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The 2013 NFL Draft class lacked the kind of excitement at the top that we saw back in 2012 with Stanford's Andrew Luck and Baylor's Robert Griffin III.

The 2014 class of draft-eligible prospects will certainly generate more buzz than this year's group.

Here are my top 25 draft-eligible prospects for the 2014 NFL Draft:

1. Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina

If Clowney were eligible for the 2013 NFL Draft, he would have likely been the No. 1 overall pick. In fact, there was some debate in the media whether Clowney should sit out the 2013 college football season in order to not allow the potential for injury to risk his draft stock for 2014.

As the top recruit out of high school, Clowney has lived up to the hype since stepping on the field for the Gamecocks. During the span of his two years as a student-athlete, Clowney has 21 sacks. The only three players with more sacks during that stretch have either graduated or left early for the NFL.

Last season, he was tied for third in the nation in sacks (13.0) and second in tackles for loss (23.5).

2. Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville

With the prototypical size (6'3" and 220 pounds) for the position, Bridgewater has all of the tools to be successful at the next level: a strong arm, intelligence, toughness and mobility.

Bridgewater, the Big East Offensive Player of the Year, led the Cardinals to an 11-2 record and a win over the Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl.

The sophomore completed 68.5 percent of his pass attempts last year and finished with a 27-to-8 ratio of touchdowns to interceptions.

3. Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan

Lewan was a first-team AP All-American last year with Luke Joeckel, who was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 draft, and has the prototypical size (6-8 and 309 pounds) and athleticism to play left tackle at the next level.

4. Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M

As half of college football's best pair of bookend tackles last season, Matthews will move to the left side this year to protect Johnny Football's blind side. Some believe Matthews has the potential to be even better than Joeckel. Matthews' father Bruce was a 14-time Pro Bowler and a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee.

5. Anthony Barr, OLB, UCLA

A converted running back from his first two seasons at UCLA, Barr flourished as a pass-rusher and finished second in the nation with 13.5 sacks in 2012. In addition, he finished tied for seventh with Texas A&M's Damontre Moore in tackles for loss (21.0). With continued development, Barr has the potential to be a top-five pick in next year's draft.

6. Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio State

Tied for third in the country in passes broken up (17) and seventh in passes defended (19), Roby was a second-team AP All-American as a sophomore and has the chance to be the top cornerback selected in the 2014 draft.

7. Marqise Lee, WR, USC

Lee, who is also a sprinter and high jumper on USC's track team, had a monster season as a sophomore as he posted his second consecutive 1,000-yard season. Lee, the Biletnikoff award winner, led the nation in receptions (118), finished second in receiving yards (1,721) and scored 14 touchdowns.

8. Cyrus Kouandjio, OT, Alabama

Playing left tackle for the most talented offensive line in the country, Kouandjio was a five-star prospect coming out of high school. Although he tore his ACL in the middle of his freshman season, Kouandjio made big strides ("leaps and bounds" as ex-teammate Chance Warmack called them) in his sophomore campaign.

9. Tajh Boyd, QB, Clemson

Boyd, the ACC Player of the Year, made nice strides as a junior. His completion percentage increased to 67.2 percent (from 59.7 percent), his yards-per-attempt average increased to 9.12 (from 7.67) and his rating increased to 165.6 (from 141.2).

10. C.J. Mosley, LB, Alabama

If he declared early and entered the 2013 draft, Mosley would have likely been a first-round pick last year. Along with Jarvis Jones and Manti Te'o, Mosley was a first-team AP All-American selection at linebacker in 2012.

Not only did Mosley lead the national champions in tackles (99) last season, but he has the versatility to play multiple spots within the linebacking corps and excels in coverage.

11. Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington

Seferian-Jenkins is a matchup nightmare and the top tight end prospect in this year's draft class. In addition to tight end, Seferian-Jenkins has lined up at defensive end on pass-rushing situations and has also played basketball for the Huskies. He won't be playing basketball for them this season, though.

Although he was arrested for DUI back in March and is currently suspended from the team, he is expected to play this season and he has 11 months to stay out of trouble and put all of this behind him.

12. Stephon Tuitt, DE, Notre Dame

The top 3-4 defensive end in this year's draft class, Tuitt led the Irish in both sacks (12.0) and tackles for loss (13.0) last season.

13. Louis Nix, DT, Notre Dame

Strong at the point of attack, Nix was a huge reason (no pun intended) why the Irish ranked third in the nation in rushing defense. Despite his size (6-3, 340), Nix has excellent movement skills.

14. Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson

As a freshman, Watkins had 82 receptions for 1,219 yards and 12 touchdowns. His sophomore campaign was slowed by suspension and some minor injuries as he was overshadowed by teammate DeAndre Hopkins, but he has the talent to be the second receiver off the board and potentially a top-10 pick next April.

15. Jason Verrett, CB, TCU

A third-team AP All-American last year, Verrett led the Big 12 in interceptions (six) and passes defended (20). At only 5'10", Verrett does not have the ideal size and length most teams covet in cornerbacks. That said, he is an extremely smooth and fluid athlete with the ability to close and make a play on the ball.

16. David Fales, QB, San Jose State

Fales began his collegiate career at Nevada behind now-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, but he transferred to a JUCO before ending up at San Jose State. In his first season with the Spartans, Fales threw for 4,193 yards and 33 touchdowns and completed 72.5 percent of his pass attempts.

17. Aaron Lynch, DE, South Florida

A former five-star recruit, Lynch led Notre Dame in sacks (5.5) as a true freshman in 2011. After transferring to South Florida to be closer to home, he sat the 2012 season out, but he has the potential to be a top-10 pick in 2014.

18. David Yankey, OT, Stanford

Yankey was a second-team AP All-American and winner of the Morris Trophy, best offensive lineman in the Pac 12, last season as a left tackle. He will move back inside to guard for Stanford this season and has played four of the five offensive line positions.

Stanford offensive line coach Mike Bloomgren has called Yankey the "best pulling offensive lineman in the country."

19. Jackson Jeffcoat, DE, Texas

Jeffcoat, the son of former Cowboys defensive end Jim Jeffcoat, saw his 2013 season end prematurely after he tore his pectoral muscle. Over his past 13 games (final seven games of 2012 and first six games last year), Jeffcoat has a total of 24 tackles for loss and 12 sacks.

20. Kyle Van Noy, LB, BYU

Especially after closing out the season with a dominant performance that included two defensive touchdowns in the Poinsettia Bowl, it was a bit of surprise that Van Noy returned to school for his senior season. Last year, Van Noy finished fourth in the nation in tackles for loss (22.0), tied for third in sacks (13.0) and tied for second in forced fumbles (six).

21. Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, CB, Oregon

Ekpre-Olomu was a third-team All-American that ranked sixth in the country in passes defended (20) to go with his four interceptions including one returned for a score. In addition, he was tied for the lead in the Pac 12 with six forced fumbles last year.

22. Loucheiz Purifoy, CB, Florida

With good size (6-1 and 189 pounds), Purifoy is an athletic corner that will be used as a two-way player in 2013. Gators coach Will Muschamp recently said, "Loucheiz is going to be a corner for us, but, at the end of the day, we've got to create a role for him because he is an explosive guy. He makes plays with the ball in his hands. He has tremendous ball skills."

23. Trent Murphy, DE/OLB, Stanford

A first-team All-Pac 12 choice at linebacker in 2012, Murphy had 10.0 sacks and 18.0 tackles for loss, both of which led the Cardinal defense.

24. Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M

With the success last season of Russell Wilson, who slipped to the third-round due to his height (5-10), Manziel has a shot of a being a first-rounder in 2014. Manziel, the first freshman Heisman Trophy winner, is listed at 6-1 and 200 pounds, but he set the SEC record for most yards with 3,706 passing yards and 1,410 rushing yards. In fact, he led all players in rushing — both yards and touchdowns (21) — in the SEC.

25. Adrian Hubbard, OLB, Alabama

As a sophomore in 2012, Hubbard led the Crimson Tide in sacks (7.0) and tackles for loss (11.0). With excellent length and athleticism, Hubbard has the potential to take a big step forward in 2013.

Check out our early 2014 NFL Mock Draft. For more mocks, check out our 2014 NFL Mock Draft Database.

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 12:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is set to undergo a fourth surgery on his forearm tomorrow, per Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald.

During the surgery, it is expected that doctors will take cultures from his forearm to verify whether or not Gronkowski is free from infection and the results should be known in roughly one week.

Provided he is clear is from infection, then the doctors will be able to go back in and switch the plate in his forearm and he will begin the 10-11 week recovery period. If he is not free from infection, then it's "back to square one" as Guregian writes and the probability that he misses regular-season games increases significantly.

In addition to surgery on his forearm, Gronkowski may also need surgery on his back as well, but that is not expected to sideline him longer than the arm injury.

Gronkowski, my top-ranked fantasy tight end for 2013, has scored a total of 39 touchdowns in 43 career games.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 02:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last year was an unprecedented year of success for rookie quarterbacks. Five different rookies were their respective team's opening day starter. Three of those rookies finished in the top 11 in fantasy points this season.

Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III led all rookie quarterbacks and he was the most consistent from beginning to end. Tied for fifth in fantasy points with Denver's Peyton Manning, Griffin was third in the NFL in passer rating (102.4) and posted a remarkable 20-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio as a rookie. In fact, he never threw more than one interception in any game.

RG3 finished with a QB-most 815 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns. In fact, he finished in the top 20 among all players in rushing. Along with Michael Vick and Randall Cunningham, he is only the third quarterback since the 1970s to rush for at least 800 yards in a season.

Although RG3 suffered a torn LCL and ACL in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs, early indications look good that he will be ready for the season opener in September.

Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, the top overall pick in 2012, led the Colts to a nine-win improvement year over year. Considering the team lost their head coach for much of the year to leukemia treatments, what Luck and interim head coach Bruce Arians, now the Arizona Cardinals head coach, did was simply amazing.

While his efficiency statistics weren't great in Arians' vertical passing attack, Luck and the Colts played from behind often and no quarterback, rookie or veteran, led his team on more game-winning drives than Luck (seven). In the process, he threw for a rookie-record 4,374 yards, which ranked seventh in the NFL among all quarterbacks this season.

