I recently completed a ten team standard mock draft at Fantasy Football Calculator, and wanted to share the results. I was satisfied with my team, so below are the 15 rounds with analysis. I had the 7th overall pick.
Fantasy Football Mock Draft
1st Round: 1.07: Montee Ball, RB DEN
With my first round pick, I always want to pick up a RB. There are so many running back committees now that it is essential to get one of the top backs that doesn’t split carries. The best RB’s available at 7 are Marshawn Lynch, Montee Ball, and DeMarco Murray. Lynch leads the league in carries since 2011, and with Seattle poised for another postseason run, I expect a decrease in his carries in order to keep him fresh. Last year, Knowshon Moreno finished fifth in RB scoring in Denver. He is now in Miami. Denver led the league in redzone scoring percentage and redzone scores. Manning also forces defenses to spread out, creating wide open lanes for RB’s to take advantage of. Ball should excel and prove very worthy of a top 10 pick.
2nd round: 2.03: Jordy Nelson, WR GB
With my second round pick, I am between Jordy Nelson and DeMarco Murray. It would like to have two of the top 10 RB’s, and Murray and Ball would give me the best 1-2 RB punch in the league. However, I love Nelson this year. With Rodgers at QB, Nelson posted great numbers with 810 yards and 7 TD’s through 8 games in 2013. If he kept that pace through the whole season, Nelson would have been the highest scoring WR. However, Rodgers got hurt in week 8, so Nelson’s production fell off steeply, yet he still managed to finish top 15 in scoring for WR’s. Granted, Randall Cobb was hurt most of the year, but Nelson is still the WR1 in Green Bay and has great hands. Thus, I feel that grabbing a potential top 3 WR in the second round is worth it.
3rd Round: 3.07: Antonio Brown, WR PIT
I want another RB here since I usually like to grab two RB’s in the first three rounds, but Giovani Bernard and Zac Stacy were drafted earlier in the third round. I have the choice of Doug Martin or Reggie Bush, but am going with Antonio Brown. Brown had a great year in 2013, and proved doubters that he could still perform without Mike Wallace in Pittsburg. With Emmanuel Sanders in Denver, I expect even more targets for Brown. I feel very confident in my top two receivers, and think the value here is better than what any RB could give me.
4th Round: 4:03: Keenan Allen, WR SD
I really want a RB here to compliment Ball since I passed on RB the last two rounds. However, Keenan Allen is still on the board, and the value here is too much to pass up. I was the guy that picked up Allen before he started going off last season, and he was a starting WR for me for the rest of the year. This guy is a top 10 WR talent, and Philip Rivers will continue to deliver him the ball. I wanted Andre Ellington here, but he was taken the pick before. Therefore, I plan on starting Allen at flex, and I will have plenty of options when the bye weeks start to happen. I believe that value trumps position need, so I could reach for a QB or RB, but Allen in the fourth round is too much to pass up. If I end up needing another RB, I can always make a trade since I have three very talented WRs.
5th Round: 5:07: Frank Gore, RB SF
I am tempted to grab another receiver, as Roddy White is still available. However, I wouldn’t be able to start him. Frank Gore, Ray Rice and Shane Vereen are the top backs left, but I have decided on Gore. Yes, he may be old and has lots of wear and tear. However, the Niner’s offense should improve with Crabtree back, and Gore will see plenty of goal line looks. He will share touches with rookie Carlos Hyde, but not enough to take Gore away from being one of the top 20 backs.
6th round: 6:03: Chris Johnson, RB NYJ
Johnson is a new member to the Jets, and I expect him to have a pretty good season this year. With Ball, Gore and now Johnson, I have a solid committee of three backs that I can rotate in and out. I view Johnson as a top 20 back, so getting him in the sixth round is a steal for me. I am taking him ahead of Toby Gerhart and Ben Tate, and am very happy with the pick.
