We are currently in the midst of fantasy football draft season. While eDraft has focused on providing our readers in-depth analysis and some of the best tools on the Internet, sometimes it makes sense to just provide you with a specific mock draft based on ADP and our draft simulator.
This enables our readers to acquire an understanding of where specific players are going in drafts prior to actually taking part in a real draft.
In this mock, we decided to select No. 1 overall. Some believe that this is the best possible position to draft from, but I do not agree with that statement. Selecting first overall means that your next pick isn't until the the last selection of the second round. If you're drafting with others who know what they're doing, there is strong likelihood that you're going to miss out on picking up a second top-20 player in terms of ADP. Therefore, getting that one elite player with the top pick comes at a price.
In any event, check out this 16-team, standard 12-team mock (2RB, 2WR, FLEX).
The results are based on eDraft's draft simulator, which is free to use.
Quarterbacks
I decided to wait until the mid rounds to nab my QB1 in Philip Rivers, who surprised a ton of people with his bounce-back 2013 campaign. Rivers might not be in the in the same class as the Drew Brees and Peyton Manning's of the world, but he offers value much later in the draft. If you're selecting within the first three picks of the first round, you really need to consider waiting as long as possible for a quarterback. The idea behind this philosophy is nabbing starters are other positions of more need, while finding value at quarterback later.
If you do decide to go with someone of Rivers' caliber, you need to find a viable QB2 option. That's where streaming this position in the mid rounds makes sense, especially if you have already picked up starters at other positions. It's my expectation that Andy Dalton will take a step back from his No. 5 quarterback ranking last season. Even if that's the case, he's a top-tier QB2 option in standard league. Should Rivers fall back to Earth and struggle, you have a legitimate option to replace him in the starting lineup. Others that could be picked up later to team up with Rivers include Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger and even Ryan Tannehill.
Running Backs
Picking within the top three of the first round means that you're going to get one of the truly elite running backs. In this specific mock, I decided to go with LeSean McCoy over Jamaal Charles. There is a simple reason for this. McCoy will be the better fantasy option in 2014.
Outside of that obvious debate, picking up one of these guys indicates that you can likely pass up on reaching for a RB2 option at the bottom of the second round. That's where Ryan Mathews in the fourth and Frank Gore in the fifth come into play. Why not fill out your starting wide receiver spots with more value and look for running backs who seem to have floors at top-tier FLEX options? In addition to Gore and Mathews, there are other options in these rounds. Based on ADP, the likes of Rashad Jennings, Zac Stacy and Toby Gerhart would be available.
Remmeber, if you're picking up Charles, you're RB2 doesn't necessarily need to be an elite player at that position. You can afford to take a chance with a higher-upside player, because if he succeeds...you're in a good position to win the championship.
Wide Receivers
This is where it gets sexy. Deciding to pass up on a running back in Rounds 2 and 3 means that you can nab an upper-echelon WR1 and bottom-tier WR1 with the selections in those two rounds. Alshon Jeffery and Jordy Nelson both ranked in the top-11 of fantasy receivers last season. And there is no reason to believe that either will drop off in 2014.
After that, it's questionable. You can either look for higher-upside bench options at wide receiver, mainly because you picked up a FLEX at running back earlier. Or you could go out on a limb and nab another wide receiver after you've addressed the RB2 position and use that pick on the FLEX position.
I decided to go with Frank Gore as my FLEX option, which means that my WR3 (Kendall Wright) is a less-than stellar option. If you're going to go into that direction, you need to take a chance further down on your bench at wide receiver. That's where the likes of Mike Evans, DeAndre Hopkins and other young receivers come into play.
Tight End
Much like quarterback, the philosophy of waiting on tight end makes a ton of sense. Unless you're nabbing a Jimmy Graham or Vernon Davis relatively early, DON'T reach for a tight end. Players like Jordan Reed, who would have been a mid-tier TE1 option if he didn't get injured midseason, are perfectly fine players to start on a consistent basis. You can even take it a tad further by attempting to stream young tight ends such as Tyler Eifert and Eric Ebron later in the draft.
In any event, here is how this mock played out in terms of overall rankings. I hope you learned a couple things, at least from a strategy standpoint.
