Well, dynasty managers, it’s about that time again! That time where you get to start planning for your rookie drafts! I don’t know about you, but rookie drafts are one of the best parts of the dynasty offseason. It’s where you can start to implement changes and make moves to set your team up for success in the coming season ahead.

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Dynasty Rookie Draft (Mock): Standard

There are a few other rookie mock drafts on this site, but for my first one, we will do a Standard (i.e., non-PPR) mock draft from the 8 spot. This should allow me to see how the draft unfolds and help determine what kind of value are present later in each round.

We’ll do four rounds using the FantasyPro Mock Draft Simulator, which is a wonderful tool that you can use for free to help get you ready. So without further ado, let’s jump into it!

Round 1

• 1.01 – WR Treylon Burks
• 1.02 – RB Breece Hall
• 1.03 – WR Garrett Wilson
• 1.04 – WR Drake London
• 1.05 – WR Chris Olave
• 1.06 – RB Isaiah Spiller
• 1.07 – WR George Pickens
• 1.08 – RB Kenneth Walker III
• 1.09 – WR Jameson Williams
• 1.10 – RB Rachaad White
• 1.11 – WR Christian Watson
• 1.12 – WR Jahan Dotson

Two running backs and five receivers are off the board by the time I’m on the clock at 1.08. There aren’t any stellar QB options that we would want to reach on here, and the WR group is pretty deep, so I might be better off waiting there. However, there is still a top-tier RB on the board in Kenneth Walker III. This is about what I’d expect, given what we know about the current rookie class.

Walker III is clearly behind Breece Hall and Isaiah Spiller, but I think he’s got a great chance to be a solid starter in the NFL regardless of where he’s drafted. In a standard league where the receivers don’t get points for catches, touchdowns are more critical to fantasy scoring. Having a solid RB is more likely to score touchdowns than a WR, but it’s definitely balancing out.

Notable WRs selections ahead of me include the likely 1.01 in most drafts, Treylon Burks and Garrett Wilson. These two, with the top three RBs, round out my top 5 targets in this draft. Once we get through the NFL draft, that could change, but these five should be the first five in all drafts, in my opinion. Getting Walker at 1.08 feels like a steal to me. The experts agree, with 57% of them telling me to take Walker III.

Round 2

• 2.01 – RB Kyren Williams
• 2.02 – TE Trey McBride
• 2.03 – WR David Bell
• 2.04 – WR Skyy Moore
• 2.05 – WR John Metchie
• 2.06 – TE Jalen Wydermyer
• 2.07 – RB Brian Robinson
• 2.08 – WR Justyn Ross
• 2.09 – RB Pierre Strong Jr.
• 2.10 – QB Malik Willis
• 2.11 – WR Jalen Tolbert
• 2.12 – WR Wan’dale Robinson

Only three RBs go between my Walker selection and my 2.08 pick, which isn’t surprising given how steep of a drop-off there is in talent between tier one and tier two for most analysts. What is surprising is that two TEs get drafted in the second round in Trey McBride and Jalen Wydermyer. This feels a little early to me, but given how desolate that TE position is, I bet this happens in many actual rookie drafts.

I’m looking at the board and see the top QB options are all still available, but in a 1QB league, they’re not as important as they would be in Superflex, so I’m not sure I want to reach on them just yet. I’m debating between Clemson WR Justyn Ross and Georgia RB Zamir White at the 2.08. In the end, I decided to take a gamble on the WR over the RB. ECR has him ranked as the 13th best rookie overall and 25% of the experts recommend taking him, so I’m in good company here.

Round 3

• 3.01 – QB Kenny Pickett
• 3.02 – RB Jerome Ford
• 3.03 – RB Zamir White
• 3.04 – RB Tyler Allgeier
• 3.05 – RB James Cook
• 3.06 – QB Sam Howell
• 3.07 – QB Carson Strong
• 3.08 – RB Dameon Pierce
• 3.09 – WR Calvin Austin III
• 3.10 – QB Matt Corral
• 3.11 – WR Khalil Shakir
• 3.12 – QB Desmond Ridder

After my last selection, Malik Willis and Kenny Pickett get selected in the five picks, followed by a run of four straight running backs. After that, two more QBs get taken, leaving me with another interesting decision. Do I follow the experts recommending Dameon Pierce at 46%, or do I go with my gut and take Matt Corral, the best QB available?

Looking at my tiers, I decide to side with the experts once again, selecting the ECR 23 option in Pierce over the QB. Given the run that just happened and the lack of depth at the RB position after Pierce in my own tiers, it felt like a no-brainer. There are still a few WRs I wouldn’t mind taking a flier on here, so I have to hope that one of them makes it back to me for my last pick at 4.08. Also, getting a late 2nd round player at this point in the 3rd feels like another terrific value for my team.

Round 4

• 4.01 – RB Tyler Badie
• 4.02 – WR Alec Pierce
• 4.03 – RB Jerrion Ealy
• 4.04 – TE Greg Dulcich
• 4.05 – WR Romeo Doubs
• 4.06 – TE Jeremy Ruckert
• 4.07 – RB Kennedy Brooks
• 4.08 – TE Isaiah Likely
• 4.09 – RB Ty Chandler
• 4.10 – WR Charleston Rambo
• 4.11 – RB Zonovan Knight
• 4.12 – RB Keaontay Ingram

Calvin Austin, Corral, and Khalil Shakir are the following three picks after me in the 3rd, and all three were guys I was hoping would drop. No such luck. Desmond Ridder closes out the 3rd round as the 6th and likely final QB taken in most four-round drafts we’ll see this year. On top of that, the other WR I had my sights on was Alec Pierce out of Cincinnati, who went at 4.02. It’s almost like the simulator knew it was giving me deals before and decided to cut it out for this last pick.

Instead of going on tilt, I look at my options. The experts are telling me to go with Isaiah Likely, with 59% of them agreeing to take him at 4.08. The other names don’t feel right to me, especially before the draft, so I decided to listen to those wiser than me once more and add Likely to my squad of rookies. He’s a great talent at TE, and if he lands in the right spot, he could be a bye week fill-in even as a rookie, which is hard to find these days.

Summary and Full Draft Board

1.08 – RB Kenneth Walker III
2.08 – WR Justyn Ross
3.08 – RB Dameon Pierce
4.08 – TE Isaiah Likely

Overall I love the values I was able to get my earlier picks. As I mentioned earlier, in non-PPR leagues, I try to focus on touchdowns more than catches, and I think all four of these players have some incredible upside. My current dynasty roster will welcome them with open arms, I’m sure, as I continue to build my team into a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

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