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June 17, 2013

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Per Day (6/17/13): 12 Teams, No. 1 Pick, PPR Scoring

Last preseason, we conducted one fantasy football mock draft per day using a mock draft simulator powered by FantasyPros.

Having begun our 2013 series of drafts on June 1st, we will continue to post our draft results and comments up until the start of the 2013 season on September 5th.

We will track all of the mocks here on this centralized page.

Like last year, I will vary the size of the league, the scoring format and draft slot and then post the results of my team with comments.

For today's mock, it is a 12-team point-per-reception (PPR) scoring mock and I had the No. 1 pick. The league starts one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, one kicker and one team defense.

Adrian Peterson 2010

Here are my picks:

- For all picks in the mock draft, click here.

Here are some thoughts by position:

  • Quarterbacks (my rankings)

    In many of these mock drafts, I have waited on quarterback and ended up with Russell Wilson, my seventh-ranked fantasy quarterback. Wilson was as good as it gets in the second half last year — 16-to-2 TD-to-INT ratio, 120.3 QB rating, 9.0 yards per pass attempt, 6.2 yards per rush attempt and four rushing touchdowns.

    While it would be hard to be better in 2013 than he was in the second half last year, Wilson should be able to carry over the positive momentum as the team traded for Percy Harvin in the offseason.

  • Running Backs (my rankings)

    Despite returning from a torn ACL and suffering a sports hernia late last year, Peterson nearly broke the NFL single-season rushing record in 2012. In the final 10 games of the season, Peterson rushed for 1,598 yards and 10 touchdowns. If he gave the league a six-game head start, that still would have ranked him ahead of everyone other than Alfred Morris (1,613 yards) in rushing.

    Through 29 games as a Saint, Sproles has 161 receptions, 2,224 yards from scrimmage and 17 touchdowns and is an excellent value at 2.12 in a PPR league. The Lions will make better use of Bush's receiving skills than the Dolphins did and he could approach 70-80 receptions in 2013.

    Better in standard-scoring formats, Ridley is still a good value as an RB4 and the 72nd overall pick. Meanwhile, Thomas has been working with the first team (instead of Mark Ingram) this offseason. While I expect Ingram to get more work than Thomas, PT has been more productive over the past couple of seasons than Ingram.

  • Wide Receivers (my rankings)

    Even though he has never scored double-digit touchdowns in a season, Johnson has three seasons with 100-plus receptions and 1,500-plus yards over the past five years. Two seasons ago, Nelson had 1,263 yards and 15 touchdowns and he should have a bounce-back season provided he stays healthy. Shorts is my team's WR3 and he would have finished with 1,000 yards last year if he didn't miss two games. Maclin, Moore and Little provide my team with depth at receiver.

  • Tight Ends (my rankings)

    Like in most fantasy drafts, I will wait until near the end of the draft to select my tight end. Last year, Daniels had 62 receptions for 716 yards and six touchdowns.

  • Kickers and Defense

    Almost always, I will take the best available team defense with my second-to-last pick and the best available kicker with my last pick.

As a reminder, we will centralize links to our mocks here and you can conduct your own free mocks here.

[Mobile users: Use this link to conduct your mock drafts.]

Tomorrow I will do a 16-team mock using standard scoring with the No. 10 pick.

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 11:39 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 16, 2013

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Per Day (6/16/13): 20 Teams, No. 9 Pick, Standard Scoring

Last preseason, we conducted one fantasy football mock draft per day using a mock draft simulator powered by FantasyPros.

Having begun our 2013 series of drafts on June 1st, we will continue to post our draft results and comments up until the start of the 2013 season on September 5th.

We will track all of the mocks here on this centralized page.

Like last year, I will vary the size of the league, the scoring format and draft slot and then post the results of my team with comments.

For today's mock, it is a 20-team standard-scoring mock and I had the No. 9 pick. The league starts one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, one kicker and one team defense.

Marshawn Lynch and Mike Williams

Here are my picks:

- For all picks in the mock draft, click here.

Here are some thoughts by position:

  • Quarterbacks (my rankings)

    Going into this mock (or virtually any 20-team mock), I prefer to draft my starting quarterback and two starting running backs (in some order) with my first three picks. As one of my top-three fantasy quarterbacks, it was hard to pass up on Brady at 32nd overall.

    Not only are Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd no longer on the roster, but Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez have some (or a lot of) injury risk. On Tuesday, Gronk will have his fifth surgical procedure (this time his back) in the past eight months. That said, Brady has thrown for more than 10,000 in the past two years combined and has shown that he can produce with or without stud pass catchers.

    Going into his second season, Tannehill has the potential to take a big step forward as the Dolphins have made several offseason additions including signing Mike Wallace to a five-year deal.

  • Running Backs (my rankings)

    As noted above, I wanted to secure my starting running backs with two of my top three picks and did so with Lynch and Gore. Both backs are coming off back-to-back 1,200-yard seasons, but Lynch set career highs last year with 1,590 yards, which ranked him third in the NFL.

    In a league that starts 40 running backs, The Daily Show is a better-than-solid backup to Lynch and Gore when healthy. A college quarterback, Robinson was expected to transition to wide receiver at the next level, but he is not a natural hands-catcher. He is dangerous playmaker and the Jags will likely to try find ways to get the ball in his hands.

    Looking back at this mock, I wish I had selected my RB4 earlier.

  • Wide Receivers (my rankings)

    Compared to quarterback and running back, this team is much weaker at wide receiver. Although he recently turned 34 years old, Smith is has a total of 152 receptions for 2,568 yards in the two seasons since the team drafted Cam Newton. My other starting receiver is Austin, who was selected eighth overall in the 2013 NFL Draft. In the mold of Percy Harvin or Randall Cobb, Austin is an extremely explosive playmaker with the ball in the hands.

    While I'm far from loaded at the position, my depth at receiver is solid with Moore, Wright and Floyd. Moore eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his career last season, Wright tied Justin Blackmon for the most receptions by a rookie and Floyd had his second consecutive season with at least 800 yards.

  • Tight Ends (my rankings)

    If it were a shallower league, I would have taken Heath Miller over Cameron. Considering recent reports that Miller may not be ready for Week 1, I wanted to make sure that I drafted a safer (read: healthier) option. Plus, Cameron has the potential to break out in new coaching staff's TE-friendly offense.

  • Kickers and Defense

    Almost always, I will take the best available team defense with my second-to-last pick and the best available kicker with my last pick and that's what I did here.

As a reminder, we will centralize links to our mocks here and you can conduct your own free mocks here.

[Mobile users: Use this link to conduct your mock drafts.]

Tomorrow I will do a 12-team mock using point-per-reception (PPR) scoring with the No. 1 pick.

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 11:11 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 15, 2013

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Per Day (6/15/13): 14 Teams, No. 12 Pick, Standard Scoring

Last preseason, we conducted one fantasy football mock draft per day using a mock draft simulator powered by FantasyPros.

Having begun our 2013 series of drafts on June 1st, we will continue to post our draft results and comments up until the start of the 2013 season on September 5th.

We will track all of the mocks here on this centralized page.

Like last year, I will vary the size of the league, the scoring format and draft slot and then post the results of my team with comments.

For today's mock, it is a 14-team standard-scoring mock and I had the No. 12 pick. The league starts one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, one flex, one kicker and one team defense.

Darren McFadden Raiders

Here are my picks:

- For all picks in the mock draft, click here.

Here are some thoughts by position:

  • Quarterbacks (my rankings)

    As the 12th quarterback off the board in this mock, Romo threw for a career-high 4,933 yards, which ranked third in the NFL, last season. In each of the four seasons over the past six years he played a full season, Romo has thrown for 4,184-plus yards and 26-plus touchdowns.

