It’s never too early to draft. No, not because it’s my job as I run all the mock drafts here at the site, but because it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the players and get a feel for the values at this time of year. The following is a breakdown of my team in the first 20-round startup draft we did this season. I will take you through my process when drafting and my thoughts on team building this season in general. Without further ado, let’s jump into the draft!
The First Few Rounds
I ended up with pick 1.04, and with Jeremiah Smith, Bryce Underwood, and Arch Manning off the board, I wanted to land an elite wide receiver. This is likely going to be the route I take in drafts this season – grab one or two quarterbacks in the top ten rounds at most and build out the team with elite wide receivers and running backs early.
The real question was who to take between Cam Coleman and Malachi Toney. In my mind there is no real wrong answer here but given I think Coleman profiles as more of an alpha wide receiver I decided to grab him at the 1.04. At 2.09, I decided to hit elite WR again, taking Lotzeir Brooks, who I think will likely take over as the WR1 in a DeBoer offense this season.
After starting with two high-upside wide receivers, I decided to pivot to running back. Six of my next eight picks were a mix of devy running backs or high-end CFF producers at the position. Looking back, I would probably grab an Omarion Miller or Charlie Becker to break up the running back run, but what can I say – I love the values in this range. Kewan Lacy (3.04), Waymond Jordan (4.09), and Jordon Davison (6.09) were all great values in my opinion, and I love the CFF upside of guys like Makhi Hughes (8.09), Kendrick Raphael (9.04), and Will Henderson (10.09) this year.
Late Round Breakdown
At 7.04, I decided to pivot away from running back and wide receiver to grab my top-ranked tight end, Trey’Dez Green. Given the uncertainty at tight end, I like to grab one of the top 3-4 guys in each draft so that I am not scrambling at the position, and Green in this range was a screaming buy. Green is a stud, but I wanted to add another solid piece to the room as well, so I grabbed JJ Buchanan from Michigan at 16.09. He should step right in as the starting tight end for a new head coach who loves to utilize the tight end, so I think he has real TE1 upside, so to get him that late was a steal.
As I stated above, my strategy at quarterback this year is grab an upside guy in the first 4-5 rounds and then wait and add CFF options later. When I grabbed Deuce Knight in this draft at 5.04, I thought it was a great value, as he looked like the starting quarterback this year, but then the courts granted Trinidad Chambliss another year of eligibility, so it kind of ruined the pick. Looking back now I’d probably grab a guy like Brad Jackson or Josh Hoover instead.
The next time I grabbed a quarterback wasn’t until the 13th round, where I added Michael Hawkins, a guy I love for CFF paired with Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia. I rounded out the room with Hauss Hejny at Colorado State in the 15th and Cale Hellums from Army in the 18th. Hejny has amazing upside with Jim Mora, who coached Brett Hundley to great dual-threat seasons at UCLA, and just coached Joe Fagnano to a top-25 season last year at UConn, and Hellums should be a reliable service academy rushing option at the position.
The later rounds saw me round out my roster with options I like for their perceived production this upcoming season, with the exception of the Parker Kingston pick, as this draft took place before his legal troubles, and he is someone who is now undraftable. Easton Messer (11.04), Pofele Ashlock (14.09), and Sean Wilson (19.04) are three WRs that will push for top 20 upside at the position this year, and I grabbed them in the back half of the draft.
With all the running backs I took early, I didn’t need to add many more, but I grabbed top CFF options Lucky Sutton (17.04) and Greg Burrell (20.09) to round out my team. Sutton should be a volume play at the position while Burrell is likely in line to take over for Lincoln Pare at Texas State, who was a top 10 option at the position last season.
Final Breakdown
All in all, I think this draft worked out really well, and I would love this start if this were an actual league we were playing out. I like the strategy of mostly forgoing quarterback early, given the position’s volatility, and grabbing high-end wide receivers and running backs early. In the second half of the draft, pivot to high-end CFF options, including dual-threat CFF quarterbacks like Hawkins, Hejny, and service academy options, and your team should be set up not only for the future but to dominate this season as well. Follow this blueprint, and you should be a contender in no time. Happy drafting!
