When it comes to fantasy football drafts, it always amuses me when people start churning out mock drafts long before Labor Day weekend. There are too many unknowns due to injuries, position battles and stupidity for it to be worth it. I guess if you’re in a league that requires you to draft weeks before the season starts, it makes sense, but even that makes me laugh. If it’s a league for fun, go crazy. However, most of us have a financial stake in how our team is doing and I sure don’t want any of my top picks to miss time due to an injury outside of the regular season or an issue off the field. It’s quite interesting to see the change in the average draft position in the weeks leading up to the season. Players like Steven Ridley and Cam Newton have sunk and players like James White and Emmanuel Sanders have skyrocketed.
Mock Drafts can vary greatly depending on the scoring system, especially when using Points Per Reception, and whether or not the league is a Rework League or a Dynasty League. For our purposes, this is a standard fantasy football league scoring system for a redesigned league.
This assumes a starting roster of 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 K, and 1 D/ST. Points will be awarded for the following actions:
- Passing: 1 point for every 25 yards, 4 points for every touchdown and -2 for every interception
- Rushing: 1 point for every 10 yards, 6 points for every touchdown, and -2 for every fumble lost
- Receive: 1 point for every 10 yards, 6 points for every Touchdown
- Kicks: 3 points for each field goal made and 1 point for each extra point made
- Defense: 2 points for each fumble recovered, 2 points for each interception, 1 point for each sack, 2 points for a shutout, and 2 points for a safety
round 1
1 Jamal Charles, Kansas
2LeSean McCoy, PHI
3 Adrian Peterson, MIN
4Eddie Lacy, United Kingdom
5 Matt Forte, CHI
6Jimmy Graham, NO
7 Marshawn Lynch, MAR
8 Calvin Johnson, DET
9 Demaryius Thomas, DEN
10 Montee Ball, DEN
11 AJ Green, NIC
12 Peyton Manning, DEN
Assessment: Having a top 5 pick is easy as you could defend any of those running backs. After that, it’s a bit sketchy as there’s great depth at tight end and quarterback this year. It’s nice to think of a team with Jimmy Graham or Peyton Manning, but I would prefer a running back to start my team and develop it.
round 2
13 DeMarco Murray, DAL
14 Brandon Marshall, CHI
Dec 15 Bryant, DAL
16 Andre Ellington, ARI
17 Zac Stacy, STL
18 Drew Brees, NO
19 Giovani Bernard, CIN
20 Alshon Jeffery, CHI
21 Doug Martin, TB
22 Le’Veon Bell, PIT
23 Aaron Rodgers, UK
24 Ryan Mathews, South Dakota
Assessment: Decision time in round 2. Should I go traditional and get a second RB or is it better to get a good RB and a good WR? I think there is a lot of depth in WR this year and I recommend you get 2 solid RBs.
Round 3
25 Julio Jones, ATL
26 Jordy Nelson, United Kingdom
27 Antonio Brown, WELL
28 Randall Cobb, United Kingdom
29 Alfred Morris, WAS
30 Arian Foster, HOU
July 31 Thomas, DEN
32Andrew Luck, Ind.
33Rashad Jennings, New York
34 Toby Gerhart, JAC
35 Victor Cruz, NYG
36 Reggie Bush, DET
Assessment: If you’ve already taken two RBs, you definitely need to take a WR in round 3. If you split them, I recommend taking that second RB. If you caught Peyton, Brees, or Rodgers, you need to balance your team this round as the levels start to drop from here.
Round 4
37 Vincent Jackson, TB
38Rob Gronkowski, NE
39 Andre Johnson, HOU
40 Matthew Stafford, DET
41 Keenan Allen, South Dakota
42 Frank Gore, San Francisco
43 DeSean Jackson, was
44 Michael Floyd, A.R.I.
45 Pierre Garcon, WAS
46 Roddy White, ATL
47Chris Johnson, New York
48 TY Hilton, IND
Assessment: Questions abound in round 4 due to direct or indirect health concerns. Stafford should have a great year, but I really like Kennan Allen in this spot.
