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USATSI

In a Dynasty start-up, one thing I preach is letting your first few picks determine the path of your team. If, after five rounds, your team looks like a redraft dominator, then I suggest doubling down and pushing towards a Year 1 win. Flags fly forever. On the other hand, if your team is full of young talent that is better in Dynasty than redraft, I suggest prioritizing youth moving forward and crossing certain vets off your draft list.

But not everyone learns in the same way. Some people can read instructions and follow them. Others need to actually see the mistakes being made before they fully grasp the concept. That's why the team you'll see that I drafted below looks so severely disjointed. Yeah, that's why. I was thinking of you guys.

The team started innocently enough. I took Justin Jefferson with the fifth pick of the draft, and took Jalen Hurts in Round 2 because this was a Superflex mock. After that pick I highlighted Matthew Stafford as the only quarterback I would take in Round 3 if he was still there. Stafford's safe floor was made more attractive by the volatility in Hurts' profile. I do absolutely believe Hurts has QB1 overall upside this season, but I also recognize Hurts could be one bad season away from losing his job. 

While the Stafford/Hurts combo made sense in that way, it didn't really help determine where this team fit in the two paths I laid out above. And D.J. Moore in Round 4 didn't help either. But when I got to Round 5, I saw a game-changer. Derrick Henry was still there. Drafting Derrick Henry gave me a top-five running back, two top-12 quarterbacks, my No. 2 wide receiver overall and another in the top 20. It was clearly time to put the pedal to the metal and win Year 1, right? 

That's not exactly the path I chose.

Sticking to my rankings, I took rookies with my next two picks in Garrett Wilson and Kenneth Walker. Now, I want to be clear: They were the best players on my board when I picked and I would go so far as to say that Wilson was a great value late in Round 6. But they may not help me win in 2022, and Henry may not have any Fantasy value after 2022.

If I had taken Marquise Brown over Wilson and James Conner over Walker, my team would be the clear favorite this year. And I'd still have plenty of youth to prevent the need for a complete overhaul. If we were playing this out, I may be tempted to use those guys or 2023 picks to make a push in-season for a title. Or, if I have a couple of injuries I'd be looking to deal Henry and the other older players to contenders for youth and picks.

As it stands, I have a good team in 2022 that could be great if a couple of rookies hit. It's not the worst of outcomes, but the uncertainty in which direction the roster is moving is one I try to avoid in Dynasty leagues. This team could end up in the middle in a variety of different ways, and there's no worse place to be.

Here are the analysts who participated in the mock draft:

Robby Jeffries, The Fantasy Authority
Ryan Weisse, Club Fantasy
R.J. White, CBS Fantasy
Faith Enes, Women of Fantasy Football
Heath Cummings, CBS Fantasy
Matt Renshaw, Dynasty Dads Podcast
Dave Richard, CBS Fantasy
Adam Aizer, CBS Fantasy
Frank Stampfl, CBS Fantasy
Ben Schragger, CBS Fantasy
Jamey Eisenberg, CBS Fantasy
Chris Towers, CBS Fantasy

And here are the results: 