Seattle's Russell Wilson was good in the first half of the season, but he was great in the second half. In his first eight games, Wilson threw 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions and he averaged 6.98 yards per pass attempt and 3.6 yards per rush attempt. In his final eight regular-season games, however, Wilson had a 16-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio, averaged 9.03 yards per pass attempt and 6.2 yards per rush attempt. In fact, all four of his rushing touchdowns this season came in the second half of the year.

Wilson finished the year with a rookie-record 26 passing touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Along with Aaron Rodgers, RG3 and Denver's Peyton Manning, Wilson was one of four quarterbacks to finish with a passer rating of at least 100.0 this year. Helping Wilson's cause in 2013, the Seahawks have acquired Percy Harvin in a trade with the Vikings. As one of the league's most dynamic players, Harvin averaged 8.9 yards after catch.

Meanwhile, Dolphins offensive coordinator Mike Sherman had recently said that it will be Ryan Tannehill that will be the most improved second-year quarterback. “This young man will be the most improved quarterback in the National Football League from year one to year two this year – I promise you that,” Sherman said. It certainly does not hurt that the team added receiver Mike Wallace and tight end Dustin Keller via free agency this offseason.

Of all second-year quarterbacks, which one will have the most productive fantasy season in 2013?

To view my 2013 fantasy football quarterback rankings, click here.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 12:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When it comes to fantasy sports, a player's opportunity can be nearly as important as his talent and Chris Ivory should finally get the opportunity to showcase his talent in 2013.

Although Ivory led the New Orleans Saints in rushing in 2010 as a rookie with 716 yards, he has been buried on the team's depth chart over the past two seasons behind Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles. In fact, he has played in only 12 games over those two seasons combined.

In the offseason, the New York Jets traded their fourth-round pick to the Saints for Ivory, who agreed to a three-year deal with the Jets.

With Shonn Greene leaving in free agency, Ivory will compete for touches with Mike Goodson, Bilal Powell and Joe McKnight. Of those backs, Goodson is Ivory's biggest competition when it comes to workload.

Considering that Goodson was recently arrested, however, it's possible that his days with the Jets are numbered. Speaking of Goodson's arrest, teammate Willie Colon recently said (via the NY Daily News): "It's one of the things where it's zero-tolerance with stuff like that. It's sad. Mike could have been huge for us."

Whether or not Goodson is given his walking papers, Ivory should still lead the squad's backs in touches.

Over the past three seasons, Ivory has been highly productive when given the opportunity. Carrying the ball 256 times during that span, he has rushed for a total of 1,307 yards, which is an average of 5.1 yards per carry. Ivory has been little used as a receiver with the Saints, though, as he has caught only three passes in his career.

As a big back (6'0" and 222 pounds), Ivory has scored eight touchdowns for the Saints. With the Jets, he should get the short-yardage and goal-line opportunities as well. Considering the team's low-powered offense (2012: 30th in total offense, 28th in scoring offense), however, there may not be many goal-line opportunities.

The days of Mark Sanchez under center appear to be numbered and it's possible that the Jets start Geno Smith, their second-round pick, at some point this season. Whether it's the turnover-prone Sanchez or the inexperienced rookie under center, it would make sense for the Jets to go with a ground-and-pound approach to limit the turnovers.

With RB2 upside, Ivory is a nice value from where he is currently being drafted. Based on current average draft position (ADP) data from Mock Draft Central, Ivory is the 28th running back, on average, off draft boards recently.

Fantasy Strength of Schedule

Based on the cumulative fantasy points allowed by their opponents from Week 1 to 16, Ivory and his fellow Jets' running backs have the league's most favorable schedule in both standard-scoring and point-per-reception (PPR) leagues.

In the fantasy postseason (typically Weeks 14, 15 and 16), the Jets face the Raiders, Panthers and Browns, respectively.

- Resources: Fantasy RB Strength of Schedule | 2013 Jets Team Schedule

Projection: (Rushing) 245 Attempts, 1,176 Yards, 8 Touchdowns; (Receiving) 5 Receptions, 45 Yards

- More 2013 Fantasy Football profiles and projections

See where Ivory is listed in our 2013 fantasy football rankings:

• 2013 Re-draft Running Back Rankings (Standard Scoring)
  
• 2013 Re-draft Running Back Rankings (PPR Scoring)
  
• 2013 Dynasty Running Back Rankings
  
• 2013 Fantasy Football Overall Cheat Sheet (Standard Scoring)
  
• 2013 Fantasy Football Overall Cheat Sheet (PPR Scoring)

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We have now completed half of our new 2013 fantasy football dynasty mock draft.

Here are the picks from Round 6:

6.01 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 3): Frank Gore, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Although Gore just turned 30 years old (on May 14th), he's coming off back-to-back 1,200-yard seasons. It's possible that he has one more 1,200-yard season in him.

Considering Gore's age and the fact that the team drafted Marcus Lattimore, however, Gore owners should see a (potentially significant) drop in production after this season.

As the 27th running back off the board, this is a good spot for him.

6.02 - Kevin Hanson (Team 3): Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks

Along with fellow rookies Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, Wilson had a fantastic rookie season.

While Wilson's rookie season began relatively slowly, he was one of the best fantasy quarterbacks in the second half last year. From Week 9 through Week 17, he posted a league-best 120.3 passer rating and scored 20 touchdowns (16 passing and four rushing) with only two interceptions thrown.

By adding one of the league's most dynamic players in Percy Harvin to the team's offense, that only enhances Wilson's fantasy value for 2013 and beyond.

6.03 - Brendan Donahue (Team 3): Mike Wallace, WR, Miami Dolphins

Despite setting a career low with an average of 13.1 yards per reception last year, Wallace, who signed a five-year deal with the Dolphins, provides the Dolphins with the explosive, big-play receiver that they lacked.

Although he is coming off a down year, Wallace has averaged 1,095 yards and scored a total of 26 touchdowns over the past three seasons.

6.04 - Sean Beazley (Team 3): Tavon Austin, WR, St. Louis Rams

The Rams have lost Danny Amendola via free agency, but they traded up in the draft this year to select Austin with the eighth overall pick. Austin has the ability to make huge plays any time he touches the ball whether he is lined up in the slot or backfield and in the return game.

Not only is Austin explosive (4.34 forty), he is strong (14 reps of 225 pounds) for his size (174 pounds) and durable (never missed a practice at West Virginia). Last year, Austin had six 100-yard receiving games including 215 yards against Baylor. In addition, he had a 344-yard rushing game (on 21 carries) against Oklahoma on 11/17.

6.05 - Sean Beazley (Team 2): Pierre Garcon, WR, Washington Redskins

Garcon's tenure as a Redskin got off to a great start: four receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter of his first game. Unfortunately, he suffered a toe injury on that touchdown that kept him out the rest of that game and six other games.

Provided he can stay healthy for a full season, Garcon, who turns 27 in August, should be in store for a career year with the Redskins in 2013. And with one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL throwing him the ball, the best is yet to come for Garcon.

6.06 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Jonathan Stewart, RB, Carolina Panthers

Back in 2009, The Daily Show gave fantasy owners a glimpse of what life would like if he were featured in a more prominent role within the offense. That year, he rushed for 1,133 yards and 10 touchdowns on 221 carries.

Purely based on talent alone, Stewart would be one of the top 10 or 12 running backs off the board. Unfortunately for his fantasy owners, the opportunity has been less plentiful than desired. In the past three seasons, he has averaged only 10.6 carries per game.

With DeAngelo Williams now 30 years old, Stewart should see a larger share of the workload this year and an increasing role going forward.

6.07 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Vick Ballard, RB, Indianapolis Colts

It will be Ballard, not Donald Brown, as the Colts' featured back in 2013.

Although he is far from explosive, the big back (5-10, 220 pounds) was productive as a rookie. From Week 6 to the end of the season, Ballard carried ball 190 times for 772 yards, which was 14th in the league during that span.

6.08 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 2): BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

The Law Firm failed to score double-digit touchdowns for the first time in three seasons, but he set career highs in carries (278), rushing yards (1,094) and receptions (22) last season. Less than a dynamic back, Green-Ellis and Shonn Greene were the only backs in the league to reach the 1,000-yard milestone with an average of less than 4.00 yards per carry.

With the Bengals drafting Gio Bernard with the 36th overall pick in this year's draft, it's unlikely that Green-Ellis rushes for 1,000 yards for a second straight year. Going forward, Bernard should see an increased role at the expense of BJGE.

6.09 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 1): Danny Amendola, WR, New England Patriots

In his six seasons in New England, Wes Welker had 110 receptions or more five times. That is three more than any player in the history of the NFL.

Provided he stays healthy for a full season, Amendola should come close to that total this season and in future years. That said, Amendola has struggled with durability over the past couple of seasons.

6.10 - Kevin Hanson (Team 1): Stevie Johnson, WR, Buffalo Bills

Since breaking out three seasons ago, Johnson has been remarkably consistent. He has finished each of those seasons with 76-82 receptions and 1,004-1,073 yards per season.

With a rookie quarterback, there may be some risk of falling short of those numbers in 2013. Then again, he reached those numbers with The Amish Rifle getting him the ball the past three seasons.

6.11 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

After breaking out in 2011 with 1,108 yards, Brown had a disappointing season in 2012. Not only did he miss three games last year, but his average yards per game (60.5) and per reception (11.9) dropped from 69.3 and 16.1, respectively.

With 60 Minutes departing via free agency, however, Brown will have the opportunity to have a bounce-back season and take a step forward in 2013. On a positive note, he averaged a career-high 5.1 receptions per game and caught five touchdown passes.

Brown will turn 27 years old before the start of the 2013 season.

6.12 - Sean Beazley (Team 1): Jason Witten, TE, Dallas Cowboys

Not only did Witten record a career-high 110 receptions last year, but it was the single-season record for tight ends.

Over the past six seasons, Witten has had four 1,000-yard seasons and a minimum of 942 yards during that span. During that stretch, he has averaged 92 receptions for 1,018 yards and five touchdowns. The 31-year-old tight end has finished with more than five touchdowns only once in the past five years.