    The Cowboys have an excellent core of skill players led by Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, Miles Austin and DeMarco Murray. Through the draft, the Cowboys added more pieces to help Romo: Wisconsin center Travis Frederick, San Diego State tight end Gavin Escobar and Baylor wide receiver Terrance Williams. Although they drafted Frederick a couple of rounds earlier than anyone would have expected, he was the best center in the draft and the Cowboys needed upgrades on their interior offensive line.

  • Running Backs (my rankings)

    With nine running backs off the board before my first pick, I still ended up with three of my top 14 running backs (in this 14-team league).

    Finishing third in the league in carries (335), Morris finished second in the NFL in both rushing yards (1,613) and rushing touchdowns (13). Morris had 20-plus carries in 10 games including the final seven of the regular season. Although he has only had double-digit touchdowns once (12 as a rookie), Forte has averaged more than 100 yards from scrimmage through his career.

    Either a bigger value or perhaps a bigger risk, McFadden was the 22nd running back off the board. The obvious risk is his durability as he has never played in more than 13 games in a season. After last year's disappointing season, however, the team will move away from the zone blocking scheme in which DMC struggled. Back in 2010 and 2011, McFadden averaged 121.7 YFS and scored 15 touchdowns in 20 games.

  • Wide Receivers (my rankings)

    I was hoping to pair Randall Cobb with Vincent Jackson at pick 4.03, but Cobb was selected with one of the four picks in between my third- and fourth-round picks. With Anquan Boldin in San Francisco, it's another reason to expect/hope for a breakout season for Smith. That said, he has had nearly identical production in the past two seasons: 49-50 receptions, 841-855 yards, 7-8 touchdowns.

    Even though he will have to serve a two-game suspension to start the year, Gordon has a chance to have a breakout season in the other 14 games. Wright was tied with Justin Blackmon for most receptions by a rookie receiver last year, but the inaccuracy of Titans quarterback Jake Locker could hold him back from taking a big step forward in Year 2. Williams had a bounce-back season with a career-high 996 yards and nine touchdowns last year.

    Patterson is a boom-or-bust prospect as my WR6 and Crabtree is my WR7. Although I'm not relying on either for production, both have some upside. If Crabtree can return from his torn Achilles around Week 12, it's possible that he finds his way into the starting lineup in the fantasy playoffs for this team.

  • Tight Ends (my rankings)

    For a couple of rounds before I selected Cook, I seriously thought about taking him. Since I still was able to draft him, I am happy with getting him at the end of Round 11. With the athleticism to create mismatches, Cook could very well be poised to have the breakout season this year many have expected to him to have over the past couple of years.

  • Kickers and Defense

    Almost always, I will take the best available team defense with my second-to-last pick and the best available kicker with my last pick and that's what I did here.

As a reminder, we will centralize links to our mocks here and you can conduct your own free mocks here.

[Mobile users: Use this link to conduct your mock drafts.]

Tomorrow I will do a 20-team mock using standard scoring with the No. 9 pick.

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 10:08 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

2013 Fantasy Football Rankings: Updated Top 30 Quarterbacks

Good things come to those who wait.

That cliché certainly applies when it comes to drafting a fantasy quarterback. While real NFL teams may struggle to find their face of the franchise, it's not so difficult to find a quality starting fantasy quarterback.

Going into the 2013 season, I would be comfortable with any of my top-12 fantasy quarterbacks starting for my squad(s). Looking back at some of the fantasy football daily mock drafts I've done recently, a top-12 quarterback could be had as late as Round 10.

Aaron Rodgers approaches the line

Here are my top 30 fantasy quarterbacks for 2013:

1. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

More efficient than any other quarterback, Rodgers led the NFL in passer rating (108.0) after setting the single-season record in 2011. In fact, Rodgers has had a passer rating of 100-plus in each of the past four years.

Rodgers threw 39 touchdowns and only eight interceptions last year. In 2011, he threw 45 touchdowns and only six picks.

Over the past four years, only Drew Brees (156) has thrown more touchdowns than Rodgers (142).

2. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

Leading the Saints pass-first-ask-questions-later offense, Brees led the NFL in both passing yards (5,177) and passing touchdowns (43) although those numbers were actually down year over year.

Brees became the first player in league history to throw for 5,000-plus yards and 40-plus touchdowns in back-to-back seasons. Not only is he the first (and only) player with multiple 5,000-yard seasons, his three 5,000-yard seasons tie ever other quarterback to play in the history of the NFL.

No quarterback had more games with multiple passing touchdowns than Brees (13) last season. In addition, he led the league in 300-yard passing games with 10.

With the return of head coach Sean Payton in 2013, Brees has an excellent chance to exceed or come close to 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns once again.

3. Tom Brady, New England Patriots

After throwing for 5,235 yards in 2011, Brady fell short of that total last year with 4,827 yards, the fourth-highest in the league in 2012. Brady threw 34 touchdowns and eight interceptions while rushing for another four touchdowns.

With the exception of Week 13, Brady threw for 300-plus yards and/or scored two-plus touchdowns every week last season. In other words, he had double-digit fantasy points in all 16 games this season.

There is some concern that tight end Rob Gronkowski, who will undergo a fifth surgery in eight months on Tuesday, won't be ready for the start of the season, but he missed five games last season as well and Brady still finished among the top three quarterbacks in fantasy points.

4. Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos

Excluding a relatively slow start in Weeks 1 and 2, Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning posted nine 300-yard games and a 34-to-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio in the final 14 weeks. He finished second in the NFL in passer rating (105.8) and threw for 4,659 yards and 37 touchdowns, both of which were the second-highest totals of his illustrious career.

Peyton had a pair of stud receivers in Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker at his disposal as both finished with 85-plus receptions, 1,000-plus yards and double-digit touchdowns this past season. While both receivers are back, the team's receiving corps will be even better in 2013.

Sniping Wes Welker away from the Patriots (and Brady) with a two-year deal, the Broncos now have the league's best trio of wide receivers. The Slot Machine is the only player in NFL history with five 110-reception seasons under his belt. In fact, nobody else has more than two.

5. Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton started the season slowly, but he came on strong and finished tied for fourth among quarterbacks in fantasy points. In his first eight games, Newton had a six-to-eight touchdown-to-interception ratio, but that ratio improved with 13 touchdowns to only four interceptions in the second half.

While he finished with fewer passing yards and scored fewer touchdowns in his second NFL season than he did as a rookie, he rushed for a career-high 741 yards and still scored eight rushing touchdowns.

One of the concerns with Newton is that the team, which already had a relatively weak receiving corps, did not add another receiver this offseason opposite Steve Smith, who recently turned 34 years old.

6. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta's Matt Ryan took a big step forward with his development in 2012. Ryan posted many career highs last year (previous highs in parenthesis): 68.6 completion percentage (62.5 percent), 4,719 passing yards (4,177) and 32 passing touchdowns (29).

The Falcons have arguably the league's top wide receiver duo in Julio Jones and Roddy White plus tight end Tony Gonzalez, who posted four-year highs with the Falcons last year, is going to play at least one more season.

7. Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks

Seattle's Russell Wilson was good for a rookie in the first half of the season, but he was great (for any quarterback) in the second half.

In his first eight games, Wilson threw 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions and he averaged 6.98 yards per pass attempt and 3.6 yards per rush attempt. In his final eight regular-season games, however, Wilson had a 16-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio, averaged 9.03 yards per pass attempt and 6.2 yards per rush attempt. In fact, all four of his rushing touchdowns last season came in the second half of the year.