7th round: 7:07: Dennis Pitta, TE BAL
With 3 WR’s and 3 RB’s, I now have 5 starters and a very solid first man off the bench for bye weeks. At this point, you are probably wondering where my QB is. However, through 6 rounds, only 5 out of the 10 teams had taken a QB. I often tend to take WR’s and RB’s for as long as I can until the QB rush begins. Since it had not started yet, I am going with one of my big sleepers, Dennis Pitta. A key member of the Raven’s offense, Pitta missed most of last year due to an injury. Healthy again, he will be the beneficiary of new offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak’s tight end-friendly offense. Pitta is the 8th TE taken in this draft, and I can see him easily finishing in the top 5.
8th round: 8:03: Robert Griffin III, QB WAS
Here is where the QB’s are starting to fall. Nick Foles and Tom Brady have just been taken, and I know I should either take one now or not take a QB for a few more rounds. I am opting to take RG3 in hopes of a bounce-back year. I drafted him his rookie year, and that risk paid off greatly. His injury was evident last season, as he was not the same. A year later, RG3 has plenty of weapons to cause damage this year in DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garçon, Jordan Reed and Alfred Morris. I know this a risky pick, and I will balance it out a few rounds later with another QB, but I like the upside here.
9th round: 9:07: Terrance Williams, WR DAL
I want to load up on WR’s with this pick, and took Terrance Williams. He is in a pass-friendly offense in Dallas with a QB that likes to throw him the ball. With his rookie year out the way, I expect Williams to be more comfortable in the offense and produce better numbers in his second season. He has big play potential with 16.7 yards per catch, which was good for fifth in the NFL last year. Defenses will be focusing a lot on Dez Bryant, and QB Tony Romo will be forced to look Williams’ way throughout the season.
10th round: 10:03: Khiry Robinson, RB NO
I want a fourth RB with this pick, and badly wanted Andre Williams or Carlos Hyde (they each went within 5 picks before me). I am settling on Khiry Robison in New Orleans. The Saints have a backfield committee, and many are taking Pierre Thomas way ahead of Robinson. However, rumblings have it that the Saints want more of a power running game, and Robinson is the man to do it. Thomas is a great pass catcher, but Robinson is a better runner, and flashed potential. I wouldn’t be surprised if Robinson shares the workload in 2014.
11th round: 11:07: Philip Rivers, QB SD
My starting QB, RG3, has a high risk-high reward tag. Therefore, I need a quality backup just in case. I really wanted Colin Kaepernick with this pick, but he was taken one pick before me. Rivers had a good year last year in McCoy’s offense, and I expect a solid year from one of the most competitive guys in the NFL.
12th round: 12:03: Marvin Jones, WR CIN
I absolutely love Marvin Jones this year. Jones took pressure off of AJ Green last year, and posted great numbers in stretches. He finished the year strong, and in the playoffs, he had 8 catches for 130 yards. I could see Jones becoming great trade bait on this team or even a flex if I want to upgrade another position. If Jones is available this late in your league, take him.
13th round: Cincinnati D/ST
Defenses are starting to fly off the board earlier than usual, and I want to get a good defense so I don’t have to spend a weekly claim on a new one. I badly wanted the Saint Louis defense, but they were picked earlier in the round. Cincinnati’s defense is strong, and I expect another quality year from them.
14th round: Stephen Gostkowski, K NE
I knew who I wanted to draft in the 15th round, and that left the kicker position, so I got the second best kicker in my mind in Gostkowski. New England always produces plenty of points, and Gostkowski can produce double-digit points almost every week.
15th round: CJ Anderson, RB DEN
I always draft my top back’s handcuff just in case of an injury, and I did the same in this draft. In case Ball somehow messes up again this year (very, very unlikely he does) or gets injured, CJ Anderson would be next in line for carries. This is a safety pick without any upside unless Ball gets injured.
This is my first mock draft that I have posted and I will be doing a few more. Make sure to take time to do a few mock drafts before your draft to get a feel for who will be around. Also, please feel free to tweet me any questions on picks (my handle is below). Thanks!
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