- Continue to Round 7

View the other rounds of the mock draft:

• Go back to Round 1
  
• Go back to Round 2
  
• Go back to Round 3
  
• Go back to Round 4
  
• Go back to Round 5

Our Dynasty Fantasy Rankings: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 09:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Since starting our new dynasty fantasy football mock draft last week, we have now completed Round 5.

Here are the results from this round:

5.01 - Sean Beazley (Team 1): Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay Packers

After a breakout season in 2011, Nelson dealt with injuries that lead to an off year in 2012. He finished the season with 49 receptions for 745 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games.

While he may never approach the 15 touchdowns he had in 2011 again, Nelson should have a bounce-back season if he can stay healthy. Not only does he have the league's best quarterback (and an improved running game), but the team let Greg Jennings walk via free agency and Donald Driver retired.

5.02 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots

So far, Brendan has drafted two quarterbacks for his three teams and both signal-callers are in their mid-thirties. I'm not opposed to that strategy.

In re-draft leagues, both quarterbacks would be selected earlier than they have been taken in this dynasty mock and they have a few elite years left. Although they are the fifth and seventh quarterback selected in this mock, they are both in the top three of my re-draft quarterback rankings.

Later in this draft, he can draft a younger quarterback with some upside for these teams.

5.03 - Kevin Hanson (Team 1): Steven Jackson, RB, Atlanta Falcons

Based on this league/mock format, this team now has its starting running backs (Martin and McFadden), wide receivers (Thomas and White) and flex (S-Jax).

Of course, Jackson is at the tail end of his career playing for the postseason success that has eluded him in St. Louis. In the Falcons' high-powered passing offense, he should have an opportunity to score double-digit touchdowns for the first time since 2006.

Facing fewer eight-men fronts this season, Jackson should be able to rush for 1,000-plus yards in his ninth consecutive season.

5.04 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 1): Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons

With the trio of Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez back and an improved running game behind Steven Jackson, Ryan just might improve upon last year's career numbers.

Ryan, who will turn 28 this month, shattered his previous career highs with 422 completions, 615 pass attempts, 68.6 completion percentage, 4,719 yards and 32 touchdowns in 2012.

5.05 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 2): T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts

Although I like his upside, there are plenty of wide receivers that I would prefer to have over Hilton at this spot.

The small (5-9, 183) but explosive playmaker had an impressive rookie season with 50 receptions for 861 yards and seven touchdowns. Only Jacksonville's Justin Blackmon had more receiving yards (865) than Hilton last season.

In addition, Hilton gets the opportunity to play with one of the best young quarterbacks in the league.

5.06 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Marques Colston, WR, New Orleans Saints

With Colston, fantasy owners get a highly productive and consistent receiver. He finished with 83 receptions for 1,154 yards, which ranked 13th in the league, and eight touchdowns and only 10 receivers scored more fantasy points than Colston in 2012.

Since entering the league as a seventh-round rookie in 2006, Colston has 1,000-plus receiving yards in six of seven seasons. The only exception was his injury-shortened 2008 campaign, but he was on pace for another 1,000-yard season that year.

Colston has caught 58 touchdowns in 102 career games, which is an average of 9.1 per 16 games. Only Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald (59) has more touchdowns than Colston during that span.

[Related: 2013 Fantasy Football Profile and Projection for Colston - More Profiles]

5.07 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Eric Decker, WR, Denver Broncos

Along with Demaryius Thomas, Decker had a career season last year: 85 receptions (on 123 targets) for 1,064 yards and 13 touchdowns.

With the addition of Wes Welker to the team's receiving corps to replace Brandon Stokley, Decker will likely see less targets over the next year or two. The trio of Welker (175), Thomas (141) and Decker (123) had a total of 439 targets last year. While I expect that overall number to decrease, I don't expect the number to drop to 322 (total of Stokley, Thomas and Decker last year). I see the total to be split somewhere in the middle (around 380 targets) as the tight ends get a few less targets as well.

In other words, I don't see as big of a short-term drop in targets as some others may project. Longer term, the 26-year-old wideout has the size and talent to record several more 1,000-yard seasons in his career.

5.08 - Sean Beazley (Team 2): Justin Blackmon, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

After being drafted, things did not go so well for Blackmon as he was arrested for DUI, held out longer than any other first-round pick and exceeded 50 receiving yards in only one of his first nine NFL games. During that nine-game stretch, Blackmon had a total of 250 yards.

Then things turned around for Blackmon, who had 38 receptions for 615 yards and four touchdowns in the team's final seven games of the season. Not only did he have a monster 236-yard game, but he had more than 50 yards in six of those seven games.

Despite the positive momentum that he built toward the end of last season, Blackmon will serve a four-game suspension to begin the 2013 season for the violating the league's substance-abuse policy. Even worse from a dynasty standpoint, the next violation could force him to miss a full season.

5.09 - Sean Beazley (Team 3): Darren Sproles, RB, New Orleans Saints

Srpoles missed three games last season, which contributed to lower overall numbers from the previous season. In his two years in The Big Easy, Sproles has a 16-game average of 1,227 YFS, 9.4 TDs and 88.9 receptions.

Although he has only 691 career touches (384 carries and 307 receptions), the 5-foot-6 back turns 30 years next month.

5.10 - Brendan Donahue (Team 3): Matthew Stafford, QB, Detroit Lions

Even though he threw it an NFL-record 727 times last year, Stafford surprisingly saw his touchdown total drop by more than half to 20 last season.

That said, the former No. 1 overall pick has thrown for more than 10,000 yards over the past two seasons combined, has the league's best receiver on his team and just turned 25 years old.

5.11 - Kevin Hanson (Team 3): Dwayne Bowe, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

Last season, Bowe fell short of 1,000 yards for the first time in three seasons and he missed three games. With horrendous quarterback play, Bowe averaged roughly 10 fewer yards per game (61.6) than he did in 2011 (72.4) or 2010 (72.6). In addition, he set a career low with three touchdowns. With a new coaching staff and quarterback, those numbers should improve.

5.12 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 3): Torrey Smith, WR, Baltimore Ravens

Smith has the skill set to be more productive than his numbers would indicate. While many expected a breakout season last year, his numbers were nearly identical year over year. He finished with 49 receptions (50 in 2011) for 855 yards (841) and eight (seven) touchdowns.

Perhaps Smith will break out this year; or perhaps his production will be eerily similar to his 2012 (and 2011) numbers.

- Continue to Round 6

See past rounds:

• Round 1 of our Dynasty Mock
  
• Round 2 of our Dynasty Mock
  
• Round 3 of our Dynasty Mock
  
• Round 4 of our Dynasty Mock

Our Dynasty Fantasy Rankings: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 07:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Although the 2014 NFL Draft is nearly a year away, we have updated our 2014 NFL mock draft. With our next update, we will add a second round to our mock.

For now, here is how we see the first round shaking out:

1. Oakland Raiders (draft history) - Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina

The nation's top high school recruit as a senior, Clowney would have likely been the No. 1 overall pick if he were eligible for the 2013 NFL draft. Provided the Raiders don't select a potential franchise quarterback here, Clowney should be a lock to go first overall in 2014.

Casual fans became aware of Clowney's talents on New Year's Day after his bone-crushing, fumble-forcing hit on Michigan's Vincent Smith in the Outback Bowl, but Clowney has lived up to the hype ever since he stepped on campus at South Carolina.

A physical freak, Clowney was one of six players tied for third in the nation with 13.0 sacks as a sophomore in 2012. In addition, only Georgia's Jarvis Jones (24.5) had more tackles for loss than Clowney (23.5), who was tied for second with Arizona State's Will Sutton.

The only team with fewer sacks than the Raiders (25) last season was the Jaguars (20).

2. Jacksonville Jaguars (draft history) - Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville

As much as I was surprised that the Jaguars did not draft a quarterback in 2013, I was just as surprised that Arizona quarterback Matt Scott went undrafted. The Jags signed Scott as an undrafted free agent and it wouldn't surprise me if he ends the year as the team's starting quarterback.

Either way, I don't expect them to pass on a potential franchise signal-caller in this year's draft.

Bridgewater, the Big East Offensive Player of the Year, led the Cardinals to an 11-2 record and a win over the Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl. At 6-3 and 218 pounds, the sophomore completed 68.5 percent of his pass attempts and finished with a 27:8 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Johnny Football might get more hype in college football, but Bridgewater should be the first quarterback drafted assuming he declares early for the 2014 draft.

3. New York Jets (draft history) - Marqise Lee, WR, USC

It seemed possible that the Jets would draft a quarterback with one of their two first-round picks in 2013, but they used both on defense. Even though West Virginia's Geno Smith fell to them in the second round, the Jets lack weapons for Smith (or Mark Sanchez or David Garrard).

Lee, the Biletnikoff award winner, had a monster season. He led the nation in receptions (118), finished second in receiving yards (1,721) and scored 14 touchdowns.

Current Stanford head coach David Shaw had high praise for Lee saying that he is the best receiver he's seen since scouting Randy Moss.

4. Arizona Cardinals (draft history) - Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan

Lewan surprised many when he decided to return to school for his senior season. Had he declared early for a draft that featured three offensive tackles selected with a top-four pick, Lewan might have been a top-five pick himself.

As a junior in 2012, he was a first-team AP All-American with Luke Joeckel. Lewan has the prototypical size (6-8 and 309 pounds) and athleticism to play left tackle at the next level.

5. San Diego Chargers (draft history) - Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M

The Chargers drafted their right tackle of the future in Alabama's D.J. Fluker in the first round and now they can address the blind side here.

Paired with Luke Joeckel as the bookend tackles protecting Johnny Football last year, Matthews will make the transition to the left side in 2013. The son of Hall-of-Famer Bruce Matthews, Matthews has a legitimate shot of being the first tackle off the board, but he should be a very high first-round pick either way.

- View the rest of this mock draft here

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 05:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

4.01 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 3): Aaron Hernandez, TE, New England Patriots

Through three seasons, Hernandez, who turns 24 in November, has missed a total of 10 games including six of them last season and has yet to play in more than 14 games in any season. Although he had offseason shoulder surgery, he is expected to be ready for training camp.

