Can you feel draft season in the air? The NFL trade deadline has come and gone, coaches are getting fired, and certain teams are properly in tank mode, ready to pin their hopes on the incoming class of 2026 rookies.
Not unlike the tanking NFL teams, many dynasty owners are managing a rebuilding team or two, and are looking forward to the newest crop of dynasty assets. To that end, I bring you a midseason first-round dynasty rookie mock draft.
For this draft, I’ll be assuming a 12-team Superflex league with 0.5 TE premium, and I’ll be adding in (very) tentative tiers for good measure.
Tier 1
1.01 - Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame
Coming into the year as the presumed RB1 in his class, Jeremiyah Love has put more distance between himself and the other fantasy-relevant prospects so far this season. As things stand, I like Jeremiyah Love’s chances of being drafted in the 1.10-1.19 range of the first round, possibly even to an elite landing spot such as the Kansas City Chiefs or Chicago Bears, among others.
For his part, Love is extremely explosive, with game-breaking burst to make house calls from anywhere on the field. He’s also becoming increasingly decisive in his early down rushing, knifing through gaps rather than gingerly hopping through the scrum like he tended to do last year.
To top it all off, Love brings legit route-running ability to the table, and I think he’s being criminally under-utilized in this regard, even as he paces to top 30 receptions and set career highs in receiving production across the board. He’s not just a checkdown merchant; I genuinely like how he gets in and out of his breaks down the field.
Without competition from a high-end rushing quarterback prospect, Love should go 1.01 in all formats, and he inhabits a tier of his own.
Tier 2
1.02 - Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State
For now, Tyson remains my presumed WR1, even as he nurses an injury. My best guess is that he’ll get meaningfully better draft capital than Makai Lemon and Carnell Tate because of his three-level skillset and explosiveness.
Tyson brings movement ability to the table that I see NFL general managers prioritizing with very early draft capital, and it’s a skillset that translates ideally to fantasy. He projects to balance volume with high-value targets extremely well, and earns the nod for WR1 at this point.
1.03 - Ty Simpson, QB, Alabama
I’m gonna take a somewhat controversial stab at predicting the fantasy QB1 in this draft class, and go with Alabama’s breakout quarterback, Ty Simpson. My gauge currently is that Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is the favorite to be QB1 in the real-life NFL draft, but I wanted to put Ty Simpson ahead very, very tentatively. All the relevant quarterbacks have a lot of big football games left to play, so nothing is final yet.
I give Simpson the early edge because he’s asked to read and challenge the middle of the field, particularly 10-20 yards downfield, more than the other quarterbacks in contention to go in the first round. His tape is littered with throws that he fizzes into tight windows against zone coverage.
These are high-level throws that Fernando Mendoza and Dante Moore aren’t asked to make on quite so regular a basis, even if they certainly have the talent to execute in this area. Don’t get me wrong, Mendoza and Moore are executing their own offenses at a high level; they’re just offenses that don’t put quite as much on these quarterbacks’ plates as Simpson’s does.
For the sake of this exercise, I’ll project Simpson to be drafted as the eventual QB1 in the class, which would bump him a tier above the other candidates.
1.04 - Makai Lemon, WR, USC
Lemon might feel snubbed to “only” be my 1.04 in this mock draft, but he’s fully earned a place in the second tier with great tape and production, and he’s entering the NFL in an era that meshes perfectly with his skillset.
Assuming Lemon gets first-round draft capital, it feels unlikely he’ll be pigeonholed into a slot-only role, which would limit his ceiling as a fantasy asset. Instead, I think he’ll be given every chance to develop into a premier flanker-slot type, which prints PPR points in fantasy football leagues.
Reliable players who are in the right spots and reward their quarterback’s trust are underrated assets, and Lemon projects as exactly that type of player.
1.05 - Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State
The Ohio State wide receiver pipeline just never seems to stop, and the latest edition is Carnell Tate, who combines outstanding size with big play ability. Tate is still gaining momentum and could easily get enough draft capital to move up in dynasty drafts.
One note of caution, Tate’s archetype has been a little hit-and-miss for dynasty owners in recent years, but realistically, good players forge their own roles and break the mold. Tate feels likely to earn first-round draft capital and have a shot at being his team’s WR1 early on, which means his ceiling for fantasy is sky-high.
1.06 - Fernando Mendoza, QB, Indiana
Mendoza can be a little hard to evaluate because his offense doesn’t ask too much of him on a down-to-down basis, but in “gotta have it” situations, he’s been outstanding. It’s a little unclear to me if there is more signal in his mostly-bad performance against Penn State, or in his ridiculous game-winning drive. Honestly, probably both. Regardless, he’ll get many more chances over the course of the season, including a likely conference championship and CFP campaign, to put some massive performances on tape.
Mendoza is likely to get early draft capital and will essentially be a lock for the first round of Superflex rookie mock drafts. He has some athleticism and rushing ability, but it won’t be a difference-making source of fantasy points, which means dynasty owners likely won’t be breaking ties in his favor over comparably talented running backs and wide receivers.
