The eight-hour slow draft definitely took its toll on the middle rounds. The early rounds were clipping along at a quick pace, but we finally slowed down as we cleared Round 8. With everyone dialed in on their starting lineups, the sense of urgency to draft backups definitely dipped.
I am going to take a different approach here and recap Rounds 7 through 15 a little more generally, and focus more on some of the trends and patterns I started to see.
Reminder, this is a SuperFlex TE-Premium Dynasty Startup draft. Here are the links for Part 1 & Part 2 of the draft diary series.
Rounds 1-6 Recap
1.06 Michael Thomas
2.07 – Jonathan Taylor
3.06 – Mark Andrews
3.10 – Mike Evans
4.07 – Odell Beckham Jr.
5.06 – Daniel Jones
6.07 – David Montgomery
7th Round
7.01 – Justin Jefferson
7.02 – Hunter Henry
7.03 – Matt Ryan
7.04 – Deebo Samuel
7.05 – Robert Woods
7.06 – Tom Brady
7.07 – Devante Parker
7.08 – Ryan Tannehill
7.09 – Kirk Cousins
7.10 – Henry Ruggs
7.11 – Drew Lock
7.12 – Adam Thielen
The seventh round was definitely the start of the QB2 run. Back when I traded my seventh rounder away, I was kind of predicting that a lot of QBs would start to go here, so I was excited that I didn’t miss out on much. I was planning on waiting on a QB2 until after the first wave.
All said and done, five QBs went this round, and besides Hunter Henry, the rest were all WRs. I am set at WR, so I feel great not having a pick this round. Robert Woods is still relatively young (28) and has the potential to be the Rams #1 WR this year if they stick to more 12 personnel as they did towards the end of last season. I think Justin Jefferson has a high ceiling in Minnesota, Deebo Samuel has a prove it year without Emmanuel Sanders, and Henry Ruggs has a tougher task to find targets in the Raiders offense.
8th Round
8.01 – James Conner
8.02 – Sam Darnold
8.03 – Kareem Hunt
8.04 – TJ Hockenson
8.05 – Jared Goff
8.06 – Jimmy Garoppolo
8.07 – Evan Engram *MY PICK*
8.08 – Teddy Bridgewater
8.09 – Drew Brees
8.10 – Tyler Higbee
8.11 – Mike Gesicki
8.12 – Justin Herbert
The momentum and confidence I was feeling from the seventh round took a severe hit here.
Conner and Hunt were two guys I was eying for my RB3 spot, and when both of those guys were drafted, I started thinking towards Goff/Garoppolo as my QB2. With Jimmy G getting taken right before me, I felt that I was fully out of luck. I decided to wait on a QB and I selected Evan Engram, who I think is a great value in the eighth round and lets me have two of the Top 6 TEs on my roster.
I was really hoping for Teddy Bridgewater to stick around until the ninth round but then he got taken the pick right after me. My next plan was to pull off the Drew Brees & Jameis Winston double stack but, BAM! Brees got taken at 8.09. Chalking this round up as a loss!
9th Round
9.01 – Noah Fant
9.02 – Hayden Hurst
9.03 – Damien Williams
9.04 – Zack Moss
9.05 – Christian Kirk
9.06 – Ben Roethlisberger *MY PICK*
9.07 – Dallas Goedert
9.08 – Tyler Lockett
9.09 – Ronald Jones
9.10 – Austin Hooper
9.11 – Marquise Brown
9.12 – TY Hilton
Taking Evan Engram in the middle of the eighth ended up triggering a big wave of TE2s, so while I am on the backend of the QB2 train, I got out ahead of the TE2 rush.
I think Fant and Hurst are both great prospects and have the potential to be in the Top 5 conversation moving forward with big performances in 2020. Not a huge fan of any of the RBs taken in this round. As for WRs, I think Christian Kirk is a steal this late. He is only 24 years old and was trending to be Kyler Murray’s favorite target towards the end of last year. That familiarity might help him steal some DHop targets at the beginning of this season.
I absolutely love Tyler Lockett for 2020 redrafts, however his age and injury history are a bit of a concern for fantasy. My pick on Big Ben was slightly out of panic mode for missing on so many other QBs, but I also felt that he had the best chance of all the remaining QBs left to finish in the Top 10 in 2020, so I had to take him. I will definitely need to draft another young QB before we are finished.
10th Round
10.01 – Antonio Gibson
10.02 – Michael Gallup
10.03 – Tyler Boyd
10.04 – Raheem Mostert
10.05 – Jarvis Landry
10.06 – Anthony McFarland
10.07 – Kerryon Johnson *MY PICK*
10.08 – Diontae Johnson
10.09 – Mark Ingram
10.10 – Denzel Mims
10.11 – N’Keal Harry
10.12 – Darius Slayton
In my opinion, three of the running backs taken in this round (including my pick Kerryon Johnson) are all seriously undervalued after seeing the results of the 2020 NFL Draft. Ingram and Johnson took value hits based on the additions of JK Dobbins and DeAndre Swift, while Raheem Mostert saw both of the RBs who were ahead of him on the depth chart (before injuries) stick around on the Niners and not end up getting traded.
Even with all that noise, I still think all three of these players will finish as the RB1 on their teams this year. There is downside with Ingram’s age and Mostert’s pass-catching abilities, however, Kerryon Johnson is only 23 years old this season and still has a lot of upside left. This round also ended up being packed with young WRs who may not be talked about in the more elite tiers, but could easily vault themselves there with a big season this year. Gallup, Boyd, Johnson, Harry, and Slayton all perfectly fit this mold for me and I do not have a problem picking up any of them as a WR3 or even better a WR4 for dynasty.