If Hernandez can stay healthy, he has the potential to be a top-three fantasy tight end for a long time.

4.02 - Kevin Hanson (Team 3): Reggie Bush, RB, Detroit Lions

As a featured back with the Dolphins the past two seasons, Bush has averaged 1,036 rushing yards and 4.7 yards per carry during that span. While he should continue to get close to the approximately 220 carries per year he received in Miami, the biggest source of optimism for Bush owners will come from what he is likely to do in the passing game.

As a rookie with the Saints in 2006, Bush had 88 receptions for 742 yards. Unlikely to repeat those numbers, he should get many more receptions than the 35 catches he had last year. In an offense that throws it more than any team (ever), Bush, who signed a four-year deal with the Lions, could come close to 70 receptions again.

4.03 - Brendan Donahue (Team 3): Michael Crabtree, WR, San Francisco 49ers

The switch from Alex Smith to Colin Kaepernick seemed to make a world of difference for Crabtree, who was a top-10 pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. Before last season, he had never reached 900 receiving yards in a season. Crabtree broke out with career highs across the board last season: 85 receptions, 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns.

From Week 8 through the end of the regular season, Crabtree amassed 51 receptions for 737 yards and eight touchdowns. With his per-game averages over that span, he would have been on pace for a season with a stat line of 91/1310/14.

Although Crabtree is entering his fifth NFL season, he is only 25 years old (turns 26 on September 14th).

4.04 - Sean Beazley (Team 3): Robert Griffin III, QB, Washington Redskins

In dynasty leagues, Griffin III is my No. 2-ranked quarterback. To some degree, RG3's injury last year may be a blessing in disguise when it comes to his longevity as a quarterback.

Going forward, I would expect him to be smarter when it comes to taking hits as a runner. With world-class speed before the injury, he will still be one of the fastest players in the league even if he's not as fast post-rehab.

Although he finished 20th in the NFL in rushing last year with 815 yards, he has the ability to make all of the throws and should continue to develop into one of the league's best passing quarterbacks with experience.

4.05 - Sean Beazley (Team 2): Eddie Lacy, RB, Green Bay Packers

In the days leading up to the 2013 NFL Draft, SI's draft insider Tony Pauline tweeted that some teams believed UCLA's Johnathan Franklin was preferred over Alabama's Eddie Lacy. In typical Ted Thompson fashion, the Packers got bargain picks with both backs: Lacy at the end of Round 2 and Franklin in Round 4.

Although his toe fusion may have scared teams like the Steelers off Lacy, he should be productive at least for the next several years in a high-powered offense like the Packers. Unfortunately, the presence of another talented runner like Franklin means that Lacy is unlikely to be as productive as he could have been without another talented rookie on the roster.

4.06 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Montee Ball, RB, Denver Broncos

Broncos EVP John Elway gave Ball high praise recently saying that the rookie runner reminds him of Terrell Davis.

Like the Steelers, the Broncos passed on Lacy due to medical concerns. "We just were worried about Eddie Lacy's medical (report) and how long he could play, and we felt like we got a career back in Montee Ball."

The biggest concern with Ball was his heavy workload in college. With 924 career collegiate carries, Ball rushed for 5,140 yards and scored 77 touchdowns. He also had 59 receptions for 598 yards and six touchdowns as well.

4.07 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints

Brees is currently tied with the rest of mankind combined when it comes to 5,000-yard passing seasons in the NFL. Both sides have three.

After setting the NFL single-season passing yardage record in 2011, Brees followed that up by becoming the first-ever quarterback to throw for more than 5,000 yards in back-to-back seasons last year.

As a 34-year-old quarterback, Brees may not have as many productive seasons left in his career as guys like Andrew Luck or Cam Newton, but he should be an elite fantasy quarterback for several more seasons.

4.08 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 2): Colin Kaepernick, QB, San Francisco 49ers

With a strong arm and tremendous athleticism for a quarterback, Kaepernick is a dual-threat quarterback that has the potential for a monster fantasy game in any given week.

In his first-ever playoff game as an example of his upside, Kaepernick threw for 263 yards and two touchdowns with one interception while also rushing for 181 yards and two scores. That is 30 points from his rushing stats alone and a total of 46 fantasy points.

4.09 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 1): Vincent Jackson, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

While most expected Jackson's numbers to drop with a move from San Diego to Tampa Bay, he actually had the best year of his career.

In his first season with the Bucs, Jackson, who turned 30 in January, set career highs in both receptions (72) and yards (1,384) and scored eight touchdowns. Not only did Jackson set career highs in receptions and yards last year, but he led the league in yards per reception (19.2).

[Related: 2013 Fantasy Football Profile and Projection for VJax - More Profiles]

4.10 - Kevin Hanson (Team 1): Roddy White, WR, Atlanta Falcons

Since 2007, White has been one of the most consistently productive receivers in the league. During that six-year span, he has had at least 83 receptions and 1,153 yards each season. He has averaged 94 receptions, 1,296 yards and eight touchdowns per year over that stretch.

Although he will turn 32 years old this year, he should have a few more very productive seasons. In addition, White has never missed a game in his eight-year career.

4.11 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Ryan Mathews, RB, San Diego Chargers

Before breaking his clavicle in the preseason last year, Mathews was going off the board within the first five picks in many drafts.

Not only did he miss four games due to a pair of broken clavicles, Mathews was disappointing when he was on the field last year. He averaged a career-low 3.8 yards per carry and scored only one touchdown in 12 games.

One of the major problems for Mathews (and quarterback Philip Rivers) was the team's poor offensive line play. While the Chargers drafted D.J. Fluker, a great run blocker, in the first round, they lost their best offensive lineman from last year in guard Louis Vasquez as well as left tackle Jared Gaither.

The talent warrants a higher pick, but the offensive line woes and durability concerns make this about the right spot for Mathews in dynasty leagues.

4.12 - Sean Beazley (Team 1): Le'Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Of all rookie running backs, I believe Bell steps into a situation that is most beneficial for his 2013 outlook . In other words, Bell is the highest-rated rookie in my re-draft running back rankings for 2013.

“He’s coming from a pro-style offense … so I expect him to get into the mix and be a factor,” Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley said of Bell (via the Detroit Free Press). “He looks like a workhorse back and I think those numbers indicate that he’s quite capable of carrying it a bunch. He’s not a guy that you’d shy away from giving it to him 30 times a game.”

Finishing fifth in the country in rushing (1,793 yards), Bell (382 carries) carried the rock more than any other collegiate back. A big back (6-2, 230 pounds), Bell has the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield for a back his size as evidenced by his 67 receptions over the past two seasons and get the goal-line touches.

- Continue to Round 5

- Go back to Round 3

Our Dynasty Fantasy Rankings: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Back on Cinco de Mayo, ex-Lions wide receiver Titus Young was arrested twice: (1) on suspicion of driving under the influence and (2) for hopping the fence of where his car was impounded in an attempt to "steal" it back.

Well, guess who was arrested again?

According to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Young was arrested in Orange County (CA) on Friday on charges of burglary, resisting arrest and assault on a police officer.

“He actually tried to fight with [the officers],” Lt. Joe Balicki of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said. “But there was more deputies than him so they were able to subdue him without — I guess there was some punches thrown but they were able to get him into handcuffs without too much damage.”

Young is still in jail on $75,000 bail awaiting a hearing on Monday.

On the bright side, it's very likely that Young won't get arrested again while he's already in jail. And to save time for future posts, I will be creating my Titus-Young-got-arrested-again template.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 03:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Earlier in the week, we began a new 2013 fantasy football dynasty mock draft and we have posted the results of Round 1 and Round 2.

We have completed Round 3 and here are those results:

3.01 - Sean Beazley (Team 1): Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers

Through his first two seasons, Newton has a total of 1,447 rushing yards for 22 touchdowns. While I think the eight touchdowns he scored in 2012 will be closer to his norm than the 14 he scored as a rookie, he would be an RB2 based on his rushing production alone in 2012. Only 22 running backs had more total fantasy points than Newton would have had from his rushing stats.

Newton, who turns 24 this weekend, threw for 7,920 yards, 40 touchdowns and 29 interceptions in those two seasons as well. I'm surprised the Panthers did not add a receiver with an early pick in the draft.

While there are a few other quarterbacks with the ability to generate a lot of points of rushing statistics, Newton has the size (6-5, 248) to make you feel more comfortable about his durability.

3.02 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Matt Forte, RB, Chicago Bears

Forte is a solid pick. He's my RB12 in dynasty leagues and the 15th running back off the board.

Although he set his career highs as a rookie with 1,715 yards from scrimmage and 12 total touchdowns, Forte has had five straight seasons with 1,400-plus YFS. If it weren't for a knee injury that forced him out of the final four games of 2011, he might have reached 2,000 YFS. (He was on pace for 1,983 that year.)

3.03 - Kevin Hanson (Team 1): Darren McFadden, RB, Oakland Raiders

It seems like McFadden has been in the league for a long time (and that he can't stay healthy). While the durability issues concern me, you may be surprised to know that McFadden is only 25 years old. (He's actually 12 days younger than C.J. Spiller.)

Back to the durability concerns, he has yet to play in more than 13 games in any of his five seasons.

When healthy, however, he has big-time talent as he showed in 2010 and 2011. While last year was disappointing, the team's offense will no longer be using a zone-blocking scheme and move back to a system that will play to McFadden's strengths.

At this point, I'm willing to roll the dice on McFadden as the 16th running back off the board. If he ever shakes the durability issues, he'll be a steal.

3.04 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 1): Andre Johnson, WR, Houston Texans

It appears that Dan is in win-now mode with team. It's the second time in a row for this team that he took a player better for re-draft leagues than dynasty leagues.

When healthy (i.e., playing a full 16-game season), Johnson, who turns 32 this summer, is 3-for-3 in 1,500-yard seasons over the past five years. Of course, that also means that he hasn't played a full season in two of the past five years.

