Thursday, August 24, 2017

Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 14 Teams, 11th 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: 14
  • Draft Slot: 11
  • 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:

1.11 - Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay Packers: Missing all of 2015, Nelson's 2016 campaign (97/1,257/14 on 152 targets) was nearly identical to his 2014 season (98/1,519/13 on 151 targets). Given his rapport with Aaron Rodgers and being another year removed from his torn ACL, Nelson should be in store for another elite season.

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.

3.11 - 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 - Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers: Adams just missed the 1,000-yard mark last season, but he shattered previous career highs with 75 catches for 997 yards and 12 touchdowns.

5.11 - 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 - Adrian Peterson, RB, New Orleans Saints: Mark Ingram may have a higher salary and be listed as the "starter," but how surprised would you be if Peterson emerged as the leader in terms of workload split (and production) in that duo? With double-digit rushing scores every year he's played at least four games, the ceiling for AP is through the roof in the high-powered, Drew Brees-led offense (if he can stay healthy).

7.11 - Cameron Meredith, WR, Chicago Bears: When given an opportunity, Meredith had several productive outings including four 100-yard games. With Jeffery now in Philadelphia and a spotty durability track record of former first-rounder Kevin White, Meredith should lead the Bears receiving corps in both targets and fantasy production.

8.04 - Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles: Over the past two seasons, Ertz has a minimum of 75 catches and 816 yards each season and he once again closed the season strong. Over his final five games last season, Ertz caught 40 of 54 targets for 443 yards and three touchdowns. Even though the Eagles have added Jeffery (and Torrey Smith) to the receiving corps, trading away Jordan Matthews is a positive for Ertz's fantasy outlook.

9.11 - 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, but it's possible that Hill remains the "starter" longer than most anticipate.

10.04 - James White, RB, New England Patriots: The Patriots gave White a three-year extension this offseason and he had a career-high 60 receptions in 2016 in addition to 14 receptions in their Super Bowl come-from-behind victory over the Falcons.

11.11 - Joe Williams, RB, San Francisco 49ers: Behind Carlos Hyde and Tim Hightower on the depth chart, Williams still has some sleeper appeal as a late(r)-round pick. Hyde has missed 14 games in three seasons and Hightower turned 31 this spring.

12.04 - Philip Rivers, QB, Los Angeles Chargers: If the Chargers can keep (most of) their top pass-catchers healthy for a full season, Rivers will be a huge bargain as a late-round fantasy QB. Rivers has exceeded 4,200 passing yards in seven of eight seasons and he has thrown 30-plus touchdowns in three of four years.

13.11 - Breshad Perriman, WR, Baltimore Ravens: Entering the NFL with a freakish combination of size and speed, Perriman would be poised for a breakout if it weren't for the addition of Jeremy Maclin. Even so, he should post better numbers in 2017 than he had last season.

14.04 - Andy Dalton, QB, Cincinnati Bengals: Dalton has finished as a mid-tier QB2 (QB16-18) in each of the past three seasons, but a part of that mediocrity has been the injuries to the team's pass-catchers. During that span, Tyler Eifert has played a total of 22 games and A.J. Green has missed three-plus games in two of three years including six missed games last season. While the offensive line has become a concern, the Bengals used their early picks -- John Ross (first round) and Joe Mixon (second round) -- to give Dalton and the offense more weapons.

15.11 - Jacksonville Jaguars DST

16.04 - Dan Bailey, K, Dallas Cowboys

- View full mock draft results here

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