Recall that in our last installment, we went through the first two rounds of a rookie draft in a Footballguys dynasty league, hoping to help readers understand which players are rising and falling in early rookie drafts. Today, we’ll cover rounds 3-5 and the trades that took place as we progressed.
As a reminder, here are the scoring and settings highlights from this league:
- 24-man rosters
- Team defenses
- One point per reception for all positions except tight end
- Tight end gets one and a half points per reception
- Rookies or free agents in the pool are draftable
Quarterbacks
|
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
|
Corey Davis - Ten
|
Jack Doyle - Ind
|
Josh Rosen - Mia
|
Nick Chubb - Cle
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Mike Evans - TB
|
Gerald Everett - LAR
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Team Defenses
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James Conner - Pit
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Adam Thielen - Min
|
George Kittle - SF
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Houston Texans
|
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
|
Jonnu Smith - Ten
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Picks
|
|
Mike Williams - LAC
|
|
3.09, 5.12
|
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Allen Robinson - Chi
|
|
|
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A.J. Brown - Ten
|
|
|
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Miles Boykin - Bal
|
|
|
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Taywan Taylor - Ten
|
|
Round 3
Pick
|
Pos
|
Player
|
Team
|
FBG Staffer
|
3.01
|
WR
|
Diontae Johnson
|
Pit
|
Sigmund Bloom
|
3.02
|
RB
|
Alexander Mattison
|
Min
|
Steve Holloway
|
3.03
|
RB
|
Darwin Thompson
|
KC
|
Steve Holloway
|
3.04
|
WR
|
Jalen Hurd
|
SF
|
Adam Harstad
|
3.05
|
WR
|
Kelvin Harmon
|
Was
|
Clayton Gray
|
3.06
|
TE
|
Josh Oliver
|
Jax
|
Jason Wood
|
3.07
|
WR
|
Terry McLaurin
|
Was
|
Chase Stuart
|
3.08
|
RB
|
Benny Snell
|
Pit
|
Steve Holloway
|
3.09
|
TE
|
Travon Wesco
|
NYJ
|
Daniel Simpkins
|
3.1
|
TE
|
Dawson Knox
|
Buf
|
Chase Stuart
|
3.11
|
TE
|
Kahale Warring
|
Hou
|
Andy Hicks
|
3.12
|
RB
|
Trayveon Williams
|
Cin
|
Steve Holloway
|
Here are the trades that took place in the third round:
This class did not feel as deep to me as last year's but there were certainly some interesting talents that came off the board in this round. Steve Holloway had put out feelers before the draft, letting folks know he was interested in trading into the third round. True to his word, he made deals to get into the round, picking a whopping four times. Sigmund snagged Diontae Thompson, whom I had hoped to be able to trade in and get. I feel he's the Steelers future at the X receiver spot. I can see Alexander Mattison and Darwin Thompson winning the primary backup jobs as soon as this year and earning the starter role on potent offenses if the starter ahead of them gets dinged up in season. Jalen Hurd is immensely physically talented and can play both running back and wide receiver. If San Francisco uses him creatively, that selection could end up being a steal for Adam.
The board really seemed to dry up around my turn to pick, so I decided to use the rest of my picks to work on mining tight ends. In a format in which they are premium assets, you can never have too many. By selecting Trevon Wesco, I took a tight end that has an outside chance at earning a starting role in his offense. Chris Herndon played well last year, but considering that a new regime is in town and that they took Wesco in the fourth round, they may not be as high on Herndon as we might expect. While Wesco is excellent at catching the football, my concern with him is that he is such a good blocker that the Jets may put him to work primarily in that role. At this late stage of the draft, I was willing to take that risk.
Round 4
Pick
|
Pos
|
Player
|
Team
|
FBG Staffer
|
4.01
|
RB
|
Bryce Love
|
Was
|
Sigmund Bloom
|
4.02
|
RB
|
Ryquell Armstead
|
Jax
|
Will Grant
|
4.03
|
TE
|
Jason Witten
|
Dal
|
Sigmund Bloom
|
4.04
|
QB
|
Will Greer
|
Car
|
Danny Tuccitto
|
4.05
|
WR
|
Geronimo Allison
|
GB
|
Clayton Gray
|
4.06
|
WR
|
Stanley Morgan
|
Cin
|
Jason Wood
|
4.07
|
RB
|
Mike Davis
|
Chi
|
Will Grant
|
4.08
|
WR
|
Hunter Renfrow
|
Oak
|
Justin Howe
|
4.09
|
RB
|
Rodney Anderson
|
Cin
|
James Brimacombe
|
4.1
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WR
|
Donte Moncrief
|
Ind
|
Adam Harstad
|
4.11
|
RB
|
Dexter Williams
|
GB
|
Andy Hicks
|
4.12
|
QB
|
Drew Lock
|
Den
|
Steve Holloway
|
Here is the trade that occurred in this round:
I had no picks in this round because of trading my fourth rounder away in a deal with Steve last year. As you can see, veterans began to come off the board, and some of them probably have greater upside than some of the rookies who were in this range. Donte Moncrief and Geronimo Allison could be secondary or tertiary options in high-powered offenses. Jason Witten is unlikely to make huge statistical waves, but just being able to get a starter this late is nothing to sneeze at. When he took Dexter Williams, Andy Hicks picked up the player I would have been most interested to draft in this round if I had owned a pick. He's very similar to Aaron Jones in terms of his style of play. If Jones were to get hurt again, as has often been the case so far in his career, Andy may have taken a guy that can slot right into the offense.
