Welcome to The Fantasy Football Universe Rookie Mock Draft 3.0. This mock draft was Superflex and tight-end premium. It was a 12-team draft and featured four managers who each drafted three players per round for a total of 36 rookie picks. The number in after the team signifies that players have risen or fallen in ADP since our last superflex mock draft.
The draft featured Aaron St. Denis drafting 1st, Jeremy Shulman drafting 2nd, Jesse Moeller drafting 3rd and SC Romero drafting 4th.
Draftboard via Sleeper.com
Round 1
1.01- Caleb Williams, QB (USC) EVEN
1.02- Marvin Harrison Jr, WR (Ohio St) EVEN
1.03- Jayden Daniels, QB (LSU) -1
1.04- Brock Bowers, TE (Georgia) +1
1.05- Drake Maye, QB (UNC) +1
1.06- Malik Nabers, WR (LSU) -3
1.07- Rome Odunze, WR (Washington) +2
1.08- Troy Franklin, WR (Oregon) -1
1.09- Brian Thomas Jr, WR (Florida) -1
1.10- Xavier Worthy, WR (Texas) EVEN
1.11- JJ McCarthy, QB (Michigan) EVEN
1.12- Adonai Mitchell, WR (Texas) EVEN
Round 1 Recap
Round 1 showed us that we are starting to see a consensus top-8 picks emerge in superflex leagues. Williams, Maye and Daniels are the three quarterbacks who will be included in that group. They are joined by wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr, Malik Nabers, Rome Odunze and Troy Franklin, as well as tight-end Brock Bowers.
The most notable difference in Round 1, is that Malik Nabers fell by three spots. His fall was due in large part to the three quarterbacks going early, and Bowers being selected ahead of him. While the top-8 may be a consensus, their order is far from set. You should expect these eight players to be taken, but the order is open to variance.
The first major drop in talent comes at the 1.09 where we drop a tier at every position. That may change after the 2024 NFL Draft if one or two of the running backs are able to secure decent draft capital or a favourable landing spot that would cause them to dreep into Round 1. For now, though, we see the round capped off with a tier drop at every other position.
The 1.09 is also where the variance really begins and the ADP will be largely unreliable and subject to personal preference. It becomes a spot for the next group of receivers and quarterbacks for the most part.
Round 1 Winners & Losers
The best pick of Round 1 was Malik Nabers. Nabers is the consensus WR2 in this class, and while he will often fall due to the superflex format, he shouldn’t be falling this far. Even in a tight-end premium league, the odds of Nabers hitting are far higher than the odds for Bowers. I simply will not pass on him for Bowers in any league. I prefer Nabers over Maye for that matter, even in superflex leagues.
The worst pick of Round 1 was Brock Bowers. As I stated above, I have no interest in taking Brock Bowers this early. I am completely opposed to selecting a tight-end with a Round 1 rookie pick, so to pass on Maye and Nabers is not the approach I want to take. The odds of Bowers being a success are low enough, the odds of him being a significant contributor sooner than nabers are non-existent.
Round 2
2.01- Bo Nix, QB (Oregon) +1
2.02- Jonathon Brooks, RB (Texas) +7
2.03- Keon Coleman, WR (Florida St) +1
2.04- Trey Benson, RB (Florida St) +2
2.05- Blake Corum, RB (Michigan) -4
2.06- Ladd McConkey, WR (Georgia) +5
2.07- Bucky Irving, RB (Oregon) EVEN
2.08- Michael Penix Jr, QB (Washington) +2
2.09- Braelon Allen, RB (Wisconsin) -1
2.10- Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE (Texas) -5
2.11- Jalen McMillan, WR (Washington) +8
2.12- Audric Estime, RB (Notre Dame) +3
Round 2 Recap
Once again we see a significant shake-up in Round 2. This is for two reasons. The first reason is that every player in the range from 1.09 to 2.4 is essentially one big tier and therefore is going to fall victim to unpredictability in ADP. The other reason for the shake-up is the Senior Bowl. There were a number of players who saw their draft stock rise or fall significantly at this week’s 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl.
The most notable faller from the Senior Bowl was North Carolina wide receiver Devontez Walker. Walker had a disastrous showing at the Senior Bowl that saw him fall from the 15th overall pick in our previous mock draft to being completely undrafted through three rounds. A massive drop in value to say the least.
There were also a handful of significant risers in this round. Wisconsin running back Jonathon Brooks appears to be the consensus RB1 at this point and rose 8 spots in ADP as a result.
We also saw two receivers rise significantly. Washington’s Jalen McMillan rose 8 spots on talent and profile alone, while Georgia’s Ladd McConkey rose after a solid showing and rave reviews at the Senior Bowl.
Round 2 Winners & Losers
The best pick of Round 2 was Ja’Tavion Sanders. Sanders was great value in this spot of the draft. The consensus TE2 in the class going at the tail-end of the round after a long run on running backs is excellent value. I myself passed on him as this tight-end class has suddenly started to show more promise with some of the third-round tight-ends looking more promising.
The worst pick of Round 2 was Jalen McMillan. I’m going to be honest. I really liked the picks in this round and didn’t think there was a loser. For the sake of formality though, I went with Jalen McMillan as I felt he probably could have been selected a round later after going undrafted in the 2024 Rookie Mock Draft 1.0.
Round 3
3.01- Ben Sinnott, TE (Kansas St) +7
3.02- Malachi Corley, WR (Western Kentucky) +2
3.03- Marshawn Lloyd, RB (USC) +2
3.04- Spencer Rattler, QB (South Carolina) -3
3.05- Michael Pratt, QB (Tulane) +4
3.06- Ricky Pearsall, WR (Florida) +4
3.07- Roman Wilson, WR (Michigan) +4
3.08- Ray Davis, RB (Kentucky) +4
3.09- Will Shipley, RB (Clemson) -7
3.10- Brenden Rice, WR (USC) +3
3.11- Johnny Wilson, WR (Florida St) +3
3.12- Jaheim Bell, TE (Florida St) +3
Round 3 Recap
Round 3 saw some massive risers and fallers. As I mentioned above, the tight-end class has started to show some depth. All the proof you need to support that claim is Kansas State’s Ben Sinnott moving up 7 spots. To further the point, we also saw Jaheim Bell sneak in as the last pick and still had the likes of Ohio State’s Cade Stover left undrafted.
Will Shipley was the biggest faller of this round, mostly because he hasn’t done anything as he was involved in the Senior Bowl. He saw such a large drop because managers started to go with some of the receivers that they were most impressed with at the Senior Bowl. You shouldn’t expect this to be a trend, Shipley is far too low in this draft.
The third round also becomes a case of pick a receiver and go get your guy. They are all flawed players, so simply take the one you prefer.
Round 3 Winners & Losers
The best pick of Round 3 was Will Shipley. Plain and simple, Shipley should be a second-round pick, not a third-round pick. He isn’t going to fall this far in real drafts unless he has a catastrophic showing at the 2024 NFL Combine or the 2024 NFL Draft. For now, he is a steal in the third round as he could easily be the top running back in this class that lacks a true RB1.
The worst pick of Round 3 was Malachi Corley. Corley has potential, but I prefer to take him later in the third round with the other receivers in this tier. He has talent, but my issue is passing on Marshawn Lloyd or Will Shipley to select him. The correct choice here was a running back, then you wait and take a shot on the dart-throw receivers later.
This draft was held on Friday, February 9/2024 at 3:00 PM EST. If you would like to watch the entire draft live, check it out on The Fantasy Football Universe YouTube channel. Don’t forget to Like & Subscribe!
