Last year, you may recall that I documented a staff dynasty league rookie draft in a two-part series that you can find here and here. It is fun to read that article a year later and see how thoughts and perceptions of the players covered in those installments have changed.
This year, our staff league is back at it again a week after the NFL Draft! Hopefully, seeing a real dynasty draft play out where the stakes are real will be insightful to those of you who are getting ready to participate in your own rookie drafts. It may help you to get a feel for what players are going in what zones and where you need to make a move to get your target players.
I am happy to say that I am the reigning champion of the league, which I did not expect to happen in year two of rebuilding this 2017 orphan team. My championship title was in part thanks to huge in-season contributions from Patrick Mahomes, Todd Gurley, James Conner, and Nick Chubb. I acquired Damien Williams and C.J. Anderson off the waiver wire and played them during the championship match-up due to Todd Gurley and James Conner being sidelined. I was fortunate to have big performances from them when it was most needed. I was also able to trade for George Kittle for a 2019 3rd and 2019 4th-round pick before the season started, which ended up being enough to hold down my tight end position. An 11th-hour trade deadline dealing away of Lamar Jackson, Chris Godwin, and my 2019 2nd-round pick netted me Adam Thielen and Larry Fitzgerald, who helped my weaker receiving group limp across the finish line.
I take a best-player-available approach to my drafts. I figure that I can always trade from a position of strength to address a need later. I’ve also found over the years of playing dynasty that drafting for need is very dangerous and can really blow up in your face. If need and talent intersect, I use it as a tiebreaker for my pick.
Here is a look at my roster and picks pre-draft:
Quarterbacks
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Running Backs
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Wide Receivers
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Tight Ends
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Patrick Mahomes - KC
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Todd Gurley - LAR
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Corey Davis - Ten
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Jack Doyle - Ind
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Josh Rosen - Mia
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Nick Chubb - Cle
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Mike Evans - TB
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Gerald Everett - LAR
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Team Defenses
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James Conner - Pit
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Adam Thielen - Min
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George Kittle - SF
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Houston Texans
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Damien Williams - KC
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D.J. Moore - Car
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Adam Shaheen - Chi
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Baltimore Ravens
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C.J. Anderson - Det
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Larry Fitzgerald - Ari
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Jonnu Smith - Ten
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Picks
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Mike Williams - LAC
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Ian Thomas - Car
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1.12, 3.09, 5.12
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Allen Robinson - Chi
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A couple of weeks before the draft, I made a sizeable trade with Sigmund Bloom:
My trading Robinson is not an indictment of his talent or situation. Previous to this trade, I owned him 100% across my leagues. Even when I love a player, I like to diversify my assets. Even great players are subject to career-ending injuries, and I would hate to take a hit across my complete dynasty portfolio. This trade was also an attempt to get the 1.01 locked up before it became more expensive. My idea is that if I liked the consensus 1.01 player or there was a player I didn't want to risk not getting, I would take him with this pick. If I didn't, I would seek a trade out of the pick.
Let's see how the first round played out!
Round 1
Pick
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Pos
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Player
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Team
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FBG Staffer
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Pick
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Pos
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Player
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Team
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FBG Staffer
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1.01
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RB
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Josh Jacobs
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Oak
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Daniel Simpkins
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1.02
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WR
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NKeal Harry
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NE
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Chase Stuart
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1.03
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RB
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David Montgomery
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Chi
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Steve Holloway
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1.04
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WR
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D.K. Metcalf
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Sea
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Danny Tuccito
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1.05
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RB
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Miles Sanders
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Phi
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Clayton Gray
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1.06
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TE
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T.J. Hockenson
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Det
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Jason Wood
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1.07
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WR
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Mecole Hardman
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KC
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Will Grant
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1.08
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WR
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Parris Campbell
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Ind
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Justin Howe
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1.09
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WR
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A.J. Brown
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TEN
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Daniel Simpkins
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1.1
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TE
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Noah Fant
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Den
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Adam Harstad
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1.11
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WR
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Marquise Brown
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Bal
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Andy Hicks
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1.12
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WR
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Hakeem Butler
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Ari
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Sigmund Bloom
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I shopped the 1.01 briefly to see if I could get any king's ransom offers, but none came. I was happy to take Josh Jacobs with the pick. I expect Josh Jacobs to thrive, despite not landing with the most stable coaching staff or organization. Of all the spots he could have landed, Oakland was not my favorite, but it was also not the worst possible spot. We know that Jon Gruden and his staff love to run the ball and that Jacobs will see plenty of opportunities early on. I don't expect Doug Martin to be any more than a backup option, as the team did not even have him re-signed until Isaiah Crowell tore his ACL and was declared out for the year.
Even though I was out of picks, I decided to be aggressive in trying to make a deal to get back into the latter half of the first round and snag a target player.
I did not make this trade with James because of a lack of belief in Damien Williams. On the contrary, I believe he will hold the primary job, at least for this year. Rather, I felt my depth at running back was above average in this league, even without Williams. My receiver position, on the other hand, might be the weakest part of my roster. It doesn't hurt that I picked up Williams for free last year and was basically flipping him for a receiver I believe to be the best in this class.
Many do not like Brown’s landing spot, but I believe that he could be a big help to an offense that was missing short to intermediate options last year. It devastated the team to lose both Delanie Walker and Rishard Matthews for the majority of last season. I already have Corey Davis on this roster, but believe that both could be viable for fantasy. Even if Marcus Mariota proves he can’t stay healthy, I believe Ryan Tannehill could support the fantasy options on this roster without a real drop-off.
