It’s draft day, one of my favorite days of the year! This is the culmination of months of speculation and the day where college kids realize their lifelong dreams. What’s not to love? Also rookie boards start to chrystallize when we get the all important draft capital component of rookie profiles. Here’s a few players who are gaining serious traction ahead of the draft!

It’s clear to me that Jordyn Tyson has the highest ceiling of any of the top 3 WRs in this class; the issue is he also has the lowest floor. Tyson hosted a private workout for teams about a week ago and he drew rave reviews and proved he was fully healthy. Betting odds for Tyson to go top 10 have turned favorable and it seems likely that Tate and Tyson will be off the board by the time the draft hits the double digits. In a bullish outcome for Tyson I see him as a JSN/Rashee Rice hybrid winning all over the field. ASU WR coach Hines Ward has said publicly that he’s putting “all of his chips” on Tyson to make it in the NFL and health permitting I think he gets there.

I heard a quote from an NFL scout that “Jeremiyah Love is the best offensive player in the draft but Jadarian Price is the best pure runner.” I don’t think I agree with that to be honest, but it’s indicative of the growing belief that there could be 2 Fighting Irish first round runningbacks this year. Price is being mocked to the Seahawks at the end of the 1st to be the 2nd head of a backfield with Zach Charbonnet who is coming off injury. If that were to happen then Price would be drafted in the 1.06 - 1.09 range. 1st round capital for any runningback historically means that usage and fantasy production will be there immediately. I have concerns over Price’s chops as an NFL RB shouldering a full workload, blocking and catching passes but draft capital is such a large impact on fantasy production that day 1 status would cause him to rise on my board

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Simpson has gained steam in the recent days and the wider NFL community seems to think he’s destined to end up with the Cardinals, Jets or as the heir apparent to Matthew Stafford on the Rams. While it’s clear that the Cardinals would be best for his short term value, any team that takes Simpson within the first 2 rounds will likely hand him the reins at some point in the near future. From a dynasty superflex perspective, you can do a lot worse than a QB with round 1 or 2 draft capital even if he is perceived to be flawed as a prospect. I expect Simpson to land with the Cardinals in the second and solidify a late 1st round SF grade for himself.

The blocking Tight End who also catches passes is a rare breed in the modern NFL. I have heard many podcasters hold fast to the idea that you want a TE who does both (block and pass catch), but it’s become clear to me that you just want a receiving weapon drafted so high that his team has to utilize him. Roush does not fit my ideal archetype as he is probably the best blocking Tight End in the draft although he does have some sneaky pass catching ability.

Despite Roush being more of a throwback Tight End, he is getting hyped up ahead of the draft because of the immediate impact he will bring to an offense. He’s a smart kid, former Stanford computer science major who seems to be quite the hard worker too. If Roush gets drafted in the 4th or 5th round he could be on the field quite a bit and organically grow into an offensive contributor. I’m not here to anoint Roush the next George Kittle or Gronk, but I think its realistic that he’s a top 20 TE by season’s end and you might be able to get him with a 4th round rookie pick.

I basically wrote a hit piece when i informed my audience to stop drafting “baby deebos” and pointed to Cooper as the latest one. I’ll standby my analytical/production based analysis of Cooper as having inflated stats that come from beating up on FCS schools. However, I have seen multiple noteworthy mock drafts that have Cooper round 1. I even saw 1 that has him going 16 to the Jets which would be absolutely mind blowing. This is another situation where draft capital trumps concerns in assessing a players market value. In the scenario where Cooper goes top 20 then he is basically locked into the 1.07/1.08 on consensus boards. I’d probably take him 1.12 in that scenario and not feel great about it, but I try not to let myself be too blinded by my own hot takes or player opinions. NFL GMs know best in a sense and that coupled with the monetary and draft capital team invested means that NFL squads will feature players they take that high. It’s worth noting that 1st round WRs bust at a rate higher than all other fantasy positions so it’s by no means a sure thing, but I will not be swearing off OCJr just because I think he’s a bit overhyped.

Stay Amped and Happy Draft Day,

John

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