Round By Round
Round 1
Pos Team Player
1 R.J. White
2 Matt Renshaw
3 Heath Cummings
4 Ryan Weisse
5 Faith Enes
6 Robby Jeffries
7 Ben Schragger
8 Jamey Eisenberg
9 Chris Towers
10 Frank Stampfl
11 Dave Richard
12 Adam Aizer
Round 2
Pos Team Player
13 Adam Aizer
14 Dave Richard
15 Frank Stampfl
16 Chris Towers
17 Jamey Eisenberg
18 Ben Schragger
19 Robby Jeffries
20 Faith Enes
21 Ryan Weisse
22 Heath Cummings
23 Matt Renshaw
24 R.J. White
Round 3
Pos Team Player
25 R.J. White
26 Matt Renshaw
27 Heath Cummings
28 Ryan Weisse
29 Faith Enes
30 Robby Jeffries
31 Ben Schragger
32 Jamey Eisenberg
33 Chris Towers
34 Frank Stampfl
35 Dave Richard
36 Adam Aizer
Round 4
Pos Team Player
37 Adam Aizer
38 Dave Richard
39 Frank Stampfl
40 Chris Towers
41 Jamey Eisenberg
42 Ben Schragger
43 Robby Jeffries
44 Faith Enes
45 Ryan Weisse
46 Heath Cummings
47 Matt Renshaw
48 R.J. White
Round 5
Pos Team Player
49 R.J. White
50 Matt Renshaw
51 Heath Cummings
52 Ryan Weisse
53 Faith Enes
54 Robby Jeffries
55 Ben Schragger
56 Jamey Eisenberg
57 Chris Towers
58 Frank Stampfl
59 Dave Richard
60 Adam Aizer
Round 6
Pos Team Player
61 Adam Aizer
62 Dave Richard
63 Frank Stampfl
64 Chris Towers
65 Jamey Eisenberg
66 Ben Schragger
67 Robby Jeffries
68 Faith Enes
69 Ryan Weisse
70 Heath Cummings
71 Matt Renshaw
72 R.J. White
Round 7
Pos Team Player
73 R.J. White
74 Matt Renshaw
75 Heath Cummings
76 Ryan Weisse
77 Faith Enes
78 Robby Jeffries
79 Ben Schragger
80 Jamey Eisenberg
81 Chris Towers
82 Frank Stampfl
83 Dave Richard
84 Adam Aizer
Round 8
Pos Team Player
85 Adam Aizer
86 Dave Richard
87 Frank Stampfl
88 Chris Towers
89 Jamey Eisenberg
90 Ben Schragger
91 Robby Jeffries
92 Faith Enes
93 Ryan Weisse
94 Heath Cummings
95 Matt Renshaw
96 R.J. White
Round 9
Pos Team Player
97 R.J. White
98 Matt Renshaw
99 Heath Cummings
100 Ryan Weisse
101 Faith Enes
102 Robby Jeffries
103 Ben Schragger
104 Jamey Eisenberg
105 Chris Towers
106 Frank Stampfl
107 Dave Richard
108 Adam Aizer
Round 10
Pos Team Player
109 Adam Aizer
110 Dave Richard
111 Frank Stampfl
112 Chris Towers
113 Jamey Eisenberg
114 Ben Schragger
115 Robby Jeffries
116 Faith Enes
117 Ryan Weisse
118 Heath Cummings
119 Matt Renshaw
120 R.J. White
Round 11
Pos Team Player
121 R.J. White
122 Matt Renshaw
123 Heath Cummings
124 Ryan Weisse
125 Faith Enes
126 Robby Jeffries
127 Ben Schragger
128 Jamey Eisenberg
129 Chris Towers
130 Frank Stampfl
131 Dave Richard
132 Adam Aizer
Round 12
Pos Team Player
133 Adam Aizer
134 Dave Richard
135 Frank Stampfl
136 Chris Towers
137 Jamey Eisenberg
138 Ben Schragger
139 Robby Jeffries
140 Faith Enes
141 Ryan Weisse
142 Heath Cummings
143 Matt Renshaw
144 R.J. White
Round 13
Pos Team Player
145 R.J. White
146 Matt Renshaw
147 Heath Cummings
148 Ryan Weisse
149 Faith Enes
150 Robby Jeffries
151 Ben Schragger
152 Jamey Eisenberg
