You know how much I love to get up on my soapbox and preach a heavy dose of mock drafts. The Mock Draft Army runs a number of drafts throughout each week leading up to the start of the NFL season and they’ve become an invaluable tool for fantasy football draft prep. Well, it’s time to show you exactly how I take what I learn in these mocks and implement that knowledge into my own leagues.
SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio hosted their #Draftapalooza on-air Wednesday and broadcast simultaneous Host League drafts, both 12-teams with one PPR and one standard. By random draw, I landed in the PPR league alongside Ted Schuster while Ray Flowers found himself in the standard league, what he probably considers the fantasy dark ages. His write-up will be published Friday, so be sure to check out his strategy and team, but for now, let’s look at how the Mock Draft Army had me kill it in the PPR league.
Here’s a link to the draft board so you can follow along, and besides Ted, here's who I was up against: Mike Blewitt, Tony Cincotta, Jeff Ratcliffe, Jeff Rickard, Maurice Jones-Drew, Matt Camp, Joe Dolan, Robert Wuhl Chris Prince and Courtney Kirby.
Starting rosters: 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex, 1 K, 1 DEF
Scoring: Pretty standard stuff for yardage and touchdowns, though only 4 points for a passing TD and bonus points for longer field goals.
I’ve always been a running back-heavy guy in the early rounds, even in PPR leagues, so when I saw that I was picking 10th and that the ADP of the elite wideouts like Dez Bryant and Demaryius Thomas was on the rise, I figured I would be able to land myself a decent back first with a solid WR1 with my next pick. From there, it would just be how the draft unfolded.
Round 1: C.J. Anderson, RB DEN – When it got to me, I was wavering between Anderson and Marshawn Lynch. I have them ranked very close to each other so I couldn’t lose. I opted to go for the guy who earned his stripes saving Peyton Manning’s ass last year. If it weren’t for Anderson, the Broncos would have had a major collapse. He also had 34 receptions to Lynch’s 37 and he didn’t start seeing regular touches until Week 12. I have zero concern that Montee Ball or Ronnie Hillman will push him for touches.
Round 2: Marshawn Lynch, RB SEA – Talk about your low-hanging fruit! Are you kidding me? With Jordy Nelson, Odell Beckham Jr and Calvin Johnson coming off the board, the next receiver on my board is A.J. Green. Am I really going to pass up Lynch for Green? Hell no. I have two rock-solid backs here to start so I’ll grab one or two of my favorites from the second tier with my next two picks.
Round 3: Golden Tate, WR DET – So here’s where you learn to zig when everyone zags. The first six picks of the third round were exactly who I expected to see towards the end of the round. Jordan Matthews, Brandin Cooks, Alshon Jeffery, DeAndre Hopkins, T.Y. Hilton and Emmanuel Sanders were all gone. I was floored. At least one of them ALWAYS fell to where I was picking in every mock draft I had done. I grabbed Tate as the next receiver on my board, but now I had to start really thinking about where I was going to get my receiving help.
Round 4: Latavius Murray, RB OAK – This pick was a turning point for me and where I completely set myself up for the rest of my draft. I hated the next group of receivers on the board. Neither Keenan Allen, Jeremy Maclin nor Jarvis Landry did it for me here in the fourth round and it’s too high to reach for Amari Cooper. I decided to grab Murray who now gives me three strong lead back, all of whome should be strong plays in a PPR format. No one is pushing Murray for touches and even though they want to be a strong passing offense, the inexperienced Derek Carr will need a solid ground game to lean on. The issue though is my wide receivers. Given what the ADP from the Mock Draft Army gives me, I know that there are a number of PPR-friendly veteran receivers who get ignored until rounds 7-to-10. I would still look receiver-first with my next few picks, but with how receiver-heavy this draft has gone, I knew that the un-sexy names would be available to me while everyone else was looking for those third-rate running backs.
Round 5: Sammy Watkins, WR BUF – He was the best receiver on the board and let’s face it…no matter how bad the Buffalo quarterback situation is, Watkins is always their primary target. If he can stay healthy, he’ll see anywhere from 8-to-12 targets per game and should be a huge red zone threat.
