2014 Fantasy Football Mock Draft, 1.0: Kevin Hanson (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 Kevin Hanson - Team 2:
1.07 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Marshawn Lynch, RB, Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks drafted Christine Michael early in the 2013 draft, but Lynch should continue to be the team's workhorse back. For a third consecutive season, Lynch rushed for more than 1,200 yards with double-digit touchdowns. Over that three-year span, he has 901 carries for 4,051 yards, 87 catches for 724 yards and a total of 39 touchdowns.
2.06 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
As a change-of-pace back, Bernard had a productive rookie season and finished inside the top 20 fantasy running backs for the full season in standard-scoring formats. Averaging just shy of 15 touches per game on the season, his carries increased each month — 8.0 per game (Sept.), 9.8 (Oct.), 12.0 (Nov.) and 13.0 (Dec.). Finishing eighth among all running backs in receptions (56), he was an even better option in point-per-reception (PPR) formats.
Going into 2014, Bernard should be ready for his workload to continue its ascension. Before the draft, coach Marvin Lewis referenced the jump in workload and production that Ray Rice had from his rookie to second season and hopes Bernard "can take those same steps."
While the team drafted LSU's Jeremy Hill in the second round, they will likely move on from The Law Firm and I still expect Bernard's touches to increase from last season.
3.07 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers
Not only did Rodgers miss several games due to injury, so did Cobb, who played only six games last season. The dynamic 23-year-old receiver averaged career highs in receiving yards (72.2 per game) and rushing yards (13.0 per game) when he was on the field.
With good health in 2014, Cobb should have a huge season. Based on last year's averages, Cobb would have finished with 1,363 YFS had he maintained that pace over a full 16-game season.
4.06 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Julius Thomas, TE, Denver Broncos
Orange Julius had a breakout season in 2013 as he finished with 65 receptions for 788 yards and 12 touchdowns in 14 games. A mismatch waiting to happen, Thomas should be even better in 2014 in his second season as a starter in Peyton Manning's offense.
5.07 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Percy Harvin, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Playing only 10 regular-season games over the past two seasons, the concern with Harvin is his durability. When he's on the field, however, Harvin is one of the most electric and dynamic receivers in the NFL. As White (my first pick in this round) and Harvin indicate, quality wide receivers are available in Round 5.
6.06 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Michael Floyd, WR, Arizona Cardinals
In his second NFL season, Floyd caught 65 passes for a team-high 1,041 yards, nearly double his 562 yards as a rookie, and five touchdowns. With the wide receiver position so deep, I have Randall Cobb (third round), Percy Harvin (fifth) and Floyd (sixth) as my WR1-3 on this team.
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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.
8.06 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
It was a disappointing season for Brady — 4,343 yards, 25 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. Twelve other quarterbacks scored more fantasy points than Brady.
Whether or not he bounces back in 2014 will depend partly (or largely) on the health of tight end Rob Gronkowski, whose season ended prematurely due to a torn ACL. In the seven games that Gronkowski was active, Brady averaged 315 passing yards and 1.86 touchdown passes compared to averages of 237.56 yards and 1.33 touchdowns in games he missed.
9.07 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Terrance West, RB, Cleveland Browns
While the players may change from year to year, there is one player unlikely to find his way to any of my rosters in 2014: Ben Tate. Even though the Browns should be a run-first team, especially with the pending suspension of Josh Gordon, Tate's durability concerns make his ADP of 35th overall a little too steep of a price for me to pay. Tate has played 40 games in four seasons.
With Tate's ability to stay healthy the main obstacle to a featured role, West could find himself with a prominent role in this offense. Granted, there is an enormous jump in level of competition from Towson to the NFL, but the big back (5-foot-9, 225 pounds) was über productive in his time there and running back is one of the positions easiest for a rookie to make an impact. Last season, West ran for 2,509 yards and 41 touchdowns!
10.06 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Khiry Robinson, RB, New Orleans Saints
The third of three Saints running backs selected, Robinson has the potential to score more fantasy points than any in the group. There was a report that Parcells told coach Sean Payton: “Parcells called this week and said, ‘Sean what are you doing? You’ve got Curtis Martin right in front of your eyes, and you’re not doing anything with him. Give him the ball.’”
While it's (obviously) way too soon to induct Robinson into the Hall of Fame, it says a lot when Parcells compares a player to a Hall-of-Fame running back that produced for the coach. Robinson has an excellent combination of size, power and elusiveness.
- See Hanson'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
