Welcome to Monday Mocks, where I’ll bring you…you guessed it, a new mock draft every Monday during the off-season. In my opinion, drafting is the best part of fantasy football, so I do as much of that as I can. This series will be filled with all types of mocks. We’ll draft startups, rookies, devys, and more.
With the 2024 NFL season officially over, the football world is fully turning the page to 2025. While the upcoming NFL Combine, free agent period, and NFL Draft will keep the news cycle busy, the next few weeks should be dedicated to making small improvements to our dynasty rosters.
On a recent episode of the DLF Dynasty Podcast, we discussed the low dynasty value across all positions. The ideal way to take advantage of this is to target veterans in trade or startup drafts.
This week’s Monday Mock focuses on established veterans at the running back, wide receiver, and tight end positions. Each of these players is at least 28 years old but even that age means different things for players across these positions. A 28-year-old ball carrier could be near the end of their respective career, while pass catchers at the same age could have five years or more remaining of impactful play.
ROUND ONE:
In his first season with the Eagles, Barkley enjoyed a banner season, narrowly missing the single-season rushing yardage record and averaging over 22 fantasy points per game. At 28 years old and with a handful of elite, younger backs, Barkley currently ranks as the RB6 and a late second-rounder in our most recent dynasty ADP. Despite his amazing performance this season, many dynasty managers find it difficult to know how to value him, balancing his elite short-term scoring potential with his age and injury history.
It was a rough start to the season for Andrews. Six weeks into the year, Andrews was just the TE20 and had dynasty managers wondering if his career was all but over. He turned things around, scoring as the TE4 from then on and finishing the season as the TE6 overall. At just 29 years old and still serving as one of the top pass-catching options for Lamar Jackson, Andrews could still produce multiple TE1 fantasy seasons.
Another aging running back, another player whose value is all over the board. After a strong two-year run with the 49ers, the wheels fell off for McCaffrey, who dealt with multiple significant injuries and only logged four games. Turning 29 this off-season, there are plenty of questions about CMC’s future and it doesn’t help that the 49ers are in a state of transition. It’s safe to assume we’ll see McCaffrey back, leading the San Francisco backfield for at least one more season. After last year’s woes, his value tumbled, now ranking as the RB16 and 63 overall.
