Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft: Superflex (2023 Fantasy Football)

Anthony Richardson looks like a quarterback with only one full season of starting experience under his belt. Many passing plays have a predetermined target immediately. Richardson rarely gets to his second option; when he does, it feels a tick behind. Sometimes, he hesitates with open wide receivers pumping the ball instead of firing as if he doesn’t trust his eyes. Richardson was utilized on a ton of bootlegs to the right. This was also a favorite escape path when pressured, as he would roll out right in many cases instead of stepping up in the pocket. Richardson looks comfortable throwing on the run, moving to his right.

His ball placement is strong in these play designs. Richardson has a cannon for an arm, but he’s still refining it. His ball placement can be erratic. He’ll toss a ball behind a receiver running a slant and then hit a receiver in stride for a 50-yard bomb into double coverage. The flashes of upside are brilliant. You get a glimpse of the type of game-changing quarterback Richardson can be if it all coalesces. His strong arm still needs taming. He needs to gain touch on short and intermediate throws. He has only one gear on many of these plays: a full-bore fastball. Richardson isn’t an anticipatory thrower. He’s still in the see-it, throw-it phase of his evolution. Richardson is a sick athlete capable of highlight-reel-worthy play every snap. He’s an explosive rusher with some nice lateral agility for his size. When he’s in a rhythm, he is a special player.

Dalton Kincaid has special movement skills. He looks fluid through his routes with a quick snap at the top of his stem. Kincaid has excellent body control with above-the-rim skills. He is exceptional at high-pointing the ball, which will serve him well in the red zone in the NFL. Kincaid can win in line, in the slot and on the perimeter. He has early and late separation skills that allow him to be flexed out to the boundary, even against man coverage. Last year Kincaid was 13th in PFF’s receiving grade and yards per route run against man coverage (minimum 10 man coverage targets).

He is a tackle-breaking steamroller in the open field. I’m not prone to comping rookie tight ends to future Hall of Famers, but Kincaid reminds me of Travis Kelce on film. His combination of route running, speed, and RAC ability evokes Kelce’s highlight reels in my head. He’s also a field-stretching weapon that can win vertically on the perimeter and down the seam. Kincaid was fifth in PFF deep receiving grade and 13th in deep yards per route run among tight ends last year (minimum five deep targets). The biggest area of improvement for Kincaid is in the blocking department. He is religiously turned into a pretzel in pass protection. His after-the-catch nastiness displays the necessary play strength for Kincaid to grow as a blocker. His first punch is decent, but pass rushers have no issues standing him up and blowing him off his mark. Improvements in technique in the NFL can allow him to become a serviceable blocker, at least.

Chase Brown has good vision on zone runs and finding cut-back lanes. Brown does hesitate at the line when he should explode through the hole. He ran with more conviction as the 2022 season progressed. Brown is a runway back. He doesn’t display the ability to make the first tackler miss in the hole, but once he’s into the second level, he displays a good second gear and the ability to set up his blocks. Brown isn’t blessed with overwhelming lateral agility. He gets himself in trouble when he hesitates at the line or tries to bounce some runs outside. Brown doesn’t have the raw athleticism to get away with this. Brown displays soft hands in the passing game. He was mostly utilized as a check-down option or on the occasional rail route.

DeWayne McBride is a tough runner. He has strong contact balance as he pinballs off defenders into the second level. His plus leg drive masks average burst at the line. McBride has enough lateral agility to sidestep to a different gap when the designed hole is filled with a defender. His vision is a plus as he presses the line well and improvises when it’s called for. He’s at his best when he gets downhill in a hurry as a one-cut and go back. McBride lacks the extra immediate juice to hit some creases as he looks a second behind. This also shows up when he’s asked to avoid a defender in the backfield.

He can jump-cut an early surprise occasionally, but he’s getting dropped behind the line on many plays that he encounters a defender immediately. He’s an unknown in the passing game. McBride only garnered 10 targets in college. This could be related to offensive design or a reflection of stone hands, but with such a small sample to work with, it’s impossible to know which. McBride did perform as a plus pass protector in his final season in college, so we can assume that the lack of targets wasn’t related to him coming off the field on passing plays. Last year McBride was 15th in PFF pass-blocking grade (minimum 50 pass-blocking snaps, 109 RBs).