11th Round
11.01 – AJ Dillon
11.02 – AJ Green
11.03 – Brandon Aiyuk
11.04 – Michael Pittman
11.05 – Tee Higgins
11.06 – Mike Williams *MY PICK*
11.07 – Bryan Edwards
11.08 – Phillip Lindsay
11.09 – Rashaad Penny
11.10 – Joshua Kelley
11.11 – Brandin Cooks
11.12 – Matt Breida
And there go all the rookie receivers! I was really hoping to get Aiyuk, Higgins, or Pittman on my team to help add a little youth to my wide receiver corps, however I am happy with the addition of Mike Williams. He possesses big play ability, and still has a lot of years ahead of him.
I am pretty indecisive on the batch of RBs taken here in the 11th round. I loved AJ Dillon coming out of Boston College, but I just cannot read what the Packers are doing and what his role will be this year or moving forward. As for Lindsay, Penny, Kelley, and Breida, I still think there are big questions marks about what each of these player’s role will be this season. I would hesitate to call any of them a true handcuff, which makes them less valuable to me than some of the other true handcuff RBs.
12th Round
12.01 – Dwayne Haskins
12.02 – Darrell Henderson
12.03 – Chase Claypool
12.04 – Rob Gronkowski
12.05 – Darrynton Evans
12.06 – Jalen Hurts
12.07 – Sony Michel
12.08 – Gardner Minshew
12.09 – Will Fuller
12.10 – Mecole Hardman
12.11 – Preston Williams
12.12 – Duke Johnson
And we have officially scraped the bottom of the barrel when it comes to QB2s. I felt that Sony Michel was still a great value here in the 12th round. He is by no means a sexy pick, but he is the clear cut starter, he is still only 24 years old, and he brings a pretty high floor for this late of a pick. Not sure what the guy who took Gronk was thinking here, there’s about 6 other TEs who make a lot more sense for dynasty. Fuller, Hardman, and Williams could all see big jumps in the WR ranks, or they could fade off into oblivion; this year will be a tell-tale one for them all.
13th Round
13.01 – Emmanuel Sanders
13.02 – Anthony Miller
13.03 – Julian Edelman
13.04 – Lynn Bowden
13.05 – Alexander Mattison
13.06 – Jarrett Stidham *MY PICK*
13.07 – Laviska Shenault
13.08 – Marlon Mack
13.09 – Curtis Samuel
13.10 – Derek Carr
13.11 – Cam Newton
13.12 – Lamical Perine
Here’s my thinking on the Stidham pick, if the Patriots sat this guy behind Brady for a whole year, and then trotted him out as the new starting QB in the offseason, AND didn’t take another QB in the 2020 draft, then they have got to see something in him. He is the only guy who is still young and who is an immediate starter left, so I felt it was a good time to pick up my QB3. Really putting all my eggs in the Bill Belichick basket here. Curtis Samuel is the only other person from this round who may seem like a steal come this time next year, it all depends on how Joe Brady rolls out this new Carolina offense.
14th Round
14.01 – Irv Smith Jr.
14.02 – Jonnu Smith
14.03 – Tarik Cohen
14.04 – Eno Benjamin
14.05 – Jordan Howard
14.06 – Tony Pollard
14.07 – Sterling Shepard *MY PICK*
14.08 – Chris Herndon
14.09 – Jameis Winston
14.10 – SF Defense
14.11 – Deejay Dallas
14.12 – Jack Doyle
Sticking with the motto of selecting younger guys who are still clear-cut starters, I went with Sterling Shepard here. Has WR1 upside (on his team), and if he can stay healthy he is still young and has a lot of years left. Jordan Howard is a really good pick this late. He seems like he’s been around forever but he’s still only 26 years old and has been a really productive player when healthy. There’s a real chance that he takes over the starting role in Miami, since he was their go-to target this offseason. If he is the bellcow back of Breida, then this could prove to be a great pick. Also, it seems like everyone has forgotten about Chris Herndon. His season was cut short due to suspension and injuries, but he was pretty dran good when teamed up with Sam Darnold in 2018. Look for him to have a big bounce back year this season.
15th Round
15.01 – Phillip Rivers
15.02 – Tyler Johnson
15.03 – Tevin Coleman
15.04 – James White
15.05 – BAL Defense
15.06 – Chase Edmonds *MY PICK*
15.07 – Jamison Crowder
15.08 – Damien Harris
15.09 – Latavius Murray
15.10 – Devin Duvernay
15.11 – Jace Sternberger
15.12 – Antonio Gandy-Goldson
Not a whole lot to mention here in the 15th round. Chase Edmonds is my favorite pick here, as we saw the potential he has during a couple breakout games last season. If Drake were to get injured this season, I would think Edmonds would end the year as a Top 24 guy. I don’t like any of the other RBs taken here, I really think all of these WRs are a bit of stretch and should have been guys taken with a flier in the 18th through 20th rounds, and Philip Rivers just doesn’t do it for me anymore.
There we have it the meat and potatoes of the dynasty middle rounds are behind us. Make sure to check back in for Part 4 later this week. I will wrap up the draft and then go through a couple key observations as a whole on how to grade your team coming out of the draft.
