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One of the questions I struggle the most with during draft season is "what's your draft strategy" and that's because, for the most part, I let the draft room determine my draft strategy. I'm as comfortable with Zero-RB as I and with Robust RB, and I think most managers should be if they want to optimize their chances of winning. And in a Dynasty start-up, there's another layer added on top of that. My first few picks also determine my strategy.

To better understand this, we can take a look at one drafter's team in our recent mock. Alfredo Brown started his team from the No. 2 pick with Ja'Marr Chase. Chase is the rare player who would fit perfectly as the best player on a rebuilding team or the best player on a contending team. But the next pick changed everything because he selected Travis Kelce. Kelce in Round 2 is too early for me, but Brown did exactly what he should have done after making that pick.

His next five picks were Austin Ekeler, Justin Fields, Derrick Henry, Tyler Lockett, and Keenan Allen. Suddenly, it looks like everyone else is playing for second place in 2023. Brown may be rebuilding his team as early as 2024, but he's established himself as the clear favorite for this year.

I took the opposite path with my squad, building a youthful team around CeeDee Lamb, Jalen Hurts, and Drake London. The one exception to my strategy was Joe Mixon, because I thought Round 5 was too far for him to fall. if my team surprises and competes in Year 1, I'll keep Mixon, if not, he should be easy enough to deal at the deadline and he may be worth more then to a contender than he is now. 

You don't have to be so married to a strategy that you eschew all value, but it should serve as a guide as you move through a start-up. It should be more than a tie-breaker, but it doesn't have to determine every single pick. Still, I'd like my roster better if I'd taken a younger player there.

The analysts who participated in this mock draft are:

Dave Richard, CBS Sports
Alfredo Brown, Footballguys
Cristian Crespo
Heath Cummings, CBS Sports
Adam Aizer, CBS Sports
Frank Stampfl, CBS Sports
Dan Schneier, CBS Sports
Chris Towers, CBS Sports
Jay Felicio, Front Yard Fantasy Sports
R.J. White, CBS Sports
Joel Cox, CBS Sports
Jamey Eisenberg, CBS Sports

And here are the full results:

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