Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 9th 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: 9
  • 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:

1.09 - Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons: Despite getting 57 fewer touches year-over-year, Freeman finished as a top-six fantasy running back in 2016. Setting career highs in efficiency (4.8 YPC and 8.6 Y/R), Freeman now has back-to-back seasons with 1,000-plus rushing yards, 1,500-plus YFS, 50-plus receptions and 13-plus touchdowns.

2.04 - 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.

3.09 - Alshon Jeffery, WR, Philadelphia Eagles: A free-agency steal if he can stay on the field, Jeffery signed a one-year deal that should keep him motivated to parlay 2017 success into a large contract next offseason. While he has played only 21 games over the past two seasons combined, Jeffery has averaged 78.9 yards per game since 2013 and instantly becomes Carson Wentz's No. 1 wide receiver.

4.04 - Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs: Kelce set career highs in receptions (85), yards (1,125) and 100-yard games (six) and led the position in fantasy points scored despite scoring only four touchdowns. With Jeremy Maclin now in Baltimore, Kelce should be even more of a focal point of the passing offense.

5.09 - 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 over the past two seasons.

6.04 - Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals: Back for (at least) one more season, Fitzgerald has finished as a top-20 fantasy wide receiver with 100-plus catches and 1,000-plus yards in back-to-back seasons. Going into his age-34 season, Fitzgerald is a safe WR3 for this team.

7.09 - Adrian Peterson, RB, New Orleans Saints: There are some concerns — age (32), durability (20 games played in past three seasons) and he's technically not the "starter." But few running backs have as much upside as Peterson. With double-digit scores every season he's played more than three games, Peterson now gets to play in the high-powered Drew Brees-led offense.

8.04 - Kirk Cousins, QB, Washington Redskins: One year after throwing for 4,166 yards and 29 touchdowns (and finishing as fantasy's QB8), Cousins threw for 4,917 yards and 25 scores (and finished as fantasy's QB5). In addition, he has a total of nine rushing touchdowns over the past two seasons combined.

9.09 - DeVante Parker, WR, Miami Dolphins: 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." While passing game volume is a concern and Jay Cutler takes over as the starter, there is some breakout potential for Parker as my WR4.

10.04 - Mike Wallace, WR, Baltimore Ravens: Even though Wallace had his first 1,000-yard season since 2011, he has finished as a top-30 fantasy wide receiver (standard scoring) in seven of eight seasons since entering the league in 2009.

11.09 - Darren McFadden, RB, Dallas Cowboys: If Ezekiel Elliott serves a six-game (or a reduced) suspension in 2017, McFadden becomes the Cowboys' starter for those games. In his first season in Dallas without Zeke and Tony Romo injured most of the year, McFadden rushed for 1,089 yards (4.6 YPC) on 236 carries and added 40 catches for 328 yards.

12.04 - 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 Joe Mixon, the team lost two of its best offensive linemen in free agency, but it appears there's at least a chance he could remain the team's "starter" for the entire season.

13.09 - 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 and is a must-start at home.

14.04 - Robby Anderson, WR, New York Jets: Productive last year (42/587/2), Anderson had a five-game stretch where he exceeded 60 receiving yards four times. Moving into the No. 1 receiver role due to roster moves and/or injury, Anderson could finish as a top-50 fantasy wide receiver this season.

15.09 - Jacksonville Jaguars DST

16.04 - Dan Bailey, K, Dallas Cowboys

- View full mock draft results here

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