Dynasty Fantasy Football Startup Superflex Mock Draft
I recently did a rookie mock draft using DLF’s new mock draft simulator tool to show readers how a rookie mock works on the site and how the simulator can be a valuable tool for dynasty owners. With a rookie mock in the books already, it seemed like a good time to conduct another mock, but this time as a dynasty startup. It is the time of year when most redraft and dynasty startups are in full swing, so hopefully, you can glean some helpful information from this exercise. Also, if you find it useful, I’ve done an entire series of mocks for our friends over at 4for4.com, so there might be a mock that is more similar to your league there.
For our purposes here, I went with what seems to be the most popular league set up according to the Twitter machine; a 12-team, superflex, PPR league. There is no tight end premium scoring and no third-round reversal. I was randomly assigned the number three pick; let’s see how it went.
Rounds 1-4
With the third pick in a superflex league, I assumed that both Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen would be gone. I don’t think grabbing Jonathan Taylor would’ve been crazy, but I don’t have any Justin Herbert anywhere, so it felt like an excellent place to get some exposure to him.
In round two, due to positional scarcity, I decided I had to go with a running back in this spot and took a young stud RB. With Herbert only 24 and Javonte Williams only 22, I’m thinking of going heavy youth in this draft if it plays out that way.
With my third-round selection, I’m going young again and selecting the Dolphins’ 23-year-old receiver, Jaylen Waddle. I love the upside he brings and think Tyreek Hill‘s presence actually helps him as he’ll likely face better matchups each week on the field. With my fourth-round selection, I grabbed another young receiver, the 25-year-old DJ Moore. I don’t love Moore, but I’ve got a theme to this team build in mind, and he fits in perfectly.
What Could Have Been?
On the clock with my second-round pick, I intentionally decided to go heavy on youth and try a build where that was a significant factor with every pick. Through four rounds, my average age is 23.5, and I’m loving it. I would have definitely taken Austin Ekeler with my second- or third-round pick had I not been so focused on youth.
Rounds 5-8
I was not a big fan of Travis Etienne coming out of college, I didn’t love his landing spot in Jacksonville, and I certainly didn’t like his Lisfranc injury. All that aside, many people smarter than I like him; he’s only 23 and is expected to catch some balls. It’s a mock – let’s roll the dice. Ageism be damned; I had to grab Aaron Jones with my next pick. With the lack of playmakers in Green Bay’s receiving room, I think Jones is in line for a massive PPR season out of the backfield. At 27 years old, he’s the grandfather of this team so far.
In the seventh round, running backs were drying up, and there looked to be wide receiver depth still out there, so I grabbed the 49ers’ Elijah Mitchell. Only 24 years old in one of the most RB-friendly offenses in the league, this pick is dripping with upside. To close out this batch of draft picks, I grabbed everyone’s favorite player George Pickens. I do love me some Pickens, and at only 21 years old, he brings my average age to 23.6.
What Could Have Been?
I could have taken Cam Akers over Etienne, and I considered Aaron Jones over Etienne as well. When Akers went, and Jones made it back to me, Jones became an easy pick. Mitchell was another easy selection as I love the player and the situation. I entertained Elijah Moore and Clyde Edwards-Helaire as options, but I took Mitchell instead. AJ Dillon was another option, but since I already had taken Aaron Jones, I wasn’t going to double dip in the same backfield. Pickens is a luxury pick. I probably should address quarterback as I only have one so far, but several other teams only have one (or none) too, so I felt like I could wait another round and hope for Jameis Winston or Matt Ryan.
Rounds 9-12
I was hoping for Jameis Winston, and he was there with my ninth pick. If Winston looks anything like peak Winston, he’ll be a great QB2. Paired with Herbert, I’m pretty happy with the one-two punch I assembled at quarterback. I typically won’t start looking at tight ends until I get around the tenth round, so not coincidentally, in round ten, I grabbed Dalton Schultz. I wish his contract situation was cleared up, but at least for 2022, he’s likely to be a top-eight player at the position.
Given Winston’s propensity to throw a ton of interceptions and underperform, I selected 37-year-old Matt Ryan as my QB3. Ryan’s consistency gives me a nice balance against Winston’s wild swings. I think he’s still got something in the tank for another two or three years. As we get deeper and deeper into the draft, I start to focus on high-upside players. With Allen Lazard, I see tons of upside with Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball. I don’t know what kind of receptions and yardage totals Lazard might accumulate. However, I seriously think Lazard has a chance to lead the NFL in receiving touchdowns in 2022. In case you’re curious, even with Matty Ice in the fold, my team average age is now 25.5.
What Could Have Been?
I was thinking about Winston or Ryan in round eight, so getting both of them in the ninth and eleventh rounds seemed like a great move. When I took Schultz, the only other tight end I considered was Dawson Knox. Maybe to a lesser extent Hunter Henry too. Looking at the Lazard pick, other players I thought about drafting there were Tyler Boyd and DJ Chark, but I didn’t see either one with the high-upside that Lazard has with Rodgers. I contemplated taking Jarvis Landry to stack with Winston, or Kenny Golladay, but I fear their best years are behind both of them, and I’m looking for youth with upside with this roster construction.
