RotoBaller's Expert Fantasy Football Mock Draft (Part II)

Courtesy of our good friends over at Fleaflicker, we hosted a RotoBaller fantasy football mock draft with a bunch of the RotoBaller football experts.  Our own Frankie Soler (@Frankie_Soler) was kind enough to write up a thorough post-draft analysis.  As you're preparing for your own fantasy football drafts, developing your draft strategy, identifying ADP sleepers, quality rookies, breakouts and busts, for PPR and Non-PPR leagues, the RotoBaller mock draft can serve as a good guide and help you kill it at the draft table. 

RotoBaller's Fantasy Football Mock Draft, Rounds 6-15

The RotoBaller authors and I conducted a 12 team, 3 Wide Receiver, two flex, PPR mock draft that had it’s swerves but should give you an idea what to expect if you happen to play in a similar format.  You can see the entire draft results here.  Analysis from rounds 1-5 is here.

Round Six

I wanted in on one of the quarterbacks going in this group and since it would be quite a wait before I could pick again, I decided it was time to pull the trigger on Andrew Luck. I think he has the highest probability of jumping up into that “elite” class of fantasy QBs based on pure talent. Some lottery ticket running backs went in this round, including Stevan Ridley, Steven Jackson, Pierre Thomas and Rashad Jennings, and all four backs taken possess a decent enough amount of upside to warrant a sixth round pick.

As I stated a round ago, I’m looking for all the big name Falcons to have a huge year this year so I absolutely love the Matt Ryan pick. If there is one quarterback that has been unusually ranked outside the top 12 who will most likely end up inside it, it’s Ryan. He’s really only ever had one bad year.

Round Seven

Now it’s getting into the tougher rounds. Once you have the bulk of your starters filled out, the middle rounds become crucial selections that could end up winning you your league. I decided to grab my favorite sleeper at tight end this year in Greg Olsen. With all the turnover at the receiver position in Carolina, someone has to step up and catch the ball. The two likeliest options are longtime Panther Greg Olsen and rookie receiver Kelvin Benjamin. I’ve gotten Olsen in every mock draft I’ve done so I decided to roll with him.

After my pick two running backs I really like this year went back to back in Lamar Miller and Fred Jackson. Miller is on pace to be the starter in Miami after new signee Knowshon Moreno showed up to camp both overweight and needing knee surgery. Fred Jackson isn’t going anywhere, folks. The Bills already gave him an extension after opting not to give fellow back C.J. Spiller one. Jackson will easily be a flex play any given week. A total of six receivers went in this round as team strategy shifted over to filling out wide receiver depth. All the pass catchers listed possess solid value for the seventh round.

Round Eight

This is the point in the draft where people usually start taking flyers on guys with high upside. The three biggest names that fit that category are Bernard Pierce to Justin Berglund, Terrance West to Ryan Rufe, and Reggie Wayne to myself.

Pierce could easily end up replacing Ray Rice if Rice continues to struggle after returning from his two-game suspension. West is the clear number two back in Cleveland and Ben Tate has never exactly had the cleanest bill of health. And speaking of health, reports out of Indianapolis are that Reggie Wayne is healing tremendously fast from his torn ACL last season. It’s conceivable all three of these picks pan out so I have no issue with taking these guys in the eighth round in a league with this kind of depth.

Round Nine

We have our first Team Defense selection with mccloy24 snatching up the Seahawks D. I’ve never been a fan of selecting a defense before filling out the rest of your roster but if there was ever a year or team to stray from that philosophy it’s the 2014 Seahawks. I was stunned to see Danny Woodhead still on the board this late in a PPR league even with the addition of Donald Brown in San Diego. Woodhead is a PPR machine and could actually end up as a useful RB2 if things go his way.

My other favorite pick in this round is Tampa Bay rookie wide receiver Mike Evans. I prefer Evans over Sammy Watkins in Buffalo simply due to the play at quarterback so I’m a big fan of this pick in a league that starts three wide receivers. Evans might not have a superstar caliber breakout season but he could easily end up as a bye week fill in type of guy.

Round Ten

The last of the lottery ticket running backs went in this round with Carlos Hyde to leib0039, Devonta Freeman to Real Talk Ralph, and me grabbing Christine Michael. The list of reasons why Marshawn Lynch could be in store for his least productive year to date continues to mount so Christine Michael is an absolute must own in all leagues. Even if it isn’t Lynch’s own personal performance, Michael could potentially be the running back of the future in Seattle so they may try to see what exactly they have in him. As for the other two, both Hyde and Freeman are rookies sitting behind aging veteran backs who are an injury or two away from being starters.

Somehow Cam Newton nosedived all the way to the 10^th round which is mind boggling to me. I know he lost a lot of receivers but you arent’y exactly starting Cam Newton in the hopes that he throws it a ton. You draft Newton because you expect him to gain you fantasy points via rushing yards. Besides, his receivers weren’t exactly stellar his first few years in the league anyway and he still managed to be a star fantasy player.

Rounds Eleven & Twelve

The first name that jumps out of me in looking at these two rounds is Kelvin Benjamin, the rookie wide receiver drafted by the Carolina Panthers. Aaron Messing grabbed him for what I believe is fantastic value at that point in the draft. Much like Greg Olsen, Benjamin can easily fill the void left by the mass exodus of Carolina receivers. It’s rare that a rookie wide receiver’s opportunity is so wide open and the upside is impossible to ignore.

I snagged two sneaky wide receivers myself in Miles Austin and Markus Wheaton. Austin faces a similar scenario as Benjamin in that the wide receiver position on the Browns is completely up in the air thanks to Josh Gordon’s looming suspension. Wheaton, on the other hand, is a pick based purely on upside. The number two role within the Steelers offense is up for grabs and Wheaton has been the most impressive player out of camp thus far.

Another pick I liked in this group was actually Ahmad Bradshaw by Real Talk Ralph. If Trent Richardson doesn’t prove he’s poised for a comeback immediately, the Colts will surely scale him back and look for Bradshaw to step up. No one expects big numbers from Bradshaw at this stage of his career but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he ends up the starting running back in Indianapolis due to a lack of production from Richardson.

Rounds Thirteen, Fourteen, and Fifteen

The last two or three rounds of a draft are typically reserved for defenses and kickers, as they should be. That wasn’t much different here but there are still a few last second flyers that could end up worthwhile. The first pick that stands out is Andy Dalton to Legion of Doom to close out the thirteenth round.

Some have argued that Dalton is the most undervalued quarterback in all of fantasy due to how productive of a season he had last year, finishing well inside the top ten at the position. The drawback for Dalton, however, is that he now has a new offense in place and really isn’t all that great once you actually start to pay attention to his on the field play.  If you were to ask me if Andy Dalton would end up as a top ten fantasy quarterback this year I would tell you absolutely not but if you asked me to name one of the most reliable fantasy backups he would surely be on my short list.

As for the defenses and kickers chosen, my philosophy is that you try to grab ones with late bye weeks so that you don’t have to burn a roster spot early in the season. Just keep an eye on the waiver wire to see which ones get hot as the year progresses and add/drop accordingly.

Overall this was a fun and informative mock draft that should provide some insight on what a league of this format would look like.  I ended up feeling pretty confident about this mock and there are plenty of others who can claim the same as well. Hopefully it serves as a confidence booster when the time comes for the real deal.