2024 Off-Season Mock Drafts: Superflex Startup with Rookies
The more rookie mocks I do, the more I fall in love with this year’s class from top to bottom. But, we can only do so many rookie mocks so it seems like a good time to see where the rookie class slots in among the veterans.
This was a 20-round, superflex, dynasty startup draft, and I had the tenth pick and was coming back with the third pick in the even rounds. I rarely, if ever, select rookies in startup drafts, and despite my professed love of the 2024 class, I stuck to my guns here and did not draft any. That has been my strategy for years, as I always thought there were too many unknowns to waste a pick on a rookie when you’ve got veterans (who sometimes are younger than rookies) with established roles you can put on your rosters.
Enough about me and my strategies; let’s look at the draft.
Rounds 1-4
The draft began like all superflex drafts: with Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. They were followed by five more quarterbacks, giving us a seven-quarterback start, with eight of the first nine picks being signal-callers, including rookie Caleb Williams at 1.09. This was a heavy QB start, and with my 1.10 pick on the clock, I went a different direction and grabbed Ja’Marr Chase, who I consider to be the dynasty WR1.
Coming back in the second round, I continued to kick the QB can down the road, and I went with a running back. I was debating between Christian McCaffrey or Breece Hall, and I made the decision to go with Hall. Through two picks, I now have arguably the dynasty RB1 and WR1, so I can’t be mad about that. I could have been tempted to go with Kyler Murray, but I liked the WR/RB build, given the players I had available to me. We also saw our second rookie come off the board, with Marvin Harrison Jr going 19th overall, getting selected at 2.07.
This draft was completed prior to the recent free agent frenzy, and I believe I see the first name that would have been significantly impacted: Justin Fields. Fields went 28th overall as the 16th quarterback off the board. With the music stopping in the game of starting quarterback musical chairs, it appears Fields (and the Bears) are left without a chair. Now, it looks like he’s going to be a backup on any team he finds himself on to start 2024. There is no way that Fields will ever get drafted this early again this off-season.
Rookies (and projected picks two and three in the NFL draft) Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye went 3.06 and 3.07 as QB18 and QB 19, respectively. With the quarterback pool drying up fast, I felt forced to take a signal caller here with my 3.10 pick. Looking at the remaining options, I grabbed who I felt had the highest upside and selected the Browns’ Deshaun Watson. While I don’t love the pick, if he can regain some of his past form, I might have gotten a steal as the 20th quarterback selected.
In the fourth, I felt the talent pool was noticeably thinning out. If it was a tight end premium league, I might have gone with Sam LaPorta in this spot, and he eventually went 46th overall, but I opted for DK Metcalf with the 39th pick. He was my preferred choice among the remaining WR1s, and in hindsight, maybe I should have gone with LaPorta instead. With LaPorta, I would have started with who I saw as the dynasty RB1, WR1, and TE1. Oh well, this is why we do mock drafts.
Rounds 5-8
Kirk Cousins and Matthew Stafford were selected ahead of me in round five, and I needed to secure my second quarterback. I was considering a couple of other position players, but as QB23, Russell Wilson seemed like a value, and this was before he signed with Pittsburgh. I could copy and paste what I wrote about Watson here, too. Since I kinda-sorta punted the position, I came out of the first five rounds with two veterans who have combined for 11 top-ten finishes at the position, and I’m happy with that.
In round six, I accidentally timed out, and Josh Jacobs was auto-drafted for me. I’m not a Jacobs guy, and I would not have selected him. However, now that he has signed with the Green Bay Packers, I don’t hate it at all. This round was very “meh” talent-wise, and in real life, I would probably be trying to trade back or trade out this spot.
Outside of quarterback, I’ve built a relatively young roster, and seeing Cooper Kupp still available at 7.10, I had to jump on the veteran at this point. Now I have another high-end receiver, plausibly giving me three receivers who could realistically finish in the top 12. Kupp had an ADP of 11 overall only two years ago, so getting him at 82 is a tremendous value.
Similarly, in round eight, Javonte Williams was another monumental value. Only two short years ago, he was being drafted 16th overall as the RB6, and I still think (at only 23 years old) he has tremendous upside despite his disappointing three-year career. I’m not sure where other people start swinging for the fences in their drafts, but pick 87 feels like an excellent spot for me to do so.