Round 5
Pick
|
Pos
|
Player
|
Team
|
FBG Staffer
|
5.01
|
WR
|
Josh Gordon
|
NE
|
Sigmund Bloom
|
5.02
|
RB
|
C.J. Anderson
|
Det
|
Chase Stuart
|
5.03
|
WR
|
Demarcus Robinson
|
KC
|
Sigmund Bloom
|
5.04
|
QB
|
Ryan Finley
|
Cin
|
Danny Tuccitto
|
5.05
|
QB
|
Daniel Jones
|
NY
|
Clayton Gray
|
5.06
|
WR
|
Trey Quinn
|
Was
|
Jason Wood
|
5.07
|
WR
|
Phillip Dorsett
|
Ind
|
Will Grant
|
5.08
|
WR
|
Justin Watson
|
TB
|
Justin Howe
|
5.09
|
TE
|
Darren Waller
|
Oak
|
Sigmund Bloom
|
5.1
|
RB
|
Tony Pollard
|
Dal
|
Adam Harstad
|
5.11
|
WR
|
Riley Ridley
|
Chi
|
Andy Hicks
|
5.12
|
TE
|
Foster Moreau
|
Oak
|
Daniel Simpkins
|
Veterans continued to pour off the board in the final round. I selected Mr. Irrelevant in this draft when I took Foster Moreau. There's a gaping hole at tight end in Oakland and Moreau is just as likely as anyone to fill it, including journeyman Luke Willson. I love the work that Moreau can do in tight coverage and contested catch situations. Again, in a league in which even low-end starting tight ends command hefty prices in a trade, Moreau is worth taking to see what he can do over the summer in a wide-open camp competition.
Here's my final roster and the future picks I own:
Quarterbacks
|
Running Backs
|
Wide Receivers
|
Tight Ends
|
Patrick Mahomes - KC
|
Todd Gurley - LAR
|
Corey Davis - Ten
|
Jack Doyle - Ind
|
Josh Rosen - Mia
|
Nick Chubb - Cle
|
Mike Evans - TB
|
Gerald Everett - LAR
|
Team Defenses
|
James Conner - Pit
|
Adam Thielen - Min
|
George Kittle - SF
|
Houston Texans
|
Damien Williams - KC
|
D.J. Moore - Car
|
Adam Shaheen - Chi
|
Baltimore Ravens
|
Josh Jacobs - Oak
|
Larry Fitzgerald - Ari
|
Jonnu Smith - Ten
|
Future Picks
|
|
Mike Williams - LAC
|
Trevon Wesco - NYJ
|
2020 1st, 2020 2nd
|
|
Allen Robinson - Chi
|
Foster Moreau - Oak
|
2020 3rd, 2020 4th
|
|
A.J. Brown - Ten
|
|
2020 5th
|
|
Miles Boykin - Bal
|
|
|
|
Taywan Taylor - Ten
|
|
Most likely cut candidates: Last year, I had guys like Brett Hundley, Joe Flacco, Teddy Bridgewater, and C.J. Prosise on the bubble. This year, I only have Taywan Taylor and the two rookie tight ends I selected in the later rounds as potential cut candidates depending on how things shake out in camp. That's a testament to how much better this roster has become since this time last year.
Next moves: As always, I’ll be watching closely to see who my opponents cut. Sometimes, short benches and rookie fever mean that someone who really shouldn’t be out there on waivers ends up getting dumped for a long-shot prospect. I’ll also continue to be active in the trade market and I will spend some time identifying teams that may have glaring weaknesses at certain positions of strength for me. I would love to get better at receiver or tight end so those two positions will be particular focuses of mine.
Thanks for reading and feel free to reach out to me about questions you may have about your rookie drafts!