Fantasy Football: 2019 Staff Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft

One of the most exciting times of the offseason, in my opinion, is this time just after the NFL Draft, when we learn all the landing spots of the rookies and then digest the information into rankings.

We are entering rookie draft season in dynasty formats, and with that in mind, some of the numberFire football staff got together over the last week and did a rookie mock draft. Not only does this help us understand where others in our industry take players, it also give us a sense of how people feel about certain landing spots and draft capital for this rookie class -- a topic covered by our JJ Zachariason in a recent installment of the Late-Round Podcast.

For this draft, we went simple -- 12-team, standard rosters, one quarterback, full point per reception. So without rambling too much, here is the draft order.

Draft Order

1. Jason Schandl (@JasonSchandl)
2. Neil Dutton (@ndutton13)
3. Sam Schlesinger (@avishai41)
4. Jon Margulis (@jon_margulis)
5. Brandon Gdula (@gdula13)
6. Austan Kas (@AustanKas)
7. JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB)
8. Andrew Fleischer (@afleischer)
9. Jim Sannes (@JimSannes)
10. Matt Wispe (@WispeyTheKid)
11. Eli Weiner (@EWeinerFantasy)
12. Ryan Bobbitt (@DrummerINaBox)

Round 1

My Pick: Sitting in the fourth spot, I was sure I would get one of the top guys I truly liked in this draft. There is a certain fall off in the middle of this year’s first round where you could play with rankings ad nauseam. With the top running backs already off the board, this was an easy choice for me. Harry is my top receiver in this year’s class and third overall on my board. To get him at the 1.04 was a nice value. Harry is in line for some serious volume this season. Not only is he going into one of the top scoring offenses in the league over the last two decades, but he also finds himself as one of the top guys in a passing offense that just lost Rob Gronkowski and Chris Hogan, and Josh Gordon’s reinstatement is tenuous at best. Harry is big and physical, with great hands, and great yards-after-the-catch ability. The Patriots are going to look for him early and often.

Round Recap: If you can’t see the trend here in the first round, it is fairly obvious. Receivers go, and they go often. This isn’t a very strong running back class. Outside of those top three that were picked first, there is a fairly sizable drop off. The next running back wasn’t selected until the middle of the second round.

Austan Kas on DK Metcalf: Admittedly, as a numbers guy, I'm not in love with Metcalf due to his lack of big-time college production, and if he landed in a bad situation, I wouldn't take him in the middle of the first. But picking him here is a roll of the dice on three things -- his draft capital, his athletic ability, and his opportunity. With the loss of Doug Baldwin, Seattle has a need for a wideout, and they spent a second-round pick on Metcalf to fill said vacancy. Metcalf -- a size-speed monster -- could see really good volume right away in Year 1. In this class, I'll gamble on the opportunity as well as Metcalf's freakish athletic traits in this spot.

Round 2

My Pick: Let me start off by saying that I wanted Butler here. I really wanted him to fall, and his ADP right now is in the middle of the second round. His fall from pre-draft rankings can only be explained by his fall to the first pick in the fourth round of the actual NFL Draft. That being said, I really did not like the situation at the other positions. Butler was the end of a tier for me at receiver. Montgomery was the last of the back I felt comfortable taking, and Fant was the end of a tier of tight ends for me. Kyler Murray, however, (the first pick in the draft, Heisman winner, and possibly the next Russell Wilson), felt like the right pick. He is going to have the starting job. He is immensely accurate, and he is very good on his feet. He will be looking for his receivers and making plays with his feet, and that equals points in fantasy.

Round Recap: The running backs made their come back in the second round, but, if you notice, not a single one of them is a starting back in the league. They are all the second or even third guys on the depth chart. The beginning of the second round actually has some great value, namely Samuel, Butler, and Campbell. This is the part of the draft you could cash in on. If you are sitting in the late part of the first round, consider trading back into the early part of the second round. You get about the same value and probably get something out of it for moving back.

Brandon Gdula on Darrell Henderson: Henderson was one of my favorite backs coming out this year, and he landed in a great spot with the Los Angeles Rams. Sure, they have Todd Gurley, but Gurley's health is a question, and it's a near guarantee that Henderson eats into that role as a rookie, similar to how C.J. Anderson got run down the stretch of 2018. Henderson has the athleticism and productivity to vie as the most productive rusher from the 2019 class, and playing in a prolific offense certainly helps. Overall, accounting for his collegiate profile, testing, and draft equity, he's my favorite back for those of us who can't just nab Josh Jacobs at the top of the draft.

Round 3

My Pick: It wasn’t until the third round that I took a running back in this class. Alexander Mattison is now the backup to Dalvin Cook in Minnesota. This pick made sense to me here. This is a guy who could slide right into the role vacated by Latavius Murray. They have similar skill sets, and we had seen Murray succeed in the Vikings' offense. Mattison is a downhill power runner who could see a lot of goal line work. He is also the obvious choice to stash on a taxi squad, considering Cook has yet to play a full season. So it just made sense to take a flyer in a draft class like this on a player who has some serious starting potential.

Round Recap: The third round is where you start taking chances on high upside guys. You will see players taken here who may not have the easiest chance at seeing early production, but they are players who are generally highly athletic and have a very good chance to break out. The third-round guys are playmakers who may just not be in the optimal situation. Stick to your gut in the third round. Trust the notes on these players. Just because they may not break out in 2019 doesn't mean 2020 is not going to be their year.

Jason Schandl on Jalen Hurd: I'm always a sucker for draft capital, and that has Jalen Hurd landing on a ton of my dynasty teams this year. In this draft, 7 of the 10 players who went before my 3.01 pick were selected later than Hurd in the real-world draft, and that group includes two fourth-round picks and a sixth-round pick. Hurd's age and lack of college production are obvious red-flags, and while the 49ers' offense has plenty of skill position players on the depth chart, there is a huge lack of certainty at wide receiver -- otherwise we probably wouldn't have seen them invest two of their top three picks at the position. Hurd's not an exciting prospect by any stretch, but I'm a big believer in weighing draft position heavily, and with San Francisco getting Jimmy Garoppolo back, the opportunity for early playing time for Hurd becomes especially appealing.

Round 4