2015 Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft: Round 8

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

View image | gettyimages.com

Here are Round 8 results of our 2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft:

8.01 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 3): Darren Sproles, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

Replacing LeSean McCoy with DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews means that Sproles goes from second in line for touches to third. Recently described by Chip Kelly as a "Swiss army knife," Sproles may have the occasional productive game, but I personally wouldn't reach for the 32-year-old back a couple of rounds earlier than his current PPR ADP (10.03) as Dan did here.

8.02 - Kevin Hanson (Team 3): Julius Thomas, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars

Slowed by injuries, Thomas followed up a breakout 2013 season with only 43 catches for 489 yards, but he once again scored 12 touchdowns. Signing a massive free-agent deal with the Jaguars, Thomas is unlikely to approach that red-zone success again this year. Aside from the Browns (12), no other team threw fewer touchdowns than the Jaguars (15) last season, but he represents a fair value as he's going roughly a round earlier (7.04) in drafts this offseason.

8.03 - Sean Beazley (Team 3): Kendall Wright, WR, Tennessee Titans

One year after his 94/1,079/2 breakout season in 2013, Wright's production dropped year over year to 57/715/6 although the issues at quarterback were at least partly to blame. And even though the Titans lost 14 games including nine of them by double digits, Wright saw 10 targets in only one game last season.

While second-overall pick Marcus Mariota appeared to exceed expectations during OTAs, the ups and downs of an offense led by a rookie quarterback could mean that Wright doesn't have a bounce-back season in 2015. Given that uncertainty, I wouldn't select Wright more than three rounds earlier than his ADP (11.08) as Sean did.

8.04 - Sean Beazley (Team 2): Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons

During the draft process last year, Freeman drew some comparisons to Frank Gore. Meanwhile, new offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said that he "loved" Freeman when evaluating him last year. Averaging just 3.8 yards per carry as a rookie, Freeman had eight or fewer carries in all but one game, but he also finished with 30 receptions. Freeman played on just 21.5 percent of Atlanta's offensive snaps last season, but he should see a huge bump in snaps, touches and production in 2015 even though the Falcons drafted Tevin Coleman.

8.05 - Brendan Donahue (Team 3): Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles

Ertz saw a year-over-year jump from 36 catches and 469 yards as a rookie to 58 catches for 702 yards, 11th-most among tight ends last season. The Eagles used their first-round pick on Nelson Agholor to replace Jeremy Maclin, but Ertz could become more involved in the passing game in 2015.

8.06 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): David Cobb, RB, Tennessee Titans

Last year's first running back selected, Bishop Sankey, was a disappointment for the Titans. With that said, it's certainly possible that Cobb, the team's fifth-round pick this year, could lead the team's backfield in touches as early as his rookie season. Coach Ken Whisenhunt described Cobb as a potential three-down back.

8.07 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 2): Roddy White, WR, Atlanta Falcons

Coming off a disappointing season, White still averaged a respectable 5.71 catches and 65.79 yards per game with seven touchdowns last year. Had he not missed two games, he was on a 16-game pace of 91/1,053/8. With White turning 34 in November and Julio Jones now the clear-cut No. 1 wideout on the team, there may not be too much upside above last season's per-game averages, but he's a solid value here.

8.08 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 1): Percy Harvin, WR, Buffalo Bills

Following his former head coach to Buffalo this offseason, Harvin is a dynamic playmaker in the open field. In 13 games with the Seahawks and Jets last season, Harvin had a total of 51 receptions for 483 yards, 33 carries for 202 yards and three total touchdowns. The drawback with Harvin is that he's the third option, at best, in an offense with subpar quarterback play.

8.09 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Ryan Mathews, RB, San Diego Chargers

Two seasons ago, the oft-injured Mathews played a full 16-game season and rushed for a career-high 1,255 yards. Playing only six games last season and gaining a yard shy of 400 yards from scrimmage, Mathews has now missed multiple games in four of his five NFL seasons. Although Mathews will be (at least) second in line for touches behind DeMarco Murray, the Eagles play at such a fast pace and Murray has his own durability concerns -- especially following a 497-touch season -- that I would not be surprised if Mathews reached 200 carries if (a big if) he can stay healthy.

8.09 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Ryan Mathews, RB, San Diego Chargers

Two seasons ago, the oft-injured Mathews played a full 16-game season and rushed for a career-high 1,255 yards. Playing only six games last season and gaining a yard shy of 400 yards from scrimmage, Mathews has now missed multiple games in four of his five NFL seasons. Although Mathews will be (at least) second in line for touches behind DeMarco Murray, the Eagles play at such a fast pace and Murray has his own durability concerns -- especially following a 497-touch season -- that I would not be surprised if Mathews reached 200 carries if (a big if) he can stay healthy.

8.10 - Kevin Hanson (Team 1): LeGarrette Blount, RB, New England Patriots

As we've seen from Blount in the postseason, he can go from one yard on three carries (vs. BAL) one week to 30 carries for 148 yards and three touchdowns (vs. IND) the next week. Blount's carries in his final six games through the Super Bowl were as follows: 20, eight, 10, three, 30 and 14. With some changes to the team's backfield this offseason, I think his weekly production will be smoothed out some but still a bit volatile. With that said, Blount is more than a two-round discount here from his current ADP (6.07). Plus, Blount is this team's RB4 and not needed on a weekly basis.

8.11 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Ameer Abdullah, RB, Detroit Lions

At only 5-foot-9 and 205 pounds, Abdullah may lack the ideal size to be a bellcow back and he's had some ball-security issues (13 career fumbles) in his collegiate career at Nebraska. That said, Abdullah was highly productive at Nebraska with three consecutive 1,100-yard seasons including back-to-back 1,600-yard campaigns. Among running backs at the 2015 NFL Scouting Combine, Abdullah finished first in the vertical jump (42.5 inches), broad jump (10-10), 3-cone drill (6.79) and 20-yard shuttle (3.95).

Although I expect Joique Bell to still lead the team's backs in workload and fantasy production in 2015, Abdullah will likely see his role within the offense expand over the course of the season. And it's certainly not out of the question that he emerges as the team's lead back by the team the season is up given Bell's relatively weak production on a per-carry basis over the past two seasons (less than 4.0 YPC each season).

8.12 - Sean Beazley (Team 1): DeVante Parker, WR, Miami Dolphins

With the exception of Jarvis Landry, all of Miami's top pass-catchers are newcomers including first-round rookie DeVante Parker. The 6-foot-3 Parker missed the first seven games of the season with a foot injury, but he closed the season with 43 catches for 855 yards and five touchdowns in just six games. Parker gives the Dolphins someone who can develop into a true No. 1 wideout long term, but unfortunately he recently underwent another surgery on the same foot and may miss most/all of training camp.

It's normally a difficult transition for college receivers into the NFL and the lack of reps certainly dampens his re-draft outlook. For me, this is too early for Parker in re-draft formats and more than two rounds earlier than his current ADP (11.06).

> Continue to Round 9 of our Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft
> Go back to Round 7 of our Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft

Play Fantasy Football on Yahoo!: Set up your fantasy league or join a free league