If you have the 1.01 rookie pick in your dynasty fantasy football league, first of all … bummer about last season. Sorry, it didn’t work out. Unless … you purposely tanked your season to get the 1.01? Or maybe you actually barreled your way to a championship but had the good foresight to trade for the soon-to-be league loser’s pick? In which case, CONGRATS!

If you have the first selection and play in a 1QB league, just go ahead and queue up Jeremiyah Love now. But in Superflex formats, that decision might not be so easy.

Let’s compare the superstar running back and this year’s rookie QB1, Fernando Mendoza, and figure out the draft-day move that will lead to more fantasy prosperity.

RELATED: 2026 NFL Draft Guide

Who Is The 1.01 In Dynasty Superflex Rookie Drafts, Fernando Mendoza or Jeremiyah Love?

The Case For Fernando Mendoza

AKA: the Positional Scarcity argument. How many consistently solid quarterbacks do we have from a dynasty perspective? Not just guys that we can get by with for this year, but QBs who we expect to be reliable starters even a couple of years from now. 10? 12? I can confidently say the number is no higher than 16, even if we stretch the definition of “reliable.”

So getting what projects to be a pretty solid QB makes plenty of sense in Superflex. As long as you firmly believe that Mendoza comps closer to store brand Justin Herbert than slightly sped up Mason Rudolph. Quarterback evaluations are tricky, though. And we know that bad coaches or situations can screw up even very good prospects. 

But QBs typically retain significant value in Supeflex for at least a couple of years as long as A.) they’re locked into starting roles and B.) don’t immediately stink. Here’s a look at the current dynasty values (via KeepTradeCut) of consensus first-round Superflex QBs from the previous two draft classes:

• Cam Ward - 55 overall, above former “generational” wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. (59).
• Jaxson Dart - 26 overall, above Tetairoa McMillan (27) and Emeka Egbuka (32).
• Drake Maye, Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels are all inside the top nine overall, beating out other studs from the 2024 class like Malik Nabers (10) and Brock Bowers (13).
• For the sake of this argument, let’s all pretend for a moment that J.J. McCarthy (165) does not exist as an NFL quarterback and is instead having a great time working at a Dave & Buster’s somewhere.

Assuming a baseline of competence from Mendoza, do we think his floor is lower than Ward’s? Doubtful. He’s too polished and too good a processor for that. 

So then, can he touch the upside of the other, more mobile QBs listed above? Again, doubtful. Dart, the lowest-valued of the group, had SEVEN weeks as a top-10 fantasy QB in his 12 rookie starts. All of them without Nabers in the lineup, by the way. It’s tough to imagine a pressure-averse rookie pocket passer lighting up the scoreboard like that out of the gate. Especially if he doesn’t land with a team that will make life easy on him …

Mendoza is almost certainly heading to the marriage-turned-anullment capital of the world, Las Vegas. Despite my repeated attempts to persuade them, it doesn’t seem the Raiders are likely to trade back from the first overall pick and use the additional accrued value to plug the many other holes on their roster. We can debate whether the Raiders are a good fit for Mendoza and his fantasy value, but at least he has Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty to work with. And at least we know what to expect.

We have no idea what to expect with Love. And that makes his floor a little shakier, despite being one of the best running back prospects from the last few years.

The Case For Jeremiyah Love

AKA: the Pure Uncut Talent argument. Comped to Bijan Robinson in his Fantasy Life draft profile, Love has the versatility to become an immediate dynamo, especially in zone-heavy run offenses. You like speed? He ran a 4.36-second 40-yard dash. Like to mash the circle button in Madden? Love’s spin move will fill up an orthopedic surgeon’s calendar with broken ankles. Wait, you’re not sold until you see some pass-catching chops? Well then, YOU’RE IN LUCK because he’s got those, too.

Love is very good … is what I’m saying.

Now, for the sake of consistency, let’s do the same value exercise we did for QBs, but this time focusing on recent “can’t-miss” running back prospects:

• Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs are both valued as top-five overall dynasty assets, ahead of every QB not named Josh Allen.
• Ashton Jeanty - 15 overall, despite a pretty mediocre rookie season from a fantasy perspective.
• Omarion Hampton - 25 overall, above Dart (26) despite missing half of his rookie season and having a more questionable role in a new offense.

If Love is good enough to hang with this group, as his place in Dwain’s Super Rookie Model suggests, then his value is insulated more than an attic in northern Minnesota.

And that’s a very important thing since my two favorite landing spots for Love got wiped out in free agency. With Kansas City and New Orleans off the board, we’re now dreaming of the Titans, Commanders, or Bengals calling his name on draft night. We could also make due with the Vikings, though I’d be flabbergasted to see Love fall that far.

The Fantasy Life rookie experts have posted numerous mock drafts, and in every single one of them, Love is the only running back taken in the first round. That speaks to the Wile E. Coyote-sized cliff in this draft class, which could put even more of a premium on Love in dynasty drafts. Because running backs who go in the first round of NFL drafts have a sterling track record of fantasy production…give or take a Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

It would take a bizarre string of injuries for Love to fizzle out of the league or ride the bench after a couple of seasons. Can we say the same about Mendoza?

So ... Who Is The Dynasty 1.01 In SF Rookie Drafts?

I probably haven’t done the best job of hiding my cards to this point, but I always favor the “best player available” approach with early-round picks in dynasty. And this year, that leads me right into the waiting arms of the 20-year-old running back out of Notre Dame.

Sure, if we’re looking a decade into the future, Mendoza probably has the better chance to still be hanging around on your roster. But let’s be honest: dynasty isn’t really about 10 years from now. Heck, it’s not even about five years from now. Dynasty is best played in a two-to-three-year window, and Love is the guy more likely to win you matchups in that span.

Now, please, join me in manifesting Jeremiyah Love to a team that will give him 900 touches over the next three seasons.

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