Dynasty Rookie Mock Draft — Part 2

The second half of Round 1 in our dynasty rookie draft consists solely of QBs and WRs. Who falls where? Well, the first QB off the board should come as no surprise…

7. Trevor Lawrence (by Brandon Mintz)

With the 7th pick in our rookie mock draft, I select the top quarterback in the 2021 class, Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence was taken with the first overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Lawrence was the slam dunk top prospect in this year’s draft, but it is tough to value him in a 1QB league. With most of the top-tier skill players gone, I could not pass up on him here as he is a generational talent who can be your starting quarterback for the next decade.

The 21-year-old is joining an offense that has some talent, but not a lot of experience. They have a solid running back duo with former college teammate Travis Etienne who was taken with the 25th pick in this year’s draft, alongside James Robinson who was a 1,000 yard rusher in his rookie year. Then there are wideouts D.J. Chark and Laviska Shenault who both are young with tons of potential.

Lawrence may not be a QB1 in his rookie campaign, but he gives you consistency and stability at a position that you will not need to address for a long time with Lawrence in the fold.

8. Jaylen Waddle (by David Owen)

The last of the truly blue-chip dynasty rookie prospects, I select Jaylen Waddle at #8 in our rookie mock draft.

He has elite speed combined with the change-of-direction ability and agility that could make him un-coverable. Corners scared of his speed have to play off coverage, and allow the shorter catches underneath. This could lead to Waddle becoming a PPR maven in short order.

Tua Tagovailoa has traditionally preferred to throw the ball underneath, and this dovetails perfectly with Waddle’s skilset. A threat to take it to the house every time he gets his hands on the ball, coach Brian Flores and his staff will enjoy scheming ways to get the ball to their newest toy.

With Will Fuller and TE Mike Gesicki in the last year of their contract and Devante Parker in the twilight of his career, Waddle could easily become the top target for the Dolphins as soon as next season. If Tua starts to play the way we saw he could in college, this is a recipe for fantasy stardom.

9. Trey Lance (by Anand Chundi)

WIth the 9th pick in our dynasty rookie draft, I select QB Trey Lance. Somewhat of a wild card going into this season, I fully expect Lance to blossom in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, assuming he takes control of the starting quarterback role. Lance will hopefully to fit in Kyle Shanahan’s well as a strong and big-armed quarterback with the ability to run the ball and move the pocket.

Lance will also enjoy an excellent supporting cast. The 49ers have a stable offensive line with arguably the best offensive tackle tandem in the NFL in Trent Williams and Mike McGlinchey. They also have the weapons to go along with it. Second and third-year receivers Bradon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel, respectively, have their arrows pointing way up. Tight end George Kittle is one of the best in the NFL.

What makes this fantasy fit even more interesting is the idea the fact that Lance has upside as a runner. In college, Lance was used on designed runs and he also created improvised rushing yardage. That makes him a perfect fit for Shanahan who first made the zone-read game popular during his time with Robert Griffin and Washington.

10. Justin Fields (by Brandon Mintz)

With the 10th pick in our dynasty rookie mock draft, I select Justin Fields out of Ohio State University. Fields was taken with the 11th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears.

Fields slid to the third quarterback taken in this mock draft, and that could be attributed to the past failures of Ohio State quarterbacks and the fear of him not starting right away.

He is undeniably a different level of prospect than previous OSU quarterbacks. Fields should not be penalized for the failures of Dwayne Haskins and others and should be held to a standard of his own.

Additionally, the 22-year-old is not expected to start right out of the gate with veteran Andy Dalton on a one-year deal. However, Fields is considered the future of the Chicago Bears as they moved up nine spots to acquire him in this year’s draft. Dynasty is a long-term game, so Dalton’s presence should not get in the way of taking this talented quarterback.

Fields has strong weapons with Allen Robinson on the outside and David Montgomery in the backfield. Hopefully starting his NFL career on the bench can ease the transition to the NFL, and come 2022 we can be looking at the start of many QB1 seasons from the Bears’ new gunslinger.

11. Elijah Moore (by David Owen)

After Trevor Lawrence and Jaylen Waddle come off the board, there is a clear tier drop-off. The next 10 players are all about in the same range, so my advice would be to trade down to the bottom half of the 2nd round and take the best player available, unless you desperately need an RB. Keep in mind, Trey Sermon and Michael Carter (4th round picks) are being overdrafted in many a dynasty rookie draft due to the lack of depth at the position in this year’s class.

With that said, the pick here is WR Elijah Moore. The depth at this point in the draft at WR is clear, with both Moore’s, Bateman, Toney and Marshall Jr all residing in the second tier of wideouts. So, I choose my personal favorite dark horse to be the top WR out of this draft class when all is said and done.

Moore showed out for a subpar Ole Miss team in the SEC, producing at a level only rivaled by Chase and Devonta Smith. He is ranked lower because he is pigeonholed as a slot receiver. While that may be true, given his height, he has prototypical speed, and fantasy owners don’t care where he lines up as long as he scores them points. Add in the rave reviews he has being receiving so far in camp, and we have a fantasy prospect with bona fide WR1 potential down the road.

All of these reasons are why he reminds many of a young Antonio Brown…

12. Rondale Moore (by Anand Chundi)

With the last pick of the first round, I’m going with Rondale Moore. The Cardinals really needed help at wide receiver, and while they added A.J. Green earlier in the offseason, Moore is more likely to be the most important pickup of the offseason for them. And he could be the No. 2 pass catcher in the offense fairly early on.

After an injury-plagued 2019 season and opting out of most of the 2020 season plus concerns about his size took the forefront, Moore started falling down draft boards. That was until his pro day. Moore clocked a 4.29 40-yard dash with a ridiculous 42.5-inch vertical jump, reminding everyone just how explosive he could be at the NFL level.

I fully believe Moore has all the physical tools necessary to have an impact rookie season in Kliff Kingsbury’s air raid offense despite the incumbent receivers Arizona already has.