Wilson finished the year with a rookie-record 26 passing touchdowns and 10 interceptions and was one of four quarterbacks to finish with a passer rating of at least 100.0 in 2012.

Helping Wilson's cause in 2013, the Seahawks have acquired Percy Harvin in a trade with the Vikings. As one of the league's most dynamic players, Harvin averaged 8.9 yards after catch.

- Full fantasy profile and projection for Wilson

8. Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions

Even though he threw it an NFL-record 727 times last year, Stafford surprisingly saw his touchdown total drop by more than half to 20 last season.

That said, the former No. 1 overall pick has thrown for more than 10,000 yards over the past two seasons combined, has the league's best receiver on his team and just turned 25 years old.

9. Colin Kaepernick, San Francisco 49ers

Drafted by the Chicago Cubs as a pitcher in 2009, San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick is one of the strongest-armed quarterbacks in the league. While he can win games with his arm alone, it's his dual-threat abilities that make him a fantasy stud. For example, Kaepernick threw for 263 yards, two scores and had a pick while also running for 181 yards and two touchdowns in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Unfortunately for his 2013 outlook, the 49ers lost Michael Crabtree, the team's clear No. 1 receiver, to a torn Achilles injury during OTAs. Crabtree may return late in the season, but it's unclear how late as well as how productive he'll be when he first returns.

10. Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins

Leading all rookie quarterbacks in fantasy points last year, Griffin III was the most consistent from beginning to end.

Unfortunately, RG3 suffered a torn LCL and ACL in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. All things considered, however, early indications look good for his availability to the start of the season (and perhaps even training camp).

Tied for fifth among quarterbacks in fantasy points with Peyton Manning, Griffin was third in the NFL in passer rating (102.4) and posted a remarkable 20-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio as a rookie. In fact, he never threw more than one interception in any game, which is impressive for any player but especially a rookie.

While his passing stats may not be gaudy, his rushing stats were. RG3 finished with a QB-most 815 rushing yards to go along with seven rushing touchdowns. In fact, he finished in the top 20 among all players in rushing. Along with Michael Vick and Randall Cunningham, he is only the third quarterback since the 1970s to rush for at least 800 yards in a season.

Even if he is recovered from the knee injuries to start the 2013 season, it would be surprising if he runs as much in 2013 (and the future) as he did as a rookie. With knee and concussion injuries forcing him to miss time, the exciting plays he can make as a runner come with a (potentially) heavy cost.

- Continue to QBs 11-20 | Continue to QBs 21-30

- Fantasy QB Dynasty Rankings

- Fantasy QB Strength of Schedule

More Fantasy Football Preseason Rankings: Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 07:30 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 14, 2013

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Per Day (6/14/13): 10 Teams, No. 7 Pick, PPR Scoring

Last preseason, we conducted one fantasy football mock draft per day using a mock draft simulator powered by FantasyPros.

Having begun our 2013 series of drafts on June 1st, we will continue to post our draft results and comments up until the start of the 2013 season on September 5th.

We will track all of the mocks here on this centralized page.

Like last year, I will vary the size of the league, the scoring format and draft slot and then post the results of my team with comments.

For today's mock, it is a 10-team point-per-reception (PPR) mock and I had the No. 7 pick. The league starts one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, one flex, one kicker and one team defense.

Here are my picks:

- For all picks in the mock draft, click here.

Here are some thoughts by position:

  • Quarterbacks (my rankings)

    It appears more likely every day that Griffin III will be ready for the season opener after tearing his ACL in the playoffs. If for whatever reason he's not ready for the opener, I will drop one of my later-round picks to add a quarterback that will start in Week 1. Considering how shallow a 10-team league is, there was little reason to waste a roster spot on a second quarterback.

    If he were fully healthy, RG3 would be a top three (or five) fantasy quarterback for most. While he may not run as much this year as he did as a rookie, he was without Pierre Garcon and Fred Davis for a total of 15 games last season. To help compensate for fewer rushes, he should have a better/healthier group of weapons in the passing game.

  • Running Backs (my rankings)

    Considering there were five running backs off the board before I made my first pick, I am happy to end up with three of my top-13 PPR running backs with Spiller, Jackson and Sproles. In addition to this trio, I would have been happy with either Gore or Miller as my flex option.

    Although Spiller had a breakout season last year and Jackson had 1,000 rushing yards for eighth straight season, both could be in store for better seasons in their new situations: new coaching staff for Spiller and new team for Jackson.

    Sproles has a minimum of 75 receptions in each of his two seasons with the Saints even though he missed three games last year. Only 11 players — all receivers or tight ends — have more receptions in the past two seasons than Sproles (161), who trails A.J. Green (162) by one and teammate Marques Colston (163) by two.

    With Reggie Bush moving on to Detroit, Miller will have an opportunity to be the Dolphins' featured back. Gore is coming off back-to-back seasons with 1,200 yards. Woodhead was quietly one of the most productive fantasy backs last year and Franklin should have a prominent role in the Packers' rushing game with fellow rookie Eddie Lacy.

  • Wide Receivers (my rankings)

    In standard-scoring formats, Marshall is my fourth-ranked receiver, but I have only Calvin Johnson ahead of him in PPR formats. In his first season with the Bears, Marshall set career highs with 118 receptions, 1,508 yards and 11 touchdowns and franchise records in receptions and yards.

    Nelson is better in standard-scoring leagues than PPR formats, but he should have a bounce-back season provided he stays healthy. Greg Jennings has signed with the Vikings and Donald Driver retired. He is only two seasons removed from 1,263 yards and 15 touchdowns. Jones set career highs with 64 receptions, 784 yards and a league-high 14 touchdowns.

    Gordon will begin the 2013 season serving a two-game suspension, but he has a rare combination of size and athleticism and should otherwise have a breakout season in Norv Turner's vertical passing attack. With the hype (before the suspension news) getting a bit out of hand, he's now much more affordable on draft day.

    Williams is a solid WR5 and is coming off a bounce-back season with 996 yards and nine touchdowns.

  • Tight Ends (my rankings)

    Waiting on tight end, I feel like I got a decent value late. Daniels is the 13th tight end off the board and is my eighth-ranked fantasy tight end.

  • Kickers and Defense

    Almost always, I will take the best available team defense with my second-to-last pick and the best available kicker with my last pick and that's what I did here.

As a reminder, we will centralize links to our mocks here and you can conduct your own free mocks here.

[Mobile users: Use this link to conduct your mock drafts.]

Tomorrow I will do a 14-team mock using standard scoring with the No. 12 pick.

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 09:39 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 12, 2013

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Per Day (6/12/13): 12 Teams, No. 9 Pick, Standard Scoring

Last preseason, we conducted one fantasy football mock draft per day using a mock draft simulator powered by FantasyPros.

Having begun our 2013 series of drafts on June 1st, we will continue to post our draft results and comments up until the start of the 2013 season on September 5th.

We will track all of the mocks here on this centralized page.

Like last year, I will vary the size of the league, the scoring format and draft slot and then post the results of my team with comments.

For today's mock, it is a 12-team standard mock and I had the No. 9 pick. The league starts one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, one kicker and one team defense.

Here are my picks:

- For all picks in the mock draft, click here.

Here are some thoughts by position:

  • Quarterbacks (my rankings)

    If you have been following these mock drafts, you know that I prefer to wait on quarterback and that's again what I have done. Considering that Wilson is my seventh-ranked fantasy quarterback, I am thrilled to get him as the 12th quarterback off the board.

    Off to a slow-but-solid start last year, Wilson was as good as it gets in the second half. In his final eight regular-season games, Wilson had a 16-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio and averaged 9.03 yards per pass attempt. In addition, he averaged 6.2 yards per rush attempt and rushed for four touchdowns during that span.