Rounds 9-12
In single-quarterback leagues, I typically don’t start looking at quarterbacks until round seven at the earliest. In superflex, I flip that to tight ends unless I take a stud early, but often, in any league format, I will often wait until the final three rounds of a draft and finish TE-TE-TE. I trust my ability to find undervalued tight ends in the draft every year and rely on my waiver wire prowess to fill any holes throughout the season too. That said, I did none of that here and drafted the 25-year-old Cole Kmet here with pick 106. Kmet is coming off of back-to-back TE8 finishes and looks to be one of the top targets for potential first-overall pick Caleb Williams.
Between my eighth-round pick and my tenth-round pick, ten running backs were selected. That RB run forced me to add another back before I missed my opportunity to add some depth at the position. JK Dobbins is coming off of an Achilles tear in week one of 2023 and ACL and LCL tears in 2021, so injuries are a major concern. We’ve seen several players come back from Achilles injuries in recent years after seeing that injury be considered a death sentence in the recent past. I might have overdrafted him, but Dobbins is still only 25 years old and has been lightly used with only 261 touches since he came into the league in 2020.
As my WR4 behind Chase, Metcalf, and Kupp, the Packers’ Romeo Doubs will be a fine flex play or bye-week fill-in at wide receiver. And at 23 years old, on an up-and-coming Green Bay squad, there is a world where we haven’t even seen Doubs’ ceiling yet.
Closing out this quartet of picks, Kendre Miller seemed to be worth a roll of the dice at this point. Both Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams will be 29 when the season starts, and Williams looked terrible last season. Miller is only 21 years old and the team invested a third-round pick last year- the same draft capital they invested in Kamara. I have no idea what I expect from this backfield in 2024, but I love the long-term upside of Miller, who I really liked as a prospect coming into the league a season ago.
Rounds 13-16
I returned to the tight end well in round 13 for one of my favorite underrated options, Cade Otton. Otton is a middle-of-the-pack TE2- precisely what I’m looking for in my backup tight end. Entering his third season in the NFL, Otton is certainly capable of taking a step forward as the Buccaneers run it back with more or less the same offense from last year.
Earlier, I mentioned that this draft took place before Russell Wilson signed with the Steelers – and also before Kenny Pickett moved on to the Eagles. So, in round 14, I took my QB3, adding Pickett, who was the last “starter” at the time. However, had I known Wilson would sign in Pittsburgh, I definitely would’ve gone in a different direction than Pickett.
Whoops. I timed out in round 15 and auto-drafted Tyler Allgeier. I hate it. Had I made the pick myself, I would have selected Khalil Shakir, who wound up my round 16 pick. I’ve always been a fan of Shakir, and Gabe Davis‘s departure seems to have opened up a more prominent role for Shakir in 2024. If I had taken Shakir in the 15th, my 16th pick would have been Trey Palmer.
Rounds 17-20
As this draft winds down, there are still plenty of good players with upside on the board. Remember back in round four when I mentioned trading down? If I could move my fourth for a 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th (assuming I had the roster space), I would probably do it based on the players available.
The Broncos shipped out Jerry Jeudy, clearing out what appears to be a starting role for Marvin Mims. The Broncos might not have Courtland Sutton on the opening day roster either, so there is a world where I was able to get a team’s WR1 in round 17. And Mims would be a WR1 on what is projected to be a bad Broncos team that should be chasing points every week.
I added another receiver in round 18, with Kenrick Bourne, who recently signed a new three-year deal with the Patriots. He is coming off of an injury-shortened season, but over his previous three seasons in New England, his per-game averages over the course of a 17-game season would produce a stat line of 51-680-4, good enough to finish as a low-end WR4. I’ll happily take a WR4 with only two rounds to go as my seventh receiver.
I liked my picks in rounds 17 and 18, but I did not like my 19th-round pick. I completely forgot Cam Akers sustained another Achilles tendon tear and will likely miss all of the 2024 season. I also thought he was under contract for another year and not a non-tendered restricted free agent. So, this was a giant wasted pick.
