The NFL Draft is less than a month away, beginning with the first round on Thursday, April 23. Rounds two and three will be on Friday, April 24, and the final three rounds (four through seven) will be on Saturday, April 25. Teams are hosting prospects on 30 visits, and clubs are leaking legitimate draft info as well as smoke screens to throw other organizations off the scent. As the draft approaches, questions will arise about where prospects will land and how many players from fantasy-relevant positions will earn significant draft capital. Let’s get to the following five burning questions about next month’s NFL Draft that will have fantasy football impact.
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NFL Draft Burning Questions: Fantasy Football
Which Team Will Pick Jeremiyah Love?
Jeremiyah Love is the blue-chip fantasy football prospect in this year’s class. He’s made 30 visits to the Titans and the Giants, who hold the fourth and fifth picks, respectively.
Love would be a fantasy asset with either team. However, Tony Pollard could mix in if he lands with the Titans, and Cam Skattebo, if he returns to pre-injury form, could also be a pain in Love’s behind.
The Commanders hold the seventh pick, and Washington would be an even better landing spot for Love than with the Titans or Giants. Adam Schefter is skeptical of either of those teams picking Love and connected the dots of the Commanders making sense at the seventh pick. The Commanders are the dream landing spot for Love without a team trading up.
The Chiefs seem like a questionable destination for Love at the ninth pick after they ponied up for Kenneth Walker in free agency, but veteran draft analyst Todd McShay of The Ringer pointed out on a recent episode of The McShay Show that Kansas City could still be in the mix for Love’s services. Love and Walker sharing the same backfield would make for a potent one-two punch for the Chiefs, but it would be a nightmare for fantasy football, undercutting the value of both players.
The Rams are making win-now moves and hold the 13th pick. They reportedly tried to trade up for Brock Bowers in the 2024 NFL Draft and attempted to trade up for Tetairoa McMillan and then Emeka Egbuka in the 2025 NFL Draft. Could they look to make a move up for Love as a more dynamic backfield option than Kyren Williams or Blake Corum? That doesn’t seem like the most likely scenario, but Les Snead’s willingness to wheel and deal, and the Rams being in win-now mode, mean it wouldn’t be entirely shocking if they made a splash for the dynamic running back.
If the incumbent starter, Williams, were used as part of a trade-up package to draft Love, the Rams would be a mouthwatering home for the dynamic rookie running back.
How Many Running Backs Will Be Picked On Day 2 Of the NFL Draft?
Love is the only running back mocked in the first round of the NFL Draft at Grinding the Mocks and in the consensus mock draft for NFL Mock Draft Database. When will the next running back come off the board?
Jadarian Price, Love’s teammate at Notre Dame, is the next running back on the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board, ranking 48th. Mike Washington Jr. is 63rd, and Jonah Coleman is 90th. Those are the only running backs in the top 100 on the consensus big board.
Things won’t go identically to the consensus big board, but Price’s and Washington’s rankings would put them in the second round. Coleman’s ranking would put him in the third round, and no other running backs have a big board ranking that would land them on day two of the NFL Draft.
The longer the running backs have to wait to hear their name called, the less likely teams are to view them as meaningful assets to their current running back group, and the more challenging it will be for the incoming rookies to unseat the other options on a club.
Which Wide Receivers Will Crack The First Round?
The incoming class of wideouts might not have a Ja’Marr Chase, Malik Nabers or T-Mac, but a handful might get snapped up in the first round. Grinding the Mocks projects expected draft positions (EDPs) of 7.0 for Carnell Tate, 12.9 for Jordyn Tyson, 13.5 for Makai Lemon, 27.2 for Omar Cooper Jr., 28.1 for K.C. Concepcion and 28.4 for Denzel Boston.
Additionally, all six of those wideouts are in the top 32 on the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board. Tate is ninth, Tyson is 13th, Lemon is 14th, Cooper is 26th, Boston is 28th and Concepcion is 32nd.
Concepcion has many fans in the draft community and should go higher than his big board ranking. Boston could slip into the second round, but there’s a legitimate shot for all six of the players in the top 32 on the consensus big board to go in the first round.
How Many More Wide Receivers Will Be Picked On Day 2?
Even if all six discussed wideouts go in the first round, fantasy football gamers shouldn’t count on the investments by NFL teams at wide receiver to quickly dry up after that. Instead, the second and third rounds of the draft might feature a slew of other wide receivers coming off the board.
After Concepcion, 11 more wide receivers have top-100 rankings on the consensus big board. Those wide receivers are Chris Bell (50th), Chris Brazzell (51st), Germie Bernard (55th), Zachariah Branch (64th), Antonio Williams (67th), Malachi Fields (69th), Elijah Sarratt (76th), Ted Hurst (85th), Skyler Bell (86th) and Deion Burks (95th). Ja’Kobi Lane and Brenen Thompson aren’t too far outside the top 100, either. They are 113th and 114th on the consensus big board. There’s a decent likelihood that double-digit wide receivers will be picked in the second and third rounds of the NFL Draft.
Will A Team Roll The Dice On Ty Simpson In The First Round?
Fernando Mendoza is seemingly a mortal lock to go first overall to the Raiders. Will Ty Simpson join him in the first round? Grinding the Mocks gives him an EDP of 27, and the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus mock draft projects him to the Steelers at 21 but has him 33rd on the consensus big board.
Simpson had a 30 visit with the Browns. They hold the sixth and 24th picks in the first round. Furthermore, Cleveland has the seventh pick in the second round (39th overall). The Browns could conceivably pick him with their second pick in the first round or even trade up from 39th overall and make three picks in the first round if they’re sold on Simpson and want the fifth-year option.
The Cardinals hold the second pick in the second round (34th overall) and are another candidate to move into the back of the first round for Simpson if they want the fifth-year option. Arizona’s depth chart currently features Jacoby Brissett and Gardner Minshew at quarterback. Their long-term answer isn’t on the roster.
Will Sampson land in the first round? The betting odds suggest a second quarterback will be picked in the first round, with over 1.5 quarterbacks drafted in the first round listed at -270 odds at DraftKings Sportsbook, and Simpson is comfortably ahead of Garrett Nussmeier (81st) on the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board. It certainly appears Simpson will crash the first round of the NFL Draft.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