Compared to Dante Moore, I think NFL teams will fall in love with Mendoza's prototypical measurables, and will be a bit more confident in his ability to challenge every blade of grass with his arm.
Tier 3
1.07 - Dante Moore, QB, Oregon
Yes, I know there is more and more smoke that Moore might return to college for another year, but if I play this game for every underclassman, we’ll miss out on chances to discuss key members of the class.
Moore is a smart, responsible player who can execute high-end throws within the flow of his offense. I like his combination of athleticism to pick up first downs on scrambles, but coupled with an under-control style that typically means he prefers to be a thrower, not a runner.
For dynasty purposes, he might score more if he ran with reckless abandon, but that’s just not who he is. I sometimes question if Moore’s arm talent can be considered high-end, or whether it tops out at merely sufficient.
If Moore does declare, I expect he’ll earn first-round draft capital and be a reasonable candidate to go high in Superflex dynasty drafts. Like with Mendoza and Simpson, the rushing ability isn’t quite so compelling as to require dynasty owners to break ties in his favor.
1.08 - Jonah Coleman, RB, Washington
You’ll see draft analysts split on whether the RB2 in the class is Haynes or Coleman, but for dynasty purposes Coleman has the early edge due to his track record as a receiver out of the backfield. Coleman has racked up at least 20 catches in each of the last three years, and he’s comfortably about to set career highs in every receiving category this season.
1.09 - Justice Haynes, RB, Michigan
Yet another explosive rusher, Justice Haynes has been one of the fastest risers in the country this season. He’s been electric at Michigan, averaging a hair over seven yards per carry. Haynes has good playmaking vision to pick opportune times to bounce runs, but might not be his team’s preferred option for early down work in the NFL.
Listed at 5’11” 210 lbs, and not an overly productive pass catcher, there is slightly more projection required to get Haynes to a high touch floor, but he’s going to get the attention of multiple NFL offensive coordinators, and somebody will prioritize him on Day 2 and figure out the usage.
1.10 - Denzel Boston, WR, Washington
With strong hands and fantastic ability to high point the football and pluck it away from his frame, Boston has the makings of an alpha on the outside. No, he doesn’t exactly get the most separation, but he’s also not a jump ball merchant.
I constantly emphasize that there is a difference between depending on contested catches and simply having reliable leverage. Boston is more of the latter. He can create an advantage early in the route, and then he’s too good at high-pointing the ball and catching it away from his frame for a defensive back to challenge him while in recovery mode.
Boston also has more fluidity and run-after-catch juice than static sacrificial X receivers. An NFL team is going to prioritize his package of traits early on.
Tier 4
1.11 - Antonio Williams, WR, Clemson
While Clemson is going through a rough patch, Williams projects cleanly as an outstanding dynasty asset. He wins at all three levels and is a smooth operator who uses both his natural fluidity and footwork to win routes and glide away from defensive backs.
I honestly don’t think Williams’ top-end speed will do him justice at the combine, but he can run his routes at top speed while staying under control and on-schedule. His skillset is timeless, whereas players who win purely by out-athleting their competition in college can sometimes be in for a rude awakening in the NFL.
1.12 - KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M
A nice foil to Williams, Concepcion wins with his elite burst and herky-jerky change of direction skills. He’s the best run-after-catch threat in this receiver class, and he has some sneaky physicality in his playing style too.
While I wouldn’t consider his footwork the cleanest, Concepcion is a lot for defensive backs to handle with his explosiveness out of his cuts, and he should earn designed run-after-catch opportunities in the NFL. However, he’s not limited to being a designed touch player, and he can legitimately win downfield.
Honorable Mentions
Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon
It’s honestly very hard to project Sadiq’s draft capital, as the physical tools and movement ability could easily merit a high draft pick. The production, meanwhile, leaves a lot to be desired.
For the tight end position, I think there is more leeway to project the athlete and ignore college production. In Sadiq’s case, he has rare run-after-catch ability for a tight end, which is frequently a trump card for fantasy scoring at the tight end position.
In Sadiq’s case, draft capital and landing spot will matter a lot, but he could easily go in the first round of dynasty drafts depending on where he is selected in the actual NFL draft.
Chris Brazzell II, WR, Tennessee
Brazzell’s exceedingly vertical route tree requires a bit more projection to translate to the NFL compared to the receivers who did make their way into the first round of this mock.
To his credit, while this Tennessee offense notoriously does not prepare skill position prospects for NFL success, Brazzell has shined in his role and deserves his shot to round out his game and become a true alpha wide receiver.
Ja’Kobi Lane, WR, USC
While Lane was used as a downfield X receiver, much like Brazzell, he was asked to work the middle of the field more on crosses and dig routes. Receivers who use physicality and leverage to work the deep middle can often transcend pure vertical X receiver roles.
When he is working deep down the sideline, Lane has an almost maniacal focus and willpower to track the ball through contact and snatch it away from the defensive back.