With my final pick, I feel like I redeemed my horrific selection of Akers. Miles Sanders‘ contract ensures he will be in Carolina for another season, and there is very little competition in the backfield as it is presently constructed. If he can even slightly resemble the player he once was, a top-30, or maybe even a top-20 season isn’t out of the question if the Panthers offense can be halfway competent.
Roster
Here is my complete 20-man roster. I hate the Akers pick, but looking at the bright side, if this were a real league, I have a super easy cut for the first round of waivers. The other glaring shortcoming is my quarterback room. I was okay with Watson, Wilson, and Pickett, under the assumption they were all starters. But following free agency, I now only have two starters and a handcuff, and there is a real possibility that Watson will be the only starter on my roster in 2025. Gross.
I can imagine a world where this team competes in the 2024 playoffs (if my Watson-Wilson combo hits) but drops off a cliff in 2025 (if my Watson-Wilson combo falters). I’m also really gambling on bounce-back years from numerous running backs. If Hall and Jacobs aren’t both RB1s, I might have a tough time getting points from this running back group as a whole.
I really like my receiver group, and they would have to carry this team all year. Luckily, I think they could. I can see all seven of them finishing in the top 48; six might finish in the top 36, and three in the top 12. As my first superflex startup draft, I learned a few things, and despite my receiver corps, I don’t like this team and would do many things differently. This is the reason why we do mocks. If I had not done this and just jumped into a draft without preparing, I would feel sick if this was my team.
Hopefully, you enjoyed my recap of this superflex start-up mock. I broke a few of my rules (drafting a tight end earlier than usual), and in hindsight, maybe I should have broken other rules instead (not drafting rookies). In my next draft, I’ll try to pivot and do the exact opposite so I can compare the two rosters. However, it’s always easy to go into a draft with a plan, but you’ve always got to be fluid enough to pivot to another strategy if the draft breaks in another direction. I never felt like this draft got away from me in the moment, but in the end, it looks like it did. Always make sure you’re evaluating your roster in between picks and keep track of what players remain.
- Off-Season Mock Drafts: Final Rookie Trends - May 31, 2025
- Off-Season Mock Drafts: Best Ball ADP, Part II: Deep Dive - May 24, 2025
- A Hater’s Guide to the 2025 Rookie Tight End Class - May 22, 2025
The more rookie mocks I do, the more I fall in love with this year’s class from top to bottom. But, we can only do so many rookie mocks so it seems like a good time to see where the rookie class slots in among the veterans.
This was a 20-round, superflex, dynasty startup draft, and I had the tenth pick and was coming back with the third pick in the even rounds. I rarely, if ever, select rookies in startup drafts, and despite my professed love of the 2024 class, I stuck to my guns here and did not draft any. That has been my strategy for years, as I always thought there were too many unknowns to waste a pick on a rookie when you’ve got veterans (who sometimes are younger than rookies) with established roles you can put on your rosters.
Enough about me and my strategies; let’s look at the draft.
Rounds 1-4
The draft began like all superflex drafts: with Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. They were followed by five more quarterbacks, giving us a seven-quarterback start, with eight of the first nine picks being signal-callers, including rookie Caleb Williams at 1.09. This was a heavy QB start, and with my 1.10 pick on the clock, I went a different direction and grabbed Ja’Marr Chase, who I consider to be the dynasty WR1.
Coming back in the second round, I continued to kick the QB can down the road, and I went with a running back. I was debating between Christian McCaffrey or Breece Hall, and I made the decision to go with Hall. Through two picks, I now have arguably the dynasty RB1 and WR1, so I can’t be mad about that. I could have been tempted to go with Kyler Murray, but I liked the WR/RB build, given the players I had available to me. We also saw our second rookie come off the board, with Marvin Harrison Jr going 19th overall, getting selected at 2.07.
This draft was completed prior to the recent free agent frenzy, and I believe I see the first name that would have been significantly impacted: Justin Fields. Fields went 28th overall as the 16th quarterback off the board. With the music stopping in the game of starting quarterback musical chairs, it appears Fields (and the Bears) are left without a chair. Now, it looks like he’s going to be a backup on any team he finds himself on to start 2024. There is no way that Fields will ever get drafted this early again this off-season.