Round 5
49 Larry Fitzgerald, ARI
50 Ben Tate, CLE
51 Torrey Smith, Law School
52 Steven Jackson, ATL
53 CJ Spiller, BUF
54 Jordan Cameron, CLE
55 Cordarrelle Patterson, MIN
56 Reggie Wayne, IND
57 Fred Jackson, BUF
58 ShaneVereen, NE
59 marks Colston, NO
60 Percy Harvin, AES
Assessment: If you thought round 4 was hard, round 5 is even harder. There are a handful of very high-potential players here, like Cordarrelle and CJ, but I quite like Cameron since Cleveland has the absolute worst WRs ever lined up in pro football.
Round 6
61 Julian Edelman, NE
62 Jeremy Maclin, PHI
63Eric Decker, NYJ
64 Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco
65 Vernon Davis, S.F.
66 Wes Welker, DEN
67 Emmanuel Sanders, DEN
68 Trent Richardson, IND
69 Tom Brady, NE
70Joique Bell, DET
71 Golden Tate, DET
72 Bishop Sankey, TEN
Assessment: Tom Brady in round 6? It’s been a long time since we’ve seen anything like this. I still think he would check and get Ryan, Rivers or Cutler in one of the next 3 rounds. I like Sanders if I want a WR here or Bell if I want a RB. He put up big numbers last year, even in a split role. That role should continue this year with him working in the red zone. Also, Reggie is not Mr. Durability.
Round 7
73Matt Ryan, ATL
74 Jason Witten, DAL
75 Mike Wallace, M.I.A.
76 Kendall Wright, TEN
77 Terrance Williams, DAL
78 Michael Crabtree, San Francisco
79 Ray Rice, BAL
80 Maurice Jones-Drew, OAK
81 Knowshon Moreno, MIA
82 Riley Cooper, PHI
83 Darren McFadden, OAK
84Nick Foles, PHI
Assessment: There is a lot of value in this round. I like that Mike Wallace has a solid year with Tannehill growing in his position. Matty Ice retrieves the weapons from him. Moreno should take over the No. 1 RB spot in a few weeks. Cooper, Williams and Wright will have solid numbers. Enjoy this round as it won’t be that easy for a few rounds.
round 8
85 Sammy Watkins, BUF
86 Russell Wilson, AES
87 Steve Ridley, NE
88 Pierre Thomas, NO
89 Tony Romo, DAL
90 Lamar Miller, M.I.A.
91 Cam Newton, CAR
92 Brandin cooks, NO
93 Cecil Shorts, JAC
94 Philip Rivers, South Dakota
95 Dwayne Bowe, Kentucky
96 Terrance West, CLE
Assessment: LOTS of questionable selections here. If you need a QB, Rivers is a must pick right now. I trust Cooks and West as rookies more than Watkins, but I’d leave Cam and Ridley alone here. Bowe could be a valuable pick here since KC has no receivers beyond him.
round 9
97 Dennis Pitta, LBA
98 Carlos Hyde, S.F.
99 DeAndre Hopkins, HOU
100 Kyle Rodolfo, MIN
101 Jay Cutler, CHI
102 Robert Griffin III, WAS
103 Shonn Greene, TEN
104 Bernard Pierce, BA
105 Kelvin Benjamin, CAR
106 Greg Olsen, CAR
107 Darren Sproles, PHI
108 Anquan Boldin, SF
Assessment: This round is a mix of good and bad. Cutler’s ceiling is through the roof this season, but the threat of injury is always through the roof with him. Kyle Rudolph should be a solid pick now, as should Olsen. Lots of potential with Benjamin, Pitta and Hopkins.
Round 10
109 Jordan Reed, WAS
110 Jeremy Hill, CIN
111 Angelo Williams, CAR
112 Danny Woodhead, South Dakota
113 Hakeem Nicks, IND
114 Justin Hunter, TEN
115 James White, NE
116 Martellus Bennett, CHI
117 Mark Ingram, NO
118 Danny Amendola, NE
119 James Jones, OAK
120Jonathan Stewart, CAR
Assessment: I’ve been fooled by Stewart, Amendola and Nicks enough to stay away in all my fantasy football leagues. There is a lot of value in Hunter, White, Jones and Ingram in this round. Hill should see a good split of action with Bernard, as should Reed and Bennett on teams with plenty of other options.
