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Dynasty Leagues

Mocking the rookie dynasty draft (part 1)

Picks should be all over the map this year

The NFL Draft is over, and Rookie Drafts can begin. Mine starts on Friday and will take place over the course of next weekend. As I do every year, I mock it before it occurs, and wrap it up after. Lost in the title game last year, so I'll be picking 11th in each of the three rounds.

What follows is NOT my rookie rankings. I'm still working on those. It's instead my guesses as to how the draft actually will go, not necessarily how it should. OK? Breaking this into two parts, so here comes part one.

Note: I'm in a 12-team PPR league, which starts 1 quarterback (and 4-point TD passes) and gives tight ends 1.5 points per reception, generally called TE-premium.

1.01. Breece Hall, Jets. Hall was the first running back drafted, he goes to a team whose current starter Michael Carter is probably best viewed as a complementary back, and Hall himself looks like a highly capable three-down back. Jets are going to want to run the ball, and I won't argue with those who think Hall starts right away. In some ways, selecting Hall at 1.01 rather than a wide receiver is a philosophical choice. Even if Hall is great, you're probably looking at a 5-6 year career these days, while a wide receiver could be great for 10 plus. But it's easier to find good starting wide receivers than good feature running backs, and I don't see a clear consensus wideout anyway.

1.02. Drake London, Falcons. (Pictured.) The mystery begins right here. Will the 2nd rookie pick be the top wide receiver or the next running back? Different dynasty teams will make different choices. I'm going with the draft's top wide receiver, going onto a lousy defensive team with nothing at receiver besides Kyle Pitts. London will get some questions about separation and whatnot, but comparing him to bigger guys drafted at the end of the first round in past years doesn't look appropriate to me. THAT SAID, if I were picking 2nd in a rookie draft I'd probably be looking to trade down and pick up an extra pick, because I might like the players at 5-6-7 about as much. Good year to get extra bites of the apple.

1.03. Kenneth Walker, Seahawks. Just guessing here, and it's possible Walker will go 2nd -- or 5th or 6th, after a bunch of wide receivers get taken. But I think it's fair to say Chris Carson (neck surgery) is done, and the fact that Rashaad Penny was only able to secure a one-year deal in free agency highlights there's not much long-term optimism about him. Walker may open as the No. 2 but Seattle is going to want and need to the run the ball, Walker is a talented guy and might well emerge as the best back in this class.

1.04. Jameson Williams, Lions. I can make a case for any of four different wide receivers here. Williams tearing his ACL in mid-January is a concern for his rookie year outlook. But rookie-year outlooks are uncertain for all of these guys, and the Lions (ironically enough) seem to have a better quarterback situation than a lot of the other first-round wideouts. Williams jumps off the film for his college play and Alabama is on a remarkable streak of putting successful wide receivers into the NFL.

1.05. Chris Olave, Saints. This is debatable; maybe Olave's Ohio State teammate Garrett Wilson should be the choice. But the psychological pill to swallow of taking a Jets receiver is going to hurt him, even though the Saints are hardly trustworthy at quarterback or in the passing game these days either. The truth is this group of wide receivers might go in any order from draft to draft, just as it was uncertain how they'd go in the actual NFL draft.

1.06. Treylon Burks, Titans. Tennessee trades away A.J. Brown and drafts a guy who is pretty comparable to A.J. Brown to take his place. The 6-2 ,225-pound Burks is likely to be a Day 1 starter and might go as high as 1.02 or 1.03 in some leagues.

1.07. Garrett Wilson, Jets. I won't argue with those who think Wilson is the top wide receiver in this class. I'm talking about the reality that a rookie stepping into a starting role with the Saints, Titans or Falcons is going to look more appealing to most drafters than one joining the Jets and unproven Zach Wilson. The Jets already having Corey Davis and Elijah Moore isn't as big a deal; they drafted Garrett 10th overall. But the Jets need to prove they can deliver a top-notch passing game before people believe.

1.08. James Cook, Bills. The top 2 running backs seem fairly set in stone; the No. 3 is uncertain. I can make a case for a few other backs here, including Cook's Georgia teammate or the Alabama back. But Cook was selected nearly a full round earlier than the other running backs, and he goes to a Buffalo backfield fronted by Devin Singletary. It's risky to overrate landing spot and I don't know if Cook will be my No. 3 running back. But I think he'll be drafted that way.

1.09. Christian Watson, Packers. This year's top example of players who will be drafted earlier than perhaps they should be based on landing spot is Watson, going to a Green Bay receiving corps laughably headlined by injury-prone Sammy Watkins and blocker Allen Lazard. The North Dakota State product is big and fast, but both route-running and drops are concerns -- does that sound like a good fit with cranky Aaron Rodgers? But he should be a red-zone target immediately, and that's going to help him have some good weeks even if he's not the next Davante Adams.

1.10. Brian Robinson, Commanders. Whatever the reason, Washington has never fully committed to Antonio Gibson. He can catch, but they prefer J.D. McKissic. He produced as a feature runner, but here they are using their third-rounder on the Alabama workhorse. I could have picked a lot of nicer landing spots, but Gibson doesn't have the full support of the team, it appears, and he did get nicked up at times last year. Maybe won't go this early due to being behind Gibson, but it's possible.

1.11. Zamir White, Raiders. As we've discussed here, White seemed a little underrated in the predraft process. There's an injury history, and he played in a committee at Georgia. But watch him on film and he's clearly a talented guy who can emerge as a lead back; scored 11 TDs in each of the last two seasons, outshining Cook as a runner (while taking a back seat as a receiver). White will probably be Las Vegas' starter a year from now.

1.12. Isaiah Spiller, Chargers. Will people react to where they thought players would be drafted, or where they actually were? Spiller was just the 9th running back selected, but he's a talented guy with three-down potential, and the Chargers will probably use him in that capacity if Austin Ekeler gets hurt. Neither Justin Jackson, Joshua Kelley nor Larry Rountree did anything with their chances the last 2-3 years. Spiller's going to be the No. 2, and will be drafted earlier in rookie drafts than NFL teams did.

I'll forecast the next 24 picks tomorrow, but this is about how things should start out in a lot of leagues.

--Andy Richardson

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