The 2023 NFL Draft is in the books. With the NFL Draft comes dynasty rookie draft season! We have you covered with our dynasty rookie draft coverage, and of course, you can complete fast and FREE dynasty rookie mock drafts using our mock draft simulator. While you take that simulator for a spin to prepare for your dynasty rookie mock drafts, check out our latest dynasty rookie mock and analysis from our analysts.
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Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft
1.12 – Dalton Kincaid (TE – BUF)
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 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.
Dynasty Outlook: This sounds hyperbolic, but the Buffalo Bills gave Josh Allen his Kelce. Kincaid has been a man crush of mine since I started diving through his metrics and film.
Looking at the Bills’ tight-end depth chart could cause concern for dynasty managers, with Dawson Knox having sizable guarantees until 2025. Knox and Kincaid can coexist in this offense, as they will play different roles. Over the last two years, Knox has played 42-47.2% of his snaps in the slot, which will decrease dramatically with Kincaid in town. Knox was in line for 31.3-37.6% of his snaps during that stretch, which should bump higher. Knox has been a top-shelf run blocker and serviceable pass protector, ranking eighth and 35th in PFF run and pass blocking grades last year (minimum 100 blocking snaps per PFF). Knox can be their new 12-personnel tight end, with Kincaid assuming primary passing down responsibilities in the slot. While Knox has been fantasy-relevant since 2021, he’s never been a heavy target earner. He’s never sniffed a 14% target share or a target-per-route run rate above 17% as a full-time player.
Kincaid should have no issues earning targets early, as the Bills didn’t have a player with more than a 25% target per route run rate that logged at least a 23% route run rate outside of Stefon Diggs. Kincaid should eat as the Bills’ big slot. Last year, among all collegiate wide receivers and tight ends with at least 20 slot targets, he was second in PFF receiving grade from the slot. If we pin this down to tight ends, Kincaid ranked third in slot yards per route run (per PFF). Kincaid should be viewed as a first-round wide receiver because that’s what Buffalo views him as. After the run on wide receivers in the first round of this year’s draft, Buffalo played chess instead of checkers by selecting the “tight end” Kincaid. He is a first-round rookie draft pick who should come off the board immediately after the top four wide receivers.
2.12 – Jalin Hyatt (WR – NYG)
Jalin Hyatt is a speed merchant. That’s the best thing he has going for him at this stage. Hyatt’s blinding speed makes up for flaws in the rest of his game. The name of the game should be to get him moving horizontally with crossers at the next level to allow his speed to manufacture YAC. Screens by the truckloads also wouldn’t be a terrible idea for his offensive coordinator to deploy.
Hyatt was utilized in the slot or in stacked formations to get him free releases in college. He has an 88.7% collegiate slot rate. When Hyatt was tasked with winning against man or press coverage, he couldn’t. Hyatt’s route running and release package are vanilla. He lacks nuance in his routes and wins only via speed releases. If corners can get their hands on him, it’s over. They have free access to his body, and his lack of upper body strength shows up immediately.
Dynasty Outlook: The Giants’ depth chart on paper looks like a logjam of slot receivers with Parris Campbell, Sterling Shepard, Wan’Dale Robinson, Jamison Crowder and Hyatt.
If New York moves Hyatt to the boundary, he could struggle early if he cracks the starting lineup after seeing nothing but stacked formations and free releases in college. It’s possible that Hyatt walks out of training camp as the team’s starting slot, but it’s equally possible he will be redshirted this season. Hyatt is a third-round dart throw type of pick in rookie drafts.
3.12 – Zach Evans (RB – LAR)
Zach Evans has a good initial burst, getting up to top speed quickly. The problem is when he reaches back for a second or third “home run gear,” he’s left wanting. He’s a one-speed linear runner. Sharp cutbacks against the grain are tough for him as he loses speed, but he does have good enough bend and agility for subtle cutbacks and jump cuts.
Evans is at his best on stretch zone runs when he can get horizontal before bursting upfield through a cutback lane. He displays a good feel for these play designs versus inside zone runs, where he stutters at the line at times when a sizable hole isn’t readily apparent. Evans lacks creativity at the second level as he misses some cutback opportunities and lacks the lateral agility to put defenders on skates. He does display good finishing strength at the end of his runs, fighting for extra yards, though he isn’t a pile pusher. Evans is a dump-off option only in the passing game. When he’s been deployed outside or via angle routes, he has difficulty getting separation as he rounds his routes and lacks snap.
Dynasty Outlook: Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to draft Zach Evans in the final round of your dynasty rookie draft and then target the Evans’ truther in your league. Add him as a possible throw-in for a trade. There’s one Evans truther in every league, and while you’re reading this, you probably already know who they are or will hear from them during your dynasty rookie draft with “Hey, good pick” or “Oh crap! I didn’t think he would be selected ahead of me.”
Evans is worth a final-round selection only as a taxi squad stash option. While yes, Kyren Williams is the only substantial back behind Cam Akers on the Rams’ depth, Evans’ sixth-round capital this season still is less than the team spent on Williams last year. Akers could leave via free agency after this season, allowing you to ship him off next offseason before his value could tank again with the team addressing the position in the draft. It’s also possible the team could retain Akers, which would smother Evans’ dynasty value.
4.12 – DeWayne McBride (RB – MIN)
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).
Dynasty Outlook: McBride nearly fell to UDFA status before the Vikings drafted him in the seventh round. McBride’s rushing talent is undeniable, but his pass game usage is likely zero in the NFL. He should still battle last year’s fifth-round selection Ty Chandler for the RB2 spot on this depth chart behind Alexander Mattison, now that Dalvin Cook has been released. He’s a fourth-round dynasty rookie pick worth investing in. It could net you a starting running back if he can somehow beat out Mattison and Chandler in camp. That’s an upside play worth making.
5.12 – Andrei Iosivas (WR – CIN)
Andrei Iosivas has easy and immediate speed that jumps off the screen. Last year, he had a 24.2% target share while ranking 18th in PFF receiving grade (minimum 50 targets per PFF). Iosivas is a fantastic athlete as a former track star for Princeton. His 6.71 second time in the 60m was an NCAA Indoor Championship meet record, so it’s not surprising to see “run-away-from-you” type of speed on tape. Iosivas displays good ball tracking on deep balls.
He does tend to catch balls with his body. He had trouble in contested situations all week in Mobile, Ala., which could be traced to his smaller hand size. Princeton fed him on crossers, where he wove through the defense and then turned on the jets to daylight. NFL teams should look to do the same against zone coverage and get him involved on jet sweeps.
Dynasty Outlook: The 6’3″ athletic freak will be competing for a spot on the Cincinnati Bengals after they selected him in the sixth round of the NFL Draft. Unless injury strikes, Iosivas could be regulated to a situational deep-threat role this season. I love taking shots on top-shelf athletes in the later rounds of rookie drafts for my taxi squads. Iosivas checks the box.
Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft Results & Board
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