Post-Combine Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft: Superflex Spin

Jacob Feldman

Now that the NFL Scouting Combine has come and gone, we are entering the meat of the NFL Draft season. For a few of us, this time of year is almost more exciting than the actual games! It is still extremely early in the season, but I gathered 11 of DLF’s finest and went through a three-round mock draft. The rules of the draft were simple. Three rounds, no trading, take the best fantasy player asset available.

For this mock, we assumed balanced PPR scoring and only a single starting quarterback. This is the spin for 2QB/superflex owners.

If you missed any of the previous write-ups on the mock draft, this is where you can find them:

Once the draft was completed, I went to our DLF chat and asked where people would slot the top five quarterbacks of this draft: Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert, Jordan Love, and Jacob Eason. It is still early in the process and landing spot definitely matters for quarterbacks, so things will change. There also wasn’t a true consensus on most of these guys, so I’m going to share a little bit of what I like and what concerns me about each one. Then I’ll give you the range of responses from our superflex guys. Keep in mind that we are looking at a 12-team league. If you play in a 14 or 16 team league, you can probably bump the QBs up at least half a round.

Joe Burrow, QB LSU

Good things – Coming off of what was statistically the best season ever by a college quarterback, Burrow seems locked into being the first overall pick in the NFL Draft at this point in time. On his way to a national championship and multiple records, Burrow showed Drew Brees-like ball placement and accuracy week in and week out. While he isn’t super athletic, he is athletic enough to evade would-be tacklers and either buy some extra time or run for a first down when the situation calls for it. Even better than all of that is that he is extremely intelligent with how he plays the position. He did a great job reading defenses pre-snap as well as once the play was underway. He would oftentimes throw his receivers open with great timing and anticipation, putting them in the best possible spot for a big play. He’s the real deal!

Concerns – The biggest concern for Burrow is that his arm strength is very average. He still has enough arm to loft the ball deep when a receiver gets behind the defense, but the lack of strength is noticeable on those out breaking sideline throws. The other concern with Burrow is that he was only ultra-productive this past year. He did consistently show improvement over the years, but only had one year of elite play.

Where our writers slot him – Our writers were pretty much split right down the middle. Half of them had Burrow as the first overall pick in a superflex league. The other half had Jonathan Taylor and D’Andre Swift ahead of him. Ultimately, I think it comes down to team need, but it sounds like he’s coming off the board in the first three, maybe four picks if someone is team Tua.

Tua Tagovailoa, QB Alabama

Good things – As the highly-productive leader of one of the top teams in all of college football, Tua has been in the spotlight for a while now. We all know about his dominant performances, both with his arm and with his feet. He has NFL arm talent which will allow him to make all of the throws at any point in time with superb accuracy. Along with all of this, he has shown some great touch on his passes and an ability to get through all of his reads from the pocket. He just might have the highest upside of any quarterback in this draft class.

Concerns – The largest concerns for Tua stem from his size and durability issues. He is only six feet tall and under 220 pounds. Everyone knows about the hip injury he suffered this year but sometimes people forget about the fact that he has had multiple ankle surgeries as well as some knee and other leg problems during his time at Alabama. His style of play combined with his size are a valid cause for concern about his ability to stay on the field game in and game out versus NFL-sized defenders. On the field, the biggest concern is how he handles pressure. He was gifted with a superior offensive line at Alabama, so he is used to having a lot of time. When he doesn’t, he isn’t the same quarterback.

Where our writers slot him – Most of the respondents had Tua going immediately after Burrow at this point in time. Meaning if Burrow goes first, Tua goes second. If Burrow is three, behind the two running backs, then Tua is four. Only one person had Tua ahead of Burrow. There was also one respondent who had the running backs between Burrow and Tua.

Justin Herbert, QB Oregon

Good things – A dual-threat, four-year starter at Oregon, Herbert has the raw skills to be a great NFL quarterback. He is great at reading defenses both before and during the play, using that information to find the open route. He has prototypical arm strength to go along with great feet, both in the pocket ad out of it. He also possesses plus ability in terms of throwing on the run and from awkward body positions.

Concerns – When passing the ball, Herbert’s biggest struggles are with the finer points of throwing the ball. His ball placement, as well as his touch on throws both, need work. He makes the common young quarterback mistake of feeling like every pass needs to be thrown as hard as possible. He also needs to get better at throwing to where the receiver is going to be instead of where they currently are. You also hear a lot about his leadership style and the fact that he isn’t a vocal leader of the team.

Where our writers slot him – Pretty much everyone agreed here that Herbert belongs in the back half of the first round, once that top tier of running backs and receivers dries up. His exact spot will depend on landing spots, both for him and the other players, but right now it looks like he’s going in that eight to twelve range.

Jordan Love, QB Utah State

Good things – The least polished of the five quarterbacks, Love just might be the best thrower of the football out of the entire group. His arm strength and arm talent make many think about some of the best in the NFL. He really shines with the deep ball potential, because he has the ability and the right touch to drop the ball into the perfect window to hit his receiver in stride. He also has an NFL-style frame and is more mobile than most when the time calls for it.

Concerns – Love might have the best arm, but his head needs a lot of work. His decision making is average at best and likely below average. He has a tendency to stare down receivers and lead defenses directly to where he is going to throw the ball. He is extremely raw in a lot of ways and will need some time to develop into an NFL quarterback. There are also some concerns about off the field choices and the fact that he actually regressed in 2019.

Where our writers slot him – Out of all of the quarterbacks, Love was the toughest one to nail down with a high ceiling and low floor. A few felt there really isn’t much of a gap between Herbert and Love, so they should go pretty close to back to back in the late first round. Others felt there was a pretty significant gap and have Love as more of a middle or late second-round selection. Ultimately, I think draft capital and landing spot will determine this one. If he’s a top ten NFL selection, he’s going to likely be in the early second round of your rookie drafts.

Jacob Eason, QB Washington

Good things – Eason has prototypical size for the quarterback position. He is a true pocket passer with a strong, accurate arm that can make all of the throws to any part of the field. While he wasn’t overly productive, he did improve as the years went on in terms of overall production as well as accuracy and decision making.

Concerns – Eason is a bit of a statue in the pocket. Unlike the rest of the players on this list, his ability to escape pressure is very limited, and he even struggles with moving around in the pocket. To compensate, he sometimes takes deeper than necessary drop backs which impact the timing of the routes and his throws. When there is pressure, he tends to struggle, which could be the thing that causes him to flame out at the next level.

Where our writers slot him – Of the five quarterbacks in this article, everyone agreed he was likely to be the fifth one drafted. Most seem to have him as a middle to late second-round selection. I think once everything is said and done, he could creep up a little bit just because of the premium on quarterbacks. I think we could start seeing his name called in fantasy drafts around the middle teens.

That’s it for our superflex/two quarterback addendum! I’ll be back in a month or two with another mock draft just to see how things have changed.

jacob feldman