    With the addition of Percy Harvin, a strong defense and running game, everything is in place for Wilson to carry over last year's success into his sophomore campaign.

  • Running Backs (my rankings)

    There are about nine running backs that I feel comfortable taking in the first round so having the ninth overall pick is a good spot. In addition to those running backs, I would be more than comfortable taking Calvin Johnson at that spot as well.

    With five running backs ranked inside my top 30, I am deep at the position. Both Rice and Jackson have proven track records with consistent production. Although I debated taking Dez Bryant at 2.04, I wanted to make sure that I had two top-12 running backs.

    Both Miller and Bell have the potential to be RB2's but they have a combined 51 NFL carries. Of the Colts running backs, Bradshaw should get the largest share of the workload and I recently moved him up to No. 28 in my fantasy rankings.

  • Wide Receivers (my rankings)

    When healthy, Johnson and Nicks have the potential to both be WR1's. Johnson has 100-plus receptions and 1,500-plus yards in three of the past five seasons. The other two seasons he missed a combined 12 games. After being hobbled all season by a foot injury he suffered during OTAs, Nicks has stayed away during OTAs this year. Entering a walk year, however, he should be motivated to have a big season to get a big contract.

    One of the players I will still target in drafts (and mocks) is Gordon, who will be suspended for the first two games of the year due to violating the league's substance-abuse policy. When he returns from the suspension, he should flourish in Norv Turner's vertical passing attack.

    Austin, Jeffery and Brown provide me with depth. I am comfortable starting Austin in Weeks 1 and 2 while Gordon is serving his suspension.

  • Tight Ends (my rankings)

    Daniels is a solid (but not spectacular) option at tight end this late in the draft (13.09). He finished with 62 receptions for 716 yards and a career-high six touchdowns in 15 games last season.

  • Kickers and Defense

    Almost always, I will take the best available team defense with my second-to-last pick and the best available kicker with my last pick and that's what I did here.

As a reminder, we will centralize links to our mocks here and you can conduct your own free mocks here.

[Mobile users: Use this link to conduct your mock drafts.]

Tomorrow I will do a 10-team mock using point-per-reception (PPR) scoring with the No. 7 pick.

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 08:32 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 11, 2013

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Per Day (6/11/13): 16 Teams, No. 6 Pick, PPR Scoring

Last preseason, we conducted one fantasy football mock draft per day using a mock draft simulator powered by FantasyPros.

Having begun our 2013 series of drafts on June 1st, we will continue to post our draft results and comments up until the start of the 2013 season on September 5th.

We will track all of the mocks here on this centralized page.

Like last year, I will vary the size of the league, the scoring format and draft slot and then post the results of my team with comments.

For today's mock, it is a 16-team point-per-reception (PPR) mock and I had the No. 6 pick. The league starts one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, one kicker and one team defense.

Here are my picks:

- For all picks in the mock draft, click here.

Here are some thoughts by position:

  • Quarterbacks (my rankings)

    In typical fashion, I waited to draft my starting quarterback and am thrilled that Griffin III was available at pick 6.11 (91st overall pick). When fully healthy, RG3 has the potential to perform as a top three (or better) fantasy quarterback. Not only do early signs continue to point toward him being ready for the start of the 2013 season, he expects to be ready for the start of training camp next month.

    Already a bargain in my opinion, this pick could turn out to be the steal of the draft.

    If for whatever reason he's not ready for the start of the season and/or ends up getting injured, I drafted Locker as a fall-back option. Locker has all of the physical tools, but he has struggled with accuracy going back to his days in college. Obviously, I am hoping to not need Locker for more than one week (Griffin III's bye week).

  • Running Backs (my rankings)

    Speaking of injury risk, no player illustrates those concerns more than McFadden. Since entering the league in 2008, McFadden has missed at least three games in every season and has played in only 57 games over five years. His per-game success stalled last year as the team switched to a zone-blocking scheme, but they will cater to DMC's strengths again this year. In his previous two years, McFadden averaged 121.6 yards per scrimmage per game, scored 15 touchdowns in 20 games and had 66 receptions.

    Jackson has eight consecutive seasons with 1,000-plus yards despite being in one of the league's lowest-octane offenses. With defenses no longer able to focus on shutting him down, Jackson should be able to extend his streak of 1,000-yard seasons (and end his drought of double-digit touchdowns). The last time SJax scored 10 or more touchdowns in a season was 2006. If there is a concern with him, it's his age (turns 30 next month) and his cumulative workload (2,395 carries and 407 receptions).

    Coming off back-to-back 1,200-yard seasons, Gore provides insurance. The Daily Show would have a ton of upside if it weren't for the competition for touches, but he has become a better option in PPR formats than standard-scoring leagues and gives me four top-25 running backs (based on my rankings).

  • Wide Receivers (my rankings)

    In a 16-team league that starts three wide receivers, I have no problem using the sixth overall pick on a receiver (of course, provided it's Megatron). One season after becoming only the second receiver to have 1,600-plus receiving yards and score 16-plus touchdowns in the same season, Johnson broke Jerry Rice's single-season receiving yards record. Looking at his past 20 games counting the playoffs, Megatron has five 200-yard games. That ties him with Rice and Lance Alworth for the most all-time.

    The rest of my receiving corps is mediocre. Jennings and Moore are a lower-end WR2 and WR3, respectively. The biggest risk with both of them is their quarterback play. Unfortunately for Jennings, he goes from Aaron Rodgers to Christian Ponder. Moore goes from Carson Palmer to Matt Flynn (or Tyler Wilson). Jeffery, Brown and DHB provide some depth.

  • Tight Ends (my rankings)

    Clearly on the downward slope of his career, Gates has continued to maintain consistency as a red-zone target. For nine consecutive seasons, Gates has caught seven or more touchdowns every year. Over the past nine years, no player has done that more than six times.

  • Kickers and Defense

    Almost always, I will take the best available team defense with my second-to-last pick and the best available kicker with my last pick. In a deeper league (16 teams or more), I may consider taking a defense one round earlier, especially if my pick in the second-to-last round is toward the end of the round.

As a reminder, we will centralize links to our mocks here and you can conduct your own free mocks here.

[Mobile users: Use this link to conduct your mock drafts.]

Tomorrow I will do a 12-team mock using standard scoring with the No. 9 pick.

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 08:17 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 10, 2013

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Per Day (6/10/13): 12 Teams, No. 3 Pick, 2-QB League

Last preseason, we conducted one fantasy football mock draft per day using a mock draft simulator powered by FantasyPros.

Having begun our 2013 series of drafts on June 1st, we will continue to post our draft results and comments up until the start of the 2013 season on September 5th.

We will track all of the mocks here on this centralized page.

Like last year, I will vary the size of the league, the scoring format and draft slot and then post the results of my team with comments.

For today's mock, it is a 12-team standard-scoring mock (except with two starting quarterbacks) and I had the No. 3 pick. The league starts two quarterbacks, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, one flex, one kicker and one team defense.

Here are my picks:

- For all picks in the mock draft, click here.

Here are some thoughts by position:

  • Quarterbacks (my rankings)

    Unlike most other drafts where I wait to draft a quarterback since the position is so deep, the position becomes much more scarce in a 2-QB league. Both Brady and Manning are near the top of their respective QB1 and QB2 slots even though they have some question marks when it comes to their pass catchers.

    Not only did the Patriots part ways with Wes Welker and Brandon Lloyd, but Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are recovering from offseason surgeries. In Gronkowski's case, he has (or will have) five of them: four on his forearm and one on his back. For Manning, neither Hakeem Nicks nor Victor Cruz has shown up for the team's "voluntary" offseason workouts.

