Rookie Mock Dynasty Draft: Immediate Post-Draft Edition
When you stop and think about it, there really isn’t anything quite like the NFL Draft. We spend months and sometimes years (think our new Dynasty Scouts section) studying and preparing – then in just a few days a large chunk of our hard work can be ripped up and flushed down the toilet! It is rather sad, but exciting at the same time.
This sudden change can leave a lot of people in a bit of a lurch. If your rookie draft starts in the next few days, things can be a little tricky. Don’t worry, we’re here to save the day! Twelve of your favorite DLF writers took the time to put together a mock draft with all of the most up to date draft information.
Editor’s Note: Expect the Premium Exclusive Rookie Cheat Sheet to be released shortly.
We started our draft late morning on Saturday, with the first three rounds of the NFL draft completed and concluded on Saturday night when the final rounds were just wrapping up. The selections were tweeted live as they occurred. There will also be a more detailed write-up on this mock in the coming days, but I wanted to give you a little bit of a head start just in case you’re drafting sooner and can’t wait a few days.
Just in case you aren’t familiar with the format of our standard rookie mocks, we do three rounds with twelve picks per round. The general rules are no trading, PPR scoring and take the best player you feel is on the board.
Here are the picks!
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Round One
1.01 – Sammy Watkins, WR BUF
1.02 – Mike Evans, WR TB
1.03 – Brandin Cooks, WR NO
1.04 – Carlos Hyde, RB SF
1.05 – Jordan Matthews, WR PHI
1.06 – Bishop Sankey, RB TEN
1.07 – Odell Beckham, WR NYG
1.08 – Eric Ebron, TE DET
1.09 – Davante Adams, WR GB
1.10 – Allen Robinson, WR JAX
1.11 – Marquise Lee, WR JAX
1.12 – Donte Moncrief, WR IND
There are a bunch of clear takeaways from this first round. First of all, take a look at the positions drafted in this round. There are nine receivers drafted in the first round with only two running backs and one tight end. You might see some minor variations from this, but the first round really should be dominated by wide receivers. Not only are they the most talented position group in this class, but the vast majority of running backs landed in terrible positions, while the other positions aren’t worth a first round pick. If your league goes running back heavy in round one, start scooping up second round picks and enjoy the first round talent!
The second take away from this mock is the fact Allen Robinson went before Marqise Lee even though Lee was drafted over twenty picks earlier by the same team. These players will enter the offseason program and training camp on equal footing. At this point it is little more than an educated guess in regards to which one will rise to the top. Â The chances are slim both of them will work out and become fantasy relevant as the vast majority of rookies flop, so trust your research and your gut on which one is most likely to make it.
Another interesting nugget from this first round is the absence of Kelvin Benjamin. He was the fifth wide receiver taken in the NFL draft, yet he isn’t draft in the first nine receivers of this mock draft. I’m not entirely certain why this is, but it is noteworthy multiple writers picked receiver after receiver not named Benjamin. I’m of the belief Benjamin is a raw, red zone target with the chance to grow into a possession receiver kind of role. That growth will take time and even if it occurs as planned, he’ll still not going to be a complete receiver in my opinion as he was passed over by one higher upside receiver after another.
The final major take away from this first round as well as various discussions I’ve had in the last 24 hours is there seems to be some distinct tiers starting to form. Watkins and Evans are clearly the top two picks and in that order for the vast majority of people. After those two, the group of Cooks, Beckham, Matthews, Hyde, Sankey, and Ebron are clearly the next six picks in my eyes. The order of these six is up for debate, but they should be the next six in my opinion. All of them have been first round talents for months and they landed is good situations where they should be highly productive this year or next. I think you can mix the order as you see fit, but taking anyone else in the first eight picks is a little bit of a reach in my opinion. Everyone else either has less talent, more question marks or landed in a bad/crowded situation.
Round Two
2.01 – Ka’Deem Carey, RB CHI
2.02 – Kelvin Benjamin, WR CAR
2.03 – Teddy Bridgewater, QB MIN
2.04 – Terrance West, RB CLE
2.05 – Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE TB
2.06 – Lache Seastrunk, RB WAS
2.07 – Cody Latimer, WR DEN
2.08 – Jace Amaro, TE NYJ
2.09 – Martavis Bryant, WR PIT
2.10 – Tre Mason, RB STL
2.11 – Isaiah Crowell, RB CLE
2.12 – Charles Sims, RB TB
With nine receivers off the board in round one, round two only had three more. After these twelve receivers, the pool at the position seems to drop off rather quickly. Combine that with the general scarcity of quality running backs and the ball carries dominated the second round. The second round of our mock draft was taking place about the time the fifth round of the NFL Draft was unfolding. Seastrunk was yet to be drafted and Crowell was clearly not signed yet, meaning West was the only drafted running back for Cleveland. If this draft had occurred a few hours later, I’m guessing Seastrunk would have stayed roughly the same, Crowell might move up a few spots, while West would have dropped several spots. Crowell might have been drafted ahead of West from what some have said. Keep the timing of the mock in mind.
