Now that NFL free agency has pretty much wrapped up and the 2016 draft has concluded, we have a good idea of where each team around the league stands.
There's now no better time than to start mock draft season around the fake football world. Using our mock draft simulator and picking No. 2 overall, here's the second of 12 different mock drafts we will conduct between now and the start of the preseason in August.
Check out our first version here.
1. Le'Veon Bell, Running Back Pittsburgh Steelers
Bell put up 682 total yards in six games prior to suffering a season-ending knee injury about midway through the year. At that point, he was well on pace to put up yet another stellar fantasy campaign. Remember, Bell finished as the best fantasy running back the previous season.
As we saw last season, you are taking a chance at the running back position. Bell, Jamaal Charles, Marshawn Lynch and Arian Foster all missed substantial time after seeing their ADP settle in the top half of the first round. And while we do have to be somewhat concerned over Bell returning from a knee injury, he's your best bet to put up huge numbers, especially when taking into account our half-point PPR system.
2. Doug Martin, Running Back, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
After struggling over the past two seasons, Martin put up a huge rebound performance in 2015, tallying nearly 1,700 total yards and seven touchdowns en route to finishing as the third-best fantasy running back. Fresh off a new long-term deal with Tampa Bay, there's little doubt that Martin is the team's primary running back in 2016.
With the emergence of Jameis Winston under center to help sholder the load, there's no reason to believe he won't be able to put up a similar performance as the one we saw last season. The idea of going running back with our first-two picks was too good to pass up on here with the value of nabbing Martin at the end of the second round.
3. Keenan Allen, Wide Receiver, San Diego Chargers
If it weren't for a second-ending hip injury Allen suffered after just eight games, he would have finished as one of the top-five fantasy receivers in 2015. After all, Allen did put up 67 receptions for 725 yards and four touchdowns in the first half of the year. Equally as astonishing, Allen caught an absurd 75 percent of the passes thrown in his direction.
Even with the addition of Travis Benjamin in free agency and the hopeful progression from running back Melvin Gordon in his second season, there's little doubt that Allen is the Chargers top skill-position player. In a pass-happy offense that relies a great deal on Philip Rivers, this is going to make Allen a fantasy coup. Nabbing him in the third round would be mighty fine value.
4. Drew Brees, Quarterback, New Orleans Saints
The No. 6 fantasy quarterback last season, that's Brees' absolute floor this upcoming year. He's built a strong relationship with both Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead. The Saints also added a catch-first tight end in Coby Fleener as well as a big-bodied rookie receiver in Michael Thomas. The weapons are most definitely there for Brees to have yet another extraordinary fantasy campaign.
Here's a dude that's put up at least 4,800 yards and 32-plus touchdowns in each of the past five seasons. And while spening a fourth-round pick on a quarterback can be seen as a reach, acquiring this type of consistency cannot be overstated.
5. Golden Tate, Wide Receiver, Detroit Lions
With Calvin Johnson now retired, Tate takes over as the Lions' top receiver. He does so with very little competition for that spot, even after Detroit added Marvin Jones in free agency. Considering Tate himself caught 90 passes as the team's No. 2 receiver behind Johnson last season, the expectation here has to be that he will be a PPR stud.
It's also important to note that Tate has caught 69 percent of the whopping 272 passes thrown in his direction since latching on with the Lions prior to the 2014 season. Without a running back of much substance and still relying on Matthew Stafford to toss the ball around a whole heck of a lot, Tate represents WR1 value in the fifth round.
6. John Brown, Wide Receiver, Arizona Cardinals
Don't look now, but Brown actually found himself as a bottom end WR2 in 12-team leagues as a sophomore last season. He recorded 65 receptions for over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns. Not too shabby for someone we'd be relying on as a WR3 or FLEX option this year.
Now take into account Brown's status moving forward. He's leaped Michael Floyd as the team's No. 2 receiver behind Larry Fitzgerald, who himself should be ripe for regression here soon. Add in Brown's progression from his rookie season to last year, and the sky really is the limit in 2016.
7. Ryan Mathews, Running Back, Philadelphia Eagles
Now that DeMarco Murray is in Tennessee, it appears that it's Mathews' job to lose in Philadelphia. And while we can expect new Eagles head coach Doug Pederson to go with some sort of a committee approach, neither Wendall Smallwood nor Darren Sproles should be considered legitimate threats to handcuff Mathews.
The veteran running back put up nearly 700 total yards and seven scores while averaging 5.4 yards per touch last season. It's fully reasonable to expect 1,200-plus total yards in 2016, which wouldn't be a bad FLEX/bye week replacement option.
8. T.J. Yeldon, Running Back, Jacksonville Jaguars
Entering his second season in the NFL, Yeldon can definitely expect competition from free-agent signing Chris Ivory. Jacksonville made the decision to add Ivory to the mix in order to create a solid one-two punch behind Blake Bortles in the backfield. There's little doubt that this has had an impact on Yeldon's ADP leading up to training camp.
As it is, the former second-round pick did put up over 1,000 total yards en route to finishing as a solid FLEX option in 12-team leagues. If he's able to add a few more scores despite what should be less touches, this is a solid value in the mid rounds. Though, it definitely does come with a risk.
9. Dwayne Allen, Tight End, Indianapolis Colts
With Coby Fleener now in New Orleans, Allen has no competition for targets from the tight end position. That's good news considering this former second-round pick has put up just 1,045 receiving yards in his first four seasons. Yeah, we kinda dropped the ball by waiting this late for a tight end. Don't make that same mistake.
10. Antonio Gates, Tight End, San Diego Chargers
While Allen will either go boom or bust, we can expect top-12 fantasy production from Gates should he remain healthy for the entire season. After all, Gates has finished as a top-10 tight end in nine of his last 11 full seasons.
11. Vincent Jackson, Wide Receiver, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It sure did seem like Jackson was destined to be released by the Buccaneers after a sorely disappointing 2015 season that saw him catch just 33 passes in 10 games. Though, it now appears that the Bucs are willing to give it one more go with Jackson and Mike Evans as Jameis Winston's top pass catchers.
Listen, the ceiling isn't too high here. At 33 years old, there's very little reason to believe we are going to see him revert back to early-career form. What we can expect over a full 16-game schedule is for Jackson to near the 1,000-yard total while putting up six-plus scores. Not a bad bench option.
12. Marcus Mariota, Quarterback, Tennessee Titans
Mariota in Round 12? That's some kind of sick joke. In reality, if we had a guarantee this is how it would have played out, we would have relied on him as our QB1 with a late-round stack at this position. Mariota might have finished as a bottom end QB2 last season, but it's important to note he missed 12 games.
If Mariota had played a full 16-game schedule as a rookie and kept pace with his numbers, he'd have finished as a top-12 fantasy quarterback. We can only expect progressin here from him, especially with Derrick Henry and DeMarco Murray prepared to provide some sense of balance on offense.
13. Kamar Aiken, Wide Receiver, Baltimore Ravens
Even with Steve Smith returning for another season and after the addition of Mike Wallace, we can expect Aiken to provide some solid numbers for the Ravens. After all, here's a vet that put up 75 receptions for nearly 1,000 yards for an injury-plagued Baltimore squad last season. Numbers anywhere near that would represent a coup in Round 13.
14. Stephen Gostkowski, Kicker, New England Patriots
15. New York Jets, Defense/Special Teams