Friday, August 18, 2017

Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 1st Pick

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: Standard scoring (i.e., not PPR scoring)
  • # of Teams: 12
  • Draft Slot: 1
  • Starters: QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE, Flex (RB/WR/TE), K, DST
  • Bench Size: 6
With that said, here are the results of today's mock draft:

1.01 - Le'Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers: Missing the first four games of the 2016 season, Bell has now missed three-plus games (suspension and/or injury) in three of his four seasons as a pro. And he's yet to sign his franchise-tag tender, but he's expected to do so before the start of the season. When on the field last season, however, Bell was better than ever as he was on a 16-game pace of 2,512 yards from scrimmage, 100 receptions and 12 touchdowns. (The single-season YFS record is 2,509 by CJ2K in 2009.)

2.12 - 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.

3.01 - Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos: Thomas set five-year lows across the board: 90 receptions, 1,083 yards and five touchdowns -- not bad numbers for "five-year lows." Before last season, he had averaged 100/1,447/10 in his previous four seasons. It's reasonable to expect an improvement over last year's numbers even if he doesn't return to a 100/1,400/10 level of production.

4.12 - Michael Crabtree, WR, Oakland Raiders: Half of one of the NFL's top wide receiver duos, Crabtree has been highly productive in both of his seasons in Oakland. Crabtree has a minimum of 85 catches, 900 yards and eight touchdowns each season and is coming off his first 1,000-yard season since 2012.

5.01 - Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Denver Broncos: After a career year in 2014 (101/1,404/9), Sanders has at least 75 catches and 1,000 yards in each of the past two seasons. Both of those -- 75 catches and 1,000 yards -- seem to be a reasonable floor, but there is some upside for improvement.

6.12 - Adrian Peterson, RB, New Orleans Saints: It wouldn't be much of a surprise if Peterson emerges as the most productive Saints running back. Despite any concerns -- age (32) and durability (missing majority of past two of three seasons), there is plenty of upside as he joins the high-powered, Drew Brees-led offense.

7.01 - Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans: Finishing as fantasy's QB12 in 2016, Mariota threw for 3,426 yards, 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions. An elite athlete, the dual-threat quarterback also ran a little more often (60/349/2). Given the team's offseason investments to put an improved supporting cast around Mariota, 2017 should be even better — perhaps much better — for this ascending quarterback.

8.12 - 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 has finished as a top-24 fantasy running back (standard scoring) in each of his past three full seasons. Given the season-ending injury to Kenneth Dixon, it's possible that Woodhead extends that streak if he can stay healthy.

9.01 - 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." He's an ideal WR4 -- don't need him as a starter, but there is plenty of upside.

10.12 - DeSean Jackson, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jackson posted a 56/1,005/4 line with Washington last season. Likely to score more touchdowns in 2017, D-Jax may not significantly exceed his receptions or yards totals in 2017 with Mike Evans as the team's clear No. 1 receiver. With a 17.7 career Y/A average, however, the explosive wideout will likely have his share of big games with a few duds thrown in.

11.01 - Jeremy Hill, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: After an impressive rookie season (1,124 rushing yards and 5.1 YPC), Hill has failed to reach the 1,000-yard mark and averaged under 4.0 yards per carry in back-to-back seasons. Not only did the Bengals draft Mixon, the team lost two of its best offensive linemen in free agency. There has been some speculation that Hill could retain his "starting" role longer than most anticipate.

12.12 - Darren Sproles, RB, Philadelphia Eagles: Entering what is expected to be his final season, the 34-year-old running back had 865 yards from scrimmage and 52 receptions last season for the Eagles to finish as fantasy's RB30 in non-PPR formats. Another season of 800 YFS and 50 catches should be within reach for Sproles.

13.01 - Josh Doctson, WR, Washington Redskins: Given the turnover in the receiving corps, there should be plenty of opportunity for Doctson in 2017. Their first-rounder from last year's draft played in just two games due to an Achilles injury, but he has some breakout potential in 2017.

14.12 - Tyrod Taylor, QB, Buffalo Bills: No team threw the ball fewer times than the Bills (474) in 2016, but that didn't keep Taylor from finishing as a top-10 fantasy quarterback (QB8) last season. In his two seasons as a starter, Taylor has rushed for 1,148 yards and 10 touchdowns -- more than six fantasy points per game from his rushing stats alone. The trade of Sammy Watkins to the Rams hurts Taylor's outlook, but Watkins missed eight games and finished with just 430 yards and two touchdowns last season.

15.01 - New York Giants DST

16.12 - Sebastian Janikowski, K, Oakland Raiders

- View full mock draft results here

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