2016 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Round 8
- Mock start date: Sunday, August 7th- Mock end date: Sunday, August 14th
Scoring: This mock draft is based on a standard-scoring format and is for the 2016 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.
In this mock draft, four of our contributors -- Kevin Hanson, Brendan Donahue, Sean Beazley and Dan Yanotchko -- will each draft for three (of 12) teams.
Note: While this is a "slow" mock, we will post picks as they are made and Hanson will add comments for the picks as well.
View Round: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 | By Teams - By Pos.
Here is Round 8 of our 2016 Fantasy Football Mock Draft:
8.01 - Sean Beazley (Team 3): Tavon Austin, WR, Los Angeles Rams
Even though Austin had just 473 receiving yards, the versatile receiver had a total of 907 yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns including a punt return touchdown. Finishing as a top-20 fantasy wide receiver (WR27 in PPR) in 2015, Austin should lead the team's weak receiving corps in fantasy production once again even if he doesn't double his receptions total as Fisher has suggested.
8.02 - Brendan Donahue (Team 3): Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans
Joining DeMarco Murray as the other half of their "exotic smashmouth" backfield, Henry possesses great speed for his size (6-3, 247). Murray is expected to be the lead back, but Henry could also approach double-digit carries per game, or close to it. Plus, if Murray struggles for whatever reason again, Henry could see his role expand as the season progresses.
8.03 - Kevin Hanson (Team 3): Delanie Walker, TE, Tennessee Titans
In his third season with the Titans, Walker blew away previous career highs in receptions (94) and yards (1,088) and tied a previous career high in touchdowns (six). Walker had 52-plus yards in each of his final 12 games of the season and due to that level of consistency, he finished as a top-12 fantasy tight end in 11 of 16 weeks last year. While he may not repeat last year's production, he's my TE5 heading into 2016.
8.04 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Coby Fleener, TE, New Orleans Saints
With 50-plus catches in each of the past three seasons, Fleener should have an opportunity to exceed that production by a considerable amount. In the team's first season without Jimmy Graham, Ben Watson essentially came out of nowhere to finish as a top-eight fantasy tight end in 2015. Playing with Drew Brees and with Watson gone, Fleener could not have landed in a better spot as a free agent.
8.05 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 3): Blake Bortles, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars
In his second season, Bortles threw for 4,428 yards, 35 touchdowns and 18 interceptions and ran for 310 yards and two more scores. Bortles needs to cut down on the turnovers and he's unlikely to repeat the 35 touchdowns, but he was consistent in terms of fantasy production last year. Finishing with the fourth-most fantasy points among quarterbacks, Bortles was a top-10 weekly performer 10 times last season.
8.06 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 2): Willie Snead, WR, New Orleans Saints
Starting opposite Brandin Cooks, Snead nearly reached the 1,000-yard mark with a 69/984/3 stat line. Snead didn't have many big games, but he had at least four receptions in 11 of 16 games. Based on my projections, Snead could give the Saints a pair of 1,000-yard wideouts in 2016.
Snead appeared on my list of 12 Undervalued Players in Fantasy Football Drafts
8.07 - Sean Beazley (Team 2): Carson Palmer, QB, Arizona Cardinals
Palmer set career highs in passing yards (4,671, fourth-most in the NFL) and passing touchdowns (35, second-most) in 2015 as the Cardinals led the NFL in total offense and finished second in scoring offense. With a talented trio of wide receivers in addition to one of the league's best young running backs, Palmer should finish as a top-10 fantasy QB with the upside to once again finish as a top-five fantasy QB. Through Week 16, Palmer threw for 300-plus yards and/or multiple touchdowns in all but two games last season.
8.08 - Sean Beazley (Team 1): T.J. Yeldon, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Missing four games as a rookie, Yeldon averaged more than 18 touches per game but finished with just two rushing touchdowns. With the team signing free-agent Chris Ivory in the offseason, Yeldon's workload should decline on a per-game basis. In fact, I'd prefer Ivory over Yeldon and I took Ivory at a few picks later.
8.09 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
Ertz set career highs in 2015 with 75 catches for 853 yards, but he had just two touchdowns. Ertz was especially good over the final four games of the season with a 35/450/1 line during that span. Obviously, he'll slow from his end-of-season torrid pace, but hopefully Ertz can build upon last year's positive momentum. Beyond Jordan Matthews, the Eagles have a bunch of question marks at receiver.
8.10 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Julius Thomas, TE, Jacksonville Jaguars
Missing much of training camp and the first four games last season, Thomas did not make the impact that he or the team expected when they signed him to a lucrative free-agent contract. Thomas should post much better numbers in 2016 provided he can stay healthy, but he has missed multiple games in each of his three seasons as a starter.
8.11 - Kevin Hanson (Team 1): Chris Ivory, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Rushing for more than 1,000 yards for the first time in his career, Ivory finished 2015 as a top-12 fantasy back (RB8 in STD, RB12 in PPR). Signing a free-agent deal with the Jaguars, Ivory will be part of a 1-2 punch with Yeldon in 2016 and may not get as many carries as he had last season.
That said, Ivory is expected to get the larger share of the workload split with Yeldon in addition to the majority of goal-line carries. And even though only the Lions ran the ball on a lower percentage of plays last season, I expect the Jags to run the ball more often in 2016 given the team's improved outlook.
8.12 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 1): Marvin Jones, WR, Detroit Lions
Jones set career highs in both receptions (65) and yards (816) in his final season with the Bengals last year. While the Lions should be more balanced this year, no team threw the ball on a higher percentage of their plays in 2015 (as noted above). And while Golden Tate should lead the receiving corps in targets and production, the retirement of Megatron and the team's relative lack of depth at receiver should lead to new career highs in catches and yards for Jones.
> Continue to Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Round 8
> Go back to Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Round 6
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