Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft (1QB Format): Makai Lemon Jumps To 1.02
Dynasty

Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft (1QB Format): Makai Lemon Jumps To 1.02

With NFL OTAs in full swing and the A.J. Brown trade behind us, Jake Trowbridge runs through an updated three-round dynasty rookie mock draft for single-QB leagues.

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I know what you’re thinking ...

“Why are you still doing rookie mock drafts in MID-JUNE?? Do you not have any other hobbies? Are you allergic to the outside? Go take a walk! Chase a butterfly! Talk to another human being about literally anything besides rookie NFL players! Seriously, we’re worried about you.”

While I appreciate your concern, I must preemptively defend myself. First, I haven’t done a 1QB version of this yet. Only a dynasty superflex rookie mock draft. Second, some dynasty leagues still haven’t had their rookie drafts and might want the hottest and most up-to-date mock. Third, and most importantly, I just … I have a lot to say about these players!

Also, since this one-man mock essentially acts as my own personal rookie rankings, I figure those who've already had their drafts can use the updated information to formulate trade offers and make waiver decisions.

But okay fine, I promise this is the last rookie mock draft until next offseason …

Three-Round 1QB Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft

Round 1

I’ve gotten some guff for my placements of Makai Lemon and Carnell Tate, with a whole lotta folks believing those names should be flipped. And I get it. If you think Tate could turn into the next Tee Higgins or Chris Olave, then putting him at 1.04 is probably disrespectful. 

It’s a matter of what you value most in your receivers—contested catches or yards after the catch? Size or scrappiness? Fluidity or versatility?

Ultimately, I prefer the latter in those comparisons, which is why I’m such a Lemon enthusiast (they actually call us Lemonheads. We have t-shirts and everything). If both guys hit their respective ceilings, I see bigger returns for the newest Eagle.

Slightly less controversial is my recent adjustment to put Eli Stowers above Kenyon Sadiq, but I’ve been slowly souring on the Jets' super athletic tight end ever since his NFL reality came into focus on Draft night. I just don’t trust that organization to polish such a raw prospect. Stowers, meanwhile, is clearly the successor to Dallas Goedert. I like his chances to thrive in Philadelphia.

I considered dropping Fernando Mendoza out of the first round entirely, because in this format, I only care about QBs who can almost single-handedly win weeks. And I don’t think Mendoza is that guy. His replacement-level value isn’t something I’m tripping over to draft, but things start to get a little fuzzy at the other positions after Chris Bell, so I reluctantly gave Kirk Cousins’ successor first-round dynasty capital.

Round 2

Kindling [noun]: easily combustible material for starting a fire. Stribling [proper noun]: highly combustible player who might make you feel like you set your draft pick on fire. But hey, if the 49ers are set on trying to make Stribling a thing (even if just out of spite), he’s worth the selection.

Because as early as the second round, we’re very much in “get your guy” territory. If you have a strong feeling about anyone in this group, don’t let my ranking persuade you out of taking them. 

I like Antonio Williams because he’s got Day 2 draft capital and a thin depth chart around him, so he should have a good chance to hit the ground running in Washington. But if you think Ted Hurst is an eventual superstar in Tampa Bay, you might want to grab him instead. Follow your bliss! You never want to look back in a couple of years and see that you missed out on a stud player because you didn’t dare to “overdraft” him by a few spots.

Round 3 

The third round of my Superflex rookie mock was littered with every late-round QB who has a pulse and a dream. Not this time. I’ll let Ty Simpson hang around because he’s clearly been earmarked as the future face of the Rams, but the odds of him defying his middling college profile are still slim.

I’ve replaced the dart-throw QBs with bocce ball lobs at tight end. I don’t know if Max Klare will ever find a way around the log jam ahead of him on the depth chart, but if he does, I know there’s an abundance of upside waiting for patient fantasy managers.

In this round, we’ve also got ultra-fast guys going to OCs who love to utilize ultra-fast guys (Brenen Thompson), pass-catching running backs going to OCs who use a dedicated pass-catching running back (Emmett Johnson), and then we’ve got Caleb Douglas because … well, someone has to catch some balls in Miami and maybe it’s him.

I understand if you’re underwhelmed by some of the names in this section. And if you are, just be grateful my editors didn’t ask me to make this a four-round mock …

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