2016 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Round 3
- Mock start date: Saturday, May 14th- Mock end date: Saturday, May 28th
Scoring: This mock draft is based on standard-scoring formats and is for the 2016 season only (i.e., not keeper or dynasty leagues). 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 or 10 receiving yards.
In this mock draft, four of our contributors -- Kevin Hanson, Brendan Donahue, Sean Beazley and Dan Yanotchko -- will each draft for three (of 12) teams.
Note: This is a "slow" mock, but picks will be added once they are made with commentary from Kevin Hanson.
View Round: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 | By Teams
Here is Round 3 of our post-draft 2016 Fantasy Football Mock Draft:
3.01 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 1): Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Although he set career highs of 74 catches for 1,206 yards, Evans had just three touchdowns (after 12 as a rookie) and led the league in drops. Only 22 years old (turns 23 in August) and with the continued development of Jameis Winston, Evans has a chance to post markedly better numbers in 2016.
3.02 - Brendan Donahue (Team 1): Brandon Marshall, WR, New York Jets
In all but two games last season, Marshall had either 100 yards and/or a touchdown (or more) as he set a career high in touchdowns (14) and nearly missed a career high with 1,502 yards. In fact, it was the first time since Randy Moss (2003) that a receiver had at least 109/1,502/14 and only the fifth time in NFL history. While I don't expect a repeat of his historic numbers, 1,200-plus yards and 8-10 touchdowns would be a reasonable projection for his second season with the Jets.
3.03 - Kevin Hanson (Team 1): Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos
With 1,400-plus yards and double-digit touchdowns in each of the previous three seasons, Thomas had 105 catches for 1,304 yards and six touchdowns in 2015. With Peyton Manning (retirement) and Brock Osweiler (free agency) now longer in Denver, Thomas may still approach last year's stat line but his upside is a bit capped due to the team's quarterback situation for 2016.
3.04 - Kevin Hanson (Team 2): Keenan Allen, WR, San Diego Chargers
Playing only eight games last season, Allen hauled in 67 catches for 725 yards and four touchdowns -- or a full-season pace of 134/1,450/8. Before sustaining the injury, only Julio Jones (70) had more catches and only Jones (892) and DeAndre Hopkins (870) had more receiving yards. If he can stay healthy, the 24-year-old receiver should rank near the top of the league in targets in 2016.
3.05 - Sean Beazley (Team 1): Sammy Watkins, WR, Buffalo Bills
Trading up to select Watkins with a top-four pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Bills finally started to use Watkins the way fantasy owners wanted. Of course, it took some public complaints by Watkins for that to happen. Not only did Watkins have at least 80 yards in his final six games, but he exceeded 100 yards in four of those games and he scored a total of six touchdowns during that stretch. One concern with Watkins, however, is that he had foot surgery recently, which could keep him out of the preseason and foot injuries are always a concern with receivers.
3.06 - Sean Beazley (Team 2): Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers
The top-scoring fantasy quarterback in 2015, Newton threw for 3,837 yards and 35 touchdowns while rushing for 636 yards and 10 touchdowns. Newton has now finished as a top-four fantasy quarterback in four of his five NFL seasons. No quarterback has more weekly upside than the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player as he finished as the weekly QB1 in five of his final nine games in 2015.
3.07 - Brendan Donahue (Team 2): Brandin Cooks, WR, New Orleans Saints
The breakout may not have been as great as many had expected, but Cooks finished the season with a productive stat line of 84/1,138/9. Eight of those touchdowns came in the final nine games and three of his four 100-yard games happened in December so he carries momentum into 2016.
3.08 - Brendan Donahue (Team 3): T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts
Disappointing fantasy owners, Hilton still finished with 1,124 yards but just five touchdowns. With 67-plus yards in six of his first seven games, Hilton had more receiving yards (606) than all but five receivers through Week 7. Given that Andrew Luck played just seven games all season including a few at less than 100 percent, Hilton's numbers should bounce back in 2016 assuming a healthier version of Luck under center.
3.09 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 2): Latavius Murray, RB, Oakland Raiders
Scoring the 11th-most fantasy points among running backs, Murray finished fourth in the NFL in touches (307) and sixth in rushing (1,066 yards). Not only did he have a large workload overall, Murray had 15-plus touches in 15 of 16 games with 13 being the lone exception. Here is the list of players with 15 15-touch games in 2015: Murray. End of list. Comments by the coaching staff about Murray this offseason are a bit of a concern, but the good news is they waited until the fifth round to draft a running back (DeAndre Washington).
3.10 - Dan Yanotchko (Team 3): C.J. Anderson, RB, Denver Broncos
Drafted as a late first-round pick in many 2015 fantasy drafts, Anderson started slowly and spent much of the season in a timeshare with Ronnie Hillman. In the second half of the season, however, CJA was much better than both his first half and Hillman. Starting with Week 8, Anderson carried the ball 85 times for 540 yards (6.35 YPC) and five touchdowns and hopefully that momentum will carry over into 2016. The Broncos brought back Hillman on a one-year deal, but the bigger concern is fourth-rounder Devontae Booker becoming more involved as the season progresses.
3.11 - Kevin Hanson (Team 3): Jonathan Stewart, RB, Carolina Panthers
There are a couple of concerns with Stewart: (1) durability and (2) Cam Newton-vultured touchdowns. After all, Newton has the third-most rushing touchdowns since entering the league in 2011. Before a Week 14 injury, however, Stewart had eight consecutive games with 20-plus carries so the workload is there when healthy even though he has missed at least three games in four consecutive seasons.
3.12 - Sean Beazley (Team 3): Jordan Reed, TE, Washington Redskins
Dominant in the 2015 fantasy playoffs, Reed finished as the weekly TE1 in Weeks 14, 15 and 16 as he hauled in a total of 25 catches for 333 yards and five touchdowns during that three-game stretch. On the year, only Rob Gronkowski and Gary Barnidge scored more fantasy points than Reed. The only concern is durability; Reed has played only 34 games through three seasons.
> Continue to Round 4 of our Fantasy Football Mock Draft
> Go back to Round 2 of our Fantasy Football Mock Draft
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