Rookies (and projected picks two and three in the NFL draft) Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye went 3.06 and 3.07 as QB18 and QB 19, respectively. With the quarterback pool drying up fast, I felt forced to take a signal caller here with my 3.10 pick. Looking at the remaining options, I grabbed who I felt had the highest upside and selected the Browns’ Deshaun Watson. While I don’t love the pick, if he can regain some of his past form, I might have gotten a steal as the 20th quarterback selected.
In the fourth, I felt the talent pool was noticeably thinning out. If it was a tight end premium league, I might have gone with Sam LaPorta in this spot, and he eventually went 46th overall, but I opted for DK Metcalf with the 39th pick. He was my preferred choice among the remaining WR1s, and in hindsight, maybe I should have gone with LaPorta instead. With LaPorta, I would have started with who I saw as the dynasty RB1, WR1, and TE1. Oh well, this is why we do mock drafts.
Rounds 5-8
Kirk Cousins and Matthew Stafford were selected ahead of me in round five, and I needed to secure my second quarterback. I was considering a couple of other position players, but as QB23, Russell Wilson seemed like a value, and this was before he signed with Pittsburgh. I could copy and paste what I wrote about Watson here, too. Since I kinda-sorta punted the position, I came out of the first five rounds with two veterans who have combined for 11 top-ten finishes at the position, and I’m happy with that.
In round six, I accidentally timed out, and Josh Jacobs was auto-drafted for me. I’m not a Jacobs guy, and I would not have selected him. However, now that he has signed with the Green Bay Packers, I don’t hate it at all. This round was very “meh” talent-wise, and in real life, I would probably be trying to trade back or trade out this spot.
Outside of quarterback, I’ve built a relatively young roster, and seeing Cooper Kupp still available at 7.10, I had to jump on the veteran at this point. Now I have another high-end receiver, plausibly giving me three receivers who could realistically finish in the top 12. Kupp had an ADP of 11 overall only two years ago, so getting him at 82 is a tremendous value.
Similarly, in round eight, Javonte Williams was another monumental value. Only two short years ago, he was being drafted 16th overall as the RB6, and I still think (at only 23 years old) he has tremendous upside despite his disappointing three-year career. I’m not sure where other people start swinging for the fences in their drafts, but pick 87 feels like an excellent spot for me to do so.
Rounds 9-12
In single-quarterback leagues, I typically don’t start looking at quarterbacks until round seven at the earliest. In superflex, I flip that to tight ends unless I take a stud early, but often, in any league format, I will often wait until the final three rounds of a draft and finish TE-TE-TE. I trust my ability to find undervalued tight ends in the draft every year and rely on my waiver wire prowess to fill any holes throughout the season too. That said, I did none of that here and drafted the 25-year-old Cole Kmet here with pick 106. Kmet is coming off of back-to-back TE8 finishes and looks to be one of the top targets for potential first-overall pick Caleb Williams.
Between my eighth-round pick and my tenth-round pick, ten running backs were selected. That RB run forced me to add another back before I missed my opportunity to add some depth at the position. JK Dobbins is coming off of an Achilles tear in week one of 2023 and ACL and LCL tears in 2021, so injuries are a major concern. We’ve seen several players come back from Achilles injuries in recent years after seeing that injury be considered a death sentence in the recent past. I might have overdrafted him, but Dobbins is still only 25 years old and has been lightly used with only 261 touches since he came into the league in 2020.
As my WR4 behind Chase, Metcalf, and Kupp, the Packers’ Romeo Doubs will be a fine flex play or bye-week fill-in at wide receiver. And at 23 years old, on an up-and-coming Green Bay squad, there is a world where we haven’t even seen Doubs’ ceiling yet.
Closing out this quartet of picks, Kendre Miller seemed to be worth a roll of the dice at this point. Both Alvin Kamara and Jamaal Williams will be 29 when the season starts, and Williams looked terrible last season. Miller is only 21 years old and the team invested a third-round pick last year- the same draft capital they invested in Kamara. I have no idea what I expect from this backfield in 2024, but I love the long-term upside of Miller, who I really liked as a prospect coming into the league a season ago.
Rounds 13-16
I returned to the tight end well in round 13 for one of my favorite underrated options, Cade Otton. Otton is a middle-of-the-pack TE2- precisely what I’m looking for in my backup tight end. Entering his third season in the NFL, Otton is certainly capable of taking a step forward as the Buccaneers run it back with more or less the same offense from last year.
