A "Mock" Article About a Mock Draft

Hey, friends!

Welcome to our new website!

I know it's bare bones right now, but for our purposes this will work nicely, and expand what we can do. Below you will find a mock draft I ripped off this morning while I was getting coffee'd up. I chose the 6th spot because it's a tough one unless a top five option slips. It's also a complex spot in round two as most of the really good stuff usually goes near the 1/2 turn, as was the case here. I wasn't looking for an easy ride. I was looking to make some tough choices.

What I want to talk about today is structure. In this mock, I used what has been the optimal structure (looking backwards) in most of the draft rooms I've been in so far this season.

Just to be clear, I always use 12-team leagues with .5 PPR scoring as a default. In smaller formats we can extend the RB viability a tad further—into round six.

Looking at round one, I'm sure a lot of folks would have taken JSN or Aman-Ra instead of Taylor. A few of you might even be thinking Brock Bowers. I get it, but this was a structural selection made with an understanding of what's to come. I effectively had a two-man board when I came up at 1.06. It was going to select either Taylor or James Cook. Will this be my modus operandi in all drafts? Not necessarily. I might be in a league where I know enough about the drafters and how they draft RBs, to employ a less robust approach. Horses for courses and such.

My current preferred structure, is to prioritize running backs over the first five rounds. In leagues where starting three running backs is optimal or at least viable, I want three in the first five rounds. In less stringent formats, I may opt for two in the first five.

When I say prioritize, I mean just that. I'm always open to opportunity. If Puka or Chase is available at 1.06, I would normally take them. If Drake London had slid to me in the second, I probably take him, but even taking those outstanding values comes with a structural cost, because they lock me into RB even more in rounds 3-5, and as my longtime followers know, I value keeping my options open. In this case, I did not need to make those choices.

As it turned out, this draft fell my way. I took two backs with my first two picks and was still able to land a pair of elite receivers. Granted, I got a bit lucky landing both Nabers and Egbuka where I did. We won't always be that lucky. My luck continued landing Bhayshul Tuten in the fifth.

Today's pod has dropped and it's about this mock so you can listen while you peruse.

Take a look at the board. We'll discuss the team below.

Here's the squad broken down by position groups.

Quarterbacks
Justin Herbert
Patrick Mahomes

Running Backs
Jonathan Taylor
Kenneth Walker
Bhayshul Tuten
Blake Corum
Ray Davis
Kimani Vidal
Seth McGowan
Adam Randall

Receivers
Malik Nabers
Emeka Egbuka
Jordyn Tyson
Matthew Golden
Travis Hunter
Cyrus Allen
Tyquan Thornton

Tight End
Tucker Kraft
Dalton Kincaid
Kenyon Sadiq

I'd be quite happy going to battle with this team. If there is a weakness, it's probably my receiver depth. I did not take enough swings at ceiling in the middle rounds. I should have probably taken Ja'Kobi Lane where I took Tyquan Thornton. I may have been a bit too satisfied with my big three. Have I mentioned how much I love Jordan Tyson at his current price tag? I love him as a WR3. It feels like stealing.

I hope you all like it here, because I'll be posting a lot of ideas in this space going forward. Lastly, I made this article public and free to all. If you are a regular Rotobahner, you will want to register so you can read future posts and articles.

If you have any questions, drop them down below.

See you all soon!