I was hoping to be able to swing another deal to get another pick in this round and secure Noah Fant somewhere past the 1.08 mark in this tight end premium format, but I could never come to terms with anyone. Adam wisely swiped him at 1.11, helping him to replace the gaping hole on his roster left by Rob Gronkowski’s retirement.
When Fant went off the board, I decided to change direction and see if I could get a pick in the early-to-mid second round to secure either Irv Smith, Jr. or Jace Sternberger, two tight ends who I believe will eventually be starters for their respective teams. Here's how the second round unfolded!
Round 2
Pick
|
Pos
|
Player
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Team
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FBG Staffer
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2.01
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RB
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Darrell Henderson
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LAR
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Sigmund Bloom
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2.02
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QB
|
Kyler Murray
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Ari
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Chase Stuart
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2.03
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WR
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Deebo Samuel
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SF
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Steve Holloway
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2.04
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TE
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Irv Smith Jr.
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Min
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Danny Tuccito
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2.05
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RB
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Damien Harris
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NE
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Clayton Gray
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2.06
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WR
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Andy Isabella
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Ari
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Jason Wood
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2.07
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TE
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Jace Sternberger
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GB
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Will Grant
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2.08
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WR
|
Miles Boykin
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Bal
|
Daniel Simpkins
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2.09
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WR
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J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
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Phi
|
James Brimacombe
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2.1
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RB
|
Devin Singletary
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Buf
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Danny Tuccito
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2.11
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RB
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Justice Hill
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Bal
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Andy Hicks
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2.12
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QB
|
Dwayne Haskins
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Was
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William Grant
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I was unsuccessful in my attempts to get into the early-to-mid second round and missed my tight end targets. With those guys off the board, a few owners were more willing to trade their picks. One of my target players remained on the board, so I decided to swing a deal.
I wasn't impressed with Thomas when watching him at the Senior Bowl in 2018, but he admittedly caught the coaching staff's attention in training camp and acquitted himself well when standing in for an injured Greg Olsen. He was a free pickup for me last year as well, so I decided to roll the dice on someone I believe to be more likely to have a long-term starter role and productive career. I used the 2.08 to draft Miles Boykin, who was my third-best rated receiver (behind A.J. Brown and Hakeem Butler respectively) in this draft and who has the chance to become Lamar Jackson's X receiver. I've documented why I don't buy into the narrative that Jackson is an inaccurate system quarterback and why I think the offense will be very different this year in this article. With this selection, I'm putting my money where my mouth is.
Danny Tuccito and Adam also struck a deal that sent Tyler Lockett to Adam and left Danny with the 2.10. He selected Devin Singletary with the pick. While I like almost everything else about Singletary, I am not sure he has the requisite speed or burst to hang in the NFL. The depth chart situation is nice with an aging LeSean McCoy and Frank Gore, so he should get a chance to prove what he is or isn't sooner rather than later.
I was desperately trying to trade back in to secure Diontae Johnson at the end of the second round, but no one would bite. Will he last long enough for me to make a deal in the third round?
Here is my roster after two rounds. I cut C.J. Anderson at this point because I was running low on room to house my picks and I don't believe he will have much fantasy relevance with his new team.
Quarterbacks
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Running Backs
|
Wide Receivers
|
Tight Ends
|
Patrick Mahomes - KC
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Todd Gurley - LAR
|
Corey Davis - Ten
|
Jack Doyle - Ind
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Josh Rosen - Mia
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Nick Chubb - Cle
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Mike Evans - TB
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Gerald Everett - LAR
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Team Defenses
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James Conner - Pit
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Adam Thielen - Min
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George Kittle - SF
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Houston Texans
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Damien Williams - KC
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D.J. Moore - Car
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Adam Shaheen - Chi
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Baltimore Ravens
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Josh Jacobs - Oak
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Larry Fitzgerald - Ari
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Jonnu Smith - Ten
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Picks
|
|
Mike Williams - LAC
|
|
3.09, 5.12
|
|
Allen Robinson - Chi
|
|
|
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A.J. Brown - Ten
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|
|
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Miles Boykin - Bal
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|
|
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Taywan Taylor - Ten
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Summary of Rounds 1 & 2
Biggest surprises so far: Players with better team situations went over guys with superior talent in round one. Mecole Hardman and Parris Cambell may live up to the picks at which they were taken, but A.J. Brown, Hakeem Butler, and Marquise Brown are more complete receivers in my eyes. I was not expecting Darrell Henderson to go so early in round two. I know Todd Gurley has an arthritic knee and that his touches will need to be managed from here on out, but paying a premium second-round pick for the change-of-pace option in the backfield is a gambit. Unless Gurley gets hurt again, I believe owners that selected Henderson early in their drafts will feel let down in the same way the owners who were excited about John Kelly last year and took him in the second round ended up disappointed.
Steal of the draft so far: Noah Fant at 1.11 in a tight end premium league shouldn't happen. I know, I contributed to that and could have had him if not for deciding I like A.J. Brown just a little bit more, regardless of the format.
The second-rounder who is most likely to be worth a first-round rookie pick next year: Jace Sternberger has a very legitimate chance to make a first-year impact. If he learns the playbook quickly and earns Aaron Rodgers' trust, he will overtake Jimmy Graham, who is a shell of his former self.
Most surprised to see in the second round: There were really no huge shocks. Dwayne Haskins going ahead of guys like Diontae Johnson, Jalen Hurd, and Alexander Mattison is a mild surprise, but one that's understandable if you think that Dwayne Haskins can have a career similar to that of Jameis Winston.
Part 2 covering rounds 3-5 is coming soon!