2018 CRFL Mock Draft 3.0: Desert Takeover

The Cards are no more. After laying the groundwork for an important 2017 1st round, the Cards have left the CRFL. The Desert Dreamers take over the dreadful squad, but do have three 1st round picks to play with. Another change: the Northern Lights have traded into the 1st round, and Huskerfan now owns the 10th overall pick.

For this fantasy mock draft, I've chosen to base each player's chosen landing spot on the USA Today's post-combine seven-round NFL mock draft

2018 CRFL Mock Draft

1.01. The Valley Bulls select...RB Saquon Barkley CLE (Penn State)

A lot can and will change between now and the Cinco de Mayo CRFL draft day, including who might be picking #1 overall. What is unlikely to change is who will be taken #1 overall. Saquon Barkley is being hyped up to be potentially better than recent Top 5 RB picks Ezekiel Elliott and Leonard Fournette. VERY bold proclamation, but the Bulls will be hoping the hype is real. The Bulls would likely see a lot of offers for the 1.01, but whoever owns this pick should stick with it and draft Barkley. Draft Wire has Barkley going #4 overall to the Browns in this mock draft, a trendy pick now that Jets have moved up, likely forcing the Browns to draft a QB with the first pick.

1.02. Desert Dreamers select...RB Derrius Guice BAL (Louisiana State)

The Cards very clearly entered the second half of the 2017 season with the intention of losing. That tanking was successful and landed them here at 1.02, with two more 1st round picks later in the round. This week, the Cards changed owners and are now the Desert Dreamers. Much like the Bulls, the Dreamers are bad and should draft with the BPA (best player available) strategy in mind. Draft Wire is projecting Derrius Guice to be drafted 16th overall, much earlier than most expect. The fantasy world is once again rules by RBs, and the Dreamers would gladly draft Guice with this pick should be truly be drafted that high in the NFL draft. 

1.03. Tri-State Raptors select...WR D.J. Moore DAL (Maryland)

The Raptors traded Dak Prescott away in order to retain their original draft pick from Connell Conquistadors. The Raptors just might be the worst team in the league, but two early wins last season leave them picking at 1.03 for now. They won't complain too much, nabbing D.J. Moore with this pick. The combination of Moore + the current QB depth (Garoppolo, Luck, Winston) should help the Raptors be semi-competitive early on. The Prescott-to-Moore combination would be cunning. 

1.04. Wind River Bison select (via Kaneohe Ikaika Warriors)...QB Josh Allen NYG (Wyoming)

The Bison had a shocking 2017 campaign. The loss of David Johnson killed the season, even with Alvin Kamara becoming a star. Jordan Howard was traded away to improve WR depth with T.Y. Hilton, but that position is still rather sketchy for Wind River. That said, sources tell us that the owner of the Bison, a huge Wyoming Cowboys fan, will not wait around and risk losing Josh Allen to another team.

1.05. Brucey's crew selects...WR Calvin Ridley ARI (Alabama)

A quiet off-season in which the Crew forgot to set their keepers rankings correctly has suddenly set back one of the CRFL's few remaining original franchises. Assuming Bruce reemerges, he'll be thrilled with this development. Calvin Ridley at 1.05 is robbery, especially in this scenario where he's the first WR drafted. He falls here because of the Allen and Moore selections. I went Moore over Ridley for Raptors because Moore lands in the better situation. 

1.06. Northern Lights (via Wind River Bison)  select...RB Sony Michel TB (Georgia)

The Lights from the North Pole traded away Dolphins RB Kenyan Drake to draft in this position. The Lights won't be a fan of this edition of Draft Wire's 7-round mock. Good news? Courtland Sutton is available! Bad news? He's been drafted into the suddenly crowded Browns receiving corps. The Lights already have Jarvis Landry, they wouldn't add another Browns WR. Christian Kirk, another favorite of the Lights, goes to the Bears. Also not an ideal landing spot after the Bears just signed Allen Robinson. In this freakish scenario Draft Wire has presented, the Lights are forced to draft a RB. After drafting Joe Mixon in the 6 slot in 2017, they draft Buccaneers RB Sony Michel in this edition. 

1.07. Desert Dreamers select (via Spokane Spartans) select...RB Ronald Jones WAS (Southern California)

The RB revolution continues for the Dreamers. After adding Guice with the second overall pick, they add Ronald Jones five picks later. This WR class is considered to be weak. Add in these unfortunate landing spots (Sutton to Cleveland, really?), and the RBs will fly off the shelves. The Dreamers don't have any roster strengths, so they won't care about grabbing a second WR. Best player available. 