Round 6: Matt Ryan, QB ATL – My wide receiver targets were still buried down, so this was the perfect time to grab an elite quarterback. With a healthy offensive line, Ryan is going to have a field day this season. He’s got great targets downfield and two running backs who can both catch the ball and break for potentially big runs out in space. Say it with me…Matty Ice.
Round 7: Anquan Boldin, WR SF – And here we go. Boldin isn’t a sexy pick anymore, but let’s face it, even with Torrey Smith on the team, Colin Kaepernick throws to one man and one man only and that man is Boldin. He’ll see strong targets and red zone looks all year long as Kaepernick has limited a limited field of vision and stays in a comfort zone. What’s more comfortable than knowing that Boldin catches everything thrown in his general direction?
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Round 8: Pierre Garcon, WR WAS – All I keep hearing is that the Redskins want to get Garcon more heavily involved in the offense; that he needs to play a bigger role. That’s even better considering he led the team in targets last year. No, the QB situation isn’t ideal, but both RG3 and Kirk Cousins look for him downfield on a continuous basis.
Round 9: Jordan Cameron, TE MIA – A number of these hosts have participated in the Mock Draft Army, so they know who I like. I’ve also said it on my Sunday night show on Sirius as well as the Fantasy Alarm Podcast: Cameron is my Comeback Player of the Year. So long as he stays healthy, he’s going to see a shit-ton of targets from Ryan Tanehill. Yeah, a shit-ton.
Round 10: Michael Crabtree, WR OAK – While Amari Cooper gets all the attention and hype, it’s going to be Crabtree who butters Carr’s bread in this passing game. Crabtree may not be the deep threat, but he is going to move the chains regularly. When Carr needs the completion, he’s looking at Crabtree. As my fifth receiver, I’m pretty psyched.
Round 11: James White, RB NE – It’s about building depth and looking for upside. Since I’ve neglected the running back position for the last six rounds, I thought it was time to re-visit. I’m not a fan of fishing in the New England backfield, but While has the upside to be a strong third-down back who could see a number of screen passes come his way. He’ll never start ahead of my Big-3 unless one of them is dead or on a bye-week, so I’ll just hope that he develops into a strong PPR play.
Round 12: Markus Wheaton, WR PIT – With all the hype that has surrounded Wheaton lately, I was shocked to still see him on the board. Obviously this team will revolve around Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell with a mix of Martavis Bryant, but everyone in Pittsburgh has been gushing over Wheaton’s potential in this offense.
Round 13: Derek Carr, QB OAK – I don’t want to have to fish on the waiver wire for when Ryan is on his Week 10 bye, so I looked at who was available. Carr had a home match-up with the Bears in Week 10 and he’ll have had ample time to build his on-field rapport with his receivers. Plus, I have Murray and Crabtree, so maybe I get some double points out of it.
Round 14: Miami Dolphins DEF – Just like Cameron, this was about knowing your opposition and understanding who may or may not steal a pick from you because they liked what you had to say. I’m usually about Defense Bingo and deciding week-to-week, but the Dolphins first six games are against what could/should be some inept offenses. I’ll probably have to stash them for their Week 5 bye, by then I should probably have a good idea as to whether any of these players are able to be cut.
Round 15: Javorius Allen, RB BAL – Everyone is crazy-high on Justin Forsett in a Marc Trestman offense, but Allen could be a big factor as a short-yardage back. At least that’s how he’s expected to start the season. We could be looking at a serious TD-vulture here.
Round 16: Matt Bryant, K ATL – He’s got a high-octane offense and should continue to be a strong point-producer in any format.
So all in all, I really like the team I walked away with here. I have an elite QB and am very strong at running back. With the flex position I can start all three. My receivers are no great shakes, but all of them can shine in a PPR format given their roles in their respective offenses. I also have good enough depth to mix and match that flex spot during the bye weeks. My tight end has killer upside and if he fails, well, it’s an easy cut at a position where anyone will do when you don’t own Gronk or Graham. I need to be diligent on the waiver wire and careful with my budget, but that shouldn’t be a concern. This group is solid.
This team will not only compete, this team will win.