Earlier, I mentioned that this draft took place before Russell Wilson signed with the Steelers – and also before Kenny Pickett moved on to the Eagles. So, in round 14, I took my QB3, adding Pickett, who was the last “starter” at the time. However, had I known Wilson would sign in Pittsburgh, I definitely would’ve gone in a different direction than Pickett.
Whoops. I timed out in round 15 and auto-drafted Tyler Allgeier. I hate it. Had I made the pick myself, I would have selected Khalil Shakir, who wound up my round 16 pick. I’ve always been a fan of Shakir, and Gabe Davis‘s departure seems to have opened up a more prominent role for Shakir in 2024. If I had taken Shakir in the 15th, my 16th pick would have been Trey Palmer.
Rounds 17-20
As this draft winds down, there are still plenty of good players with upside on the board. Remember back in round four when I mentioned trading down? If I could move my fourth for a 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th (assuming I had the roster space), I would probably do it based on the players available.
The Broncos shipped out Jerry Jeudy, clearing out what appears to be a starting role for Marvin Mims. The Broncos might not have Courtland Sutton on the opening day roster either, so there is a world where I was able to get a team’s WR1 in round 17. And Mims would be a WR1 on what is projected to be a bad Broncos team that should be chasing points every week.
I added another receiver in round 18, with Kenrick Bourne, who recently signed a new three-year deal with the Patriots. He is coming off of an injury-shortened season, but over his previous three seasons in New England, his per-game averages over the course of a 17-game season would produce a stat line of 51-680-4, good enough to finish as a low-end WR4. I’ll happily take a WR4 with only two rounds to go as my seventh receiver.
I liked my picks in rounds 17 and 18, but I did not like my 19th-round pick. I completely forgot Cam Akers sustained another Achilles tendon tear and will likely miss all of the 2024 season. I also thought he was under contract for another year and not a non-tendered restricted free agent. So, this was a giant wasted pick.
With my final pick, I feel like I redeemed my horrific selection of Akers. Miles Sanders‘ contract ensures he will be in Carolina for another season, and there is very little competition in the backfield as it is presently constructed. If he can even slightly resemble the player he once was, a top-30, or maybe even a top-20 season isn’t out of the question if the Panthers offense can be halfway competent.
Roster
Here is my complete 20-man roster. I hate the Akers pick, but looking at the bright side, if this were a real league, I have a super easy cut for the first round of waivers. The other glaring shortcoming is my quarterback room. I was okay with Watson, Wilson, and Pickett, under the assumption they were all starters. But following free agency, I now only have two starters and a handcuff, and there is a real possibility that Watson will be the only starter on my roster in 2025. Gross.
I can imagine a world where this team competes in the 2024 playoffs (if my Watson-Wilson combo hits) but drops off a cliff in 2025 (if my Watson-Wilson combo falters). I’m also really gambling on bounce-back years from numerous running backs. If Hall and Jacobs aren’t both RB1s, I might have a tough time getting points from this running back group as a whole.
I really like my receiver group, and they would have to carry this team all year. Luckily, I think they could. I can see all seven of them finishing in the top 48; six might finish in the top 36, and three in the top 12. As my first superflex startup draft, I learned a few things, and despite my receiver corps, I don’t like this team and would do many things differently. This is the reason why we do mocks. If I had not done this and just jumped into a draft without preparing, I would feel sick if this was my team.
Hopefully, you enjoyed my recap of this superflex start-up mock. I broke a few of my rules (drafting a tight end earlier than usual), and in hindsight, maybe I should have broken other rules instead (not drafting rookies). In my next draft, I’ll try to pivot and do the exact opposite so I can compare the two rosters. However, it’s always easy to go into a draft with a plan, but you’ve always got to be fluid enough to pivot to another strategy if the draft breaks in another direction. I never felt like this draft got away from me in the moment, but in the end, it looks like it did. Always make sure you’re evaluating your roster in between picks and keep track of what players remain.
- Off-Season Mock Drafts: Final Rookie Trends - May 31, 2025
- Off-Season Mock Drafts: Best Ball ADP, Part II: Deep Dive - May 24, 2025
- A Hater’s Guide to the 2025 Rookie Tight End Class - May 22, 2025