Although Johnson had at least eight touchdowns from 2007 to 2010, he has a total of only six scores in 23 games over the past two years.

3.05 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 2): Victor Cruz, WR, New York Giants

Since emerging from relative obscurity in 2011, Cruz followed up his franchise-record season (1,536 yards) with another 1,000-yard campaign (1,096 yards). In addition, he set career highs in receptions (86) and touchdowns (10) last year.

Cruz has yet to sign his RFA tender or reach common ground on a new deal with the G-Men, but it's expected that he will and he has many years of strong production and salsa dancing in front of him.

3.06 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Percy Harvin, WR, Minnesota Vikings

As dangerous as Harvin was last season in Minnesota's offense, it's scary to think how much better he can be with the Seahawks now that he has a competent quarterback under center.

Before being sidelined for the rest of the season with injury, no receiver had more receptions (62) than Harvin through nine games. During that span, he had 677 receiving yards, 96 rushing yards and five touchdowns (three receiving, one rushing and one as a returner).

3.07 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals

If he weren't going to turn 30 years old in August, Fitzgerald should go even higher in dynasty drafts.

The Cardinals were one of the most disappointing teams in the NFL last year after losing 11 of their 12 final games last year. Not only was their quarterback play atrocious, but their offensive line allowed a league-worst 58 sacks.

The team has taken some steps to improve in both areas with the addition of Jonathan Cooper in the first round and by acquiring Carson Palmer via trade.

Just two seasons ago, Fitzgerald had 1,411 receiving yards with Kevin Kolb and John Skelton throwing him the ball. It wouldn't surprise me if he comes close to those numbers this year and in the next few years as well.

3.08 - Sean Beazley (Team 2): DeMarco Murray, RB, Dallas Cowboys

With Murray, you get a player with a similar outlook as McFadden: talented but injury-prone. If Murray stays healthy, something he has yet to do, he has the potential to put up some big numbers in the Cowboys' offense.

He has played in 23 games over the past two seasons and has accumulated 1,560 rushing yards on 325 carries and 430 receiving yards on 60 receptions.

Adding Travis Frederick, the top center in the draft (albeit a round or two earlier than expected), should help protect Tony Romo and improve the running game. While the team drafted Joseph Randle to replace Felix Jones, Randle recently hand thumb surgery and likely won't get the cast off until training camp.

3.09 - Sean Beazley (Team 3): Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

For the first time in five decades, there were no running backs selected in the first round of an NFL draft. Selected 37th overall, Bernard was the first of five running backs off the board in the second round this year.

Not the biggest back (5-9, 202 pounds), Bernard is elusive with good vision, but he can run with power as well. In addition, he is an excellent receiver out of the backfield. In two seasons with the Tar Heels, Bernard ran for 1,200-plus yards and finished with double-digit touchdowns and 45-plus receptions both years.

With a 1,000-yard rusher already on the roster (BenJarvus Green-Ellis), Bernard might not get the same kind of opportunity that other rookie rushers could get this year. That said, he should still be one of the most productive rookie runners in the league and he's my top-rated rookie running back in dynasty leagues.

3.10 - Brendan Donahue (Team 3): Lamar Miller, RB, Miami Dolphins

With the game-breaking speed to take it to the house on any given play, Miller appears to be the favorite to take over as the team's featured back with the offseason departure of Reggie Bush. In limited work (51 carries), Miller averaged just shy of five yards per carry.

That said, Miller has yet to be a featured back in the NFL and Mike Gillislee, their fifth-round pick this year, could get (many) more touches than many currently project.

3.11 - Kevin Hanson (Team 3): Hakeem Nicks, WR, New York Giants

Missing three games and never 100 percent due to his foot last season, Nicks set career lows with 692 yards and three touchdowns. In his previous two seasons, he had a total of 155 receptions for 2,244 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Assuming he can stay healthy in 2013 (and beyond), however, Nicks should bounce back next season (and beyond). Nicks just turned 25 years old this offseason.

3.12 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 3): Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts

Luck set the rookie record for most passing yards (4,374) in a season and scored a total of 28 touchdowns (23 passing and five rushing) last year. He has all of the physical tools and intangibles to potentially develop into one of the top two or three fantasy quarterbacks down the line.

In Bruce Arian's vertical passing attack, Luck threw a lot of interceptions (19), but I would expect that number to drop considerably in his second season. Although he has a new offensive coordinator, Luck is familiar with Pep Hamilton's offense from his days at Stanford.

- Continue to Round 4

- Go back to Round 2

Our Dynasty Fantasy Rankings: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 08:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

With the NFL Draft and majority of free-agency moves behind us, we have set up division-winner polls for all eight NFL divisions.

Some of the divisions (AFC East and AFC West, as examples) seem to have clear-cut favorites to win them; others should be heavily contested including the NFC West.

Just a few seasons ago, it was clearly the worst division in football. With a losing record (7-9), the Seahawks won the division in 2010.

Over the past two seasons, however, the San Francisco 49ers have won the division each year with a combined record of 24-7-1 over that span. After losing in the NFC Championship Game two seasons ago, they advanced to Super Bowl XLVII but came up short.

Going into the 2013 season, they are the preseason favorites to win it all based on their odds (6/1) from bovada.lv.

Based on the odds, the team from the NFC to give the 49ers the biggest run for their money is the Seahawks, who have 9/1 odds to win Super Bowl XLVIII.

Both teams have elite and physical defenses, strong running games and talented pocket passers with the athleticism to make plays as a runner.

In a division with arguably the two best teams in football, who will win the NFC West?

[Vote on our other division-winner polls here.]

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 04:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We recently posted Round 1 of our new fantasy football dynasty mock and now Round 2 is in the books.

Here are the results of Round 2:

2.01 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 3): Alfred Morris, RB, Washington Redskins

Alfred Morris is a perfect Terrell Davis-type fit in Mike Shanahan's offense. That said, I will always reserve a bit (or lot) of skepticism when Shanahan is involved.

As a rookie, the former sixth-round pick out of Florida Atlantic rushed for a franchise-record 1,613 yards and 11 touchdowns, both of which ranked second in the NFL.

Shanahan did not shy away from giving Morris a huge workload as he finished with 335 carries and he was tied with Houston's Arian Foster for most 20-carry games (10).

2.02 - Kevin Hanson (Team 3): Marshawn Lynch, RB, Seattle Seahawks

This pick came down to Marshawn Lynch vs. Julio Jones for me. My thought was that I would get a more talented wide receiver (than running back) with my third pick (3.07) so I went with Lynch.

Not only does Lynch have back-to-back seasons with 1,200-plus rushing yards and double-digit touchdowns, he set a career highs with 1,590 rushing yards and 5.0 yards per carry last season. While he's not a dynamic receiver out of the backfield, he has at least 21 receptions in all three seasons he has spent in Seattle.

The addition of a dynamic player like Percy Harvin to the offense should help take some of the attention from defenses off Lynch and lead to more production per touch.

That said, adding Christine Michael in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft could also spell fewer touches for Lynch.

2.03 - Brendan Donahue (Team 3): Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons

Considering I was debating Jones and Lynch, it was little surprise that Brendan took Jones here.

While the start to his young two-year career may not be as impressive as A.J. Green's, Jones has 133 receptions for 2,157 yards and 18 touchdowns plus 86 receiving yards over the past two seasons combined.

With great size and game-breaking speed, Jones will eventually emerge as the team's primary receiver over Roddy White, who turns 32 this season. Last year, Jones ranked 20th in the NFL in targets (129), but the gap between Jones and White (143) narrowed considerably from Jones' rookie season.

2.04 - Sean Beazley (Team 3): Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots

Over the past five months, Gronkowski has had three surgeries on his forearm and there could be a fourth (and fifth) soon. Not only did he refracture his arm in his first game back from the initial fracture, but he developed an infection (insert punch line) in the arm as well. How well the infection has healed is to be determined ...

When healthy, Gronkowski is the most dominant tight end in the game. He has a total of 38 touchdowns in 42 career games and has the potential to string together a bunch of games with multiple touchdowns.

2.05 - Sean Beazley (Team 2): Jimmy Graham, TE, New Orleans Saints

Five total picks in the mock so far for Sean and zero running backs up to this point.

Graham had a solid but disappointing season in 2012 as injuries slowed him down. He finished the year with 85 receptions for 982 yards and nine touchdowns after posting a line of 99/1,310/11 in 2011. He will be fully recovered from his offseason wrist surgery before the start of the season and could post numbers closer to his 2011 (than 2012) line this year.

While Gronkowski and Graham are my top two tight ends in both re-draft and dynasty leagues, the gap between the two tight ends is greater in dynasty formats considering Gronk is more than three years younger.

2.06 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Stevan Ridley, RB, New England Patriots

Ridley, who turned 24 years old in January, had a breakout season with a career-high 1,263 yards and 12 touchdowns last year. While he only has nine career receptions, Ridley should continue to get a heavy workload and goal-line opportunities for the Pats.

His 290 carries were the eighth-most in franchise history and the most since Corey Dillion had 345 in 2004.

Like with Morris and Shanahan, there will always be some skepticism with Belichick and running back workloads.

2.07 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): David Wilson, RB, New York Giants

While Andre Brown should have a prominent role as well, Wilson should be the team's featured back provided they don't bring back Ahmad Bradshaw.

As Bradshaw remains available via free agency, the Giants know him the best and appreciate his toughness. Should the price be reasonable, I wouldn't be surprised if the Giants bring back Bradshaw.

Averaging 5.0 yards per carry and 26.9 yards per kickoff, Wilson, who will turn 22 years old in June, has great quickness and explosiveness but he will need to protect the football and pass protect well to stay out of Tom Coughlin's doghouse.

2.08 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 2): Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers

Among my top-25 dynasty wide receivers, Cobb, who I rank at No. 10, is the youngest and will turn 23 years old in August.

In his second season, Cobb set career highs with 80 receptions, 954 receiving yards, 132 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.

With Greg Jennings in Minnesota and Donald Driver entering retirement, Cobb (plus Jordy Nelson and James Jones as well) should get a few more targets in the Packers' high-powered offense.