    With Manuel, the only rookie quarterback selected in the first round (of the real NFL Draft), there is a good chance he starts by the end (if not the beginning) of the season and has plenty of upside in this format as a dual-threat quarterback.

  • Running Backs (my rankings)

    Perhaps I should have taken a wide receiver (or my second quarterback) sooner, but I couldn't help myself from loading up on running backs. Both Martin and Ridley had huge seasons in 2012 and Wilson and Miller should be in store for breakout seasons in 2013.

    Martin finished second to only Adrian Peterson in yards from scrimmage and the Bucs were without both of their starting guards, Carl Nicks and Davin Joseph, for long stretches last season. With both of them healthy again, the Bucs have one of the league's better offensive lines.

    Will Ridley get the same type of workload that he had last season? If anything, I worry that Belichick goes back to more of a committe and Ridley sees much fewer than the 290 carries he had last year. The last back to get as many with Belichick as coach was Corey Dillion (345) in 2004.

    With game-breaking speed, Wilson and Miller have the potential to have some huge weeks in 2013.

  • Wide Receivers (my rankings)

    With only two starting receivers in this league and the position so deep, my strategy was to wait on wide receiver and then try to draft multiple WR2/WR3 types.

    One of the league's fastest receivers, Wallace is coming off a down year, but a change of scenery should do him well. Smith turned 34 years old last month, but he has more than 2,500 yards in his two seasons with Cam Newton.

    Johnson has three consecutive seasons with 1,000-plus yards, but the uncertain quarterback situation poses some risk. Austin has failed to reach 1,000 yards for two consecutive seasons, but Dez Bryant should see all the double teams. Wright was tied with Justin Blackmon for most receptions as a rookie and should take another step forward in 2013.

  • Tight Ends (my rankings)

    Typically I wait on tight end and Jared Cook is a freakish athlete at the position that might have the breakout season that fantasy owners have been expecting for the past couple of years. He has had spurts where he showed a glimpse of his upside, but I expect the Rams and Sam Bradford to make a more concerted effort to feature Cook.

  • Kickers and Defense

    Almost always, I will take the best available team defense with my second-to-last pick and the best available kicker with my last pick. With 11 defenses off the board with my second-to-last pick and only one kicker selected, I reversed the order and still ended up with the defense I would have taken at 15.03.

As a reminder, we will centralize links to our mocks here and you can conduct your own free mocks here.

Tomorrow I will do a 16-team mock using PPR scoring with the No. 6 pick.

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 09:58 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 09, 2013

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Per Day (6/9/13): 14 Teams, No. 9 Pick, Standard Scoring

Last preseason, we conducted one fantasy football mock draft per day using a mock draft simulator powered by FantasyPros.

Starting our 2013 series, we have conducted our first two mock drafts and posted the results with comments. We will continue the process until the start of the 2013 season on September 5th.

We will track all of them here on this centralized page.

Like last year, I will vary the size of the league, the scoring format and draft slot and then post the results of my team with comments.

For today's mock, it is a 14-team standard-scoring mock and I had the No. 9 pick. The league starts one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, one flex, one kicker and one team defense.

Here are my picks:

- For all picks in the mock draft, click here.

Here are some thoughts by position:

  • Quarterbacks (my rankings)

    Wilson has been a common target of mine in fantasy drafts and I was thrilled that he was available at pick 6.06.

    As a rookie, Wilson was phenominal in the second half of the season. He completed 67.2 percent of his pass attempts, threw 16 touchdowns to only two interceptions and averaged 9.03 yards per attempt. In addition, he had a league-best 120.3 passer rating during that span. He also averaged 6.2 yards per carry and rushed for four scores in the second half.

    Wilson finished 11th in fantasy points among quarterbacks last season only four points behind Matthew Stafford, who threw nearly twice as many pass attempts (727) as Wilson (393). With the addition of Percy Harvin, one of the league's most dynamic players, Wilson should threw the ball much more in 2013. He is my seventh-ranked quarterback heading into the 2013 season.

    [Related: 2013 Russell Wilson fantasy profile and projection.]

  • Running Backs (my rankings)

    Without a doubt, I knew I would get a running back that I liked at No. 9 since I really like all of the top nine running backs in my rankings.

    As the eighth running back off the board, Lynch is my fifth-ranked back. Not only has Lynch scored double-digit touchdowns in back-to-back seasons, Lynch rushed for 1,590 yards on 315 carries, both career highs, last year.

    One of the league's most injury-prone backs, McFadden has the talent to be a top-five back, when healthy. Last year was a disappointing year all around for DMC and his fantasy owners, but the team's new offensive coordinator will transition the offense from last year's zone-blocking scheme that did not suit McFadden's abilities well. Considering he never played more than 13 games in a season, however, I made sure to grab his handcuff late.

    Even though he is much better in PPR formats, Darren Sproles is a solid flex option, especially in a 14-team league. In two seasons with the Saints, he has a total of 2,224 yards from scrimmage and 17 touchdowns over 29 games. Provided Bradshaw and the Colts agree to a deal, he won't be available this late (8.06) in future drafts. He's a great fit for the Colts offense and an extremely solid RB4.

  • Wide Receivers (my rankings)

    After a little more than two disappointing, under-achieving seasons, Bryant became the dominant receiver that many had thought he could become. From Week 4 through the end of the regular season, he recorded 79 receptions for 1,218 yards and 12 touchdowns in the final 13 games.

    Wayne had a bounce-back season with Andrew Luck under center and although he is now 34 years old, he should another very productive season in him. Johnson, Moore, Wright and Holmes provide solid depth as my WR3-6.

  • Tight Ends (my rankings)

    Although I took Wilson with pick 6.06, I strongly considered taking Jason Witten at that spot. There is no reason he should have been available there. Of course, he was off the board before my next pick and I then waited until late in the draft to select Bennett. In Marc Trestman's offense, Bennett has the potential to take another step forward after his breakout season last year.

  • Kickers and Defense

    Almost always, I will take the best available team defense with my second-to-last pick and the best available kicker with my last pick. At pick 13.10, I knew that I wanted to add Jennings as insurance for McFadden and figured he would still be on the board with pick 14.06 so I decided to grab a top-five defense one round earlier than I typically would draft a defense.

As a reminder, we will centralize links to our mocks here and you can conduct your own free mocks here.

Tomorrow I will do a 12-team mock starting two quarterbacks (and standard scoring otherwise) with the No. 3 pick.

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 10:58 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 08, 2013

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Per Day (6/8/13): 20 Teams, No. 15 Pick, PPR Scoring

Last preseason, we conducted one fantasy football mock draft per day using a mock draft simulator powered by FantasyPros.

Starting our 2013 series, we have conducted our first two mock drafts and posted the results with comments. We will continue the process until the start of the 2013 season on September 5th.

We will track all of them here on this centralized page.

Like last year, I will vary the size of the league, the scoring format and draft slot and then post the results of my team with comments.

For today's mock, it is a 20-team PPR-scoring mock and I had the No. 15 pick. The league starts one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, one flex, one kicker and one team defense.

Here are my picks:

- For all picks in the mock draft, click here.

Here are some thoughts by position:

  • Quarterbacks (my rankings)

    If you have been following my daily mock drafts, you know that I prefer to wait on drafting my starting quarterback. The deeper the league, however, the more likely I am willing to draft a quarterback early. Going into this mock, my strategy was to draft my quarterback with one of my first three selections (and two starting running backs with the other two).

