July 28, 2016.
This is a PPR 2016 Fantasy Football Mock Draft I took part in with 11 other members of the forum and followers on Twitter (@walterfootball. As usual, I’ll have analysis of my picks, as well as the best and worst selections every two rounds.
Just a heads up that we have 2016 Fantasy Football Mock Drafts every Wednesday afternoon or evening. Check out the forum or follow me on Twitter to find out when the next mock draft will be.
MY PICKS, ROUNDS 1-2: I hope to learn something every time I do a fantasy football mock draft. This week, I discovered that I had a couple of guys ranked too high. I found this out when they were the top two players remaining, and I wanted other guys ranked beneath them.
The two players in question are Jordy Nelson and Jamaal Charles. Both are dealing with injury issues, and although they might turn out to be fine, I don’t want to select anyone overly risky in the first couple of rounds.
I decided to pick two receivers. Dez Bryant should be able to rebound off a down 2015 season, while Amari Cooper seems poised to have a breakout sophomore campaign.
BEST PICKS, ROUNDS 1-2: I’m not a fan of the running backs in the first two rounds this year, excluding Todd Gurley. That said, Ezekiel Elliott and Lamar Miller at the end of the second frame seem like great values. I’d say the same for Devonta Freeman as well, but then I noticed that Nick Foles already chose Julio Jones. Maybe others have had a different experience than me, but I hate having a RB-WR combo from the same team. They negate each other, and if the team battles a tough defense or horrible weather conditions, both players could get shut down. Still, Freeman is a solid value choice there, so I definitely can’t blame Nick Foles for pulling the trigger.
WORST PICKS, ROUNDS 1-2: If someone wants to choose Adrian Peterson with the fifth pick in a standard draft, I won’t hold that against them. But in a PPR draft? No way. Especially with Gurley being available.
Elsewhere, Alshon Jeffery seems like a reach at the end of the first round. His current ADP is 2.06, so I guess it’s not too egregious, but I think there were better options available.
MY PICKS, ROUNDS 3-4: I was hoping that two of LeSean McCoy, Mark Ingram and DeMarco Murray would fall to me. One did, so I didn’t hesitate to scoop up Murray at 3.11 with Donkey sitting there with no running backs.
I could’ve gone with Thomas Rawls at 4.02, but I opted for Kelvin Benjamin because I had him ranked higher. Benjamin could finish as a top-10 fantasy receiver, so I like his value in the fourth round.
BEST PICKS, ROUNDS 3-4: I mentioned McCoy, Ingram and Rawls, so I think they belong in this section.
I also liked the Aaron Rodgers choice a lot. I think I actually would’ve picked Rodgers over Murray with my third selection, so I’d consider that to be the best pick in these two rounds.
WORST PICKS, ROUNDS 3-4: You know, I don’t really see any bad picks here. Maybe Greg Olsen, since he’s bound to decline with Kelvin Benjamin back on the active roster? But that doesn’t seem like it deserves a “worst pick” notation.
Some of you might be expecting Matt Forte as a worst pick, but given that he’s being chosen in the third round of standard formats, a late fourth-round selction on him in a PPR league actually seems quite reasonable.
MY PICKS, ROUNDS 5-6: I didn’t have to pick two consecutive running backs, but they were the top players on my board. I actually had difficulty deciding between Justin Forsett and Ameer Abdullah, and I was hoping that Donkey wouldn’t choose Abdullah. Both figure to be productive as pass-catching running backs this year.
BEST PICKS, ROUNDS 5-6: If I didn’t already have three receivers, I would’ve strongly considered Allen Hurns or Emmanuel Sanders with one of my two selections. Jonathan Stewart also seems like a quality pick in the sixth round.
WORST PICKS, ROUNDS 5-6: Again, nothing too bad in these two rounds. Gun to my head, I’d say Melvin Gordon was probably the worst pick. Danny Woodhead is the San Diego running back you want in a PPR format, but Woodhead went off the board before I Hester even picked in the fifth round.
MY PICKS, ROUNDS 7-8: It baffles me that the Jaguars would even consider starting Chris Ivory over T.J. Yeldon. If they come to that conclusion, they obviously didn’t pay attention to Ivory’s production once Nick Mangold sustained an injury last year, or how worn down Ivory got at the end of the season. Yeldon figures to be catching Blake Bortles’ passes anyway.
Philip Rivers is my starting quarterback. That’s definitely not very exciting, but I anticipate Rivers rebounding this season. His offensive line has to stay healthy one of these years, right?
BEST PICKS, ROUNDS 7-8: I was dying for Larry Fitzgerald to fall to me. He’s been underdrafted this summer, so I’m hoping he drops to me in several real drafts.
