike Kafka. The guy who took Kafka already has Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, and Vince Young on his team, and to reach for a guy like Kafka is very surprising. He doesn’t fit a need and nobody thinks he has NFL-level skills or arm.

Fifth Round

49. Blair White
50. Dennis Pitta
51. Rashawn Jackson
52. David Gettis
53. Kerry Meier
54. Patrick Paschall
55. Dimitri Nance
56. Joique Bell
57. Stafon Johnson
58. Dan LeFevour
59. Matt Nichols
60. LaMarcus Coker

My pick: Blair White. He has good size, speed, strength, toughness and body control, and excellent hands. He actually reminds me a little of Austin Collie, and the fact that he’ll have Peyton Manning throwing to him for a few years means he has the potential to be as good as Collie. Unfortunately, he’s got Wayne, Garcon, Collie, and Gonzalez ahead of him, so he’ll have a hard time making an impact unless Gonzalez’s hurt more than we know and Wayne holds out.

Best pick: Outside of my own, I think Dennis Pitta and Dimitri Nance have the best chance of contributing in the near and long term.

Biggest surprise: Rashawn Jackson. I saw him at the Senior Bowl practices and even though he looked pretty solid as a runner and blocker, he has virtually no chance of ever producing fantasy numbers. First, he’s a fullback. Second, he’s on the Panthers, with 4 or 5 backs ahead of him in the pecking order.

By the way, the second half of this round has a lot of intriguing players to watch. Paschall, Bell, Johnson, and Coker are all RBs who have good NFL skills and just need a break or two. And LeFevour was actually my 4th-rated QB before he had the misfortune to land behind Cutler in Chicago. So he has some game and is another one who just needs a chance. Nichols should supplant Stephen McGee as the 3rd QB on Dallas, and should pass Kitna as the top backup by 2011. And Romo will be 32 by then, so Nichols’s chance might come sooner than expected.