What if? Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft: Round One

Ryan McDowell Posted On April 16, 2020

It’s mock draft season!

My friend Dane Brugler recently released an updated seven-round NFL mock draft, which can be found at The Athletic. With the anticipation of the NFL Draft building, dynasty players are desperate for more information. While we may have spent the past few weeks, or even months, learning about these players, the next step is to discover the landing spots and draft capital.

Along with all of the film and analytics dynasty players use to evaluate incoming rookies, the two final data points that are revealed on draft weekend are as important as anything up unto that point. With that, I’ve taken the recent mock draft, complete with that added information, to create a dynasty rookie mock draft.

Round One

1.01 D’Andre Swift, RB

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Round 2, Pick 45

There are several exciting landing spots for the top running backs in the draft and the order in which they are drafted likely comes down to the team situation, along with draft capital. In this mock draft, Swift is a Buccaneer and even though he’s the third back drafted, the path to a starting job in Bruce Arains’ offense moves him up to the top overall pick.

1.02 JK Dobbins, RB

Miami Dolphins
Round 1, Pick 26

With multiple picks in the first round and plenty more coming on day two, it is a near certainty the Dolphins select one of the top rookie backs. In this case, it is Dobbins, who would walk right into a starting job as veteran Jordan Howard would be unlikely to put up much of a fight. Like Swift, Dobbins would immediately be valued as a top-15 dynasty back.

1.03 Jonathan Taylor, RB

Detroit Lions
Round 2, Pick 35

The current favorite to be the top pick, Taylor falls to the third pick in this situation. Kerryon Johnson dynasty owners might not be ready to admit this, but the Lions could and should be looking for an upgrade and Taylor would certainly be that. He would face more competition than Dobbins and Swift, landing him third on this list, but still in the elite tier of rookie backs.

1.04 CeeDee Lamb, WR

Las Vegas Raiders
Round 1, Pick 12

Unlike the running backs, there are some dangerous potential landing spots for rookie wideouts. After last year’s debacle with Antonio Brown, the Raiders have to come away from the draft with an alpha wideout. They get that in Lamb, who becomes the top target for veteran Derek Carr and gets the slight nod over the other elite wideout in the class.

1.05 Jerry Jeudy, WR

Denver Broncos
Round 1, Pick 15

Of course, I’m referring to Jeudy, the latest stud receiver from Alabama. While Lamb would take over in Vegas, Jeudy would be the presumed second option in Denver behind breakout star Courtland Sutton. This would be great news for young quarterback Drew Lock, but could limit Jeudy’s short-term upside.

1.06 Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB

Pittsburgh Steelers
Round 2, Pick 49

I had the chance to attend the NFL Combine this year and spoke with a low-level Steelers employee. Standing at the bar on Friday night, he only wanted to talk about one player, LSU’s Edwards-Helaire. James Conner is certainly not the long-term answer in Pittsburgh and may not even start this year if CEH arrives.

1.07 Justin Jefferson, WR

Green Bay Packers
Round 1, Pick 30

The second tier of receivers is sure to make up the back-half of the first round in dynasty rookie drafts and this deep group will be separated by…say it with me…landing spot and draft capital. In Brugler’s mock draft, LSU’s Jefferson is the projected running mate alongside Davante Adams in Green Bay as the Packers finally answer their receiver woes and that helps him leapfrog the other talented pass catchers.

1.08 Cam Akers, RB

Arizona Cardinals
Round 3, Pick 72

Of the “big five” rookie running backs, Akers is the one left standing in this scenario. Not only does he fall to round three, but he now is tasked with battling a red-hot dynasty asset Kenyan Drake for backfield touches. While I believe in Akers’ talent, the Cardinals depth chart would hurt his value. In fact, this 1.08 spot might even be his ceiling in dynasty rookie drafts.

1.09 Henry Ruggs, WR

San Francisco 49ers
Round 1, Pick 13

As has been said many times, the Crimson Tide speedster Ruggs is a polarizing fantasy asset. The NFL seems to love him, based on all reports, but dynasty players have concerns about his limited production at the college level. This will likely be settled with Ruggs being drafted in the latter part of the first round of rookie drafts. Here, Ruggs also has an ideal landing spot being paired with Deebo Samuel for the 49ers.

1.10 Denzel Mims, WR

Minnesota Vikings
Round 1, Pick 22

After dealing away disgruntled veteran Stefon Diggs, the Vikings suddenly have a huge need at the receiver position. Former Titan Tajae Sharpe is currently scheduled to be Minnesota’s second starter. Mims has been a riser all off-season and ends up with first-round capital and a strong landing spot. He could easily jump ahead of Akers or Ruggs based on owner preference.

1.11 Jalen Reagor, WR

Philadelphia Eagles
Round 2, Pick 53

Most dynasty players and analysts currently have Reagor ranked ahead of many of the receivers who have already been drafted. While he gets the landing spot with the potential to become the top wideout for Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz, Reagor falls to the second round, drafted as the tenth receiver – that can’t be ignored and would cause him to fall to the late portion of the first round.

1.12 Michael Pittman, WR

Indianapolis Colts
Round 2, Pick 44

I had a difficult decision with the 1.12 pick according to Brugler’s mock draft. There are a few players currently projected in that range, but they all fell further than expected or would be dealing with unfavorable situations – that leaves a window for USC’s Pittman to claim a first-round spot. Pittman, drafted in the middle of round two by the Colts in this mock draft, has been undervalued by dynasty players despite being routinely projected as a day two pick. With Indy, he’d battle aging veteran TY Hilton and last year’s rookie bust Parris Campbell to be the top option for new quarterback Philip Rivers.

Look for the second round of this What If? Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft soon.

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Ryan McDowell

Contributor at Dynasty League Football

In addition to his senior leadership role here at DLF, Ryan is also a husband, father of three and PE teacher. Ryan is the commissioner of multiple dynasty leagues, most notably the Kitchen Sink Dynasty Leagues. Here at DLF, Ryan’s focus is on identifying, monitoring and analyzing player value.