2.09 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 1): Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Things could not have gone much worse for Jones-Drew last year. Not only did he not get the new contract before/after ending his holdout, but he suffered a lisfranc injury and missed the final 10 games of the season.

At this point, MJD is still in a walking boot and is scheduled to start running in May. That's the bad news, but he is expected to be full-go in June.

The good news is Pocket Hercules enters a contract year and "has set his sights on 2,000 yards this season," according to SI's Jim Trotter.

2.10 - Kevin Hanson (Team 1): Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos

Thomas had a breakout season last year in his first with Peyton Manning. Even with the offseason addition of slot receiver Wes Welker, I don't expect a huge drop in targets for Thomas, who finished the year with 94 receptions for 1,434 yards and 10 touchdowns.

While he won't have Peyton throwing to him the rest of his career, the 25-year-old is a big and athletic receiver that should continue to get better.

2.11 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Brandon Marshall, WR, Chicago Bears

Reunited with Jay Cutler, things could not have gone much better for Brandon Marshall (and his fantasy owners) last year.

Not only was he the first 1,000-yard receiver for the Bears since Marty Booker in 2002, but Marshall set the single-season franchise record in both receiving yards (1,508) and receptions (118). Of the five receivers to finish with triple-digit receptions, Marshall was the only receiver to finish with double-digit touchdowns (11). In fact, Wes Welker was second in that group with six.

Turning 29 years old this spring, Marshall should still have a at least a few more seasons of elite-level production left in him.

2.12 - Sean Beazley (Team 1): Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans

When things are good for CJ2K, we've seen how good they could be. In the year he rushed for more than 2,000 yards, he set the single-season record for most yards from scrimmage (2,509).

Over the past couple of years, he has been much less productive than his record-setting campaign due in part to indecisive running and horrible interior offensive line play. The Titans significantly upgraded all three of their interior offensive line positions with Chance Warmack and Brian Schwenke in the draft and Andy Levitre in free agency.

With the offseason addition of Shonn Greene, who rushed for 1,000 yards last year, Johnson may come off the field at the goal line or see his overall touches decrease some.

- Continue to Round 3

- Go back to Round 1

Our Dynasty Fantasy Rankings: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 06:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Before the 2013 NFL Draft, we completed two fantasy football mock drafts (standard scoring first and then point-per-reception (PPR) scoring) for re-draft leagues.

With the draft behind us, we will do more re-draft mocks in the near future.

For the first time this offseason, however, we have begun a dynasty mock draft. With this mock, we will be making our picks via a slow draft, but I will update the picks (and add commentary) as they are made.

Scoring for this mock draft is standard scoring and a half-point per reception. Passing touchdowns are worth four points and rushing and receiving scores are worth six points. In addition, one point is earned for every 25 passing yards, 10 rushing yards and 10 receiving yards.

Like with our other mocks, four of our contributors will draft for three teams per round.

Here are the picks that have been made thus far in our fantasy football dynasty mock:

1.01 - Sean Beazley (Team 1): Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions

Johnson is the clear-cut No. 1 wide receiver regardless of scoring format (dynasty vs. re-draft, standard vs. PPR scoring, etc.). Without question, he should be the first wide receiver selected in this mock.

After becoming only the second receiver in NFL history to finish with at least 1,600 yards and 16 touchdowns in the same season in 2011, Megatron broke Jerry Rice's single-season receiving yards (1,964) record last year.

In his past 20 games counting the playoffs, he has five 200-yard games. Stated differently, he has 200-plus yards in one-quarter of his past 20 games.

With all that said, should he be the first player selected overall?

While I would personally take Adrian Peterson at this spot, I can see the logic in taking Johnson here.

Sean either takes him here or doesn't draft him. Ever. If he wants Megatron on his roster, he has to take him here.

Even though Peterson is a physical freak in his own right, he will turn 30 years old in less than 23 months. In addition, he is only 246 carries away from reaching 2,000 for his career. Those are numbers that worry me some (read: a lot) with a running back.

Meanwhile, the 27-year-old Johnson should have roughly five more dominant seasons and a few good ones on top of that. Turning 34 years old in the middle of last season, Reggie Wayne finished with 106 receptions and 1,355 yards.

A 1,300-yard rusher at 34 years old is not going to happen. Well, it has happened ... once. Only once and 30 years ago.

Back in 1983, Redskins running back John Riggins rushed for 1,347 yards at 34 years old. The next oldest to do it was Chicago's Walter Payton in 1986 at 32 years old.

1.02 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings

In re-draft leagues, Peterson is a no-brainer as the top running back (and top overall pick). As stated above, I would personally draft him first overall in this mock, but several owners may prefer a younger option at running back over Peterson.

Less than one year removed from a torn ACL, Peterson, the league's Most Valuable Player, nearly set the NFL single-season rushing record with the second-highest output of all-time (2,097 yards). In fact, almost 1,600 of those yards and 10 touchdowns came in the final 10 games of the season.

Shooting for 2,500 rushing yards this season, that goal seems somewhat less absurd after what he accomplished last year at less than 100 percent.

1.03 - Kevin Hanson (Team 1): Doug Martin, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Rookie running backs (in addition to quarterbacks) had a ton of success in 2012. While Alfred Morris ranked second in the league in rushing, it was actually Doug Martin that ranked second in yards from scrimmage among running backs.

Only Peterson (2,314) had more than rushing and receiving yards than The Muscle Hamster (1,926), a three-down back.

1.04 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 1): Arian Foster, RB, Houston Texans

Although Foster rushed for 1,424 yards last year, that was a moderate disappointment. Leading the league in carries (351), Foster finished sixth in the league in rushing and averaged a career-low 4.1 yards per carry in 2012. That said, he rushed for a season-high 15 scores.

A workhorse back, Foster has been relatively durable despite the workload and now has three straight seasons of 1,200-plus yards and double-digit touchdowns.

From a dynasty standpoint, however, Foster's cumulative workload in a short timeframe is my biggest concern. Over the past three seasons including the playoffs, Foster has 1,243 touches (1,061 carries and 182 receptions), which averages to nearly 415 touches per season.

1.05 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 2): Ray Rice, RB, Baltimore Ravens

Over the past three seasons, only Darren Sproles (220) has more receptions than Rice (200). The only player with more yards from scrimmage than Rice (5,465) during that span was Foster (5,702). Along with Peterson (5,062), only three backs have 5,000-plus YFS in the past three years.

With Rice, however, there is some concern with the presence of Bernard Pierce, a talented back in his own right.

1.06 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Trent Richardson, RB, Cleveland Browns

Had you told me there would be two 1,000-yard rookie running backs at the beginning of last season, I would have thought for sure that T-Rich would be one of them. He wasn't. Part of the problem was health, however, as Richardson dealt with injuries (ribs and knee) for much of the year.

In dynasty leagues, Richardson, who turns 23 in July, is my third-ranked running back behind only Peterson and Martin.

While he fell short of 1,000 yards (950) and averaged only 3.6 yards per carry, he scored 12 total touchdowns and was one of only seven backs with 50-plus receptions. Provided he stays relatively healthy during his sophomore campaign (and beyond), he has a legitimate shot to be a top-five fantasy back in 2013 (and beyond).

1.07 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): LeSean McCoy, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

The 2012 season was a huge disappointment for McCoy (and the Eagles as well). Following a monster season of 1,309 rushing yards and a league-high 17 rushing touchdowns in 2011, McCoy set a career low with two rushing scores and missed four games due to a concussion last year.

As the team begins the Chip Kelly era, it will be interesting to see exactly how his offense translates to (and is modified for) the NFL. While I don't think we ever see 17 rushing touchdowns from McCoy again, he should finish with 1,600 to 1,800 yards from scrimmage and around 60 receptions this year.

Although McCoy is entering his fifth season, he won't turn 25 years old until July.

1.08 - Sean Beazley (Team 2): Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers

If I could have any quarterback in fantasy, my preference would be Rodgers. He's a lock to finish in the top three in fantasy points among players at the position. That said, I'd prefer to wait on quarterback in dynasty or re-draft leagues.

Despite the gaudy stats by some other quarterbacks, Rodgers has never thrown more than 552 pass attempts, which is a career high that he set last season. That ranked tenth in the NFL last year. Matthew Stafford threw it almost 200 more times than Rodgers. That said, ARod has an 84-to-14 touchdown-to-interception ratio in the past two seasons combined.

1.09 - Sean Beazley (Team 3): Dez Bryant, WR, Dallas Cowboys

Clearly, Sean has a different strategy than the other three drafters and it will interesting to see how the draft ultimately plays out. Up to this point, there have been six running backs selected (none by Sean) and three non-running backs (all drafted by Sean).

In his breakout season, it was pedal to the medal for Bryant from Week 4 on. In his final eight games last year, he had 50 receptions for 879 yards and 10 touchdowns. That final-half pace would have led to a season with a stat line of 100/1,758/20. While I don't expect those numbers for Bryant in 2013, he has said his goal is a 2,000-yard and 20-touchdown season.

Until my latest update, Bryant was my No. 2-ranked wide receiver in re-draft leagues, but I bumped A.J. Green up in front of him (see rankings). For me, it is more of a 2 and 2(a) with Green and Bryant in re-draft leagues.

From a longer-term perspective, however, I worry some about the other stuff interfering with Bryant's ability to live up to his potential. He has had some issues off the field (like getting banned from a mall) and plays with a reckless abandon, which could lead to more injuries. In my dynasty rankings, Bryant is behind Megatron, Green and Atlanta's Julio Jones.

1.10 - Brendan Donahue (Team 3): C.J. Spiller, RB, Buffalo Bills

One of the league's most dangerous backs, Spiller had a breakout season as he set career highs with 1,244 rushing yards, 43 receptions, 459 receiving yards and eight total touchdowns.

Along with Peterson, Spiller was the only running back to average at least six yards per carry last season (6.01). Even though he ranked 22nd in rush attempts (207), the former first-round pick ranked second in the league in runs of 20-plus yards (12) behind Peterson.

With a new coaching staff in place and Fred Jackson now 32 years old, Spiller should see a larger workload in 2013 and beyond.

