Doc Brown’s 2021 Startup Draft Review

I’d like to welcome everyone to the 2021 season and kick off with a quick draft review post. I’ve just come back from the year 2041 and want to share some of my favorite picks from this draft and let you know when these players are going to have their best seasons.

Round 1

Patrick Mahomes

Best year: 2021

Is it possible to overpay for the consensus top quarterback in a Super Flex? I’ll have to agree with To the Mooney and say no, no it is not. We saw maximum points in 2021 before Kelce started his inevitable decline.

Najee Harris

Best year: 2023

Griff Tannen Gang made a bold move to take the first rookie off the board in the first round. Najee had 5 seasons as a top 5 running back before holding out for a year and signing with the Jets.

Round 2

CeeDee Lamb

Best years: 2022-2032

If my calculations are correct, when number 88 hits 2022 we’re going to see some serious shit.

Stefon Diggs

Best year: 2022

Diggs is a beast who is finally getting the targets he deserves. 4th Dimension was smart to pair Allen and Diggs in the first two rounds, they’ll go on to combine for 3,500 fantasy points over the next 5 seasons.

Round 3

Kyle Pitts

Best year: 2025

The chance of being the biggest ever bust at TE scared everyone off in the first two rounds, but Rogue pounced to start the third round. By 2027 Kyle Pitts will have accumulated 71 touchdowns, 7,000 yards, and will have been a top 5 TE for five consecutive years. He will also still be younger than Calvin Ridley is today.

Round 4

Chris Godwin

Best year: 2023

Godwin is a top tier talent and only 25 years old, an absolute steal in the fourth round by Mad Dog. Tampa Bay let their older receivers go and committed to Godwin after 2021 and he retired a Buc with Tom Brady in 2030.

Round 5

Tee Higgins

Best year: 2024

The spotlight faded on Higgins’ stellar rookie season after Drop’Marr Chase was drafted with the fifth overall pick. When Higgins slipped to the fifth round of the startup 1.21 Gigawatts plugged in Mr. Fusion and put the spotlight back on the 22 year old. Higgins will go on to seven seasons inside the top 24 fantasy wide receivers, topping out at #8 in 2024.

Round 6

Zach Wilson

Best year: 2025

Zach Wilson will quickly jump up to be a first round pick in startup leagues next year much like Josh Allen. Being a J-E-T-S QB helped him slip to the sixth round and Enchantment Under the Sea took advantage of the discount. Nobody wanted a Bills quarterback two years ago either.

Josh Jacobs

Best year: 2022

We must really hate Jon Gruden’s offense. Jacobs was RB8 last year. Jacobs is 26 days older than Najee Harris. Days, not years. Jacobs went in the sixth round.

Round 10

Rashod Bateman

Best year: 2024

GetYourDamnHandsOffErtz got a great value in the tenth round. Bateman was a consistent top 20 wide receiver from 2022-2028.

Round 11

Jonnu Smith

Best year: 2022

GreatScot my McFly is opn found the Patriots top pass catcher for the next four years in the 11th round. Mac Jones’ accuracy pairs perfectly with Jonnu’s ability to run after the catch, leading to four seasons averaging 1,000 yards and 9 touchdowns.

Round 12

Marquez Callaway

Best year: 2021

Mad Dog was ahead of the curve scooping up Callaway before it became popular later in draft season. Callaway finishes at WR9 in 2021 and goes on to lead Sean Payton’s wide receiving corps for the next 6 years.

Round 14

Josh Palmer

Best year: 2025

Frap’s Addiction found the receiver that will catch the most career passes from Justin Herbert in the 14th round. Palmer didn’t have much production in college but the Chargers saw something in him and he averaged 85 receptions per year from 2023-2029.

Round 15

Raheem Mostert

Best year: 2021

Nobody wanted to draft a 29 year old running back in a startup draft. We all know the 49ers are great at running the ball, their coach schemes up plays that create huge holes, they have the best run blocking TE and FB duo in the leauge, and Mostert is one of the fastest guys in the NFL. OUTATIME(OUTS) got a steal in the 15th round as Mostert finally stays healthy and runs for 1400 yards.