The Devy Watch crew linked up to knock out an early 2021 Rookie Mock Draft under the rules of Superflex, PPR, and Tight End Premium scoring. Enjoy!
1.01 Clay – Trevor Lawrence, QB, Clemson
1.02 Kyle – Justin Fields, QB, Ohio State
1.03 Greg – Travis Etienne, RB, Clemson
1.04 Cody – Ja’Marr Chase, WR, LSU
1.05 LJ – Rondale Moore, WR, Purdue
1.06 Brad – Chuba Hubbard, RB, Oklahoma State
1.07 Jason – Najee Harris, RB, Alabama
1.08 Jason – Rashod Bateman, WR, Minnesota
1.09 Brad – Jaylen Waddle, WR, Alabama
1.10 LJ – Tamorrion Terry, WR, Florida St.
1.11 Cody – Max Borghi, RB, Washington State
1.12 Greg – Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida
The first round had a “business-as-usual” feeling to it. Justyn Ross’ injury and news that he will miss the entire season opened the door for some new faces to enter. Cody and Greg taking Borghi and Pitts at the end of the round could be considered surprises or at least more surprising than the ten picks before them. Borghi is an interesting selection at his price because many of the mistakes that the devy community has made on running backs in the past share similarities to Borghi’s profile. He’s currently listed at 197 pounds, entering his third year in college and if that weight holds, he will be in almost unprecedented territory for an RB to get day one or two draft capital. Eno Benjamin was being selected in a similar spot a year ago, and he’s now a cautionary tale after his seventh-round selection in the NFL. I’m a huge fan of his game, but I couldn’t select him at this price. With this draft being a TE premium, Pitts making his way into the first round makes sense to me. Go back all the way to the 2018 draft, and you will recall Hockenson and Fant both being first-round picks in premium formats. There are several TEs in the prospective 2021 class that could all be selected early in the draft, but an athlete like Pitts should soon make fantasy players forget a poor 2020 class. @FranchiseKF
2.01 Kyle – Seth Williams, WR, Auburn
2.02 Clay – Tylan Wallace, WR, Oklahoma State
2.03 Clay – Kylin Hill, RB, Miss State
2.04 Kyle – DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama
2.05 Greg – Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, USC
2.06 Cody – Trey Lance, QB, NDSU
2.07 LJ – Journey Brown, RB, Penn State
2.08 Brad – Chris Olave, WR, Ohio State
2.09 Jason – Sage Surratt, WR, Wake Forest
2.10 Jason – Jamie Newman, QB, Georgia
2.11 Brad – Brevin Jordan, TE, Miami
2.12 LJ – Keaontay Ingram, RB, Texas
No real big surprises went off the board in the second round. Guys like Jamie Newman and Keaontay Ingram could work their way up the board by this time next year with big 2020 seasons. Trey Lance, a prospect who’s seen a major jump since January, finds his way to the middle of the second round. I’m not quite ready to buy yet at this price. I’d like to see how he stacks up against an actual FBS team as well as improve in certain areas. Lance certainly has a chance to be a first-round NFL Draft selection next year. If guys like EJ Manuel, Blaine Gabbert, and Jake Locker can go in the first round, I’m certain Lance could build up to that as well. Seth Williams and DeVonta Smith are both players with some potential to slide into first-round rookie selections this time next year. Kenny Gainwell is a guy that is slightly surprising to see slide to the third, where I took him. – @DevyWarehouse
3.01 Cody – CJ Verdell, RB, Oregon
3.02 Greg – Kenny Gainwell, RB, Memphis
3.03 Kyle – Jermar Jefferson, RB, Oregon State
3.04 Clay – Zamir White, RB, Georgia
3.05 Clay – Terrace Marshall, WR, LSU
3.06 Kyle – Pat Freiermuth, TE, Penn State
3.07 Greg – Trey Sermon, RB, Ohio State
3.08 Cody – Brennan Eagles, WR, Texas
3.09 LJ – Dyami Brown, WR, North Carolina
3.10 Brad – Elijah Moore, WR, Ole Miss
3.11 Jason – Jhamon Ausbon, WR, Texas A&M
3.12 Jason – Jake Ferguson, TE, Wisconsin
Man, do things fall off in round three!? There is no shortage of potential, but I can voice some legitimate concerns about each of these guys: only productive in a few games, built like teeny-bopper, INCREDIBLE PICK – SHARP GUY, knees of an 80-year-old, made of glass, tested like a chemist in the high school combine, couldn’t beat out Kennedy Brooks, just quit football, more drops than a Snoop Dogg song, thinks he is a dog instead of a human, lacks a trump card, who? That’s not to say that I couldn’t make a case for all of their potential, but that doesn’t sound like fun to me right now. I suppose the third-round of any rookie draft doesn’t present many sure-things, but this seems like a group that is full of risk. If you are in the business of dealing future picks, throwing in some ‘21 round 3 and 4 picks to make a deal work seems like a viable strategy at this stage of the process. When looking at the available player pool, my personal preference is to take shots on running backs and a few tight ends in this range. @FranchiseKF
4.01 Brad – Brock Purdy, QB, Iowa State
4.02 LJ – Charlie Kolar, TE, Iowa State
4.03 Cody- Stevie Scott, RB, Indiana
4.04 Greg – Nico Collins, WR, Michigan
4.05 Kyle – Kellen Mond, QB, Texas A&M
4.06 Clay – Tutu Atwell, WR, Louisville
4.07 Clay – Jerome Ford, RB, Cincinnati
4.08 Kyle – SaRodorick Thompson, RB, Texas Tech
4.09 Greg – Dazz Newsome, WR, North Carolina
4.10 Cody – Davis Mills, QB, Stanford
4.11 LJ – Javian Hawkins, RB, Louisville
4.12 Brad – Dameon Pierce, RB, Florida
4.13 Jason – Charleston Rambo, WR, Oklahoma
The 4th round of this draft is littered with speculative picks, many of whom may very well return to school. The group of RBs selected is the most interesting here, as they’ve all shown flashes of talent and will demand opportunity for their respective schools during the 2020 season. It’s not out of the question that a blow-up season could see one or two of these backs vault their stock into the Day 2 discussion for the 2021 NFL draft. The steal of this round could be Charlie Kolar. With prototypical size and substantial collegiate production last season, an impressive combine performance would have him knocking on the door of the 1st tier of tight ends for the ‘21 class. @DW_Clayton
