2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Round 9

Scoring: This mock draft is based on standard-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.

Mock Draft Start Date: Saturday, August 22nd
Mock Draft End Date: Tuesday, September 1st

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.

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

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Here are Round 9 results of our 2015 Fantasy Football Mock Draft:

9.01 - Dan Yanotchko (Team I): Jason Witten, TE, Dallas Cowboys

Other than his rookie season, Witten's 64 receptions and 703 yards last year set or tied career lows. Witten lacks upside at this point in his career, but he's a solid option that should come close to last year's top-10 performance once again.

9.02 - Kevin Hanson (Team I): Danny Woodhead, RB, San Diego Chargers

Woodhead missed all but three games last season, but prior to the 2014 season, he had finished as a top-30 fantasy running back in three of his previous four seasons. (Woodhead's the RB42 in this mock.) In his first full season with the Chargers (2013), which also coincided with the only full season for Ryan Mathews, Woodhead had 1,034 yards from scrimmage, 76 receptions and eight total touchdowns. Even though Melvin Gordon should get the bulk of early-down work, Woodhead should get the majority of third-down snaps.

9.03 - Brendan Donahue (Team I): Darren McFadden, RB, Dallas Cowboys

Since entering the league as a top-four pick, McFadden has largely disappointed fantasy owners due to durability issues or lack of production. Back in 2010 and 2011, he gave owners a glimpse of what could be with an average of 121.6 YFS per game and 5.27 YPC over 20 games played. For the first six seasons of his career, however, he missed at least three games every season and averaged only 11.17 games per year before finally playing a full 16-game season in 2014. In addition, McFadden has averaged just 3.34 YPC over the past three seasons combined. Having just turned 28, McFadden has some upside if he can stay healthy and get a significant share of the committee's workload.

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9.04 - Brendan Donahue (Team II): 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 for a third straight year. Aside from the Browns (12), no other team threw fewer touchdowns than the Jaguars (15) last season.

9.05 - Sean Beazley (Team I): 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 and nine of them by double digits, Wright saw 10 targets in only one game last season. While it's unlikely that Wright bounces back to his 2013-level production, chemistry between Mariota and Wright have been positive so far so he should improve upon last year's disappointing numbers.

9.06 - Sean Beazley (Team II): Eddie Royal, WR, Chicago Bears

Royal posted a 62/778/7 line last year with the Chargers and finished as a top-32 fantasy wide receiver (both scoring formats). Reunited with Jay Cutler via free agency this offseason, Royal's best season was his rookie campaign (91/980/5 with 109 rushing yards) with Cutler as his quarterback. With positive reports all summer and the injury to Kevin White, Royal has plenty of upside.


9.07 - Dan Yanotchko (Team II): Reggie Bush, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Coming off one of the worst seasons of his career, Bush missed five games and gained a total of only 550 yards from scrimmage (50.0 per game) while averaging just 3.9 yards per carry and scoring just two touchdowns. Released by the Lions, Bush signed with the 49ers and will at least own a change-of-pace role to unproven second-year back Carlos Hyde.

9.08 - Dan Yanotchko (Team III): Jordan Cameron, TE, Miami Dolphins

In 2013, Cameron had a breakout season with 80 receptions for 917 yards and seven touchdowns. When healthy, he is clearly a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. Unfortunately, Cameron missed six games last season and has a history of concussions. Perhaps no injury is more worrisome from a fantasy outlook given the greater susceptibility and unpredictability of a recurrence. If Cameron plays 16 games in 2015, however, he has top-five upside.

9.09 - Kevin Hanson (Team II): 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. With Jeremy Maclin leaving Philadelphia for Kansas City, however, Ertz should become even more involved in the passing game. That said, he was still working with the second-team offense before undergoing a surgery to repair a groin tear, both of which dampen his outlook.

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9.10 - Kevin Hanson (Team III): Duke Johnson, RB, Cleveland Browns

The all-time rushing leader at The U., Johnson's production is especially impressive considering the school's alumni of talented backs (Frank Gore, Edgerrin James, Clinton Portis, etc.). While I like Johnson's skill set and his longer-term outlook, there could be some week-to-week variability in Johnson's rookie-season production. With that said, few running backs have generated as much buzz during the offseason and he appears set for a prominent role as a rookie.

9.11 - Brendan Donahue (Team III): Eric Decker, WR, New York Jets

Unsurprisingly, Decker's first year with the Jets (74/962/5) was worse than his two previous seasons with the Broncos (and Peyton Manning), but he still finished as a top-30 fantasy wide receiver in both standard- and PPR-scoring formats. Both of Decker's 100-yard games came in the final three weeks of the season including a massive 10/221/1 line against the Dolphins in Week 17. Given the team's quarterback situation, Decker's upside is capped, but the addition of Brandon Marshall as a true No. 1 wide receiver should take the attention off of Decker.

9.12 - Sean Beazley (Team III): Knile Davis, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

The best handcuff among fantasy running backs, Davis had some big games when given the opportunity as he finished as a top-eight fantasy running back four times last season. With Jamaal Charles leaving Week 2 early (only two carries) and missing Week 3, Davis had a combined 60 touches for 237 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in those two games.

> Continue to Round 10 of our Fantasy Football Mock Draft
> Go back Round 11 of our Fantasy Football Mock Draft

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