Round 11
121 Greg Jennings, MIN.
122 Cristina Michael, AES
123 Marchioness Lee, JAC
124 Ben Roethlisberger, Well
125 Zach Ertz, PHI
126 Tre Mason, STL
127 Jordan Matthews, PHI
128 Mike Evans, VG
129 Markus Wheaton, HOLE
130 Donald Brown, South Dakota
131 LeGarrette Blount, PIT
132 Steve Smith, LBA
Assessment: Just when you’d expect to be dragging the bottom of the barrel, you’ll find happiness in plenty of WR options here. This round epitomizes why I emphasized a career in RBs early on. Lee and Matthews could end up being the top receiving options on their respective teams. Wheaton, Smith and Evans can also put up significant numbers, as can Ertz in the TE position.
Round 12
133 Devonta Freeman, ATL
134 Ladarius Green, South Dakota
135 Andy Dalton, CIN
136 Andre Williams, NYG
137 James Starks, UK
138 Knile Davis, KC
139 Khiry Robinson, NW
140 Rueben Randle, New York
141 CJ Anderson, DEN
142 Carson Palmer, ARI
143 Tavon Austin, STL
144 Seattle Seahawks D/ST
Assessment: Hello wives! It’s always a good idea to back up your stud RBs if they have talented backups. That’s the majority of this round. There is always a team that considers itself smart in picking the best defense before the inevitable late run. I guess I can support that over a backup QB.
round 13
145 Brandon LaFell, NE
146 Josh McCown, tuberculosis
147 Ronnie Hillman, DEN
148 Doug Baldwin, AES
149 Joe Flacco, BAL
150 Jericho Cotchery, CAR
151 Charles Clay, MIA
152 Kenny stills, NO
153 Mike James, VG
154 Mike Williams, BUF
164 San Francisco 49ers D/ST
155 Ahmad Bradshaw, IND
156 Ryan Tannehill, M.I.A.
Assessment: As mentioned in round 11, you can find solid receiving options in these later rounds. The Patriots don’t have an established No. 1 WR and LaFell could easily step into that role. Carolina is starting fresh at WR and Cotchery has the most seniority. Seattle showed they believe in Baldwin by giving him a win-win contract, and Stills showed a decent relationship with Brees last season, but you can’t expect consistent production from him.
round 14
157 Brian Hartline, M.I.A.
158 Mohamed Sanu, CIN
159 Andrew Hawkins, CLE
160 Kenbrell Thompkins, NE
161 Carolina Panthers D/ST
162 Denver Broncos D/ST
163 Lance Dunbar, DAL
165 Antonio Gates, South Dakota
166 Dwayne Allen, INDIA
167 Robert Woods, BUF
168Michael Vick, NYJ
Assessment: Bottom of the barrel, we found you here. Hartline, Thompkins and Hawkins are well worth a trip here if you have room for an additional WR. Other than that, take a backup or think about diving into the pool of defenses.
round 15
169 Stephen Gostkowski, NE
170 New England Patriots D/ST
171 Houston Texans D/ST
172 Cincinnati Bengals D/ST
173 Arizona Cardinals D/ST
174 Dr. Archer, Well
175Matt Bryant, ATL
176 Tampa Bay Buccaneers D/ST
177 Buffalo Bills D/ST
178 Kansas City D/ST Chiefs
179 Justin Tucker, LBA
180 St. Louis Rams D/ST
Assessment: Get a defense. They’re pretty skinny this year.
Round 16
181 Steven Hauschka, AES
182Chris Ivory, NYJ
183 Mason Crosby, UK
184 Phil Dawson, San Francisco
185 Adam Vinatieri, IND
186 Baltimore Ravens D/ST
187 Nick Folk, NYJ
188 Robbie Gould, CHI
189 Dan Bailey, DAL
190 Shayne Graham, NW
191 Alex Henery, PHI
192 Nick Novak, SD
Assessment: Get a kicker. You have to start one.