    I was tempted with my first (and second) pick to draft a signal-caller. With only Aaron Rodgers off the board in the first 14 picks, I could have selected Drew Brees with pick 1.15 or Tom Brady with pick 2.06. Fortunately, the quarterback I had hoped to take at pick 3.15 was available. Wilson is my seventh-ranked fantasy quarterback going into the season.

    While his full season numbers were really good and he set the rookie record for passing touchdowns (26) in a season, he was amazing in the second half.

    In his first eight games, Wilson threw 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions and he averaged 6.98 yards per pass attempt and 3.6 yards per rush attempt. In his final eight regular-season games, however, Wilson had a 16-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio, averaged 9.03 yards per pass attempt and 6.2 yards per rush attempt. In fact, all four of his rushing touchdowns last season came in the second half of the year.

    Considering the Seahawks traded for Percy Harvin, one of the league's most dynamic wide receivers, Wilson should continue to improve.

    In a 20-team league, the number of starting quarterbacks on the waiver wire is extremely limited. By drafting Freeman, I have secured a bye-week replacement and have protection in the event of an injury. In the event a competing one-QB team suffers an injury, then I am position of strength to pull off a trade.

  • Running Backs (my rankings)

    As noted above, my strategy was to secure my starting running backs with two of my first three picks. Going into the mock, I was leaning toward taking two running backs in my first two picks and that is what I ultimately did.

    Not only are Forte and Jackson both in my top 12 fantasy running backs for PPR leagues, but I was able to draft The Daily Show with my fifth-round pick. Stewart is my No. 25-ranked fantasy running back and is a high-end RB2 in a 20-team league at my flex spot.

    Since entering the league as a rookie in 2008, Forte is one of three running backs with more than 250 receptions. Only Ray Rice (311) and Darren Sproles (294) have more than Forte (267). Jackson (217) ranks sixth during that span and brings a streak of eight consecutive 1,000-yard seasons with him to Atlanta. Fortunately for SJax (and his fantasy owners), he should have a great opportunity for double-digit touchdowns, something he hasn't done since 2006.

    Looking back on the mock, I would prefer to own five RBs and four WRs (instead of the other way around). The options on the waiver wire are indeed better for wide receivers.

  • Wide Receivers (my rankings)

    I'm certainly weaker at wide receiver than I am at running back, but I would prefer for that to be the case in a league that starts only two wide receivers (possibly three, counting the flex spot).

    Both of my starting wide receivers, Wallace and Wright, rank either just outside/inside of what would make them a WR1 and WR2, respectively, in a 20-team league. Coming off a down season, Wallace has taken his talents to South Beach and should be poised for a bounce-back season as one of the league's most dangerous down-field weapons. As a first-round pick by the Titans last season, Wright had a solid rookie season with 64 receptions, which tied him with Justin Blackmon for the most by a rookie, 626 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

    My three reserve wide receivers — Moore, Brown and Allen — all rank somewhere inside my top-60 PPR receivers giving me some solid depth at the position.

  • Tight Ends (my rankings)

    Waiting a long time to draft my starting tight end, Miller is a solid late-round option when healthy. Unfortunately he is coming off a torn ACL and his status for the start of the 2013 season remains in jeopardy. With Cameron, I have a tight end that could be ready to have to breakout season and potentially become my starter whether Miller is healthy or not.

  • Kickers and Defense

    As always, I will take the best available team defense with my second-to-last pick and the best available kicker with my last pick. In this case, I considered taking a defense earlier, but the top 12-15 or so defenses were already off the board by the time I made my 13th-round pick.

As a reminder, we will centralize links to our mocks here and you can conduct your own free mocks here.

Tomorrow I will do a 14-team mock using standard scoring with the No. 9 pick.

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 05:16 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 07, 2013

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Per Day (6/7/13): 12 Teams, No. 2 Pick, Standard Scoring

Last preseason, we conducted one fantasy football mock draft per day using a mock draft simulator powered by FantasyPros.

Starting our 2013 series, we have conducted our first two mock drafts and posted the results with comments. We will continue the process until the start of the 2013 season on September 5th.

We will track all of them here on this centralized page.

Like last year, I will vary the size of the league, the scoring format and draft slot and then post the results of my team with comments.

For today's mock, it is a 12-team standard-scoring mock and I had the No. 2 pick. The league starts one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, one flex, one kicker and one team defense.

Here are my picks:

  • 1.02: Arian Foster, RB, Houston Texans
  • 2.11: Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys
  • 3.02: Stevan Ridley, RB, New England Patriots
  • 4.11: Reggie Bush, RB, Detroit Lions
  • 5.02: Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay Packers
  • 6.11: Steve Smith, WR, Carolina Panthers
  • 7.02: Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions
  • 8.11: Miles Austin, WR, Dallas Cowboys
  • 9.02: Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
  • 10.11: Kendall Wright, WR, Tennessee Titans
  • 11.02: Ben Tate, RB, Houston Texans
  • 12.11: Antonio Gates, TE, San Diego Chargers
  • 13.02: Cordarrelle Patterson, WR, Minnesota Vikings
  • 14.11: Keenan Allen, WR, San Diego Chargers
  • 15.02: Denver Broncos D/ST
  • 16.11: Garrett Hartley, K, New Orleans Saints

- For all picks in the mock draft, click here.

Here are some thoughts by position:

  • Quarterbacks (my rankings)

    Here's the broken-record part of my daily mock draft posts: I like to wait to draft my fantasy quarterback. In general, I would be comfortable having any of my top-12 quarterbacks as my fantasy starter. What's a little unique about having a pick at (or near) the turn is that you may need to take one before the long wait in between picks if there are only a few top-12 quarterbacks left and that's what I did here.

    When I selected Stafford with pick 7.02, there were two other top-12 quarterbacks still on the board: Tony Romo and Andrew Luck. Before my next pick (8.11), both Romo and Luck were off the board.

    No quarterback in the history of the NFL threw it more times than Stafford (727) last season and he has one of the league's best receivers of all-time in Calvin Johnson, who broke Jerry Rice's single-season receiving yards record last year. After two injury-plagued seasons to start his career, Stafford has stayed healthy for back-to-back seasons and has thrown for 10,005 yards in that span. After throwing 41 touchdowns in 2011, he threw only 20 last year. This year, I think it would be reasonable to see him split the difference.

  • Running Backs (my rankings)

    Going into this mock, my strategy was to end up with two running backs after my first three picks. Both Foster (league-high 15) and Ridley (12) were two of four running backs that rushed for at least 12 touchdowns last season. Both backs also rushed for more than 1,250 yards.

    If I had a concern about either back, it would be touches. Can we really count on Bill Belichick to maintain Ridley as his workhorse? Since 2010, Foster leads the NFL in rushing attempts (1,061) in the regular season and playoffs combined. As insurance for Foster, I drafted his backup in the 11th round even though Danny Woodhead was still on the board and I have Woodhead ranked a couple of spots higher than Tate.

    Both backs should be better in point-per-reception (PPR) formats, but Bush and Bernard give me a solid option as a flex option as well.

  • Wide Receivers (my rankings)

    My plan was to take a second running back with my second pick unless one of my top-five wide receivers were available. Despite his physical gifts, Bryant had underachieved his expectations before last season. In the final 13 games of the season, Bryant had 79 receptions for 1,218 yards and 12 touchdowns.

    Battling injuries, Nelson had a disappointing season, but he should have a bounce-back season if he can stay healthy. Two years ago, he had a breakout season with 1,263 yards and 15 touchdowns.

    Smith rounds out my starting trio and is an underrated option in re-draft leagues. Granted he will turn 34 years old this year, but he has 2,568 yards in the past two years and the Panthers don't have many other receiving options.

    Austin and Wright are solid as my WR4 and WR5, respectively, and Patterson and Allen have some upside as rookies. Patterson is a true boom-or-bust prospect, but he is dangerous with the ball in his hands. I would expect the Vikings to find ways to get him a lot of wide receiver screens and even handoffs.

  • Tight Ends (my rankings)

    Once again, I waited to draft my fantasy tight end. I had the opportunity to take Jimmy Graham at pick 2.11 and considered it, but I couldn't pass up Dez, who is my 2(a) receiver behind Megatron and A.J. Green.

    Gates is clearly on the down side of his career, but he excels in the red zone. Gates has a streak of nine consecutive seasons with seven or more receiving touchdowns. During that span, no player has more than six such seasons.

  • Kickers and Defense

    As always, I will take the best available team defense with my second-to-last pick and the best available kicker with my last pick.

As a reminder, we will centralize links to our mocks here and you can conduct your own free mocks here.

Tomorrow I will do a 20-team mock using point-per-reception (PPR) scoring with the No. 15 pick.

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 10:46 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 06, 2013

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Per Day (6/6/13): 14 Teams, No. 4 Pick, PPR Scoring

Last preseason, we conducted one fantasy football mock draft per day using a mock draft simulator powered by FantasyPros.

Starting our 2013 series, we have conducted our first two mock drafts and posted the results with comments. We will continue the process until the start of the 2013 season on September 5th.

We will track all of them here on this centralized page.

Like last year, I will vary the size of the league, the scoring format and draft slot and then post the results of my team with comments.

For today's mock, it is based on point-per-reception (PPR) scoring leagues with 14 teams and I had the No. 4 pick. The league starts one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, one kicker and one team defense.

Here are my picks:

- For all picks in the mock draft, click here.

Here are some thoughts by position:

  • Quarterbacks (my rankings): In most mock drafts, I will wait to draft a quarterback and I typically try to get one of my top-12 fantasy quarterbacks. There is a bit of a dropoff after the top 12. When I was on the clock with pick 7.04, there were only two of my top 12 quarterbacks still on the board: RG3 and Tony Romo.

    The deeper the league, the more likely I am to draft a backup quarterback. In 10- or 12-team leagues, I will almost never draft a second quarterback. Considering RG3 is coming of a torn ACL, I wanted to have insurance in case he is not ready for the season opener although his rehab appears to be way ahead of schedule. Considering how many times he ran last year, he is exposed to a greater risk of getting injured than other quarterbacks. If I had drafted Romo, I probably would not have drafted a backup quarterback.

  • Running Backs (my rankings): Although I waited on running backs in this mock, it's something I would be less willing to do in a real draft. Ultimately, I wanted to see how my team would turn out by waiting until the third round to draft my first running back.

    Using four consecutive picks on running backs, I am very happy with the quartet of Jackson, Gore, Mathews and Miller. I doubt all four of those would be available where I drafted them in most drafts this year, but I won't complain. Jackson and Gore are solid options, but the success of this group relies on Mathews and Miller.

    One of the league's most injury-prone backs, Mathews had a disappointing year even when healthy last season. If he has a bounce-back year and stays healthy (a bigger if), he could be a steal. The good thing about Mathews on this team is that he is my RB3 and I don't necessarily need him to produce (at least, the way I would if he were one of my top two backs). With Miller, he will get an opportunity to be a featured back now that Reggie Bush is in Detroit.

  • Wide Receivers (my rankings): With Megatron and Harvin, I have the best 1-2 punch of wide receivers in this mock. In a league that starts 42 receivers, I was fine waiting until later to draft my WR3. Britt has the talent and potential to have a big season in a walk year, but Jake Locker is one of the most inaccurate starting quarterbacks in the league. If Gio Bernard was not selected one pick prior to Britt, I would have been strongly tempted to take him at that spot. Rice and Jeffery give me capable backups and potential WR3's in 14-team leagues.

  • Tight Ends (my rankings): Like with quarterbacks, I typically wait to draft a tight end. In many mocks, that turns out to be my final pick before my defense and kicker and that's what happened here. Myers had a breakout season with 79 receptions for 806 yards and four touchdowns. I would expect Myers' targets (104 from last year) to drop to around 85-90 (Martellus Bennett had 90 last year).

  • Kickers and Defense: As always, I will take the best available team defense with my second-to-last pick and the best available kicker with my last pick.

As a reminder, we will centralize links to our mocks here and you can conduct your own free mocks here.

Tomorrow I will do a 12-team mock using standard scoring with the No. 2 pick.

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 07:32 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 04, 2013

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Per Day (6/4/13): 10 Teams, No. 10 Pick, Standard Scoring

Last preseason, we conducted one fantasy football mock draft per day using a mock draft simulator powered by FantasyPros.

Starting our 2013 series on June 1st, we have conducted our first several mock drafts and posted the results with comments. We will continue the process until the start of the 2013 season on September 5th.

We will track all of them here on this centralized page.

Like last year, I will vary the size of the league, the scoring format and draft slot and then post the results of my team with comments.

For today's mock, it is based on standard scoring leagues with 10 teams and I had the No. 10 pick. The league starts one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, one kicker and one team defense.

Here are my picks:

Here are some thoughts by position:

  • Quarterbacks (my rankings): In a shallow 10-team league, there is no need to take a quarterback early and I'm happy to end up with Wilson in the 10th round. Considering the top 14 quarterbacks were off the board before my 11th-round pick, I waited just long enough (and not too long) to draft my quarterback.

    Wilson set a rookie record with 26 passing touchdowns and was one of four quarterbacks to post a triple-digit passer rating last year. The others were Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning and fellow rookie Robert Griffin III.

    In the second half of the season, he was arguably the best quarterback in the NFL. He completed 67.2 percent of his pass attempts for 1,652 yards, 16 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He had a quarterback rating of 120.3 in his final eight games. He also ran 58 times for 361 yards and four touchdowns during that span.

  • Running Backs (my rankings): To have the 10th overall pick and end up with my quintet of running backs, I couldn't be more thrilled. Ultimately, I ended up with five running backs ranked inside my top 20: Spiller (fourth), McCoy (ninth), Forte (11th), Gore (18th) and Bush (19th).

    Of course, having so much depth at running back provides me with insurance for injuries at the position. In addition, it gives me surplus trade ammunition in the event that another team loses a running back to injury.

    Related: Here's my fantasy profile and projection for Bush

  • Wide Receivers (my rankings): At this point, I am happy with White, Wallace and Gordon as my trio of starting receivers and like my depth with Hilton, Britt and Wright. White is extremely durable (no missed games in eight years) and has six consecutive seasons with 1,100-plus yards. During that stretch, he has averaged a line of 94/1296/8. Signing this offseason with the Dolphins, Wallace is one of the league's best vertical threats and should have a bounce-back season. Gordon is poised for a breakout season in Norv Turner's vertical-passing attack and it's likely that he won't be available as late as he has been in this and my other recent mocks. I have Britt and Wright ranked one spot apart and was surprised that Wright lasted another 20 picks after I selected Britt.

  • Tight Ends (my rankings): Once again, I waited on tight end, another common theme with my mocks. Getting Olsen in the 12th round was an excellent value. In 10-team leagues, I will typically draft only one quarterback and one tight end since there will typically be several good bye-week options available on the waiver wire.

  • Kickers and Defense: As always, I will take the best available team defense with my second-to-last pick and the best available kicker with my last pick.

As a reminder, we will centralize links to our mocks here and you can conduct your own free mocks here.

Tomorrow I will do a 14-team mock using PPR scoring with the No. 4 pick.

