Dynasty cornerstone rankings are much more of a fun, general exercise due to the number of variables floating around. For one, all of these players are running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends who are 25 years old or younger right now. That said, below, I’m going to rank and tier the top 24 players based on who I would want as a cornerstone asset on my dynasty team.
To go a little more in-depth on some of these players, then I’ll list the three best cornerstones that won’t break the bank. Enjoy! - Steve Bradshaw (Fantasy Trading Room)
Tier 1
1. CeeDee Lamb
2. Justin Jefferson
3. Ja'Marr Chase
4. Amon-Ra St. Brown
Tier 2
5. Marvin Harrison Jr
6. Puka Nacua
7. Garrett Wilson
8. Bijan Robinson
9. Jahmyr Gibbs
10. Breece Hall
Tier 3
11. Sam LaPorta
12. Malik Nabers
13. Drake London
Tier 4
14. Chris Olave
15. Jaylen Waddle
Tier 5
16. Jonathan Taylor
17. Rome Odunze
18. Nico Collins
Tier 6
19. Dalton Kincaid
20. Trey McBride
Tier 7
21. Travis Etienne
22. Kyle Pitts
23. DeVonta Smith
24. Tee Higgins
Best Cornerstone Assets that Won’t Break the Bank
Rome Odunze
Cornerstone Rank: 17
KeepTradeCut Rank: 34
As a rebuilding team, I would absolutely love to build around Rome Odunze. He checks every box you can ask for. Great long term quarterback situation, elite prospect profile and he’s a top 10 draft pick. The only knock against Odunze is that he’s currently the WR3 for the Bears after the signing of Keenan Allen. That said, Allen is 32 years old and here on a one year deal so you should expect Odunze to easily pass him after year one.
While DJ Moore is great, he’s 27 years old so I don’t expect the two to have overlapping “primes”. Plus Odunze works as the outside X receiver where Moore is moved around a lot more. The two should compliment each other very well.
If Caleb Williams isn’t generational he’s close to it. I absolutely want a piece of this Bears offense and the best bet is the stud rookie receiver who came into the league with Williams. Odunze is a wide receiver that you can feel great building your dynasty team around.
Dalton Kincaid
Cornerstone Rank: 19
KeepTradeCut Rank: 45
Dalton Kincaid is a player that I’m absolutely in love with in dynasty and redraft. To give you some context Kincaid is the FTR TE3 for the 2024 season so yeah I feel pretty good about building a dynasty team around him. Just from a roster construction standpoint I love building around elite tight ends. Tight ends is a position where if you miss out on the top guys, you’re better off just waiting.
Kincaid is a guy I want to draft because it’s very hard to actually trade for him despite what calculators may say. Owners typically want an “overpay” if they’re giving up an elite tight end. I would classify Kincaid as elite considering he’s tied to Josh Allen, he’s in a top five offense and he has a first round draft pick (25th overall).
Kincaid has the ideal tight end build for fantasy football as he’ll play the “big slot” role. If you can build around Kincaid in your startup draft I would 100% be doing so.
Kyle Pitts
Cornerstone Rank 22
KeepTradeCut Rank 55
Even though Kyle Pitts has been in the NFL for quite some time, he’s still only 23 years old. Let’s not forget that Pitts had one of the best rookie seasons of all time and was also the best tight-end prospect ever, going 4th overall. After struggling with horrible quarterback play (and Arthur Smith) for his whole career, he finally has a great long-term outlook. The Falcons brought in Kirk Cousins, who just supported T.J. Hockenson as a top fantasy tight end.
While Kirk Cousins is old, the team also brought in Michael Penix Jr with the 8th overall pick in the NFL draft. I’m higher on Penix than most, and I believe he’ll be a star in the league one day as well. The only reason Pitts is going this low is because he’s burned owners in the past, which does raise some minor concern. However, I’m going to bet on the talent here, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Pitts is going at the 1-2 turn in dynasty startups next off-season.