Speaking of veterans being picked later than expected, what’s up with Arian Foster going after Jay Ajayi? I don’t like Foster much this year, but getting a starting running back in the eighth round seems pretty good.
WORST PICKS, ROUNDS 7-8: There were some sketchy picks made in the eighth round. I already mentioned Ajayi, who might not even been the starter had Foster not signed. Theo Riddick seems like a reach as well. His current ADP is 8.09, so that contradicts what I just said, but I don’t understand why anyone would want to pick him so early, especially with Ameer Abdullah projected to handle a larger workload.
MY PICKS, ROUNDS 9-10: A backup quarterback so early? Absolutely, especially with Philip Rivers not being super reliable. Maybe Tony Romo stays healthy for a change. Maybe not. But I stand a good chance of hitting with one of my two veteran signal-callers.
I’m fine with Gary Barnidge in the 10th round. I think he’s a sell-high target, but the value was too good to pass up.
BEST PICKS, ROUNDS 9-10: Carson Palmer was the other quarterback I was going to target in the ninth round. Zach Ertz was my alternate option at tight end. So, I liked those picks.
WORST PICKS, ROUNDS 9-10: Torrey Smith seems like such a “blegh” pick in the ninth round. How much upside could he possibly have with Blaine Gabbert throwing the ball to him?
I can’t get behind the two defense selections. I’d prefer to stock up on running back and receiving depth and then just playing matchups with defenses.
MY PICKS, ROUNDS 11-12: I took two players on my Fantasy Football Sleepers list. Check that out to see why I like Devin Funchess and Devontae Booker so much.
BEST PICKS, ROUNDS 11-12: Steel City broke my heart when he chose Sammie Coates one pick before I was about to take him. If this were a real draft, I’d cry about it for a few nights.
I liked some other picks as well. Nick Foles had a couple of great selections in Tavon Austin and Bilal Powell. Austin is a sleeper, while Powell could catch a ton of passes this year despite the Matt Forte signing.
WORST PICKS, ROUNDS 11-12: I can’t get behind the Steve Smith pick. He’s a player in his late 30s who tore his Achilles in November. How can he possibly recover from that? And speaking of old receivers, Vincent Jackson seems like a waste. He has done nothing but decay the past two years.
MY PICKS, ROUNDS 13-15: Another guy from my sleepers list, Phillip Dorsett could have a solid sophomore season with Andrew Luck healthy again.
Defense, kicker, who cares. Actually, a quick note: FantasyFootballCalculator.com doesn’t have Roberto Aguayo listed yet, so I just shot them an e-mail.
BEST PICKS, ROUNDS 13-15: High-upside picks include: DeAndre Washington, Kenneth Dixon and Dwayne Allen.
WORST PICKS, ROUNDS 13-15: Low-upside picks include: Ryan Fitzpatrick and Victor Cruz.
I’ll be adjusting some of my Fantasy Football Rankings based on these draft results, so check them out. Also, we’ll be doing mock drafts every Wednesday evening, so come join us!
My Fantasy Team:
QB – Philip Rivers, QB, Chargers
RB – DeMarco Murray, RB, Titans
RB – Justin Forsett, RB, Ravens
WR – Dez Bryant, WR, Cowboys
WR – Amari Cooper, WR, Raiders
RB/WR – Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Panthers
TE – Gary Barnidge, TE, Browns
K – Graham Gano, K, Panthers
DEF – Vikings Defense
BN – Ameer Abdullah, RB, Lions
BN – T.J. Yeldon, RB, Jaguars
BN – Tony Romo, QB, Cowboys
BN – Devin Funchess, WR, Panthers
BN – Devontae Booker, RB, Broncos
BN – Phillip Dorsett, WR, Colts
I love my receivers, and I suppose that’s what matters in this day and age. It’s crazy how much fantasy football has changed. It used to be all about the running backs. In fact, 10 or so years ago, I distinctly remember a real draft I was a part of that featured 11 running backs and Randy Moss in the opening round. In this draft, the top four picks were receivers – and rightfully so!
My running backs are kind of weak, but have potential. But I feel like no one outside of Joe Legend can be overly enthused with their running backs. It’s just a dead position with barely anyone worth being happy with at the top, outside of Todd Gurley.
Anyway, I think this team is fine. I was so close to drafting some other players (Aaron Rodgers, Sammie Coates, etc.) so perhaps I’ll have better luck drafting with some of the drunken fat guys I’m in leagues with in real life.
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Fantasy Football Rankings
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2016 Fantasy Football Forecast: Tight Ends - 1/19 (Chet)
2016 Fantasy Football Forecast: Wide Receivers - 1/14 (Chet)
2016 Fantasy Football Forecast: Running Backs - 1/13 (Chet)
2016 Fantasy Football Forecast: Quarterbacks - 1/12 (Chet)
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