2012 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: EDSFootball.com Contributors, 1.0
Scoring: This mock draft is based on leagues that use standard scoring -- i.e., not point-per-reception (PPR) scoring. 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 our first 2012 Fantasy Football Mock Draft under way (pre-Super Bowl XLVI), six EDSFootball.com contributors represented two teams each in our 12-team standard-scoring mock draft. Picks for both teams managed by Steve Woodhull will be updated below with commentary after every few rounds.
Mock draft start date: January 29, 2012 Mock draft end date: TBD
Your best pick so far? Larry Fitzgerald – The Kevin Kolb experiment didn’t work so well this year, but I see Arizona as a sneaky good team that’s getting better. They won seven of their last nine games after putrid start last year. After 1,400 yards last year, I can only imagine how good this year will be with a little continuity in the offense.
Your best pick so far? Frank Gore - A workhorse back in a run-first offense. I feel like he’s a lock to get 250 carries, will accumulate 1,200-plus rush yards and was a steal in the 3rd round. Only a slight concern that Kendall Hunter will continue to emerge and steal touches.
Hindsight is 20-20, but which pick would you do over? Willis McGahee – It’s not that I dislike McGahee this year. In a John Fox offense there’s more than enough rush yards to go around, but there were a couple of better running backs on the board. Namely the next three off the board -- DeMarco Murray, Stephen Jackson, and AP -- have higher upside potential.
Hindsight is 20-20, but which pick would you do over? Ben Tate – Getting skewered by my peers for taking him this early. I have a lot of faith that he’ll get more carries this year, but as being pointed out until a more equal timeshare is proven, I basically burned a 4th-round pick on a handcuff to someone else's Arian Foster.
Overall thoughts about how your teams are shaping up? I once compared drafting a fantasy football team to buying Christmas gifts for my wife. Every year I think the same thing, this is the year I nailed it! Got all the right players/gifts, didn’t overspend, etc. Then every year shortly after Christmas the same thing happens, I’m losing to the guy who no- showed on draft day and was auto-selected a kicker in the 5th round and my wife is returning everything I bought. Needless to say, I like the way my teams are shaping up. Team 1 is a little weak at RB, but I think there will be a lot of value deep at running back still to be taken and I have three positions I won’t ever have to think about who I’m starting (QB, TE, and WR1). Team 2, I feel pretty much the same, but a little stronger on RB1, but a little shakier at RB2 and TE.
Which one of your two teams do you like the best? Team II: I’m really pleased with the way this team shaped up. With Aaron Rodgers, I feel like I have the best {fantasy} QB in the NFL and two solid starters at running back (Gore and Benson). Both Gore and Benson had over 270 rushing attempts last year, and both of their teams are expected bring back most of the same offense and I expect both to be top 10 fantasy running backs in 2012. Also, I think there’s tremendous upside potential with Ben Tate and Daniel Thomas. Tate and Thomas both have the skills and offensive line to be top fantasy rushers, they’ll just need commitment from the team in the form of 200+ carries. The WRs are solid with Brandon Marshall and Mike Williams at 1 and 2, and Greg Little as my third, and although he’s the number 1 on the bad team, he’s still the number 1 on a team. I’m most concerned with Witten at TE. He could be top 5 at the position or he's maybe on the downslide of his career.
Aside from your teams, which team has had the best draft so far? Sean Team II: Aside the from the Brady- Gronkowski combo, which could lead to some serious double-dipping of points all season long, I really like his two wide receiver selections. Jordy Nelson is equal to, if not slightly ahead of Greg Jennings for Packer wide receivers and Kenny Britt was a steal. Due to Britt’s injury last season, people have forgotten how dominant he was and will likely be on an improving Titans team. Two WRs that could be in the top 10 in fantasy points at the position is a commodity, no other team will have. I’d be a little concerned with his running back situation. After Jackson, I don’t have a lot of faith in his RBs. I wouldn’t trust the Jets to fix the offensive line issues for Greene, LeGarrette Blount was a nice story a couple of years ago, but hasn’t been a consistent threat yet, and Toby Gerhart is little more than a backup to the AP show in Minnesota.
FANTASY FOOTBALL RANKINGS:
- Standard Scoring: QBs
| RBs
| WRs
| TEs
(2012 Fantasy Football Rankings coming this week.)
Based on results from FantasyPros.com, Kevin Hanson ranked third overall in accuracy in 2011. Here's what FantasyPros wrote (about Hanson) in their year-end announcement of accuracy results:
"... Hanson was a fixture in the top 5 throughout the season and even led the contest heading into the final week. He also owns the distinction as being the only expert to eclipse the 70% PAY™ mark for a single position. ... Simply put, if you needed QB advice in 2011, the ultimate source to go to was over at EDSFootball. That’s not to say that Hanson was a one-trick pony, however. He also earned a top 10 rating at both WR (# 3) & RB (# 8), demonstrating that he’s among the best of the best when it comes to fantasy prognostication."
SEE ALSO:
- 2012 Mock Draft Databases: NFL | NBA
- 2011 Draft Results: NFL | NBA