Rounds 13-16
To start the 13th round, I went with the Bills’ Devin Singletary. Recent reports of Zack Moss having a great camp have since put a damper on this pick, but at the time of this draft, I felt good about the lead back on one of the league’s best offenses. Now it’s more of a three-headed committee, but it is what it is. In round 14, I grabbed the only handcuff I was interested in, Alexander Mattison. Most handcuffs are a significant step below the starter in the talent department; however, I don’t think the drop-off from Dalvin Cook to Mattison is too big. Cook has missed 25 games over his five-year career, so Mattison will likely get on the field for a couple of quality starts this year.
At this point, 17 tight ends were already off the board, and it seemed like as good a spot as any to grab my TE2. David Njoku screams value this year. The Browns gave him a new four-year $56.75 million contract and cleared out the depth chart around him. He’s been a TE1 in the past, and there’s no reason it won’t happen again, maybe as early as this year. I recently looked at the impact of the Deshaun Watson suspension, and Njoku looks like he may be one of the few beneficiaries of Watson’s absence. As we enter round 16, things are officially getting gross. I legitimately don’t like anyone left at this point. Since we’re throwing darts, I’ll go with 23-year-old Nico Collins, who should be the WR2 on a terrible team. I’ll roll the dice on garbage time production this late in the draft.
What Could Have Been?
Had I drafted a week later, I would have passed on Singletary and taken Rashaad Penny. Although injury-riddled throughout his career, Penny’s main competition, rookie Kenneth Walker is now hurt. At this point, I like Penny’s upside more than Singletary’s as part of a committee. I’m thrilled with the Mattison and Njoku picks. In the 16th, I was considering Marquez Valdes-Scantling at receiver or maybe Tyler Allgeier or Khalil Herbert at running back. Either way, I’ve lowered my average age to 25.1, and I’m really liking the build thus far.
Rounds 17-20
For the final four rounds of the draft, you’re either hoping to catch lighting in a bottle or grabbing “your” guys. There’s always a chance these are the players you’ll be cutting first as you start hitting the early-season waiver wire.
The first man up is the new-to-Jacksonville Evan Engram. Doug Pederson has a history of offenses with highly productive tight ends. We’ve seen Engram’s upside in the past, and this might be the change of scenery needed to bump him back into the top 15 for tight ends again. Next, with my 18th pick, Josh Palmer is oozing potential as a cheap stack with Justin Herbert. If Either Keenan Allen or Mike Williams were to miss games- and they both have- Palmer becomes a sneaky option each week.
In the 19th, Kendrick Bourne has always been one of my guys. He had his best season a year ago, and I’m crossing my fingers it wasn’t a fluke, and he can repeat or outperform his 55-800-5 stat line from a year ago. Last and certainly not least, with my 20th pick, I chose Washington rookie signal-caller, Sam Howell. With the uncertainty of Jameis Winston and Matt Ryan’s advanced age, I felt I had to add a younger QB to the team. Carson Wentz is not guaranteed to be the starter for all 18 weeks of the season, not by a long shot. A year ago, some thought Howell might have been the top pick in 2022. Falling in the draft hurt him in the eyes of dynasty GMs, but he’s in a good spot and may start at some point this year if Wentz shows his worst side.
What Could Have Been?
Austin Hooper has been a late-round target of mine everywhere this year, but with three tight ends already, I didn’t want a fourth. D’Onta Foreman was another name of interest to me too. I like his potential if Christian McCaffrey were to get injured again, but if CMC stays healthy, Foreman doesn’t even exist. With my roster constructed with six running backs and seven receivers, I might like the team better if that was flip-flopped.
Who’s Left?
A few of the remaining players are decent sleepers and waiver options, but there isn’t anyone I’m sad I missed out on. Mitchell Trubisky is a week one starter, so he should’ve been selected. CJ Uzomah was fantasy-relevant in Cincinnati last season, and there’s no reason Hayden Hurst can’t be better than him in 2022. Gerald Everett is interesting as a new piece of the Charger offense and could’ve been stacked with Herbert too.
Draft Recap
I’ve played fantasy football since the early 2000s and in dynasty leagues for around a decade. Over that time, I never went into a draft with player age being my main focus. That was the plan in this mock, and I’ve gotta say, I love this team. As the draft came to a close, my team’s average age is exactly 25 years old, and if you eliminate Matt Ryan from the mix, the team is 24.3 years old. I’m thrilled with the talent I accumulated and ecstatic at the youth movement. If the team was competitive in year one, this is likely the kind of team that would contend for another five or six years. This mock was intended to give the readers some helpful information, but as the author, I am absolutely going to try to implement this youth-movement draft strategy in my next start-up. I hope you enjoyed this mock; good luck in 2022!
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