The 2022 NFL Draft has come and gone, and most of you have already had your rookie drafts or have it coming up shortly. We at Faceoff Sports Network have been running post-NFL Draft rookie mocks. We have you covered whether it’s 1QB or 2QB/Superflex, we have you covered.
Overall, we have been seeing Breece Hall going 1.01 every time, outside of an occasional manager’s error of taking Kenny Pickett. Listening to Matt McKay and Anthony Cervino talking about the 1.01 on The FF Faceoff Podcast, they were saying taking Hall or trading out of the pick. Trading out sums up that someone else will be taking Hall instead of yourself.
This got me thinking. If the consensus 1.01 is Hall, who is the 1.02? Here, we will discuss the potential options to help you prepare for your upcoming drafts. I will be going in order of our consensus rookie rankings but also using our ADP to decipher the 1.02.
Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks (RB2)
Most rookie drafts will have a wide receiver being drafted as the 1.02, but our mocks have Kenneth Walker III as the consensus 1.02. Seattle invested a second-round pick in Walker and if we know Seattle’s game plan, it’s that they want to run the ball, and then run it again some more. Rashaad Penny was a fantasy league winner last year, but he has had a hard time staying on the field over his career. The News on Chris Carson hasn’t been giving me a good feeling since his neck injury and could be done in the NFL.
The Seahawks don’t have the full trust in Penny in staying healthy for the whole season, which should allow Walker to make this an RBBC with the chance of being one injury away from being the RB1 on the team. He may be not what we expect in 2022, but 2023 could be a different story. In Dynasty, running backs hold their values stronger than you expect. Look at the likes of Josh Jacobs and Travis Etienne. Their fantasy values are a lot higher and take some capital or significant players to trade for them. Even if I don’t “need” a running back, I would take Walker and trade for a player plus something else, just to help improve my team.
Treylon Burks, Tennessee Titans (WR1)
The fourth wide receiver drafted and our consensus #1 wide receiver in Treylon Burks. Before the combine, most had Burks as the WR1 in this class, and afterward, started to drop him. Let’s not forget that sometimes even with a bad combine, you can outperform your draft capital like D.K. Metcalf did.
Now mine you, D.K. Metcalf didn’t have the first-round draft capital as Burks does. Burks is known as A.J. Brown 2.0, so what a perfect fit for him to be a Tennessee Titan. With A.J. Brown being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, Burks is projected to be the WR1 for the Titans with Robert Woods lining up opposite of him. With Brown out, that opens up over 120 targets (Brown in 13 games) and another 48 from Julio Jones.
With a whole new wide receiver core around Ryan Tannehill, I love the upside here in Burks to see well over 100 targets. At the end of the day, he will be out to prove doubters wrong, justifying him going at 1.02.
Drake London, Atlanta Falcons (WR2)
Another wide receiver who will be the WR1 on a team who lost Calvin Ridley to suspension for the 2022 season and Russell Gage in free agency to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and be paired up with a stud tight end in Kyle Pitts should do wonders for this dynamic duo. How can he not succeed in year one and beyond?
Marcus Mariota is the listed starter, and Desmond Ridder was drafted in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft. The target share, like that of Treylon Burks, should also be north of 100, as this wide receiver core is just depleted, but the quarterback(s) at the helm is a downgrade from Matt Ryan.
London’s opportunity is too good to pass up and should be an instant contributor right away. Even if the quarterback position itself is bad in 2022, the Atlanta Falcons could have a high enough draft pick, again to change that.
Garrett Wilson, New York Jets (WR3)
Can you imagine a rookie draft where you see back-to-back New York Jets be drafted? Has any rookie draft ever had this happen before? In this exercise, we are, and I have seen him go at two in our rookie mocks.
Garrett Wilson was the second wide receiver drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft and paired him up with Elijah Moore. Could he surpass Moore and be the WR1 on the New York Jets? It’s a possibility as he is one of the most NFL-ready wide receivers. My only concern is what does Zach Wilson take that next step forward to be the franchise quarterback and does pairing Wilson with Moore benefit Wilson to be like the 2021 second half Moore or will these two cancel each other out? Taking Wilson as the first wide receiver off the board has me thinking this duo of Wilson/Moore could hopefully perform like Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker did back in 2015 for the Jets.
Kenny Pickett, Pittsburgh Steelers (QB1)
Now, this is ONLY for two-quarterback and Superflex leagues. The 20th overall pick in the draft was the only quarterback drafted in the first two rounds of the 2022 NFL Draft. Mitchell Trubisky signed a two-year deal worth a little over $14M, but the Steelers have an out on him and can cut for minimal loss. If Trubisky cant hold onto the starting job, how many weeks will it be before we see the first-round pick?
Monday on Twitter, I was asking managers to show me their drafts. I saw one that had Kenny Pickett going at 1.02. I questioned it, and their reasoning made sense in a way.
They tried hard to trade out of the 1.02 but also held the 1.07. No one wanted to trade up for the 1.02 and his reasoning for selecting Pickett was interesting. His quarterbacks are Zach Wilson, DeShaun Watson, and Gardner Minshew. Now to be a competitive team in Superflex, you want to have three starting quarterbacks. I understood where he was coming from because he wanted to fill that “need” over the best player available.
I highly recommend not to do this! There is no way I can convince myself right now to make this pick but I get it, you want to get your guy. I am for best player available over needs. If you grab the best player, you could have a trade piece on your hand to trade for a player plus other players and/or draft picks. Could Pickett be a reach? Yes, and totally blow up in your face. At the same time though, we could all be underplaying Pickett’s skillset and missing out on a great opportunity.
The choice is yours, and like I always say, go with your gut! Also, the manager who took Pickett at 1.02 was able to get their guy Garrett Wilson at the 1.07. So it was a win/win for them!
What are you going to do at 1.02? Find me on Twitter @RyanMiner_FFB and show me who you took!
