2014 Fantasy Football Mock Draft, 1.0: Brendan Donahue (Team 2)
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 2:
1.06 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Matt Forte, RB, Chicago Bears
Although I was hoping he'd slip to me at 1.07, I knew there was virtually no chance of that. As noted earlier, I would have taken Forte at 1.04 so I like the value of getting him here.
Forte rushed for 1,339 yards and caught 74 passes for 594 yards, all of which are career highs, and tied his previous career high of 12 total touchdowns last season. One of the league's most complete backs, Forte benefits from having one of league's best tandem of wide receivers on the outside in Alshon Jeffery and Brandon Marshall, both of whom are also good blockers at receiver.
2.07 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Brandon Marshall, WR, Chicago Bears
In both of his seasons reunited with Jay Cutler, Marshall racked up triple-digit receptions with double-digit touchdowns and 1,295-plus yards. While his receptions (100) and yards (1,295) dropped on a year-over-year basis, Marshall was able to set a career high with 12 touchdowns.
Although Alshon Jeffery led the team in receiving yardage, Cutler missed five games and Josh McCown seemed to have better chemistry with Jeffery. Assuming Cutler plays all 16 games in 2014, I would expect Marshall to lead the team in targets once again.
3.06 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Andre Ellington, RB, Arizona Cardinals
With an opportunity to become the team's featured back, Ellington's fantasy value gets a boost in 2014. Last season, he outproduced Rashard Mendenhall, who has since retired, on a per-carry basis. In 2013, Ellington gained 652 yards on 118 carries (5.5 YPC) and added 39 receptions for 371 yards and four total touchdowns.
4.07 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals
Fitzgerald failed to reach 1,000 yards for the second season in a row, but he ended a streak of seasons with single-digit touchdowns. Last year, Fitz had 82 receptions for 954 yards and 10 touchdowns. While he didn't miss any games (for his sixth consecutive season), Fitzgerald dealt with some nagging injuries in the middle of the season.
5.06 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Vernon Davis, TE, San Francisco 49ers
Davis finished with 52 receptions for 850 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. It was the second time that he finished with double-digit touchdowns and he tied his previous career high of 16.3 yards per reception. If there is a frustrating part of owning Davis, however, it is that Davis doesn't get the amount of targets on a weekly basis that I'd expect considering how much of an athletic mismatch he is.
6.07 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers
Except for setting a career high in passing touchdowns (24), Newton set career lows in passing yards (3,379), rushing yards (585) and rushing touchdowns (six) last season. Even so, Newton finished as a top-three fantasy quarterback last season.
In an unpopular move with its fan base, the team released its No. 1 wide receiver (Steve Smith), but they drafted big-bodied wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. The receiving corps was already a team weakness so I am not so concerned about the (still) relative weakness for 2014, but the Panthers also lost left tackle Jordan Gross to retirement.
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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?
8.07 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Bernard Pierce, RB, Baltimore Ravens
While he won't face any jail time for his Atlantic City incident in February, Ray Rice could be subject to league discipline as a result. Either way, Rice was unimpressive on the field last season, which could open the door to more work for Pierce this season. That said, Pierce's production dropped off from his rookie season last year as well.
9.06 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Rueben Randle, WR, New York Giants
The good news is that Randle led the Giants in receiving touchdowns (six) last season. That bad news is he seemed to struggle at times and many of his mistakes led to Eli Manning interceptions. It's also bad news (from Randle's fantasy perspective) that the team drafted Odell Beckham, Jr. with the 12th overall pick in this year's draft. With Hakeem Nicks gone, the addition of OBJ means that Randle is unlikely to take a big step forward in 2014.
10.07 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Lamar Miller, RB, Miami Dolphins
If I told you this time last year that Lamar Miller would go one pick after Khiry Robinson, you'd probably think I was crazy. With expectations of a breakout, Miller rushed 177 times for 709 yards (4.01 YPC) and two touchdowns and added 26 catches for 170 yards last year.
On a positive note, the Dolphins have taken steps to improve their offensive line by signing Branden Albert and Shelley Smith in free agency and drafting right tackle Ju'Wuan James in the first round. (Of course, James probably would have been available with their second-round pick.) Among the 81 guards graded by PFF last year, Smith ranked fourth in run blocking.
That said, the Dolphins also signed Knowshon Moreno to a one-year deal and I would expect Moreno to get at least as many snaps and touches as Miller this season.
- See Donahue's other two teams: Team 1 - 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
