Drafting from the Fifth Spot in an IDP Dynasty Startup – Rounds 1-5
This Spring, the boys at RPO Football decided to form an official IDP Dynasty league and we are currently having our inaugural startup draft! As we make our way through the startup draft, I’ll be keeping track of the ooey-gooey details of all of my picks and moves and sending them your way five at a time. I’m in the fifth spot in the snake draft, which is maybe my favorite spot to draft from this year. Without further ado, here are my first five picks! @TFFGRobbie
First Round: 1.05 – QB – Jalen Hurts
Big shock, the first five picks were all quarterbacks. Quarterbacks have the longest window for high-level play and are consistently the highest-performing players every week in our scoring format. Locking down a great quarterback early is a big part of all of my startups. The reason I like picking at #5 is that I’m guaranteed to get one of the top five (Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, Herbert, Hurts). It also gives me the earliest selection coming back around in the second round. I would’ve been ok with any of those quarterbacks falling to me, but I’m overjoyed that it’s Hurts.
Hurts can score points with his arm and his legs, but he doesn’t run in a way that makes him prone to injury. He is the youngest of the top five at 24-years-old, has two top 20 receivers to throw to, and is playing behind a Hall-of-Fame offensive line. While he may have lost his old offensive coordinator, the new OC for the Eagles is the 2022 quarterbacks coach, Brian Johnson; a man who has known and worked with Hurts since he was but a wee lad. I do not doubt that the offense will continue rolling with Johnson calling the shots. I’m very excited to have Hurts leading my squad (and go birds)!
Second Round: 2.08 – WR – Amon-Ra St. Brown
After I nailed down the QB1 spot, I was committed to drafting receivers. Receivers have the second longest window for high-level play and often start contributing in their rookie years. For this reason, I like to target young receivers early ahead of any running backs. At 2.08, the decision came down to Amon-Ra or Jaylen Waddle. Both played phenomenally well this past year and are on teams with very powerful offenses. St. Brown finished as WR #7 in our scoring system and Waddle finished as WR #8, so their numbers are basically identical.
The main difference for me is that St. Brown is the #1 on his team while Waddle is the #2. Although Jameson Williams is expected to have a much greater role in the offense, I think it will be hard for him to keep the ball from the “Sun God”. St. Brown is one year younger, two inches taller, and around 20 pounds heavier than Waddle. All of which are numbers I prefer to help receivers stay healthy. Ultimately, I ended up taking St. Brown, and Waddle immediately went with the next pick, so I think I would’ve won either way.
Third Round: 3.05 – WR – Chris Olave
My third pick was another toss-up between two receivers: Chris Olave and DeVonta Smith. Both receivers had great years and showed great potential. Olave is playing on a team that just got a new quarterback and whose offensive game plan can sometimes scheme receivers out for most of a drive (cough cough Taysom Hill). On the other hand, Smith is one of those top 20 receivers Jalen Hurts is throwing to on that fantastic Eagles offense. Olave finished as WR #25, and Smith finished as WR #9. Just looking at the stats, it should seem clear who the better choice is, but there were other angles to consider. The Saints’ offense last year suffered in several ways, not the least of which was inconsistent quarterback play (see Dalton, Andy).
With Derek Carr stepping in to provide more stability, I think the quality of the entire offense will improve. With Michael Thomas’ health still in question, Olave is the big dog in New Orleans and should see the most targets in every game. If Thomas does get healthy, that should help Olave draw fewer double teams. His situation reminds me a lot of the improvement that DeVonta Smith made from year one to year two with the addition of A.J. Brown. With that being said Olave is an inch taller, two years younger, and 20 pounds heavier than Smith. As I said previously, I prefer to draft bigger receivers because they’re less likely to get crushed running a drag route. I went with Olave because I think both players will be neck and neck for points most years, but Olave should have more projected years left in the tank.
Fourth Round: 4.08 – WR – Drake London
Waiting to see if London would be available at this pick was a real nail-biter. Thankfully, he did fall, and I was able to round out my core of young receivers. Much like Olave, London’s rookie year was marred by inconsistent and shoddy quarterback play. However, there was a turning point just before the Falcons’ Week 14 bye. In his last five games (four of them with Desmond Ritter at quarterback), London averaged 9.6 targets per game, 6.2 catches per game, and 14.2 points per game; this would put him at the high end of the WR2 scoring bracket if averaged over the year.
With another offseason under his belt and another year for the Falcons to improve their offense, I think London will continue to thrive and grow into an elite receiver. There was really no better option for me at this spot. If London hadn’t been there, I likely would have traded back a few spots to position myself better for later players I have an interest in. I won’t spoil anything now, but I have big plans for rounds 6-10!
Fifth Round: 5.05 – LB – Foyesade Oluokun
My intentions for this pick changed a lot as it approached. From pick 4.09 to 5.04 three of the top linebackers went off the board, so I felt that now was the time to get my guy. I originally considered taking T.J. Hockenson here, but after seeing IDP start coming off the board, I determined that there was enough tight end depth later in the draft that I didn’t have to go for one so early. Once I had decided to go defense, it was hard to say no to the two-time consecutive NFL tackle leader and IDP points leader. Oluokun was the IDP MVP two years in a row on two different NFL teams and last year he was the 8th highest scorer across all positions! There is no question that he is a monster at middle backer.
As the Jaguars’ offense continues to get better, I think the defense will have even more opportunity to score fantasy points. If you think about real-life NFL game plans, a strong way to keep offenses like the Chiefs, Jags, or Bengals in check is to have your offense run through slow-moving, time-eating, 10+ play drives. When the opposing offense does this, it gives the defensive players more opportunities to score points! There are outliers of course, and it’s not a perfect model, but for the most part, more snaps equal more points. In 2022, Oluokun led NFL Linebackers in defensive snaps per game. All signs point to continued success for #23.
That’s as far as we’ve gotten in our draft and so far I’m quite satisfied with my team. I still have lots of holes to fill, but I’m looking to address them in the next several rounds. Click here to read about picks 6-10!
Thank you for reading! Follow me on Twitter at @TFFGRobbie
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