2013 Fantasy Football Mock Draft - Point-Per-Reception (PPR) Scoring
Scoring: This mock draft is based on re-draft leagues (2013 season only). Passing touchdowns are worth
four points while rushing and receiving touchdowns are worth six points. In addition, one point is earned per
25 passing yards, 10 rushing yards and 10 receiving yards plus one point per reception.
For this mock draft, four EDSFootball.com contributors will draft for three teams per round.
We will draft 15 rounds and I will include commentary for each of the 180 picks. This draft will only include QBs, RBs, WRs and TEs — no DEF/K.
This is a slow draft that is conducted offline, but picks/rounds of the draft will be posted as they are completed.
6.01 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 3): Tavon Austin, WR, St. Louis Rams
The Rams have lost Danny Amendola via free agency, but they traded up in the draft this year to select Austin with the eighth overall pick. Austin has the ability to make huge plays any time he touches the ball whether he is lined up in the slot or backfield as well as in the return game.
Not only is Austin explosive (4.34 forty), he is strong (14 reps of 225 pounds) for his size (174 pounds) and durable (never missed a game or practice at West Virginia). Last year, Austin had six 100-yard receiving games including 215 yards against Baylor. In addition, he had a 344-yard rushing game (on 21 carries) against Oklahoma on 11/17.
There are several receivers that I'd prefer over Austin here, however.
Garcon's tenure as a Redskin got off to a great start: four receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter of his first game. Unfortunately, he suffered a toe injury on that touchdown that kept him out the rest of that game and six other games.
Provided he can stay healthy for a full season, Garcon, who turns 27 in August, should be in store for a career year with the Redskins in 2013. With one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL throwing him the ball, the best is yet to come for Garcon.
Smith has the skill set to be more productive than his numbers would indicate. While many expected a breakout season last year, his numbers were nearly identical year over year. He finished with 49 receptions (50 in 2011) for 855 yards (841) and eight (seven) touchdowns.
Perhaps Smith will break out this year; or perhaps his production will be eerily similar to his 2012 (and 2011) numbers. With the loss of Anquan Boldin (trade) and Dennis Pitta (injury), however, I expect Smith to take a big step forward in 2013.
When the Panthers drafted Cam Newton, the No. 1 overall pick in 2011, Smith was coming off one of the worst seasons (46/554/2) of his NFL career.
In the two seasons with Newton under center, Smith has a total of 152 receptions for 2,568 yards and 11 touchdowns.
At 34 years of age, Smith may not have many more productive seasons left, but he should have a productive 2013 season.
6.05 - Sean Beazley (Team 2): Eric Decker, WR, Denver Broncos
Along with Demaryius Thomas, Decker had a career season last year: 85 receptions (on 123 targets) for 1,064 yards and 13 touchdowns.
With the addition of Wes Welker to the team's receiving corps to replace Brandon Stokley, Decker will likely see less targets over the next year or two. The trio of Welker (175), Thomas (141) and Decker (123) had a total of 439 targets last year. Of that group, I would expect Welker's and Decker's targets to see a bigger dip than those for DT.
Last year was a year to forget for Mendenhall. Returning from a torn ACL he suffered in the final game of the 2011 season, he rushed for only 182 yards and no touchdowns on 51 carries in 2012.
When he had his most productive seasons with the Steelers (2009 to 2011), Bruce Arians was the team's offensive coordinator. Now the pair is reunited in Arizona as Mendenhall signed a one-year deal with the Cardinals.
The team has Ryan Williams, who has really struggled with durability, and drafted Stepfan Taylor and Andre Ellington, two backs I like longer term. Arians has a history of featuring one guy and based on his history with Arians, Mendenhall would seem to have the best shot at being the guy.
6.07 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Matthew Stafford, QB, 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.
I expect Stafford to throw for close to 5,000 yards and 30 touchdowns in 2013; not bad for the sixth round.
After catching only two passes for 30 yards in 2011, Shorts broke out in a big way in 2012. He finished the season with 55 receptions, 979 yards and seven touchdowns in 14 games.
Excluding the two games he missed after the bye, Shorts had at least 54 yards in all nine games he played during that stretch. From Week 7 until the end of the season, Shorts had 774 receiving yards, which ranked him 10th in the NFL, despite missing two games.
6.09 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 1): Mike Wallace, WR, Miami Dolphins
Despite setting a career low with an average of 13.1 yards per reception last year, Wallace, who signed a five-year deal with the Dolphins, provides the Dolphins with the explosive, big-play receiver that they lacked.
Although he is coming off a down year, Wallace has averaged 1,095 yards and scored a total of 26 touchdowns over the past three seasons.
6.10 - Kevin Hanson (Team 1): Ben Tate, RB, Houston Texans
This was a bit of a reach and a pick made while Arian Foster was still on the PUP list and appearing to have his Week 1 status in question. If you own Foster, which this team does, Tate clearly needs to be a target for that team, but hopefully a round later than here.
The biggest drawback with owning Tate is that he plays behind Foster, one of the best and most productive running backs in the NFL. The Texans have no problem giving Foster the lion's share of touches. Foster had 351 carries last season; Tate had only 65 (in 11 games).
Two seasons ago, Tate had 175 carries for 942 yards and began his professional career that season with back-to-back 100-yard games. If Foster misses a few games, Tate becomes a must-start in fantasy during that stretch.
Through two NFL seasons after being selected in the first round, Ingram has failed to live up to his vast potential. A major part of the problem has been his health, but he is 100 percent for the first time of his professional career, per Larry Holder of New Orleans Times Picayune.
If he can stay healthy for the full season, the 23-year-old running back could be in store for a career year in the Saints' high-powered offense. Holder writes that a 1,000-yard and 10-TD season is "not unrealistic" for Ingram this year.
Provided he can stay healthy for a full season, Jackson could have a bounce-back season in Kelly's up-tempo offense. Playing in only 11 games last season, Jackson finished last season with 45 receptions for 700 yards and two touchdowns, all of which were career lows.
In addition, he had minus seven rushing yards (on three carries) and minus three return yards (on one return). In his first three seasons (2008 to 2010), Jackson scored both a rushing touchdown and a return touchdown (or two) every season.
Jackson appears likely to resume punt-return duties for the Eagles in 2013. It's possible that the punt returns give you an extra six fantasy points provided your scoring system rewards individual players — not just team defenses. Then again, the (relatively more) dangerous activity could cause DJax to miss time by putting him in harm's way more often.