153 Chris Towers
154 Frank Stampfl
155 Dave Richard
156 Adam Aizer
Round 14
Pos Team Player
157 Adam Aizer
158 Dave Richard
159 Frank Stampfl
160 Chris Towers
161 Jamey Eisenberg
162 Ben Schragger
163 Robby Jeffries
164 Faith Enes
165 Ryan Weisse
166 Heath Cummings
167 Matt Renshaw
168 R.J. White
Round 15
Pos Team Player
169 R.J. White
170 Matt Renshaw
171 Heath Cummings
172 Ryan Weisse
173 Faith Enes
174 Robby Jeffries
175 Ben Schragger
176 Jamey Eisenberg
177 Chris Towers
178 Frank Stampfl
179 Dave Richard
180 Adam Aizer
Round 16
Pos Team Player
181 Adam Aizer
182 Dave Richard
183 Frank Stampfl
184 Chris Towers
185 Jamey Eisenberg
186 Ben Schragger
187 Robby Jeffries
188 Faith Enes
189 Ryan Weisse
190 Heath Cummings
191 Matt Renshaw
192 R.J. White
Round 17
Pos Team Player
193 R.J. White
194 Matt Renshaw
195 Heath Cummings
196 Ryan Weisse
197 Faith Enes
198 Robby Jeffries
199 Ben Schragger
200 Jamey Eisenberg
201 Chris Towers
202 Frank Stampfl
203 Dave Richard
204 Adam Aizer
Round 18
Pos Team Player
205 Adam Aizer
206 Dave Richard
207 Frank Stampfl
208 Chris Towers
209 Jamey Eisenberg
210 Ben Schragger
211 Robby Jeffries
212 Faith Enes
213 Ryan Weisse
214 Heath Cummings
215 Matt Renshaw
216 R.J. White
Team by Team
R.J. White
Rd Pk Player
1 1
2 24
3 25
4 48
5 49
6 72
7 73
8 96
9 97
10 120
11 121
12 144
13 145
14 168
15 169
16 192
17 193
18 216
Matt Renshaw
Rd Pk Player
1 2
2 23
3 26
4 47
5 50
6 71
7 74
8 95
9 98
10 119
11 122
12 143
13 146
14 167
15 170
16 191
17 194
18 215
Heath Cummings
Rd Pk Player
1 3
2 22
3 27
4 46
5 51
6 70
7 75
8 94
9 99
10 118
11 123
12 142
13 147
14 166
15 171
16 190
17 195
18 214
Ryan Weisse
Rd Pk Player
1 4
2 21
3 28
4 45
5 52
6 69
7 76
8 93
9 100
10 117
11 124
12 141
13 148
14 165
15 172
16 189
17 196
18 213
Faith Enes
Rd Pk Player
1 5
2 20
3 29
4 44
5 53
6 68
7 77
8 92
9 101
10 116
11 125
12 140
13 149
14 164
15 173
16 188
17 197
18 212
Robby Jeffries
Rd Pk Player
1 6
2 19
3 30
4 43
5 54
6 67
7 78
8 91
9 102
10 115
11 126
12 139
13 150
14 163
15 174
16 187
17 198
18 211
Ben Schragger
Rd Pk Player
1 7
2 18
3 31
4 42
5 55
6 66
7 79
8 90
9 103
10 114
11 127
12 138
13 151
14 162
15 175
16 186
17 199
18 210
Jamey Eisenberg
Rd Pk Player
1 8
2 17
3 32
4 41
5 56
6 65
7 80
8 89
9 104
10 113
11 128
12 137
13 152
14 161
15 176
16 185
17 200
18 209
Chris Towers
Rd Pk Player
1 9
2 16
3 33
4 40
5 57
6 64
7 81
8 88
9 105
10 112
11 129
12 136
13 153
14 160
15 177
16 184
17 201
18 208
Frank Stampfl
Rd Pk Player
1 10
2 15
3 34
4 39
5 58
6 63
7 82
8 87
9 106
10 111
11 130
12 135
13 154
14 159
15 178
16 183
17 202
18 207
Dave Richard
Rd Pk Player
1 11
2 14
3 35
4 38
5 59
6 62
7 83
8 86
9 107
10 110
11 131
12 134
13 155
14 158
15 179
16 182
17 203
18 206
Adam Aizer
Rd Pk Player
1 12
2 13
3 36
4 37
5 60
6 61
7 84
8 85
9 108
10 109
11 132
12 133
13 156
14 157
15 180
16 181
17 204
18 205