2014 Fantasy Football Mock Draft, 1.0: Round 7
Mock Draft Start Date: Monday, May 12th
Mock Draft End Date: Saturday, May 24th
Scoring: This mock draft is based on re-draft leagues (2014 season only). Passing touchdowns are worth four points while rushing and receiving touchdowns are worth six points. In addition, one point is earned per 25 passing yards, 10 rushing yards and 10 receiving yards.
Here are Round 7 results (commentary from Kevin Hanson):
7.01 - Sean Beazley (Team 1): Marques Colston, WR, New Orleans Saints
For the first time in four seasons, Colston finished with less than 1,000 yards (943) and he also tied a career-low in touchdowns (five). Unfortunately for Colston and his fantasy owners, he dealt with a foot injury that slowed him down last season and it could slow him down again this season.
7.02 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Brendan is working on cornering the market in rookie wide receivers with Cooks at 6.11 and Evans here, but they are obviously two different types of receivers. Often compared to new teammate Vincent Jackson when it comes to NFL comparables, Evans has great size (6-foot-5, 35-inch arms) and excellent athleticism for his size. While it's typically difficult for rookie receivers to make a major impact, Evans should be able to make an immediate impact in the red zone.
7.03 - Kevin Hanson (Team 1): Joique Bell, RB, Detroit Lions
The two players I debated here were Bell and Andrew Luck, who was the next pick by Dan. In both cases, they would be excellent values at this spot with ADPs (via Fantasy Football Calculator) of 59 and 52, respectively.
With several quarterbacks still available, I felt more comfortable that I'd be able to get a quarterback that I like at 8.10 than I would be able to get a running back value there. The team's new offensive coordinator has indicated that he'd like to split the workload between Bell and Reggie Bush, but that essentially happened last season. Bell gained 1,197 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns on 219 touches last season.
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7.04 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 1): Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts
For this team, Dan took some players earlier than I would take them (specifically Megatron, Hilton and Sproles), but Luck is not one of them. Luck finished fourth in fantasy points among quarterbacks last season and he has improved weapons this year. Not only did the Colts add Hakeem Nicks in free agency, but Luck will hopefully have a healthy Reggie Wayne for the entire season.
7.05 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 2): Fred Jackson, RB, Buffalo Bills
Entering last season as an after-thought following C.J. Spiller's breakout season, Jackson delivered for fantasy owners that got him late. Tied with Ryan Mathews, Jackson finished for 10th in fantasy points among running backs last season.
Will Jackson get 1,283 YFS and 10 touchdowns again this season? I doubt it. But then again, who expected that type of production from him last year? While a fantasy owner shouldn't expect too much from a 33-year-old running back, Jackson has made a career out of outperforming expectations.
7.06 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Hakeem Nicks, WR, Indianapolis Colts
A bit of a boom-or-bust pick here with some safer wide receivers still on the board, Nicks has been one of the league's top wide receivers, but he should be highly motivated in 2014. After finding the demand for his services less than lukewarm in the free-agent market , Nicks settled on a one-year deal with the Colts and will be be auditioning for a new contract.
From 2010 to 2011, Nicks had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with a total of 155 receptions for 2,244 yards and 18 touchdowns. During that span, he ranked 11th in receptions, ninth in yards and was tied for fifth in touchdowns.
Over the past two seasons, however, he has managed an underwhelming total of 109 receptions for 1,588 yards and three touchdowns. Last year, Brendan scored as many touchdowns (zero) as Hakeem.
Will the nightmare continue for Nicks and his fantasy owners in 2014? Or will be a motivated Nicks exceed his reduced expectations?
7.07 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Eric Decker, WR, New York Jets
Decker 172 receptions for 2,352 yards and 24 touchdowns over the past two seasons combined. In each of those seasons, he has finished with at least 85 receptions, 1,000-plus yards and double-digit touchdowns. In fact, only two other receivers had a line of at least 172/2,352/24 over the past two years: teammate Demaryius Thomas (186/2,864/24) and Dez Bryant (185/2,615/25).
That's the good news, but there's an obvious catch.
Is there a bigger fantasy buzzkill than going from Peyton Manning and the high-powered Broncos offense to the Jets low-powered offense? While their offensive woes last season was partly due to their lack of weapons, Decker enters a new role as a team's No. 1 wide receiver and will draw a more difficult assignment every week.
7.08 - Sean Beazley (Team 2): Darren McFadden, RB, Oakland Raiders
Perhaps one of these years, McFadden will stay healthy and be productive for an entire season. And perhaps Aussie supermodel Miranda Kerr will fall madly in love with me one of these years. (So, you're telling me there's a chance?)
In all seriousness, sadly, McFadden has yet to play a full 16-game season and it's been worse over the past three years (29 total games) than it was in his first three seasons (38 games). Largely in part to overall durability, I'd prefer Maurice Jones-Drew over Run DMC, but McFadden's ceiling is higher if everything comes together.
7.09 - Sean Beazley (Team 3): Sammy Watkins, WR, Buffalo Bills
Among rookie wide receivers, Watkins is second behind only Tampa's Mike Evans in my 2014 fantasy football wide receiver rankings, but he is the third one off the board in this mock.
The most complete rookie receiver in this year's draft class, Watkins has big-time speed, great hands and is a dangerous runner in the open field. While he should lead the Bills targets and production, it's disappointing that he ends up in a cold-weather environment with a less-than-ideal quarterback situation. After all, it's already difficult for rookie receivers to make significant impacts in Year 1.
7.10 - Kevin Hanson (Team 3): Golden Tate, WR, Detroit Lions
Going from a run-first offense in Seattle to Detroit's pass-first offense should lead to a significant boost in fantasy production for Tate. Without a real (healthy) No. 2 receiver opposite Calvin Johnson for several seasons, Tate helps take some pressure off Megatron. But, of course, Megatron's presence on the other side will open things up more so for Tate, who should always see single coverage.
Tate set career highs in receptions (64) and yards (898) to go along with five touchdowns last season, but I would expect the 25-year-old receiver to set new career highs in 2014.
7.11 - Brendan Donahue (Team 3): Riley Cooper, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
Perhaps I'm too low on Cooper (he's my WR48 yet he has an ADP of WR37), but there are several wide receivers that I'd prefer over him. On a positive note, however, he is coming off a career year (47/835/8) and the team's leading receiver from last year is now in Washington.
7.12 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 3): Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons
Expecting Ryan to bounce back this season, he was going to be a target for one of my three QB-less teams in Round 8. There are still several quarterbacks that I like on the board so I'm not terribly worried about Dan getting him here, but I do like the pick.
The key to Ryan's success next year will be improved health from his top two receivers — Julio Jones and Roddy White — especially with the retirement (I'm pretty sure) of tight end Tony Gonzalez. In the first five games of the year, Jones averaged 116.0 yards per game but he missed the rest of the season with a foot injury. (He should be ready to go for camp.) While White's health struggles limited him at the beginning of the year, he hit full stride in December with 502 yards in his final five games.
> Continue to Round 8
> Go back to Round 6
2014 Fantasy Football rankings from Kevin Hanson:
- 2014 Fantasy Football QB rankings
- 2014 Fantasy Football RB rankings
- 2014 Fantasy Football WR rankings
- 2014 Fantasy Football TE rankings