1.08. Gem State Bruins (via Connell Conquistadors) select...WR Equanimeous St. Brown SF (Notre Dame)

The Bruins were involved of the blockbuster trade of the off-season in the CRFL, sending Leonard Fournette to the Conquistadors for two 2018 1st round picks and one 2019 1st round pick. This is the earliest of those picks. Courtland Sutton continues to fall?! Yup. Draft Wire's projection isn't reality of course, but we're playing by their projections so...in this case, Sutton joins a crowded Browns WR room. I'd rather draft Equanimeous St. Brown and hope he's Jimmy Garoppolo's go-to WR for the next forever. 

1.09. Huskerfan (via Vito's Vikings) selects...WR Courtland Sutton CLE (Southern Methodist)

To this point, considering the dominance of rookie RBs like Kareem Hunt and Leonard Fournette, Huskerfan has to be a little disappointed with how Christian McCaffrey has played to this point. In fact, Huskerfan briefly put McCaffrey on the trading block before the deadline, but no deal was reached. Cleveland landing spot aside, he'll be ecstatic that a talent of Sutton's caliber is available this late.

1.10. Huskerfan (via Gem State Bruins) selects...RB Nick Chubb IND (Georgia)

The Bruins traded out of this spot in favor of an additional 2020 1st rounder. Huskerfan makes back-to-back selections and will be happy to grab Chubb, a second round select to the Colts, with this pick. The acquisitions of Chubb and Sutton put the Huskers in a good position to make that jump to compete for the CRFL title.

1.11. Wind River Bison (via Northern Lights) select...RB Bo Scarbrough SEA (Alabama)

The Bison drafted Josh Allen with the 4th overall pick of this round, not wanting to risk losing the Wyoming QB to another team. Scarbrough is an interesting flier with this pick. Draft Wire has him as a 4th round pick to Seattle. It's not often that 4th round RBs go this early in a rookie/free agent draft, but he could genuinely start for Seattle in this projected scenario. The Bison will risk it and hope he revives the Seahawks' running game.

1.12. Desert Dreamers (via Gem State Bruins) select...WR Christian Kirk CHI (Texas A&M)

Their name is spot on, cause the Dreamers couldn't have dreamed of a better first round /rim shot. After selecting Guice and Jones earlier in the round, it's time to add some balance and draft a WR. I'd be willing to wager that Courtland Sutton and Christian Kirk land in better situations than what Draft Wire has projected, but in this scenario the Dreamers land Kirk.

-----------

Disclaimer: yes, yes...I know. Everything will change by May 2018, but this is a fun exercise in the time being. I'll update this mock draft as the draft nears. The Valley Bulls are still on the clock...

2018 CRFL Mock Draft 2.0: Post-Combine

The combine has come and gone. Saquon Barkley stunned attendees. Players like D.J. Moore and D.J. Chark improved their stock. Calvin Ridley created some doubters, but of course the combine is only a part of the evaluation process. The Valley Bulls are still drafting first overall in the CRFL Draft, but with that likely being a formality, the real question is: what do the Cards do with the 2nd pick?

For this fantasy mock draft, I've chosen to base each player's chosen landing spot via Bleacher Report's post-combine seven-round NFL mock draft. Matt Miller is plugged in on the happenings of draft possibilities, and provides one of the more thorough, well-thought out mocks on the web.

2018 CRFL Mock Draft

1.01. The Valley Bulls select...RB Saquon Barkley CLE (Penn State)

A lot can and will change between now and May 2018, including who might be picking #1 overall. What is unlikely to change is who will be taken #1 overall. Saquon Barkley is being hyped up to be potentially better than recent Top 5 RB picks Ezekiel Elliott and Leonard Fournette. VERY bold proclamation, but the Bulls will be hoping the hype is real. The Bulls would likely see a lot of offers for the 1.01, but whoever owns this pick should stick with it and draft Barkley. Miller has Barkley going #1 overall to the Browns in this mock draft, a trendy pick nowadays. 

1.02. Coldwater Cards select...WR Calvin Ridley BAL (Alabama)

The Cards very clearly entered the second half of the 2017 season with the intention of losing. That tanking was successful and lands them here at 1.02, with two more 1st round picks later in the round. Much like the Bulls, the Cards are bad and should draft with the BPA (best player available) strategy in mind. While Ridley did struggle at the combine, Miller still has Ridley as the second non-QB fantasy eligible rookie in this mock draft. Ridley will serve as the base for the Cards rebuilding project. 

1.03. Tri-State Raptors select...RB Derrius Guice NYG (Louisiana State)

The Raptors traded Dak Prescott away in order to retain their original draft pick from Connell Conquistadors. The Raptors just might be the worst team in the league, but two early wins this season leave them picking at 1.03 for now. They won't complain too much, nabbing Guice with this pick. The combination of Guice + the current QB depth (Garoppolo, Luck, Winston) should help the Raptors be semi-competitive early on. 

1.04. Wind River Bison select (via Kaneohe Ikaika Warriors)...QB Josh Allen DEN (Wyoming)

The Bison had a shocking 2017 campaign. The loss of David Johnson killed the season, even with Alvin Kamara becoming a star. Jordan Howard was traded away to improve WR depth with T.Y. Hilton, but that position is still rather sketchy for Wind River. That said, sources tell us that the owner of the Bison, a huge Wyoming Cowboys fan, will not wait around and risk losing Josh Allen to another team.

1.05. Brucey's crew selects...RB Ronald Jones OAK (Southern California)

The Crew aren't a weak team, but could stand to add depth at RB and WR. Ronald Jones as the successor to Marshawn Lynch in Oakland's offense is an enticing scenario. Jones comes across as a bigger Jamaal Charles to me. This would be an excellent pickup in the five slot.

1.06. Wind River Bison selects...WR Christian Kirk CHI (Texas A&M)

The Bison secured favorite Josh Allen with the fourth overall pick. David Johnson and Alvin Kamara are a fearsome RB tandem, so expect the Bison to go WR with this pick. Kirk, in my opinion, will be this year's Alvin Kamara. Scouts/experts will be scratching their heads as to how he was available in the 2nd round of the NFL Draft.

1.07. Coldwater Cards select (via Spokane Spartans) select...WR Courtland Sutton BUF (Southern Methodist)

The Cards already grabbed Calvin Ridley with the second pick in this draft. The fantasy world belongs to RBs right now, but I think grabbing Courtland Sutton with this pick will be too much to ignore for the Cards. Both first round WRs end up on the same team.

1.08. Gem State Bruins (via Connell Conquistadors) select...WR Deon Cain SF (Clemson)

The Bruins were involved of the blockbuster trade of the off-season in the CRFL, sending Leonard Fournette to the Conquistadors for two 2018 1st round picks and one 2019 1st round pick. This is the earliest of those picks. I like D.J. Moore more than I like Deon Cain, but in this mock draft Cain becomes Jimmy Garoppolo's future go-to target. I can't ignore that.

1.09. Huskerfan (via Vito's Vikings) select...RB Kerryon Johnson DET (Auburn)

To this point, considering the dominance of rookie RBs like Kareem Hunt and Leonard Fournette, Huskerfan has to be a little disappointed with how Christian McCaffrey has played to this point. In fact, Huskerfan briefly put McCaffrey on the trading block before the deadline, but no deal was reached. He'll draft Johnson here and hope this improves depth.

1.10. Gem State Bruins (via Huskerfan) select...WR Simmie Cobbs DAL (Indiana)

Yup, I passed on Moore again. I really like him, he'll probably feature as a pick by Gem State sometime this off-season (and maybe even the CRFL Draft), but Miller has him going to Cleveland (bleh). I think the Cowboys cut Dez Bryant, and suddenly Cobbs becomes the potential #1 WR for Dak Prescott. 

1.11. Wind River Bison (via Northern Lights) select...WR D.J. Moore CLE (Maryland)

The Bison, however, will be ecstatic to see the fourth fantasy-eligible rookie among RBs and WRs available with the eleventh pick. The Bison and Cards, in this mock draft, account for all first four off the NFL Draft board.

1.12. Coldwater Cards (via Gem State Bruins) select...RB Mark Walton TB (Miami)

The Cards, like the Bison, are picking for a third time in this 1st round. This is the pick acquired in the Fournette trade back in the early fall. There are plenty of options available here, but the RB fever will catch the Cards this time around. Walton, in this case, looks to become the featured RB for the Bucs. 

-----------

Disclaimer: yes, yes...I know. Everything will change by May 2018, but this is a fun exercise in the time being. I'll update this mock draft in a month or so. The Valley Bulls are still on the clock...