It’s dynasty startup season, and there is no shortage of opinions on the best attack plan. I subscribe to “draft for talent, trade for need” in startup and rookie drafts. If you try to draft for the best player available over positional need, you can sometimes accrue some solid value that you can trade for later to balance out your roster. Obviously, this depends on the league itself, and no two are alike.
With all of that in mind, I was lucky enough to participate in an industry mock draft with some terrific dynasty managers. This mock was 18 rounds and hosted by the team at CBS Fantasy. It was a fast draft and did not include rookie players or picks. This is a typical startup strategy where the rookie draft is a reverse snake from the veteran draft. It makes it easier to do the veteran before the NFL draft and wait until we have landing spots for the rookies to do that draft separately. Let’s get into it!
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Participants:
Adam Aizer, CBS Sports
Dave Richard, CBS Sports
Scott Sidlo, Dynasty Junkies
John Luke Garofalo, Front Yard Fantasy Sports
Heath Cummings, CBS Sports
R.J. White, CBS Sports
Andrew Hall, Fantasy Pros
Josh Bosch, DynastyTradeCalculator.com
Jamey Eisenberg, CBS Sports
Josh Fewster, Front Yard Fantasy Sports
Dan Schneier, CBS Sports
Donkey Teeth, Razzball
Early round strategy – finding my team’s anchors
I won’t break down the entire board in this article but will focus on my picks in groups to keep it more straightforward. For the early part of a Superflex draft, I like to lean on the QB position in at least one of the first two rounds, no matter where I’m picking. In this mock, I picked 7th, right in the middle. I like the middle more than the ends in dynasty drafts because you can let values fall to you more and not get stuck behind runs as often.
- 1.07 – Joe Burrow (QB – CIN)
- 2.06 – Cooper Kupp (WR – LAR)
- 3.07 – Dalvin Cook (RB – MIN)
- 4.06 – Derrick Henry (RB – TEN)
- 5.07 – Ryan Tannehill (QB – TEN)
My Bengals homerism aside, getting Burrow at 1.07 is something I’m pleased with. I’ve been lucky enough to get him in the few startups I’ve participated in this offseason and feel great with him as my anchor in dynasty SuperFlex leagues. I followed that up with the 2021 WR1 in Kupp, who I think could perform like a top 5 WR again this year, even if he’s not the WR1 overall. He’s a solid option and someone that I think will be on my team for a few years at least.
In the 3rd, I select my first RB in Cook. I’ve seen some mocks and actual drafts where he went in the first round, so grabbing him here is purely a value pick. The same logic applied when I took Henry in the 4th. Both of these RBs position my team to win in year 1, or at the very least allow me to pivot before the season if I want to get out and see another player I can buy low on before the year begins.
I snagged my QB2 in the 5th with Tannehill, who I think is being criminally underrated. The team is a run-first team with Henry, but Tannehill is no slouch, and I think the addition of Woods should help him out a lot. Julio Jones (WR – FA) was a shell of his Falcon self, and I think that caused dynasty managers to fall out of love with Tannehill. I’m excited to have him as my SF starter this late in the draft.
Middle round strategy – looking for value
With the base of my team set up, I take the next few rounds to focus on selecting the best player available (BPA). This strategy allows me to add discounted players to my team that I think are worth more than their draft slot. I might not keep all of these players heading into the season, but as the summer goes on, their value could make them worth moving for someone else with more upside. All I want in the startup is to add as much value as possible.
- 6.06 – Mike Evans (WR – TB)
- 7.07 – Matt Ryan (QB – IND)
- 8.06 – Dallas Goedert (TE – PHI)
- 9.07 – Gabriel Davis (WR – BUF)
- 10.06 – Adam Thielen (WR – MIN)
- 11.07 – James Robinson (RB – JAC)
Getting Evans in the 6th just felt like robbery, starting with my WR picks. He’s a solid WR2 option with WR1 upside most weeks, and with Brady coming back, he should see plenty of passes. I also added the upside play of Davis and floor play of Thielen in the 9th and 10th rounds. Thielen should see my starting lineup most weeks this year and potentially a year or two beyond, while Davis is someone that I’m hoping steps up. If Davis struggles to produce, I’ve got the higher floor option in Thielen to lean on. I couldn’t be happier with how this went for me.
While I like getting two solid QB options in the first five rounds, I also like having a reliable QB3 in SuperFlex leagues whenever possible. Ryan is as trustworthy as WR3 options come, in my opinion. He’s on a new team with a lot to prove, and if another team is scrambling for a QB2 as the season gets closer, he could be a terrific trade candidate for me.
I also added Goedert in the 8th as my TE1, who I think is a solid every-week starter. He’s in the second tier of TEs, but he could see a boost if that Eagles offense turns the corner this year. Grabbing Robinson in the 11th as my RB3 is more of a risk than I prefer, but he may split work with Etienne as he comes back from injury. I’m willing to take this risk as the first RB option on my bench, and in dynasty, I’d rather be shallow at RB than any other position anyway.
Later round strategy – searching for lottery tickets
As this mock draft winds up, I start taking picks that I would be willing to cut or add in trades. These are my bench picks, so I’m looking for players who could see an injury bump up their value. Anyone that’s one step away from starting is someone I want on my bench, just in case it happens.
- 12.06 – DJ Chark (WR – DET)
- 13.07 – Laviska Shenault (WR – JAC)
- 14.06 – Jakobi Meyers (WR – NE)
- 15.07 – Sony Michel (RB – LAR)
- 16.06 – Teddy Bridgewater (QB – MIA)
- 17.07 – Gerald Everett (TE – LAC)
- 18.06 – Darrel Williams (RB – KC)
With the way my WR room was shaping up entering the 12th round, I felt like there were still plenty of options to add depth before going back to the other positions. I went with Chark, Shenault, and Meyers to shore up the position. All three are receivers on a downturn, but all three could see my starting lineup in bye weeks or if the cards fall the right way. That’s all I want in these later rounds.
I grabbed Michel and Williams to bolster my RB room but don’t expect either to start for me with Cook and Henry locked into my lineup. Both could have trade value as the season progresses and injuries occur to my starters or the starters in front of them. I love the upside where I selected them.
Last but not least, I also grabbed another backup QB and TE here. Bridgewater is one injury to Tua Tagovailoa (QB – MIA) away from fantasy relevance. As we all anticipate, Everett could see his value spike if the Chargers utilize him like they have used Jared Cook (TE – LAC) in the past. These guys are perfect bench options for upside and are so cheap they’re practically no-brainers here.
Conclusion
Overall I love my team. I think I’ve got enough power to win in year one and enough depth to stay in the league’s top half for years to come. My least favorite group is my running backs, but I don’t mind replacing them in the rookie drafts in the years to come as Cook and Henry start to fall off that age cliff. I like to win, and winning year one would pay for future years while I rebuild my team, so I think I’m all set with this team.
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Andrew Hall is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his archive or connect with him on Twitter at @AndrewHallFF.
