What if? Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft: Round Two

Ryan McDowell Posted On April 21, 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.

Editor’s note: Be sure to check out round one here.

Round Two

2.01 Brandon Aiyuk, WR

Los Angeles Chargers
Round 2, Pick 37

The Chargers are not an ideal landing spot for a wideout, given the presence of Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, along with questions at quarterback. In this case, the speedster Aiyuk get primo draft capital as an early second-rounder, boosting him to the same range in rookie drafts.

2.02 Zack Moss, RB

Baltimore Ravens
Round 3, Pick 106

There is a wide gap from the top-five backs in this class the RB6, which is Moss for most rankers. Day two draft capital is necessary for the Utah back and in this situation, not only does he get that, but also a juicy landing spot. After a year of playing behind veteran Mark Ingram, the Baltimore backfield could belong to Moss in 2021.

2.03 Tee Higgins, WR

Los Angeles Rams
Round 2, Pick 52

It was not long ago that Clemson’s Higgins was considered a first-round pick. Sitting out of the Combine and a disappointing pro day have many questioning his upside and he is now almost certain to fall into day two. That’s what happens here as Higgins would join Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods. The offense is among the best landing spots in the league, Higgins would be the third option, at best.

2.04 Joe Burrow, QB

Cincinnati Bengals
Round 1, Pick 1

As draft day nears, many are suggesting that quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert could fall further than expected. This would only solidify the value of locked-in QB1 Joe Burrow, who will be drafted by the Bengals on Thursday. Also helping to boost Burrow up to a potential early second-round rookie pick is the group of weapons waiting for him in the Queen City.

2.05 Laviska Shenault, WR

New York Jets
Round 2, Pick 48

After a huge sophomore season, Colorado receiver Shenault endured a difficult final season, dealing with multiple injuries. That has continued through the pre-draft process and ultimately required surgery. The Jets desperately need a wideout and that landing spot comes with the good and bad. At this point, we have to be concerned with any team led by Adam Gase, but Shenault, or any other highly-drafted receiver would have the opportunity to be the top target from day one.

2.06 Tua Tagovailoa, QB

Los Angeles Chargers
Round 1, Pick 6

As previously mentioned, the past couple of weeks have not been kind to Tagovailoa as the scrutiny of his game and injury history has been turned up. Regardless of that noise, if he lands with the stacked Chargers offense, he will easily be worth this pick, if not higher.

2.07 Chase Claypool, WR

Kansas City Chiefs
Round 2, Pick 63

This is the point in which I see a clear tier drop in rookie drafts, if things were to play out as Brugler projects. Here, Claypool, who tore up the Combine, lands in the ideal spot for any offensive player. While Claypool would be far from the top option in this offense, just being part of the squad with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, he’d see a boost in value.

2.08 Eno Benjamin, RB

Kansas City Chiefs
Round 4, Pick 138

The third tier of rookie running backs is very messy and will be almost completely determined by landing spot. Here, Arizona State’s Benjamin wins the lottery, being selected by the Chiefs. While the backfield is crowded now with veterans Damien Williams, DeAndre Washington and others, there is also an opportunity for a young player to seize a serious role. Just as Darwin Thompson got the hype a year ago, the same would be true for Benjamin.

2.09 Joshua Kelley, RB

Buffalo Bills
Round 4, Pick 128

Some seem to assume the Buffalo Bills are happy to roll with Devin Singletary as their primary and lone significant back. I doubt that will be the case. Kelley is being undervalued coming out of UCLA after two 1,000-yard seasons and would be a nice pairing with Singletary and an easy pick in the back half of the second round.

2.10 Bryan Edwards, WR

New York Giants
Round 3, Pick 99

Sporting the youngest breakout age on record, Edwards is an intriguing prospect, especially to those who rely on analytics to form their evaluations. A broken foot cost Edwards the Combine and given the cancellation of most other pre-draft events, could result in him falling down the board, potentially to day three. The Giants have a lot of options at receiver, but none have set themselves apart as the clear top option. Assuming he’s healthy, Edwards would have a chance to contribute right away, just as he did in college.

2.11 KJ Hamler, WR

Baltimore Ravens
Round 2, Pick 55

The draft capital is nice. The landing spot is solid. The skills are quite impressive. Combining them all just doesn’t make much sense though. The Ravens need help at the receiver position after Lamar Jackson nearly turned Seth Roberts into a household name, but Penn State’s Hamler feels a bit redundant with some of the other weapons. I’d love the see the Ravens add a big target like Higgins or Michael Pittman.

2.12 Albert Okwuegbunam, TE

Green Bay Packers
Round 3, Pick 94

Everyone has commented about just how bad this tight end class is and according to our pre-draft rookie ADP, even the top tight ends won’t be drafted until late in the third round. That could change is Okwuegbunam, the current TE1 for many, lands in Green Bay. You can argue if the Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers is even a positive spot for any tight end given the disappointments of Jimmy Graham, Jared Cook and others, but that won’t stop dynasty players from chasing upside.

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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.