2014 Fantasy Football Mock Draft, 1.0: Brendan Donahue (Team 1)
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.
With the 2014 NFL Draft now behind us, we have wasted no time in starting a new fantasy football mock draft.
In this mock draft, four of our site's contributors (Kevin Hanson, Brendan Donahue, Dan Yanotchko and Sean Beazley) will each draft for three teams per round and the mock will run for 10 rounds.
Mock By Contributor: Kevin Hanson | Brendan Donahue | Sean Beazley | Dan Yanotchko
Here are all the picks from Brendan Donahue - Team 1:
1.02 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): LeSean McCoy, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
McCoy led the NFL in rushing yards (1,607), yards from scrimmage (2,146) and touches (366) in his first season playing in Chip Kelly's offense. With the addition of Darren Sproles to the team's backfield, McCoy should see a few less targets in the passing game and it's unlikely he duplicates his career-high 314 carries this year. That said, I still expect at least 300-325 touches in 2014.
2.11 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Alshon Jeffery, WR, Chicago Bears
The second-year receiver had a breakout season with 89 receptions for 1,421 yards and seven touchdowns in addition to 16 rush attempts for another 105 yards. He finished sixth among wideouts in receiving yards, but if you add his 105 rushing yards to that total, only Cleveland's Josh Gordon had more yards from scrimmage than Jeffery in 2013.
3.02 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Jordy Nelson, WR, Green Bay Packers
The loss of Aaron Rodgers for a huge chunk of the season had an adverse affect on Nelson's season, but he still managed to finish as the 11th-highest scoring fantasy receiver in 2013. Nelson had 85 receptions for 1,314 yards and eight touchdowns, but he had a line of 49/810/7 in the nine games that Rodgers started and finished. In other words, his yardage and touchdown totals would have likely been even higher had Rodgers had never broken his collarbone.
Since his breakout season (2011), Nelson has averaged 73 receptions for 1,208 yards and 11 touchdowns per 16 games.
4.11 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Ben Tate, RB, Cleveland Browns
No longer in the shadow of Arian Foster, Tate will start as the man in the Browns' backfield. When given the opportunity, Tate has been productive as he has averaged 4.7 YPC in his career. Durability is a concern, however, as he has played only 40 regular-sesaon games since being drafted four years ago.
With Josh Gordon's looming suspension, the Browns will utilize a run-heavy attack, but the Browns drafted a pair of talented rookies. Not only did they use a third-round pick on Terrance West, who posted video game-type numbers at Towson, but they signed Isaiah Crowell as an undrafted free agent. Off-the-field issues led to Crowell's undrafted status, but he may be the most talented running back in the entire draft class as a former five-star recruit before signing with Georgia.
5.02 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Toby Gerhart, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
Being second on the depth chart behind Adrian Peterson, it was no surprise that Gerhart did not get as many opportunities to carry the ball as you would expect a running back drafted in the second round to get. Over four seasons, Gerhart has a total of 276 carries for 1,305 yards (4.7 YPC) and five touchdowns. In addition, he has 77 receptions for 600 yards and three touchdowns.
By signing a three-year deal with the Jaguars, Gerhart will get an opportunity to be the team's featured back. Coach Gus Bradley has said that Gerhart could get 15-20 touches per game.
6.11 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Brandin Cooks, WR, New Orleans Saints
Maybe a round or two early for Cooks here, I really like his upside even though rookie receivers tend to struggle. When the Rams traded up in the first round for Tavon Austin, the possibilities of getting him the ball in space seemed unlimited. They weren't. I have much more faith in a Sean Payton-led and Drew Brees-quarterbacked offense to utilitize Cooks the way that the Rams should have used Austin last year.
While I would still prefer a few receivers over Cooks (including fellow rookie wideouts Mike Evans and Sammy Watkins), I can see the ultra-quick and ultra-productive Cooks finishing with a line close to 80/900/5 in his rookie season. In addition to their eight home games, the Saints have a couple of road dome games as well (Atlanta and Detroit).
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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.
8.11 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Jordan Reed, TE, Washington Redskins
The good news is that Reed has been cleared from the concussion symptoms that forced him to miss an extended period of time last season. When he was on the field, he was highly productive: 45/499/3 in nine games. On a per-game basis, Reed has top-five upside at the position, but I would be a little hesitant to draft him much earlier than this due to concerns about concussions. Reed had a history of concussions at Florida as well.
9.02 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Colin Kaepernick, QB, San Francisco 49ers
It was a somewhat disappointing season from a fantasy perspective, but Kaepernick still finished ninth in scoring among quarterbacks last year. He hit his stride at the end of the season, however, as he scored 20-plus fantasy points in the final three regular-season games last year.
Going into the 2014 season, Kaepernick will have a much more talented receiving corps to begin the season. Last year, Michael Crabtree missed the majority of the season as he rehabbed his Achilles injury. In addition to a healthier Crabtree, the 49ers traded for Stevie Johnson and drafted Bruce Ellington.
With his running ability and improved weapons, Kaepernick has tons of upside and it wouldn't surprise me if he finished as a top-five scorer in 2014.
10.11 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Marvin Jones, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
In his second season in the league, Jones took a big step forward with 51 receptions for 712 yards and 10 touchdowns. Going into 2014, Jones will have an excellent opportunity to improve on the receptions and yards totals as he is clearly the team's No. 2 receiver behind A.J. Green.
- See Donahue's other two teams: Team 2 - Team 3
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
