Shawn Siegele looks at some of his favorite discount options if you can’t afford the first-round stars in rookie drafts.

RotoViz TriFlex rookie drafts started on Saturday, and they’ve been absolutely crazy. In my three leagues, I must have sent 100 trade offers. Ben Gretch and I executed five first round trades, moving down three times, out once (for 2023 picks), and then back up to add Skyy Moore. I’ll detail those moves in an article later this week, and we’ll discuss them on Stealing Bananas.

Monty Phan and I were able to move up from 1.07 – the first outside the top tier – to the 1.03 to take Treylon Burks. The RV TriFlex leagues through the FFPC are a blast, and I”ll be joining some startups soon.

But I also have leagues where I’ve moved out of future picks. These are some of the most fun and challenging. In one of my industry expert leagues, I didn’t have an early pick but selected five times between 2.12 and 3.09. Despite the softness in the late first-round this year, the third round remains a bonanza for crafty dynasty managers.

We all want to add as many stars as possible to our rosters, but when we don’t have the picks, we can do the next best thing: add their inexpensive doppelgangers. Most late-round picks don’t pan out, but the ones who do almost always share standout traits with the stars.

Target These Discount Versions of the First-Round Stars

Looking for a deep RB option? These two rookie sleepers could be the next Elijah Mitchell.