Saturday, August 12, 2017

Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 5th Pick, Super Flex

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. While we may not be able to draft a "perfect" fantasy football team, the more we practice, the better our teams will be.

Starting on June 10th, we began drafting (at least) one fantasy football team per day using the 2017 Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator and we will continue to do so up until the start of the 2017 NFL season.

Each day, we will switch things up -- e.g., PPR vs. standard scoring, league size, draft slot, 2-QB leagues, auction leagues, etc.

In addition, we will centralize links to our daily fantasy football mock drafts for an easy way to keep track of our mock drafts.

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Details of today's mock draft:
  • Scoring: PPR scoring with Super Flex
  • # of Teams: 12
  • Draft Slot: 9
  • Starters: QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE, Super Flex (QB/RB/WR/TE), K, DST
  • Bench Size: 6
With that said, here are the results of today's mock draft:

1.05 - Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons: With 1,400-plus yards in each of the past three seasons, Jones has averaged more than 100 yards per game in four consecutive seasons. The only concern with Jones is his relative lack of productivity in the red zone -- 40 career TDs on 497 receptions and 777 targets -- despite his elite combination of size and speed.

2.08 - Jay Ajayi, RB, Miami Dolphins: There were four 200-yard rushing games last season and Ajayi had three of them. (Le'Veon Bell had the other.) Getting double-digit carries every week starting in Week 5, only Bell (243) had more carries than Ajayi (242) from Weeks 5 to 17 last season. Only Ezekiel Elliott (1,219) rushed for more yards than Ajayi (1,197) during that span.

3.05 - Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots: When healthy, Gronkowski is as good as it gets. Unfortunately, the 28-year-old tight end has missed five-plus games in three of the past five seasons. That said, Gronk has averaged nearly 70 yards per game with a total of 69 touchdowns in 88 career games.

4.08 - Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos: Thomas set five-year lows across the board: 90 receptions, 1,083 yards and five touchdowns. Thomas battled a hip injury for much of last season, but those are not bad numbers as "five-year lows." Before last season, he had averaged 100/1,447/10 in his previous four seasons.

5.05 - Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers: Since 2010, Roethlisberger has missed multiple games in more seasons (four) than he has not (three) and has finished as fantasy's QB18 and QB20, respectively, over the past two seasons. Home-road splits are another concern -- (H) 8.66 Y/A, 59 TDs and 16 INTs and (A) 7.38 Y/A, 23 TDs and 22 INTs -- over past three seasons. Even so, Big Ben should finish as a top-12 fantasy QB on a per-game basis.

6.08 - Danny Woodhead, RB, Baltimore Ravens: Missing the majority of the 2014 and 2016 seasons, Woodhead has played just 21 games over the past three years. Even more valuable in PPR formats as one of the league's top receiving backs, Woodhead was PPR's RB3 in his last full season. Given the season-ending injury to Kenneth Dixon, Woodhead is a high-end RB2 in PPR formats if he can stay healthy.

7.05 - Carson Palmer, QB, Arizona Cardinals: One year after finishing as fantasy's QB5, Palmer had a disappointing season (QB19) although he played better in the second half. Averaging 17.57 fantasy points per game after Week 7 (compared to 14.19/G before that), Palmer is a bounce-back candidate in 2017. And only the Ravens and Saints threw the ball more often in 2016.

8.08 - Pierre Garcon, WR, San Francisco 49ers: Garcon is coming off his second career 1,000-yard season (79/1,041/3) and he could be in store for a bigger season in San Francisco with limited competition for targets. Garcon had 113 catches on 181 targets in 2013 when Kyle Shanahan was his coordinator in Washington.

9.05 - Theo Riddick, RB, Detroit Lions: One of the backs that is much better in PPR-scoring formats, Riddick is one of the league's most dynamic receiving backs. Over the past two seasons, he has averaged 5.12 receptions per game and he should remain a vital part of the passing attack.

10.08 - DeVante Parker, WR, Miami Dolphins: Preseason expectations were unfortunately greater than his actual production in 2016. Coaches, players and reporters have generally talked Parker up all offseason, which can be summed up by the offensive coordinator's 2017 expectations for him: "Gigantic year."

11.05 - C.J. Prosise, RB, Seattle Seahawks: Injuries limited his opportunities as Prosise missed 10 games, but he was highly productive and efficient -- 5.7 YPC and 12.2 Y/R -- when given an opportunity. A converted wide receiver back in his days in South Bend, Prosise is even better in PPR formats, but the second-year back should have a consistent role in the offense as the third-down back, at a minimum, provided he can stay healthy.

12.08 - Josh Doctson, WR, Washington Redskins: With Washington losing DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon to Tampa and San Francisco, respectively, and signing Terrelle Pryor in free agency, there should be plenty of opportunity for Doctson in 2017.

13.05 - Alex Smith, QB, Kansas City Chiefs: While the Chiefs traded up for Patrick Mahomes, I'd expect Smith to start all 16 games this season barring injury. Leagues with a QB-eligible flex are essentially 2-QB leagues so it makes sense to add a bye-week replacement for my starters, especially given Big Ben's recent durability track record.

14.08 - Jonathan Williams, RB, Buffalo Bills: On limited touches (110 in 15 games), Mike Gillislee scored a total of nine touchdowns and the 27th-most fantasy points (39th in PPR) among running backs last season. With Gillislee now in New England, the 223-pound second-year back is expected to move into the role vacated by Gillislee and he has weekly flex upside even if LeSean McCoy stays healthy for a full season.

15.05 - Arizona Cardinals DST

16.08 - Cairo Santos, K, Kansas City Chiefs

- View full mock draft results here

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