Staff Dynasty League Rookie Draft Recap

Mock drafts are fun, but there’s no denying the real deal is more telling. The NFL draft concluded nearly two weeks ago, and dynasty leagues have begun their rookie drafts.

The PFF Fantasy Staff Dynasty League was no different, as 12 staff members took part in a one-week-long “slow” draft that concluded on Thursday. Seven rounds and 84 rookie picks later, let’s take a look at the results.

Round 1

Ross Miles was wheelin' and dealin' and traded his way up to the 1.01 pick. It was no surprise to see him take wide receiver Sammy Watkins with this pick. Joey Cartolano made the next “obvious” pick at 1.02 by drafting wideout Mike Evans.

Akshay Ananad had picks 1.03 and 1.04 and spent a good amount of time trying to find trading partners to no avail. He ultimately drafted wide receiver Brandin Cooks at 1.03 and running back Bishop Sankey at 1.04.

Shawn Siegele and Dan Schnieier picked the wide receiver trend back up with picks 1.05 and 1.06 by drafting Davante Adams and Odell Beckham, respectively. Jeff Ratcliffe closed out the first round by drafting the enigmatic Johnny Manziel with pick 1.12.

All told, seven wide receivers were drafted in the first round, including five in the first six picks. Three running backs were drafted in the first round, while one tight end and one quarterback were taken.

Round 2

We saw more of the same in round two. There was a run on wide receivers to start the round, with Siegele getting it started by drafting Marqise Lee at 2.01. That was followed by Cartolano taking Allen Robinson at 2.02 and Anand scooping up Kelvin Benjamin at 2.03.

Also like the first round, three running backs and one tight end were drafted. Terrance West was gone with pick 2.04, followed by Tre Mason at 2.07 and Jeremy Hill at 2.12. Tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins was taken at pick 2.06.

No quarterbacks were taken in the second round, but we saw two IDP players get drafted. Tyler Loechner broke the seal on IDP players by taking Khalil Mack at 2.09. Scott Spratt kept it going by taking C.J. Mosley at 2.11.

There were six wide receivers, three running backs, one tight end, and two IDP players (both linebackers) taken in the second round.

Round 3

With rounds one and two being dominated by receivers — 54 percent of the first 24 picks were wide receivers — it was time for a run on quarterbacks running backs.

Nate Jahnke scooped up Blake Bortles at 3.01, and Teddy Bridgewater went to Anand’s team at 3.03. Linebacker Ryan Shazier was the third IDP player taken at 3.02, and Jace Amaro was the third tight end drafted at 3.04.

The next six picks were running backs: Andre Williams, Isaiah Crowell, Jerick McKinnon, Ka’Deem Carey, Storm Johnson, and Charles Sims.

There were six running backs, two quarterbacks, one tight end, and two IDP players taken in round three. There was just one wide receiver drafted in the round.

Rounds 4-5

There were eight running backs taken in the fourth and fifth rounds, all of whom are relatively far down on their teams’ respective depth charts. There were actually no wide receivers drafted in the fourth round but five were taken in the fifth. By the time you get to the fourth and fifths rounds of a rookie draft, most of the offensive players taken are benchwarmers you hope get a chance.

On the defensive side of the ball, though, the players drafted are still potential immediate-impact guys. High-profile defensive players such as Jadeveon Clowney, Calvin Pryor, Dominique Easley, Ha Ha Clintox-Dix, and Telvin Smith were taken in the fourth and fifth rounds.

Rounds 6-7

The majority of players drafted in the final two rounds are long-term projects. This is where quarterbacks such as Jimmy Garoppolo and Logan Thomas were drafted. At least one player from every possible positions — WR, RB, QB, TE, LB, S, DT, DE, and CB — were drafted in the final two rounds.

What We Learned

Don’t be afraid to trade to get what you want. Miles, for example, was busy during the first few rounds. As previously noted, he wanted pick 1.01 and the rights to Sammy Watkins, and he was willing to go get it. But what did he give up for the highly-touted receiver?

It actually took him two trades to make it happen. Miles first shipped his 1.10 and 2.07 picks from 2014 to Ratcliffe for a 2015 1.xx and a 2016 2.xx.

He then turned around and traded T.Y Hilton, the 2015 1.xx he received from Ratcliffe, and his own 2015 1.xx to move up to 1.01. He also received a 2015 3.xx.

There were plenty of other trades executed throughout the draft — 14, to be exact — and the lesson to be learned is that you shouldn’t be afraid to make some moves.

Trends We Saw

Wide receivers are the hottest commodity in the first couple of rounds in 2014 rookie drafts. I already mentioned how 54 percent of the picks in the first two rounds were wide receivers, but that figure is even more surprising when you learn that just one receiver was taken in rounds three and four combined.

Running back was the only position that had at least one player drafted in all seven rounds. It was the deepest position next to wide receivers — by the end, 25 running backs were taken versus 26 receivers.

There was one tight end taken in every round except for the fifth, and there was at least one linebacker taken in every round after the first. There were 11 total linebackers drafted, third most of any position.

Offensive players ruled the day. There were 63 offensive players drafted compared to just 21 defensive players.

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