2015 Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft: Round 4

Scoring: This mock draft is based on point-per-reception (PPR) scoring formats and is 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 or 10 receiving yards and per reception.

Mock Draft Start Date: Monday, June 22nd
Mock Draft End Date: Tuesday, July 7th

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 15 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.

Round: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 - Teams | Positions

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Here are Round 4 results of our 2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft:

4.01 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 3): Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints

Durability has been a concern for Ingram with three or more missed games in three of his four NFL seasons. When he was on the field, however, Ingram averaged a career-high 17.4 rush attempts and 74.2 rushing yards per game while scoring nine times in 13 games. By trading two of their top pass-catchers and adding reinforcements to their offensive line, the transition to more of a run-game commitment should begin in earnest this season.

4.02 - Kevin Hanson (Team 3): 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-20 fantasy running back in 12 of 16 weeks.

With the Phins selecting Jay Ajayi in this year's draft, Miller's upside is perhaps capped as Ajayi has the skill set of a three-down back. That said, Miller averaged only 15.88 touches per game last season and it's difficult for me to imagine him averaging less than that in 2015.

4.03 - Sean Beazley (Team 3): 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. Behind Gore last year, Hyde had just 83 carries for 333 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie.

Not only will 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. On a positive note, Hyde has shed some weight and is now in the "mid 220-pound range," which should improve his elusiveness yet still allow him to flourish near the goal line.

4.04 - Sean Beazley (Team 2): Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

Better suited for his return to a change-of-pace role, Bernard should still have the opportunity to be productive as an RB2 in PPR leagues this year although he's Sean's RB1. As beat writer Paul Dehner Jr. noted earlier this offseason, "... once settling into a complementary role the final three weeks, [Bernard] returned to the explosive, multi-dimensional player the Bengals team envisioned."

Without a doubt, Jeremy Hill is poised for a monster season as the team's featured back. But in the final three games where Hill carried the ball at least 22 times for 100-plus yards, Bernard finished as a weekly top-12 running back in PPR scoring in each of those three games.

4.05 - Brendan Donahue (Team 3): Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Denver Broncos

In his first season with the Broncos, Sanders blew his previous career highs out of the water. With previous career highs set in 2013 of 67/740/6, Sanders finished with 101 receptions for 1,404 yards and nine touchdowns. While the Broncos offense should be more run-pass balanced than last year, Sanders is a solid WR2 for Brendan.

4.06 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Todd Gurley, RB, St. Louis Rams

Arguably the best running back prospect since Minnesota's Adrian Peterson, Gurley ended the drought of first-round running backs and possesses all of the physical tools to be a dominant RB1-type back for years to come. With his combination of size and speed, Gurley has the ability to run over and/or outrun opposing tacklers. Still only 20 years old (turns 21 in August), Gurley's rehab from his torn ACL likely means that the Rams will be cautious at the beginning the season and it wouldn't surprise me if he began the season on the PUP list. Because of the uncertainty with Gurley for the start of the season, there are a few backs that I'd prefer over him at this point.

4.07 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 2): Joique Bell, RB, Detroit Lions

There are some pauses for concern with Bell: (1) back-to-back seasons with less than 4.0 YPC, (2) the team's selection of Ameer Abdullah in the second round and (3) a couple of ("minor") offseason surgeries. With that said, Bell, the 20th RB off the board in this mock, still finished with the 13th-most fantasy points among running backs in PPR scoring last season. Not only did he set career highs with 223 carries for 860 yards, but Bell has a total of 139 receptions over the past three seasons.

4.08 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 1): Jarvis Landry, WR, Miami Dolphins

Among rookies, only his ex-LSU teammate Odell Beckham (91) had more receptions than Landry (84) last season. Over the final nine games of the season, Landry had a minimum of five receptions each game and racked up a total of 59 catches over that span. In addition, he had at least nine targets in six of his final eight games. While this is a little early (WR20) for Landry for my taste, he's clearly a stronger option in PPR formats and should improve upon his 84/758/5 rookie numbers, especially with the majority of the team's new pass-catchers being newcomers.

4.09 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Andre Johnson, WR, Indianapolis Colts

After back-to-back 1,400-yard seasons, Johnson finished with 85 receptions for just 936 yards and three touchdowns in 2014. Johnson's 62.4 Y/G and 11.0 Y/R were his lowest since 2005. Released by the Texans this offseason, Johnson signed with the Colts and gets a major upgrade in quarterback situation with Andrew Luck. Johnson, who turns 34 in July, may never record another 1,400-yard season, but 1,000-plus yards seems likely. In fact, Reggie Wayne's age-34 season (106/1,355/5) with the Colts gives some hope that he can really outperform this draft slot.

4.10 - Kevin Hanson (Team 1): Brandon Marshall, WR, New York Jets

A lot went wrong for Marshall and the Bears offense last season as he missed multiple games, was limited in others, Jay Cutler struggled and was benched, the coaching staff was replaced, etc. Posting his lowest totals for both receptions (61) and yards (721) since his rookie season, Marshall was traded to the Jets in the offseason and gets a fresh start (even if the passing offense isn't an upgrade). A return to his 2012 or 2013 numbers appear unlikely, but I expect him to start a new streak of 1,000-yard seasons. Before last year, Marshall had seven consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.

4.11 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Frank Gore, RB, Indianapolis Colts

Earlier in this round, I mentioned there were a few backs that I like more than Gurley, Brendan's pick for one of his other teams; Gore is one of those backs. Offensively, the Colts are a huge upgrade over the 49ers and they ran the second-most plays behind the Eagles while putting up the third-most yards and sixth-most points.

Gore has been remarkably consistent and durable as he rushed for 1,000-plus yards in eight of his past nine seasons with at least 1,100 rushing yards in four consecutive seasons. I'm not sure the streak will continue given his age (32), but Chuck Pagano has said that he still views Gore as an every-down back. One of the league's better pass-catching backs earlier in his career, Gore should be much more involved as a receiver than he has been over the past four seasons (average of 18 catches per season) in San Francisco.

4.12 - Sean Beazley (Team 1): Keenan Allen, WR, San Diego Chargers

While his receptions increased from 71 to 77 in 2014, Allen's yardage (1,046 to 783) and touchdowns (eight to four) both dropped and he finished as only the 48th-highest scoring wide receiver last season. Turning just 23 in April, Allen should have a bounce-back season in 2015.

> Continue to Round 5 of our Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft
> Go back to Round 3 of our Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft

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