While I feel like the first round of our Mock was pretty much right on with the players and the tiers falling into place as I expected, the second round really surprised me. It started right away with the first pick, selecting Carey. I’ve never been high on Carey’s fantasy prospects and even if he landed in a good situation he was likely no better than a middle second in my mind. Behind one of the most underrated running backs in football, Matt Forte, Carey is more likely a third round pick. However, there is almost certainly someone in your league who loved Carey and will snatch him up much earlier than that.
Round two also had the first appearance of a quarterback in this mock with Bridgewater going third. Which quarterback comes off the board first and where they are drafted will vary widely from one league to the next. It wouldn’t surprise me to see any of Bridgewater, Manziel, or Bortles be the first quarterback drafted in fantasy leagues, anywhere from the late first through the middle of the third. Of course if you play in a superflex league or 2QB league, they are all likely going in the first round.
Before we go to the third round, take a look at the players selected at the end of the second round. Amaro is the last of the big three tight ends, and he’s still there at 2.08. Bryant is a raw receiver who brings some much needed size to the Steelers. Mason might start the year behind Zac Stacy but make no mistake, Mason is the more talented rusher. Crowell I already talked about and Sims is a Matt Forte clone who was drafted by Lovie Smith. All of these players provide significant value at a point in rookie drafts when you are normally looking at fliers. It is a great year to have late second round picks!
Round Three
3.01 – Blake Bortles, QB JAX
3.02 – Johnny Manziel, QB CLE
3.03 – Jeremy Hill, RB CIN
3.04 – James White, RB NE
3.05 – Jarvis Landry, WR MIA
3.06 – Devonta Freeman, RB ATL
3.07 – Andre Williams, RB NYG
3.08 – Paul Richardson, WR SEA
3.09 – Derek Carr, QB OAK
3.10 – Jared Abbrederis, WR GB
3.11 – Storm Johnson, RB JAX
3.12 – Colt Lyerla, TE FA
Our third and final round of the mock draft started when the NFL Draft was in the middle of the sixth round and concluded in the middle of the seventh. By the time the players in this round were drafted in the mock draft, all of them had been selected by their respective teams with the exception of Colt Lyerla who is still without a team as of the time this is bring written. I don’t think there were any major free agent signings or late draft picks which would have changed the composition of this round.
The biggest surprise of round three is the appearance of Jeremy Hill and Paul Richardson. Both were middle second round picks in the NFL draft with Hill being the second running back off the board. Yet every single one of our writers passed on both of them at least two times. Both are likely to be better NFL players than fantasy players. Hill is going to be in a time share with Giovani Bernard, which pushes his fantasy ceiling down quite a bit. I’ve gone on record numerous times as saying Bernard will never be a full-time running back, but he will get at least 150 carries a season and almost all of the passing down work, which doesn’t leave much for Hill. As for Richardson, his tiny frame won’t transition very well to the NFL. I think he’s more of a special teamer and situational deep threat than the game changing receiver Seattle needed. He’s smaller than teammate Percy Harvin and not as talented, so I’m not sure how he fits for the Seahawks.
The rest of the third round is filled with the favorite fliers of our writers as there is a definite drop in value from the second round of drafts. Three quarterbacks show up, the tight end with potentially the highest upside but by far the lowest floor, a few receivers who are buried on depth charts, then the running backs. I already mentioned Hill, but let me touch on the others.
White isn’t the most talented running back in my opinion, but he does everything the Patriots want in a player. He’s unselfish, a tough runner, hard worker and he does his job. As we’ve seen time and time again, the Patriots have no loyalty to anyone other than Tom Brady. If any of the current running backs make mistakes, White could see the field.
Freeman is bound to be all over the place on draft day. I could easily see him in the second round, going to an owner who thinks he is the running back of the future in Atlanta. Personally, I’ve always seen Freeman as a career backup and think Atlanta will draft a starter or sign a big free agent next year, but someone is probably going to role the dice on him a little sooner than he was picked here, overdrafting based on situation.
Williams to the Giants sent up some warning flags for a few people about David Wilson. I didn’t see it quite like that. The Giants have always preferred a two back system and seldom uses running backs who are in their first year or two. Rashad Jennings is old and on a short contract. When he’s ready to move on, Williams will be at the right stage in his career to step in for the Giants as the thunder to David Wilson’s lightning.
Johnson to the Jaguars is a very interesting selection. He’s more talented than many give him credit for and Toby Gerhart might be a little over hyped in my opinion. Gerhart is going to get the first crack at the starting spot, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Johnson made it more of a battle than people anticipate. I love him as a third round flier and if you’re drafting later this summer, he could rise up draft boards pretty quickly if he starts to show something in mini-camp.
That’s it for the quick look at our rookie mock. Remember to keep in mind the timing of this draft. It was done on Saturday while the NFL draft was still going. This means some items, such as the Cleveland running backs, were still up in the air at that time. Adjust accordingly. A more detailed look at this draft will be out in the next week or two, but happy drafting to those drafting sooner!
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- Final 2021 Pre-Draft Rookie Mock: Round Three - April 28, 2021
- Final 2021 Pre-Draft Rookie Mock: Round Two - April 26, 2021
- Final 2021 Pre-Draft Rookie Mock: Round One - April 25, 2021