1.11 - Kevin Hanson (Team 3): Jamaal Charles, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

When Brendan was on the clock, my thought was that I would the running back out of Spiller and Charles that he did not take.

Charles ran for 1,509 yards on 285 carries, both of which were career highs, last season. While I wouldn't expect Charles to see a repeat of the 285 carries under Andy Reid, I do expect him to get more than the 35 receptions he had last year. Overall, I wouldn't be surprised if he came close to the career high in YFS (1,935) he set back in 2010.

1.12 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 3): A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

Green has had about as good of a start to his young NFL career as any receiver has had.

The sky is the limit for the 24-year-old receiver, who has a total of 162 receptions for 2,407 yards and 18 touchdowns combined in his first two seasons. He even has another 91 yards rushing as well.

If both Spiller and Charles had been off the board before my previous pick, I would have selected Green.

- Continue to Round 2

Our Dynasty Fantasy Rankings: Quarterbacks | Running Backs | Wide Receivers | Tight Ends

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 07:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Since the 2013 NFL Draft, we have updated our re-draft fantasy football rankings for the 2013 season for both standard-scoring and point-per-reception (PPR) formats.

We have now turned our attention to dynasty leagues and our initial dynasty rankings have been posted.

Throughout the offseason, we will continue to update both our re-draft and dynasty rankings, which you can view in our fantasy section.

Although we ranked 280-plus players, we will post our top five at each position below with the links to view the full position rankings as well.

Here are our quarterback dynasty rankings:

1. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
2. Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins
3. Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers
4. Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
5. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
- View all 51 quarterbacks ranked here

Here are our running back dynasty rankings:

1. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
2. Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
3. Trent Richardson, Cleveland Browns
4. Arian Foster, Houston Texans
5. Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens
- View all 80 running backs ranked here

Here are our wide receiver dynasty rankings:

1. Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions
2. A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals
3. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons
4. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys
5. Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos
- View all 101 wide receivers ranked here

Here are our tight end dynasty rankings:

1. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
2. Jimmy Graham, New Orleans Saints
3. Aaron Hernandez, New England Patriots
4. Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers
5. Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys
- View all 51 tight ends ranked here

If you're looking for our re-draft rankings for 2013, you can find them here.

In addition to updating our dynasty fantasy rankings, we have just started a dynasty mock draft and I will post the picks as they are made along with comments.

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 07:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Cinco de Mayo was not a festive day for ex-Lions (and ex-Rams) receiver Titus Young.

After getting arrested at 12:01 a.m. on May 5th for driving under the influence in Southern California, he was arrested again later in the day for trying to steal his impounded car, per Paula Pasche of The Oakland Press.

Young hopped the fence of the tow company that impounded his vehicle and was charged with burglary. As Pasche writes, "Two arrests, hence two mug shots."

Back in February, Young was released by the Lions, claimed by the Rams and soon thereafter released by the Rams.

While he has talent (but not as much as he thinks he has), the trouble he creates off the field outweighs the talent he has on it. It seems unlikely that Young gets another chance any time soon.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 10:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

One of the ways to build a competitive fantasy football team is to draft players that other owners in your league undervalue.

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston is often one of those players.

Last season, Colston finished with 83 receptions for 1,154 yards, which ranked 13th in the league, and eight touchdowns. Even better, only 10 receivers scored more fantasy points than Colston in 2012.

With Colston, fantasy owners get a highly productive and consistent receiver even though he lacks the upside to provide elite numbers.

Since entering the league as a seventh-round rookie in 2006, Colston has 1,000-plus receiving yards in six of seven seasons. The only exception was his injury-shortened 2008 campaign, but he was on pace for another 1,000-yard season that year.

Colston has been fairly durable even though he has had multiple knee surgeries. In the past four seasons, he has missed a total of only three games. The 2008 season was the only year that Colston played in fewer than 14 games.

Often working out of the slot, Colston has a knack for finding the endzone. He has caught 58 touchdowns in 102 career games, which is an average of 9.1 per 16 games. Only Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald (59) has more touchdowns than Colston during that span.

In an offense where Drew Brees spreads the ball around, Colston is still a lock to get 100-plus targets and lead the Saints receiving corps provided he stays healthy. Even though tight end Jimmy Graham and running back Darren Sproles will get a lot of targets as well, Brees has thrown 1,327 pass attempts for 10,653 yards and 89 touchdowns in the past two seasons.

While I don't go into fantasy drafts with the mindset of specifically targeting Colston, he's a player that I'll gladly roster once he falls further than he should. Based on current average draft position data (ADP) from Mock Draft Central, Colston is the 26th wide receiver and 63rd player overall, on average, off the board in mock drafts.

Despite being drafted as a WR3, he is a safe WR2 — and even has the potential to be a low-end WR1.

Fantasy Strength of Schedule

Based on the cumulative fantasy points allowed by their opponents from Week 1 to 16, Colston and the Saints' receivers have the league's least favorable schedule among wide receivers.

- Resources: Fantasy WR Strength of Schedule | 2013 Saints Team Schedule

2013 Stat Projection: 85 Receptions, 1,199 Yards, 9 Touchdowns

- More 2013 Fantasy Football profiles and projections

Also, check out our 2013 Fantasy Football Rankings: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 07:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well-respected Dallas Morning News columnist Rick Gosselin recently called it "unbelievable" and a "huge flat tire" that will haunt the Cowboys for eight years.

Of course, he's referring to the seven-year contract extension for nearly $120 million that the Cowboys gave Tony Romo this offseason.

Ultimately, the value of any good or service is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. Whether or not Jerry Jones should have given Romo that contract is a debate for another day. Today, we will look at Romo's value from a fantasy perspective.

In fact, Romo is one of the posterboys for value when it comes to fantasy quarterbacks.

Although he tied a career worst with 19 intercepted passes thrown last season, his interception percentage of 2.9 percent was near his career average (2.8 percent) and his third best since becoming the team's starter seven years ago.

On a positive note, Romo also set a career high with 4,903 passing yards, which ranked third in the NFL last season behind Drew Brees (5,177 yards) and Matthew Stafford (4,967). In addition, no quarterback had more 400-yard games than Romo (three) and only two others -- Brees and Stafford -- had multiple 400-yard games. Before last season, Romo had only one career 400-yard game in 105 games played.

Last season, Romo threw 648 pass attempts, which is 98 more than his previous career high of 550 set in 2009. It would only be natural to expect his passes thrown to dip some as his total last season was the 10th-most all-time.

That said, 600 pass attempts has become much more common these days and that trend should continue. Here are the number of quarterbacks that have thrown 600-plus attempts over the past four years: none in 2009, one in 2010, three in 2011 and six (including Romo) in 2012. In fact, Stafford became the first-ever quarterback last year to throw more than 700 pass attempts in a single season.

With the exception of his two injury-shortened seasons (13 games in 2008 and six games in 2010), Romo has thrown for 4,000-plus yards in four of the past six seasons. Based on his 16-game average over the span, he is averaging slightly more than 4,400 passing yards (4,401.7). During that span, Romo ranks sixth in touchdown passes (158).

Perhaps the Cowboys' biggest weakness on offense has been the team's play on the interior offensive line. While I disagree with the value of drafting a center in the first round, the Cowboys have taken a step toward protecting their huge investment in Romo by drafting Wisconsin center Travis Frederick. Even though he would be a better value a round or two later in the draft, Frederick should start immediately and be an upgrade as a rookie.

When it comes to his supporting cast, Dez Bryant finally put it all together and became the dominant receiver many thought he could be given his size, athleticism and natural abilities. Bryant finished with 1,382 yards, the most by any Cowboys receiver not named Michael Irvin, and scored 12 touchdowns. In addition, Jason Witten set the NFL record for most receptions in a season by a tight end last year.

Miles Austin is one of the better No. 2 receivers in the league and DeMarco Murray is a talented running back even though they both lack durability. With a solid core already in place, the Cowboys added several skill-position players throughout the draft as well: tight end Gavin Escobar (Round 2), wide receiver Terrance Williams (Round 3) and running back Joseph Randle (Round 5).

Fantasy Strength of Schedule

Based on the cumulative fantasy points allowed by their opponents from Week 1 to 16, Romo has the league's most favorable schedule among quarterbacks. If Romo leads your fantasy team to the championship, the Cowboys face the Redskins in Week 16. The Redskins had the league's 30th-ranked pass defense (281.9 yards allowed per game) last year.

- Resources: Fantasy QB Strength of Schedule | 2013 Cowboys Team Schedule

2013 Outlook

With a talented nucleus of weapons and a favorable strength of schedule, Romo certainly has the potential to come close to last year's numbers.

Even if he doesn't, he's an excellent value for those that wait on the position. Based on average draft position (ADP) data from Fantasy Football Calculator, Romo has been selected as the 12th quarterback, on average, in fantasy drafts over the past month.

Projection: (Passing) 399/605 Comp./Att., 4,689 Yards, 31 TDs, 16 INTs; (Rushing) 45 Yards, 1 TD

- More 2013 Fantasy Football profiles and projections

Also, check out our 2013 Fantasy Football Rankings: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 05:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Often we see talented players that spend all of their careers with a losing team join a legitimate contender near the end of the career for the chance to win a title.

After voiding the final year of his contract with the Rams, running back Steven Jackson signed a three-year deal with the Falcons and recently said that he wants "to go out on top."

Tied with the Broncos, the Falcons had the best record (13-3) in football, but they lost to the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game last year. Perhaps the addition of Jackson helps them go deeper into the postseason this year.

While Jackson joins a team that should have more success than his former team, he also moves to an improved situation from a fantasy football perspective.

The Falcons have one of the league's most potent passing attacks. Setting career highs across the board, Matt Ryan finished fifth in the NFL in passing yardage (4,719 yards). Plus, the team has one of the most talented trios of pass-catchers in the NFL with Roddy White, Julio Jones and Tony Gonzalez.

The Rams improved their passing offense this offseason by drafting wide receivers Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey and signing free-agent left tackle Jake Long. That said, Jackson has long been the primary focus of the Rams' offense (and of the defenses they faced). Facing many eight-men fronts, Jackson has averaged only 4.23 yards per carry in his career in St. Louis.

