How to Build Championship Rosters
I often say that the Rookie Big Board covers everyone from freshmen in college to NFL veterans. This week that is especially evident. I wrote an article on identifying freshmen breakouts for devy, recorded a podcast breaking down a dynasty mock draft and put together a 2026 NFL Mock Draft video. It can be easy to get lost in the sauce when you provide such a wide range of analysis.
My guiding thread through all of it is good process. Good process is a commitment to providing measurable, actionable advice based in tape evaluation and my extension knowledge of fantasy football and NFL Draft valuation over time. It means teaching the why, the how and challenging conventional click-based approaches in pursuit of value for you. Ultimately, good process leads to building championship rosters. That is what we do at the Rookie Big Board.
This week's highlights are just a small showing of the Rookie Big Board's good process. If you're not already a patron, I suggest you check it out to get my full rankings, personalized advice, and to see the 25+ scouting reports for the 2026 class that are already logged on the Rookie Big Board.
How to Identify a Breakout Candidate
Identifying freshmen who will gain value over their first season in college football is difficult. The top freshmen come in with massive hype from their recruiting rankings, which often drive up their devy draft price to a premium. When you get into the mid-rounds of your devy drafts the names may start to become unfamiliar and their may not be much information out there about their chance to contribute year one.
One of the players I am the most excited about is Gideon Davidson, who I expect to be the top running back for Clemson this season.
Gideon Davidson (5-11, 185) is expected to be the lead back right away for the Clemson Tigers this season. Jay Haynes, Keith Adams Jr and David Eziomume are the veterans returning to the running back room this season. They combined for 83 carries last season. Phil Mafah, who is off to the NFL, ran the ball 216 times. We can expect Davidson to get the majority of those vacated attempts.
Head Coach Dabo Sweeney has called him "physically impressive" and "further along than I thought he would be". He impressed during spring practice and plays with a smooth, athletic run-style. Cade Klubnik compared his first step acceleration and cuts to those of Travis Etienne.
How to Build a Dynasty Roster
I love a mock draft. It is even more fun when I get to mock draft with my fellow Rookie Big Board sickos. Over the past two weeks, myself and Skip Newton participated in a mock draft with 10 Rookie Big Board Patrons.
LISTEN: I breakdown the mock draft with Skip Newton on this week's podcast.
There are a lot of ways to build a championship dynasty roster. I thought it would be helpful to share my biggest takeaway from each patron's roster build choice. This mock draft is superflex, ppr, 1 point tight end premium.
- YoAdrian1 spent 5 of their first 7 picks on building a wide receiver and quarterback core. His quarterbacks come with variance but you can't beat that young WR group-he could compete for years around that foundation.
- JudgeHolden started with Lamar Jackson and Drake Maye then smashed a trio of Rookie Big Board WR favorites in Smith, Flowers and Olave. If Maye takes the step I expect him to this season and Olave is healthy this roster could win this league's hypothetical championship year one.
- Hawks4Life1 may have won round 3. I love buying MHJ for a round and a half discount compared to last season. He is still a borderline WR1 in my projections for this season, the targets are there and both MHJ and Kyler Murray have stated they are working this offseason to better sync up their play styles.
- Eastwoodff just sat back and took James Cook in the fifth round. I am not sure if it is the contract news or people just really really like Ray Davis but James Cook is going far too cheap in drafts. Cook is RB10 in my projections and I fully expect him to be playing as a main component of the Bills offense this season.
- Pp275mad took Bowers at 1.07 and Brian Thomas at 2.06. I love the value on both of those picks. Last year I was telling anyone who could listen that letting Bowers get past 1.05 in rookie drafts was a mistake-now he is a consensus mid first-round selection! Brian Thomas was my favorite last first-round selection (okay tied with Bo Nix) in last year's rookie drafts-now 2.06 feels like a steal. When you hit on rookie picks, the value jump is massive.
- DeeBoi2492 set the tone for the 2025 rookie class, taking Ashton Jeanty at 2.05. That perfectly matches Jeanty's Rookie Big Board ranking of 17 overall! Once Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs are off the board, Jeanty is good value.
- Dchase05 was on brand when he drafted a lot of Rookie Big Board favorites, like Justin Jefferson at 1.09, Jordan Addison at 7.09, Luther Burden at 9.09 and then Keon Coleman and Tyler Shough in the final two rounds. Chase Brown at 6.04, though, might be the best on-brand pick. Brown is RB19 in my seasonal projections, that is a smash value in the mid 6th round.
- Markomexxico's start of Nabers, Nacua and AJ Brown from the 10 spot gets a A+ grade from me. It is an excellent foundation to build a roster from. Josh Downs at 9.10 might be the most valuable selection, though. Downs is getting a ridiculous discount based on the Anthony Richardson/Daniel Jones of it all. If (when) that situation crashes and burns the Colts will be drafting in the top 10 of a quarterback-strong 2026 NFL Draft. More on that draft class later.
- Biofranke pulled off a strategy I did not think I would ever compliment: the RB/RB start. After securing the top two running backs in my rankings he then solidified a great young WR core with Garrett Wilson, Tetairoa McMillan, Jameson Williams and Matthew Golden. Lawrence at 5.11 and Fields at 6.02 might not be the safest QB picks, but they bring plenty of value in that range.
- Vayaconidos nailed a couple of my favorite mid-round veteran targets. George Kittle at 6.01 is a smash pick, especially in a tight end premium. Kittle projects as TE3 for me in scoring this season and I expect we will get at least 2 more top 5 scoring seasons from him. David Montgomery at 8.01 brings good value too. Montgomery projects as my RB21 in seasonal scoring and recent hype from the Detroit beat suggests Gibbs will be even more active in the passing game this season.
If you are wondering about how I grade my own team, listen in to the podcast. Skip and I discuss our roster constructions in depth. You can see the full draft board here.
How to Engage with a Mock Draft
Summertime NFL mock drafts can be an important tool for understanding which players are the most important to watch for the upcoming year. I was thrilled to reunite with Zack Patraw, who has an incredible amount of experience in the NFL Draft evaluation process, to preview the 2026 NFL Draft class.
We spent time discussing the how and why of mock drafting before making our 32 selections. As always, good process is the priority.
Zack has a free substack dedicated to studying NFL Draft prospects. I strongly encourage you to check it out!
