2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Round 3

Scoring: This mock draft is based on standard-scoring fantasy football leagues for the 2015 season only (i.e., not keeper or dynasty leagues). 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.

Mock Draft Start Date: Saturday, May 9th
Mock Draft End Date: Friday, May 22nd

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 12 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, as opposed to waiting for the entire mock draft to be completed.

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

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Here are the Round 3 results of our 2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft:

3.01 - Sean Beazley (Team 1): Jimmy Graham, TE, Seattle Seahawks

With a shoulder injury slowing Graham down, he had 54 yards or less in six of his final seven games last season and finished with only 889 yards, a four-year low. The good news, however, is that Graham avoided surgery on his shoulder. Over his past four seasons, Graham has averaged 89 catches, 1,099 yards and 12 touchdowns per year. With Graham traded to the Seahawks, he goes from an offense that averaged 41.2 pass attempts per game, second-most in the NFL last year, to one that averages the fewest (28.4/G) although the red-zone opportunities should remain relatively consistent.

3.02 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers

So far, this team has an all-Green Bay roster with Eddie Lacy, Randall Cobb and now Rodgers. All things being equal, I'd prefer to not have my quarterback, top running back and top wide receiver on the same team, but it's not something that I would avoid -- and clearly Brendan doesn't have any concerns about it either.

The reigning NFL Most Valuable Player, Rodgers was also the top-scoring fantasy quarterback as well. Since becoming Green Bay's starting quarterback seven years ago, Rodgers has finished as either the No. 1 or No. 2 fantasy quarterback in six of those seven seasons with the lone exception being his injury-shortened (broken clavicle) 2013 campaign. In his past four seasons, Rodgers has compiled a combined 139:25 TD-to-INT ratio with an average of 8.5 yards per attempt, 112.6 passer rating and 67.0 completion percentage.

3.03 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 1): Alfred Morris, RB, Washington Redskins

Morris set career lows in carries (265), yards (1,074) and yards per carry (4.1) last season. The addition of Brandon Scherff with a top-five selection in the draft and Bill Callahan to the coaching staff should bode well for Alf in 2015. Even though the team drafted running back Matt Jones in the third round, Jay Gruden says that Morris will continue in his featured back role.

3.04 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 2): Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts

Throwing for 4,761 yards and a league-leading 40 touchdowns, both of which were career highs, Luck's 40 TDs last season nearly equalled his total from his first two seasons combined (46 TDs). During the season, Luck had the second-longest streak of 300-yard games (eight) in NFL history; only Drew Brees (nine games, twice) has ever had a longer streak.

Like with Rodgers, Luck gets a boost from his mobility and he rushed for 263 yards and three touchdowns last year. Luck has rushed 62-64 times in all three seasons with at least 255 yards each year and a total of 12 touchdowns. It wouldn't surprise me if Luck finishes as the highest-scoring fantasy quarterback in 2015, but either way, he and Rodgers are close and alone in the top tier of fantasy quarterback options for 2015.

3.05 - Kevin Hanson (Team 1): Carlos Hyde, RB, San Francisco 49ers

With Frank Gore signing a free-agent deal with the Colts, Hyde projects atop the 49ers depth chart at running back although they signed Reggie Bush in free agency and drafted Mike Davis as well. With Gore ahead of him last year on the depth chart, Hyde had just 83 carries for 333 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie. Not only will the volume of his workload expand significantly, but I expect his effectiveness on a per-carry basis to increase from last year's 4.0 yards-per-carry average. Still a big back that could thrive at the goal line, Hyde has shed roughly 10 pounds to the mid 220-pound range.

3.06 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Lamar Miller, RB, Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins coaching staff seemed reluctant to give Miller as much work as his fantasy owners would have liked, but Miller was highly productive on a per-touch basis (5.09 YPC, 7.24 Y/R). With more than 15 carries in only four games last season, Miller still managed to post his first-ever 1,000-yard season (1,099 rushing yards). In addition, Miller was very consistent throughout the season as he finished as a top-21 fantasy running back in 12 of 16 weeks. Although they didn't draft Jay Ajayi until the fifth round (due to long-term concerns about his knee), Ajayi profiles as a potential three-down back in this league and that puts a limit on Miller's upside, but I still expect him to be a solid RB2 for this team.

3.07 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans

Hopkins delivered with a 76/1,210/6 second-year stat line and emerged as the team's most productive wide receiver. In fact, the Texans released Andre Johnson this offseason. If there's any concern when it comes to Hopkins taking another step forward in his third season, it's the team's less-than-inspiring quarterback play, but he's a strong WR2 (behind Julio Jones) for Brendan heading into 2015.

3.08 - Brendan Donahue (Team 3): T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts

Hilton had a breakout 82/1,345/7 season last year. And that breakout year would have been even better if he weren't limited down the stretch by a hamstring injury. With good health, I'd expect Hilton to set new career highs in both receptions and yards this season.

3.09 - Sean Beazley (Team 2): Todd Gurley, RB, St. Louis Rams

Based on his long-term view, I'm as high on Gurley as anyone and the talented rookie ranks fourth in my dynasty running back rankings. In terms of his re-draft value, however, I expect the Rams to be extra cautious with the young (turns 21 in August) running back as he continues to rehab from his ACL injury. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if Gurley began the season on the PUP list and I'd probably wait another round before taking Gurley in re-draft leagues. When healthy though, Gurley will be the centerpiece of Jeff Fisher's offense and has a rare combination of size and speed to run over and/or outrun opposing tacklers.

3.10 - Sean Beazley (Team 3): Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks

Wilson would have been a productive fantasy running back based on his rushing stats alone. His 849 rushing yards were tied for 16th in the NFL with Denver's C.J. Anderson. It is probably unrealistic to expect another season of 800-plus rushing yards, but Wilson has rushed for at least 489 yards in all three seasons. In large part to his gaudy rushing statistics, Wilson finished third last season in fantasy points scored behind only Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck.

Despite playing in a run-dominant offense, Wilson became the first quarterback in league history to throw at least 20 touchdowns with 10 or fewer interceptions in each of the first three seasons to begin a career. Wilson's volume of pass attempts may not jump a ton in 2015, but the Seahawks blockbuster trade for tight end Jimmy Graham significantly boosts the team's weapons in the passing game.

3.11 - Kevin Hanson (Team 3): Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints

Once again, Ingram missed multiple games and has now missed a total of 14 games over his four-year career. That said, Ingram set career highs in the 13 games he did play in 2014 -- 226 carries, 964 rushing yards, nine touchdowns and 29 receptions. Re-signing with the Saints, Ingram should lead the team's three-headed rushing attack in carries as a transition to more of a run-based offense appears to be in the offing.

3.12 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 3): Brandin Cooks, WR, New Orleans Saints

Playing only 10 games as a rookie before landing on season-ending Injured Reserve, Cooks, like most rookie receivers, was inconsistent on a week-to-week basis. That said, Cooks had three top-12 weekly performances last season including two in his final four games before the injury. Through Week 11, his 86.3 fantasy points ranked 25th among wide receivers.

Going into 2015, I expect better production from Cooks on a per-game basis with a full offseason to get more comfortable with the offense. In addition, the team traded away two of its best weapons -- Jimmy Graham and Kenny Stills -- in the passing game, which will help to pave the way for Cooks to have a breakout season.

> Continue to Round 4 of our fantasy football mock draft
> Go back to Round 2 of our fantasy football mock draft

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