Beginning with his second season (2005) in the league, Jackson has a streak of eight consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 rushing yards. Only four running backs, all enshrined in Pro Football's Hall of Fame, have more 1,000-yard seasons: Emmitt Smith (11), Curtis Martin (10), Walter Payton (10) and Barry Sanders (10).

Back in 2006, Jackson had one of the best seasons ever for a running back. That year, he rushed for 1,528 yards, had 90 receptions for 806 yards and scored 16 touchdowns. While he will never approach 90 receptions again, Jackson is a very capable receiver out of the backfield and has finished with at least 38 receptions every season since 2005.

As productive as Jackson has been from a yardage and receiving standpoint, he has not had many goal-line opportunities within the Rams offense. Since scoring double-digit touchdowns in 2005 and 2006, Jackson has failed to hit that mark again. Over the past four seasons, he has scored a total of 20 touchdowns (19 rushing and one receiving), which ties him for 66th in the NFL during that span.

More opportunities should be available for Jackson in the Falcons' high-powered offense. Ex-Falcons running back Michael Turner, who was released early this offseason, ranks third on that list with 44 total touchdowns over the past four seasons. In fact, Turner has rushed for double-digit touchdowns in all five of his seasons in Atlanta.

The biggest concern with Jackson, who turns 30 years old in July, is the cumulative tread on the tires. No active running back has more carries than Jackson (2,395). Broncos running back Willis McGahee (1,957) ranks second on that list.

While I don't expect Jackson to break down in his age-30 season, we have seen other highly productive backs like Shaun Alexander have a precipitous and unexpected drop in production as they approach that age. With good health, however, Jackson could have his best season since 2006.

Fantasy Strength of Schedule

Based on the cumulative fantasy points allowed by their opponents from Week 1 to 16, Jackson and his fellow Falcons' running backs have the league's eighth-most favorable schedule in standard-scoring leagues. In point-per-reception (PPR) formats, they have a top-five schedule.

Unfortunately for Jackson and his fantasy owners, however, he faces the tough 49ers run defense in Week 16.

- Resources: Fantasy RB Strength of Schedule | 2013 Falcons Team Schedule

Projection: (Rushing) 245 Attempts, 1,078 Yards, 11 Touchdowns; (Receiving) 35 Receptions, 287 Yards, 1 Touchdown

- More 2013 Fantasy Football profiles and projections

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 05:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Despite transitioning from one of the league's best vertical passing attacks to an expected run-heavy offense under a first-year head coach, the change of scenery was positive for Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Vincent Jackson last year.

In his first season with the Bucs, Jackson set career highs in both receptions (72) and yards (1,384) and scored eight touchdowns. His previous career highs were set back in 2009 with 68 receptions for 1,167 yards.

With the exception of his holdout-shortened season in 2010, Jackson has 1,000-plus yards in four of the past five years.

Not only did Jackson set career highs in receptions and yards last year, but he led the league in yards per reception (19.2). Only Cincinnati's A.J. Green (seven) had more receptions of 40-plus yards than Jackson (six) last season.

Another positive with Jackson last season was his consistency.

Jackson posted solid full-season numbers (60/1106/9) in 2011, but his path to that production was a roller-coaster ride for fantasy owners. Jackson had double-digit fantasy points in only four games that year and totaled 27 receptions for 586 yards and seven touchdowns in those games. In the remaining 12 games, Jackson had only 33 receptions for 520 yards and two touchdowns.

In 2012, however, Jackson had at least 50 receiving yards in 13 of 16 games and in his final nine games of the season. In addition, he had double-digit fantasy points in twice as many games in 2012 (eight) than 2011.

With great size (6-5, 241 pounds) and big-play ability, it's a bit of a surprise that Jackson has yet to reach double-digit touchdowns in any season. That said, he has scored 36 touchdowns in 68 games over the past five seasons, which is an average of 8.47 scores over 16 games.

As quarterback Josh Freeman enters a walk year, he may need to become more consistent to secure another contract with the club. During a five-game stretch (Weeks 5 to 9), Freeman threw 13 touchdowns and only one interception. Over the past two seasons, however, Freeman is tied with Ryan Fitzpatrick for the most intercepted passes thrown (39). The team drafted big-armed quarterback Mike Glennon in the third round as a possible successor to Freeman.

Better in standard-scoring than PPR formats, Jackson is a low-end WR1 in standard-scoring leagues. Jackson finished sixth in fantasy points among wide receivers last season. If Freeman can limit the drive-ending turnovers, it's possible Jackson scores double-digit touchdowns and repeats (or even improves upon) his 2012 fantasy production.

(Strength of) Schedule

Based on the cumulative fantasy points allowed by their opponents from Week 1 to 16, Jackson and his fellow Bucs' receivers have the league's second-most difficult schedule in both standard-scoring and point-per-reception (PPR) formats.

In Weeks 15 and 16, the Bucs close the season against the Rams and 49ers. The Rams are one of five pass defenses with more interceptions than passing touchdowns allowed and the 49ers allowed the fourth-fewest passing yards last year.

- Resources: Fantasy WR Strength of Schedule | 2013 Buccaneers Team Schedule

2013 Projection: 68 Receptions, 1,285 Yards, 8 Touchdowns

From now until the start of the 2013 season, we will create fantasy profiles and projections for all fantasy-relevant players and list them here.

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 07:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Since 1998 when Peyton Manning was selected with the first overall pick, 12 of the past 16 top overall draft picks have been quarterbacks.

If the top pick in the 2014 NFL Draft is someone other than a quarterback, it will mark the first time since Peyton entered the league that consecutive top picks were not quarterbacks.

[Related: See historical list of past No. 1 picks]

While plenty will change over the next 51 weeks, here is how I see the first round next April:

1. Oakland Raiders (draft history) - Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina

The nation's top high school recruit as a senior, Clowney would have likely been the No. 1 overall pick if he were eligible for the 2013 NFL draft. Clowney became an instant national sensation on New Year's Day with his bone-crushing, fumble-forcing hit on Michigan's Vincent Smith in the Outback Bowl.

A physical freak, Clowney was one of six players tied for third in the nation with 13.0 sacks in 2012. In addition, only Georgia's Jarvis Jones (24.5) had more tackles for loss than Clowney (23.5), who was tied for second with Arizona State's Will Sutton.

The only team with fewer sacks than the Raiders (25) last season was the Jaguars (20).

2. Jacksonville Jaguars (draft history) - Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville

As much as I was surprised that the Jaguars did not draft a quarterback in 2013, I was as surprised that Arizona quarterback Matt Scott went undrafted. The Jags signed Scott as an undrafted free agent and it wouldn't surprise me if Scott ends the year as the team's starting quarterback.

If not, however, I don't expect them to pass on a potential franchise signal-caller in this year's draft.

Bridgewater, the Big East Offensive Player of the Year, led the Cardinals to an 11-2 record and a win over the Florida Gators in the Sugar Bowl. At 6-3 and 218 pounds, the sophomore completed 68.5 percent of his pass attempts and finished with a 27:8 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Johnny Football might get more hype, but Bridgewater has as much, if not more, of a chance to be the first quarterback drafted assuming he declares early for the 2014 draft.

3. New York Jets (draft history) - Marqise Lee, WR, USC

It seemed possible that the Jets would draft a quarterback with one of their two first-round picks in 2013, but they used both on defense. Although Geno Smith fell to them in the second round, the Jets lack weapons for Smith.

Lee, the Biletnikoff award winner, had a monster season. He led the nation in receptions (118), finished second in receiving yards (1,721) and scored 14 touchdowns.

4. Arizona Cardinals (draft history) - Jake Matthews, OT, Texas A&M

Paired with Luke Joeckel as the bookend tackles protecting Johnny Football last year, Matthews will make the transition to the left side in 2013. The son of Hall-of-Famer Bruce Matthews, Matthews has a legitimate shot of being the first tackle off the board.

5. San Diego Chargers (draft history) - Taylor Lewan, OT, Michigan

The Chargers drafted their right tackle of the future in Alabama's D.J. Fluker in the first round and now they address the blind side.

Along with Matthews, Lewan surprised many when he decided to return to school for his senior season. As a junior in 2012, he was a first-team AP All-American with Joeckel. Lewan has the prototypical size (6-8 and 309 pounds) and athleticism to play left tackle at the next level.

6. Tennessee Titans (draft history) - Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M

The biggest knock on Manziel, from a draft perspective, is he's not, well, the biggest quarterback. With the success last season of Russell Wilson, who slipped to the third-round due to his height (5-10), Manziel has a shot of a being a first-rounder in 2014.

Manziel, the first freshman Heisman Trophy winner, is listed at 6-1 and 200 pounds, but he set the SEC record for most yards with 3,706 passing yards and 1,410 rushing yards. In fact, he led all players in rushing -- both yards and touchdowns (21) -- in the SEC.

The team's current mobile (but inconsistent) quarterback Jake Locker will be entering a walk year in 2014. With the team upgrading their interior offensive line in both free agency and the draft as well as adding an additional playmaker in Justin Hunter, Locker will need to step up in his third year to keep the team from possibly going in a different direction.

7. Buffalo Bills (draft history) - Anthony Barr, OLB, UCLA

A converted running back from his first two seasons at UCLA, Barr flourished as a pass-rusher and finished second in the nation in sacks (13.5) in 2012. In addition, he finished tied for seventh with Texas A&M's Damontre Moore in tackles for loss (21.0).

8. Cleveland Browns (draft history) - Tajh Boyd, QB, Clemson

With a new front office and coaching staff, the Browns may go in a different direction from Brandon Weeden, who was selected in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft by the previous regime.

Boyd, the ACC Player of the Year, made nice strides as a junior. His completion percentage increased to 67.2 percent (from 59.7 percent), his yards-per-attempt average increased to 9.12 (from 7.67) and his rating increased to 165.6 from 141.2.

- View the rest of our early 2014 NFL Mock Draft

To keep track of our updates: (1) follow us on Twitter, (2) LIKE us on Facebook and/or (3) add us to your Google+ circle.

Posted by Kevin Hanson at 10:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)