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 09:45 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 03, 2013

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Per Day (6/3/13): 16 Teams, No. 1 Pick, Standard Scoring

Last preseason, we conducted one fantasy football mock draft per day using a mock draft simulator powered by FantasyPros.

Starting our 2013 series over the weekend, we have conducted our first two mock drafts and posted the results with comments. We will continue the process until the start of the 2013 season on September 5th.

We will track all of them here on this centralized page.

Like last year, I will vary the size of the league, the scoring format and draft slot and then post the results of my team with comments.

For today's mock, it is based on standard scoring leagues with 16 teams and I had the No. 1 pick. The league starts one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, one kicker and one team defense.

Here are my picks:

Here are some thoughts by position:

  • Quarterbacks: In a 16-team league or deeper, I'm a little (operative word: little) more willing to take a quarterback earlier than usual. With Stafford available at the 4.16/5.01 turn, I didn't want to risk one of my top-12 QBs being unavailable at pick 6.16. Even though he set the NFL single-season record with 727 pass attempts, Stafford's touchdown passes dropped last year to 20 (from 41 in 2012). That said, he finished second in the NFL in passing yards and missed his second consecutive 5,000-yard season by only 33 yards.

  • Running Backs: With the first overall pick, Peterson was a no-brainer. While I don't expect him to duplicate his 2012 numbers, he was coming off a torn ACL and needed offseason surgery to repair a sports hernia and still rushed for over 2,000 yards. In other words, what is he capable of when full healthy? With my fourth pick not coming until pick 48, I wanted to make sure that I took my second running back with one of my next two picks. For CJ2K, he has a much-improved interior offensive line to open running lanes, but the team added the less-than-dynamic-but-still-a-1,000-yard-rusher Shonn Greene, who may steal a few touches especially near the goal line. I was very surprised (but happy) that Miller was available at pick 4.16. The Daily Show is a nice value as an RB4 and Ryan Williams gives me additional depth.

  • Wide Receivers: By not taking my final starting wide receiver until pick 8.16, which is 128 picks into the mock, I ended up with a relatively weak wide receiving corps. Provided Andre Johnson stays healthy, there is no reason why he can't come close to 100 receptions and 1,500 yards again. In his last three full 16-game seasons, he has reached that mark all three times. Austin and Wright are both what should be WR3's in a 16-team league, but I like the upside of Jeffery and Brown as my WR4/WR5. If it weren't for Oakland's quarterback situation being what it is, Streater would have a much better shot to have a breakout season.

  • Tight Ends: Typically I don't reach for tight ends. Throughout the draft, there was never a tight end that I felt was a bargain early in the draft so I decided to wait until Round 13 to take the best available tight end, which turned out to be Bennett. Bennett finished with career highs across the board: 55 receptions, 626 yards and five touchdowns.

  • Kickers and Defense: As always, I will take the best available team defense with my second-to-last pick and the best available kicker with my last pick.

As a reminder, we will centralize links to our mocks here and you can conduct your own free mocks here.

Tomorrow I will do a 10-team mock using standard scoring with the No. 10 pick.

My updated 2013 fantasy football rankings: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 08:59 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

June 02, 2013

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Per Day (6/2/13): 12 Teams, No. 5 Pick, PPR Scoring

Last preseason, we conducted one fantasy football mock draft per day using a mock draft simulator powered by FantasyPros.

Starting yesterday, we have begun conducting and posting a draft per day with a 12-team standard-scoring mock draft. We will track all of them here on this centralized page.

Like last year, I will vary the size of the league, the scoring format and draft slot and then post the results of my team with comments.

For today's mock, it is based on point-per-reception (PPR) scoring leagues with 12 teams and I had the No. 5 pick. The league starts one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, one kicker and one team defense.

Here are my picks:

Here are some thoughts by position:

  • Quarterbacks: Like with yesterday's standard-scoring mock, the strategy was to draft the last top-12 quarterback available. That happened with Romo at pick 9.05. As one of six quarterbacks to throw it 600-plus times last season, Romo set a career high with 4,903 passing yards, which ranked third in the NFL. With the exception of an injury-shortened season in 2010, Romo has at least 25 passing touchdowns in five of the past six seasons. I am content going into the season with Romo as my starting quarterback.

  • Running Backs: It always worries me to not take a running back with my first pick and to not have at least two running backs after my first three picks. Despite waiting to the fourth round to get my second running back, this team has plenty of depth at the position with Gore and Ballard backing up Lynch and MJD. Both Lynch and Gore are coming off back-to-back 1,200-yard seasons, MJD will be playing for his next contract and Ballard should get plenty of carries based on comments made by Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton to Dan Pompei.

  • Wide Receivers: If this were a "real" draft of a "fake" football team, I would have considered going running back with my first pick. Since it was a "fake" draft of a "fake" football team, there are no real consequences of seeing how my team would turn out with Johnson. For the record (and although it shouldn't factor much into fantasy decisions), Megatron is also my favorite NFL player so I might be a little more willing to take him earlier than other "fake" drafters. I had the opportunity to take any WR other than Calvin, Brandon Marshall or A.J. Green with my second pick. Perhaps my team would have looked better with Ray Rice and Dez Bryant than it does with Johnson and Lynch as my first two picks. All of that said, WR is my deepest position and I expect a bounce-back season from Fitzgerald (see my projection here) and believe Colston is typically undervalued (see my projection here). Unlike yesterday's draft, I was able to land Josh Gordon, who I mentioned will be one of my most targeted receivers. He has the potential for a huge season in Norv Turner's vertical passing attack. Coming off his first-ever 1,000-yard season, Moore is an underrated receiver and a good value as an WR5.

  • Tight Ends: Among the four main positions, tight end is clearly my weakest. I debated taking Dennis Pitta, who could be in store for a breakout season, with pick 7.05, but I opted for more running back depth instead. Pitta was selected with pick 7.09. Myers should have a solid season playing with Eli Manning.

  • Kickers and Defense: As always, I will take the best available team defense with my second-to-last pick and the best available kicker with my last pick.

Tomorrow I will do a 16-team mock using standard scoring.

As a reminder, we will centralize links to our mocks here and you can conduct your own free mocks here.

My updated 2013 fantasy football rankings: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 12:31 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)




Previous 15 Entries

2014 NFL Mock Draft Update (6/2/13): Jadeveon Clowney still No. 1 Pick Jun 2, 2013
Fantasy Football Mock Draft Per Day (6/1/13): 12 Teams, No. 8 Pick, Standard Scoring Jun 1, 2013
Fantasy Football Dynasty Mock Draft: Round 12 Complete May 30, 2013
Fantasy Football Dynasty Mock Draft: Round 11 Complete May 30, 2013
Fantasy Football Dynasty Mock Draft: Round 10 Complete May 28, 2013
Report: Maurice Jones-Drew charged with battery May 28, 2013
Fantasy Football Dynasty Mock Draft: Round 9 Complete May 27, 2013
Fantasy Football Dynasty Mock Draft: Round 8 Completed May 25, 2013
Fantasy Football Dynasty Mock Draft: Round 7 Complete May 23, 2013
Fantasy Football Dynasty Mock Draft: Round 6 Complete May 18, 2013
Fantasy Football Dynasty Mock Draft: Round 5 Complete May 16, 2013
2014 NFL Mock Draft Updated: Jadeveon Clowney still the No. 1 pick May 14, 2013
Fantasy Football Dynasty Mock Draft: Round 4 Complete May 12, 2013
Fantasy Football Dynasty Mock Draft: Round 3 Complete May 12, 2013
2013 NFL Division Winner Polls Set Up May 11, 2013


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