2014 Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft: Round 3

Scoring: This mock draft is based on re-draft leagues (2014 season only) and based on point-per-reception (PPR) scoring. Passing touchdowns are worth four points while rushing and receiving touchdowns are worth six points. Receptions are worth one point. In addition, one point is earned per 25 passing yards, 10 rushing yards and 10 receiving yards.

Mock Draft Start Date: Saturday, July 12th
Mock Draft End Date: TBD

Four of our site's contributors — Kevin Hanson, Brendan Donahue, Sean Beazley and Dan Yanotchko — will make picks for three teams of this 12-team mock. The mock will go 14 rounds with no kickers or team defenses selected.

Although this is a slow draft, we will post picks as they occur, along with comments from Kevin Hanson, instead of waiting until the entire mock draft is complete.

#459437753 / gettyimages.com

Rounds: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Teams

Here are Round 3 results:

3.01 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Andre Ellington, RB, Arizona Cardinals

Coach Bruce Arians obviously exaggerated Ellington's potential workload ("25-30 touches per game"), but it's clear that his fantasy value gets a boost in 2014 with the opportunity to be the team's featured back.

Last season, he outproduced Rashard Mendenhall, who has since retired, on a per-carry basis — and by a lot. In 2013, Ellington gained 652 yards on 118 carries (5.5 YPC) and added 39 receptions for 371 yards and four total touchdowns.

3.02 - Sean Beazley (Team 1): C.J. Spiller, RB, Buffalo Bills

Fantasy Football Mock Drafts
Using our Mock Draft Simulator, we have begun a series of daily mock drafts and posted the results.

-> View all fantasy football mocks
-> Complete mocks with our simulator for free
One year after his 2012 breakout season, many (including me) figured Spiller would be onto bigger and better things. After all, Fred Jackson was another year north of 30 and the team had a new coaching staff that figured to bump up Spiller's usage. The plan was to give him the ball until "he throws up."

Instead, it was fantasy owners with upset stomachs as Spiller was a huge disappointment. His yards-per-carry average dropped from 6.0 in 2012 to 4.6 last year. A high-ankle sprain sustained in Week 4 was at least partly to blame.

At least based on estimates from the team's website, Spiller is expected to get around 20 touches per game, but that projection seems a bit optimistic.

3.03 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 1): Keenan Allen, WR, San Diego Chargers

Along with Cincinnati's A.J. Green, New Orleans' Marques Colston, Allen became the third rookie receiver to reach the 1,000-yard milestone in the past nine seasons.

Allen led the Chargers in receiving across the board with 71 catches for 1,046 yards and eight touchdowns. Once the calendar turned October, Allen was especially good. In the 14 games played in October through January including the playoffs, Allen had six 100-yard games and scored 10 touchdowns.

There are a couple of receivers still on the board that I'd take before Allen, but there is a lot to like about the soon-to-be second-year receiver.

3.04 - Kevin Hanson (Team 1): Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos

Manning, a (now) five-time league MVP, broke the single-season records for both passing yards (5,477) and touchdowns (55) previously held by Drew Brees and Tom Brady, respectively, as well as numerous other records.

As dominant as Manning was with his record-setting full-season numbers, he was remarkably consistent and dominant on a weekly basis. Throwing a touchdown in every game last season, Manning had only one game (excluding the playoffs) with less than two touchdowns. In addition, he had more games (nine) with four or more touchdowns than he had with less than four scores (seven).

Typically, I prefer to wait on quarterback, but I'd be willing to consider (and take, in this case) Manning in the third round.

* DraftKings: Get a 100-percent bonus (up to $600) when you sign up.

3.05 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 2): Shane Vereen, RB, New England Patriots

I expected big things from Vereen in 2013 and things got off to a great start for him last year, sort of. Vereen carried the ball 14 times for 101 yards and added seven receptions for 58 yards in the opener, but unfortunately he also broke his wrist in that game, which landed him on short-term IR. In eight games, Vereen had 208 rushing yards as well as 47 receptions for 427 yards and a total of four touchdowns.

He's clearly better in PPR formats and if you double Vereen's numbers for a full-season pace, he would have finished with 1,270 yards from scrimmage — that would have been good for 14th among RBs last year — and 94 receptions.

