Rookie Draft Sleepers: The Next Elijah Mitchell Could Be One of These Deep RB Candidates

Shawn Siegele
May 4, 2022

Shawn Siegele examines the situation for his favorite sleeper running backs and explains why one of them could be the next Elijah Mitchell.

We’ve arrived at the best time of the year with a flood of rookie drafts taking place and startups launching every few seconds. I can’t wait for RotoViz TriFlex rookie drafts to start this weekend over at the FFPC, and I’ll be joining new startups in the FFPC dynasty lobby.

To help you work step-by-step through your draft prep, my three-round superflex projection includes player-specific links to our rookie research. But at least one of my favorite plays may even be available in the fourth round. We don’t get an Elijah Mitchell-type player from that area every year – obviously the hit rates are low – but you won’t land the occasional roster-changing talent unless you’re targeting the right combination of athleticism, production, and landing spot.

On the topic of must-draft players, Patrick Kerrane joined us yesterday for one of my favorite episodes of RotoViz Overtime. If you’re looking for NFL draft winners, we’ve got you covered with one of the top dynasty minds in the industry.

2022 Again Offers League-Winner Candidates Late in Rookie Drafts

Want to trade up in your rookie draft while maintaining your overall roster upside? Curtis Patrick teaches you how in his latest Dynasty Trade Diary.

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Shawn Siegele

Author of the original Zero RB article and 2013 NFFC Primetime Grand Champion. 11-time main event league winner. 2015, 2017, 2018 titles in MFL10 of Death.

The 2025 Big Gorilla Bible: Updated Rankings and Tiers, Target Labels for Every Player, A Deep Dive into Tactics from Real Drafts, and Much More

Shawn Siegele June 17, 2025

Shawn Siegele updates his top-200 player rankings for 2025 redraft formats. Breaking the groups down into 11 tiers and providing ADP contrasts, Shawn gets you ready to win $1 million in the Big Gorilla. Fresh off our best dynasty and redraft seasons to date, the original edition of The Big Gorilla Blueprint was the biggest single-article project I’ve attempted in 15 years of writing about…...

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The Big Gorilla Blueprint: Top 200 Rankings, 11 Tiers, 41 Priority Targets, and the Complete Game Plan

Shawn Siegele May 23, 2025

Shawn Siegele provides his top-200 player rankings for 2025 redraft formats. Breaking the groups down into 11 tiers and providing ADP contrasts to select 41 priority targets, Shawn gets you ready to win $1 million in the Big Gorilla. This ended up as the biggest single-article project I’ve attempted in almost 15 years in writing about fantasy. This exercise will include blurbs on almost every…...

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Dynasty Rookie Ranking Updates: All the Subtle Changes from 50 Hours of FFPC Drafting . . . and a Couple of Meaningful Moves

Shawn Siegele May 8, 2025

Shawn Siegele updates his 2025 dynasty superflex rookie rankings after 60 frantic hours of drafting in the FFPC. He discusses what these high-stakes leagues can teach us about all dynasty rookie drafts this spring and summer. Beginning Saturday morning I’ve spent almost every waking moment living and breathing fantasy rookie drafts. With nine FFPC squads and seven different co-managers, I got to talk a lot…...