10-Team Simulated (FantasyPros) from Position #1 (Grade A+) 8/22/2024

Well, I took a break from Mock Drafting for a week after Google AdSense said that my content wasn't unique and thus not ad-worthy. As if I were copying this from somewhere? Or as if all my posts are repetitive and contain no new information? Anyway, I'm not in this for the money, and not many people are reading this anyway (not a single person has commented on anything yet). So, probably there are no new ideas contained herein. Or, my drafts have been so poor as not to be worth reading. But, today, I finished my positional tiers to use for drafting, and I decided to run a mock draft on FantasyPros Simulator again to try them out. And, this time I got an A+ grade (97/100), with a projected 1st Place finish. So, take that, AdSense!

Pick 1.01: Christian McCaffrey RB (bye 9). Almost everybody agrees he should go #1. My projections analysis shows him as 6.2 points per game better than the likely available RB at the end of Round 2, whereas the top WR is only going to be 3.1 points per game better than the likely available WR at the end of Round 2.

Pick 2.10: Davante Adams WR (bye 10)

Pick 3.01: Chris Olave WR (bye 12). Grabbing a pair of Tier 2 wide receivers at the turn, one old and not yet showing signs of decline, one young and hopefully ready to ascend. The draft board had Drake London rated higher than Olave.

Pick 4.10: Jaylen Waddle WR (bye 6)

Pick 5.01: Kenneth Walker III RB (bye 10). Other options were Lamar Jackson, Trey McBride, and DeVonta Smith. I have Waddle ranked one spot above DeVonta. Walker seems to be the unquestioned starter in Seattle.

Pick 6.10: Kyler Murray QB (bye 11)

Pick 7.01: Tee Higgins WR (bye 12). I think Kyler is a good value a couple rounds after the top-tier QBs. As the Ja'Marr Chase situation gets stickier, it only makes sense that the value of Tee Higgins should move up some. He probably should be in the same conversation as Waddle and DeVonta; so grabbing him two rounds later seems like a steal. Rashee Rice was also available here. Rhamondre Stevenson was the top RB left. Evan Engram was the top TE on the board.

Pick 8.10: Brian Robinson Jr. RB (bye 14)

Pick 9.01: Diontae Johnson WR (bye 11). Robinson seems to be the starter, despite the addition of Ekeler. Diontae is a reception hog. Jordan Love is the top QB. Ezekiel Elliott is the top RB. Engram is still the top TE.

Pick 10.10: Evan Engram TE (bye 12)

Pick 11.01: Jayden Daniels QB (bye 14). As is my habit, I grab Daniels in the 10th, though actually the 11th here. Evan Engram kept falling; so I finally took him.

Pick 12.10: J.K. Dobbins RB (bye 5)

Pick 13.01: Jameson Williams WR (bye 5). A couple of quality players to stash on my bench, who could easily end up outproducing my current #2 starters at those positions.

Pick 14.10: Pittsburgh Steelers DST (bye 6)

Pick 15.01: Harrison Butker K (bye 6). Not ideal to grab both of these with the same Bye week, the other DST choice was the Chiefs, who also have a week 6 Bye. I probably should have pivoted to the Eagles here, but I didn't plan the end of this draft well enough to have the time to figure out that choice.