3.06 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Toby Gerhart, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

With a Calvin/Marshall start to this team, there were already 17 running backs off the board before this pick. Although I'd prefer him to be my RB2, I like Gerhart more than most as he's my 13th-ranked fantasy running back.

Being second on the depth chart behind Adrian Peterson, it was no surprise that Gerhart did not get as many opportunities to carry the ball as you would expect a running back drafted in the second round to get. Over four seasons, Gerhart had a total of 276 carries for 1,305 yards (4.7 YPC) and five touchdowns. In addition, he had 77 receptions for 600 yards and three touchdowns.

By signing a three-year deal with the Jaguars, Gerhart will get an opportunity to be the team's featured back. Coach Gus Bradley has said that Gerhart could get up to 20 touches per game.

3.07 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers

Not only did Rodgers miss several games due to injury, so did Cobb, who played only six games last season. The dynamic 23-year-old receiver averaged career highs in receiving yards (72.2 per game) and rushing yards (13.0 per game) when he was on the field.

With good health in 2014, Cobb should have a huge season. Based on last year's averages, Cobb would have finished with 1,363 YFS had he maintained that pace over a full 16-game season.

[Related: 2014 fantasy football profile for Jordy Nelson]

3.08 - Sean Beazley (Team 2): Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers

Rodgers has a combined passer rating of 112.7 over the past three seasons with a 101:20 TD-to-INT ratio during that span. Over the past three years, he has averaged 4,589.6 passing yards per 16 games.

In addition, Rodgers has consistently posted solid rushing stats for a quarterback. Since becoming the starter in 2008, he has rushed for an average of 279 yards and 3.3 touchdowns per every 16 games.



3.09 - Sean Beazley (Team 3): Pierre Garcon, WR, Washington Redskins

While Garcon set career highs in receptions (a league-high 113) and yards (1,346), the addition of DeSean Jackson means that Garcon will likely get fewer than the 182 targets he had last season. That said, I don't expect a huge drop in production and can see him finish with around 1,200 yards in 2014.

3.10 - Brendan Donahue (Team 3): Julius Thomas, TE, Denver Broncos

Among tight ends, there was no bigger fantasy bargain than Denver's Julius Thomas as TE23 in 2013. Despite ranking ninth at the position in targets (89), only two tight ends had more fantasy points than Thomas last year: Graham and San Francisco's Vernon Davis.

Along with Graham and Davis, he was one of three tight ends with double-digit touchdowns and finished with 65 receptions for 788 yards and 12 touchdowns in his 14 regular-season games last year.

3.11 - Kevin Hanson (Team 3): Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots

2014 Fantasy Football Profiles
Some of our fantasy football profiles:

-> 2014 Montee Ball Fantasy Football Profile
-> 2014 Jordy Nelson Football Fantasy Profile
-> 2014 Toby Gerhart Football Fantasy Profile
-> 2014 Jordan Reed Football Fantasy Profile

-> More Profiles - Fantasy Football Projections
As Yogi Berra would say, it's déjà vu all over again. While the injuries are different, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is coming off a season-ending injury that required surgery for the second year in a row. One year after a total of five forearm and back surgeries, Gronkowski suffered a torn ACL in early December, but early indications are that he will be ready for the 2014 season opener.

Missing games to start and end last season, Gronk played in only seven games, but he averaged 84.6 yards per game and 15.2 yards per reception, both of which were career highs. More than anything, Gronkowski is a dominant force in the red zone as he has a total of 43 touchdowns in 50 career games.

If Gronk were a lock for the start of the season, you could argue that he should be in the conversation to be the first TE off the board. Either way, if he were a lock for the start of the season, there's no way he'd be available at the end of Round 3. He's more than worth the risk here.

3.12 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 3): Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals

I don't dislike Fitzgerald here, but there are a few receivers I like better at this spot. Fitzgerald failed to reach 1,000 yards for the second season in a row, but he ended a streak of seasons with single-digit touchdowns. Last year, Fitz had 82 receptions for 954 yards and 10 touchdowns. While he didn't miss any games (for his sixth consecutive season), Fitzgerald dealt with some nagging injuries in the middle of the season.

Looking to join a 2014 fantasy football league? Yahoo Fantasy Football - Sign Up Today!


> Continue to Round 4
> Go back to Round 2

2014 Fantasy Football rankings: More fantasy football resources: Keep track of our site's updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle