This is a mock draft I did on Fantasy Football Calculator. 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 RB/WR/TE, 1 TE, 1 DEF, 1 K, 15 rounds, PPR. Unfortunately, I do not have a PPR board (I’ll will post one very soon) so I had to use my regular board and just mentally move guys up and down depending on how many passes I think they’ll catch.

My picks: I think the 4^th spot is the best spot because it allows you to take one of the top-4 running backs. After Foster, Rice, McCoy, and Mathews, everyone else has major question marks. And yes, I’m on the Ryan Mathews bandwagon. Chris Johnson was terrible last year. Maurice Jones Drew led the league in carries last year, so he could be tired out this year. He’s also holding out and has no offensive supporting cast. Richardson is a rookie, albeit a very talented one. DeMarco Murray and Darren McFadden are injury prone, as is Bradshaw, and Charles is coming off a torn ACL, though Forte is a very nice value in the middle of the 2^nd round.

Drafting 4^th also allows you to get one of the top 4 quarterbacks in the end of the 2^nd round. Wide receivers, meanwhile, can come later as there’s so much depth at the position this year. That was exactly what I did here. I took Brees in the end of the 2^nd round, which I think is an incredible value (I was expecting to be “stuck” with Stafford).

Best picks: Forte was a steal in the middle of the 2^nd round, especially in a PPR league. There are so few good running backs this year so if you can get an elite one in the middle of the 2^nd round, you’ve done well. I was hoping he’d fall to me even over Brees at 2.09.

Worst picks: You can put anyone who took a back not named Rice, Foster, McCoy, Mathews, Forte, and Charles. The rest of those backs were reaches. I’ve already gone into the problems with all of them under the write up for my picks.

My picks: I was hoping to get Julio Jones or Greg Jennings at 3.04 and then get Percy Harvin at 4.09, but Jones went at 3.01 and Jennings went at 3.03 and rather than hope that Harvin, who I love, especially in PPR, would fall to me in the end of the 4^th round, I just took him because he was tops on my board. At 4.09, I took Shonn Greene. I know he’s not very good and doesn’t catch a lot of passes and that Tebow will vulture some goal line carries, but he has no competition for the feature back role on a run heavy team so he’ll get me volume yardage and Tebow will help open things up for him on the ground once he becomes the starter, in the way he did for McGahee last year.

Best picks: Jones and Jennings were great values at the top of the 3^rd round and while I loved getting Brees in the end of the 2^nd round, I would have loved to get Matt Stafford in the middle of the 3^rd round as well. He was a great value there. I might have considered him at 2.09. Doug Martin is also a great pick, especially in PPR. I was praying he or Fred Jackson would fall to me at 4.09, but they didn’t even come close. After those two, my running back board falls off a cliff. Colston and Nelson were guys I was considering at 4.09 as well, but they went right before me, which left me with Greene.

Worst picks: Nothing awful, except Demaryius Thomas. Thomas is still a very raw route runner, which won’t fly with Peyton Manning. Manning will rely much more on Eric Decker, a more refined route runner who he asked the Colts to draft in the 3^rd round in 2010, before Denver snatched him up. Jason Witten over Antonio Gates is also questionable because the former’s team has much more wide receiver talent.

My picks: The guy I wanted was Frank Gore because I don’t love my running backs and I still feel I can wait on the receivers because of how deep the position is. Gore didn’t fall to me and I didn’t like any of the other running backs left, so I took Gates, who happened to be tops on my board. He’ll be the Chargers’ #1 receiver with Vincent Jackson gone and, while he’s sure to miss a couple games with injury, the tight end position is deep enough that I’m fine using a 5^th round pick on someone who will give me 2^nd or 3^rd round value for 14 games and then using someone off of waivers for a few points in the other weeks. Decker, meanwhile, is my pick to lead the Broncos in receiving and he’s especially valuable in PPR. I’m totally fine with him as my WR2. This is why I held off on receivers.

Best picks: Turner doesn’t pass catch at all and he’s old, but this is a weak year for running backs so he was a great value in the middle of the 6^th round. I would have considered him at 6.09, even though I already have 2 backs. He definitely makes a nice flex and I could have probably gotten Decker at 7.04. Torrey Smith is another receiver I was considering. He’s a little bit lower than Decker on my board, but I did feel I could have probably gotten Decker in the 7^th. Matt Ryan at the end of the 6^th round was a nice selection that I would have considered if I didn’t already have a quarterback. Same with Philip Rivers. Also, as I mentioned, I like the selection of Gore in the 5^th round of a 12 team PPR.

Worst picks: CJ Spiller is a backup so the 6^th round is too early for him. Reggie Wayne is hurt. Drafting Roy Helu means you’ll probably finish the season missing half of your hair because Mike Shanahan is his coach and he hates fantasy football. Vincent Jackson will disappoint this year on an inferior offense and he’s never been that good in PPR anywhere. Aaron Hernandez will see less of the field this year given how much depth the Patriots have at wide receiver. They’ll use slightly fewer two-tight end sets. He should not have gone over Jermichael Finley or Fred Davis, both of whom have great upside.

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My picks: Jonathan Stewart was tops on my board and I still feel there’s more depth at receiver than running back. At 8.09, I thought about DeAngelo Williams over Peyton Hillis even though I have Hillis higher on my board because of Williams’ higher ADP and the value of handcuffing him with Jonathan Stewart. However, I went with Hillis anyway. The Chiefs are going to run a ton so both of their backs are startable depending on the matchup in 12 team leagues and there’s clearly upside with him if Charles gets hurt again.

Best picks: Jermichael Finley has major upside in the middle of the 7^th round and minimal downside because of who his quarterback is. Last year was a pretty bad year from him, but Rodgers carried him to 55 catches for 767 yards and 8 touchdowns. I considered him even though I have a tight end already, because we can flex TEs in this league and because Gates is injury prone. The same thing goes for Fred Davis. Even though I have a tight end, I might have considered him at 8.09 had he been available. Donald Brown is another back I liked at 8.09 along with Hillis and Williams. As a wide receiver, Lance Moore would have been in consideration as well, especially since this is PPR.

Worst picks: Stevan Ridley doesn’t catch many passes so he’s a little bit of a reach in the 7^th as someone who will split carries on a team that doesn’t run much. BenJarvus Green-Ellis sucks, especially in a PPR league. He’ll miss being on New England’s offense, averaged 3.7 YPC last year, and will split carries with Bernard Scott. Malcom Floyd doesn’t make any sense either, especially in PPR. He can’t stay healthy and 14 of his last 23 games have seen him catch 3 or fewer passes, even though roughly half of those games were without Vincent Jackson. Santana Moss over Pierre Garcon doesn’t make any sense because Moss leading the Redskins in receiving would require him to have a bounce back year at age 33. He might not even start. Brent Celek in the 8^th round is pretty early.

My picks: This is why I held out on receivers. I love Garcon’s upside in the 9^th round. On one hand, he’s never been a #1 receiver and receivers switching teams often disappoint. However, on the other hand, he caught 70 passes for 947 yards and 6 touchdowns last year with Curtis Painter throwing to him. Nate Washington caught 74 passes for 1023 yards and 7 touchdowns last year, but is still underrated because of Kendall Wright and Kenny Britt. Britt is injured and will miss several games with a suspension, while Wright is just a rookie.

Best picks: If I didn’t already have a quarterback, I would have considered Robert Griffin maybe as early as the 7^th round. DeAngelo Williams is someone I had my eye at 8.09, so he’s obviously a good value in the middle of the 9^th round. David Wilson and Mikel Leshoure were guys I would have considered had they been available at 10.09 because both will be the lead back on their respective teams if an injury prone player (Ahmad Bradshaw and Jahvid Best) gets hurt. In the meantime, they’ll be solid performers. I would have also considered Sidney Rice. He’s a boom or bust player if there ever was one, but this is the 10^th round. Jared Cook is also a starting tight end in the 10^th round, obviously a good value.

Worst picks: Carson Palmer sucks. He’s not good enough to be a QB1 and the 9^th round is too early for a QB2. Kendall Wright over Nate Washington? That’s inexcusable. Wright is not guaranteed to start and is a rookie, while Washington had over 1000 yards last year. Discounting Julio Jones and AJ Green, since the 2005 NFL Draft, 22 receivers have gone in the 1st round of the NFL Draft. In their rookie years, they have averaged 37 catches for 524 yards and 3 touchdowns. Anquan Boldin looks pretty finished. Michael Floyd will start the season as the 4^th receiver on a shitty passing offense. Mario Manningham might not even start for the 49ers, who don’t pass much.

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My picks: Vincent Brown could be the Chargers’ leading receiver by the end of the season. Malcom Floyd is mediocre and Robert Meachem never produced in New Orleans despite having Drew Brees throwing to him. Meanwhile, Ryan Fitzpatrick faces Arizona’s defense during the bye week of Drew Brees, week 6. He also has QB1 upside if he plays like he did early last season and could be trade bait after week 6.

Best picks: LeGarrette Blount was another option for me in the 11^th round, had he been available. He’s not much of a pass catcher, but his team will run a lot and he’s a good runner. Plus, you only have to look at Joseph Addai (2009), Chris Wells (2011), DeAngelo Williams (2008), Marion Barber (2008), Fred Jackson (2010) and so on to see how a team spending an early pick on a running back can have a positive effect on the incumbent starter, while rookie running backs tend to struggle in their 1^st year in the league.

Shane Vereen and Alex Green have upside as 2^nd string backs who pass catch well behind unproven starters. Andrew Luck could post QB1 numbers on what should be a pass heavy offense if he’s as good as advertised. Coby Fleener, meanwhile, could post TE1 numbers on a team without a lot of receiving depth. He also has chemistry with the starting quarterback, Luck. Jennings and Turbin, meanwhile, will be starting backs if Maurice Jones Drew holds out and Marshawn Lynch gets suspended.

Worst picks: Brandon LaFell is a pretty mediocre talent so he doesn’t have much upside. Alshon Jeffery will be a #2 receiver at best on a conservative offense and rookie receivers never have much success. He also currently is reportedly struggling with the playbook. Tebow and Locker might not even start for their respective teams. Felix Jones won’t have much value unless DeMarco Murray gets hurt, which he could, but Jones could also get hurt. LaMichael James is in too crowded of a backfield to have any upside, even in a PPR league.

My picks: Isaiah Pead will be St. Louis’ lead back if Steven Jackson gets hurt, which seems likely given his age. In the meantime, he’ll catch some passes and get some carries as they try to preserve Jackson. It’s a nice upside pick in the 13^th round, especially in a PPR league. Minnesota plays Jacksonville week 1 and then after that I can drop them and pick up a team playing a bad offense week 2 and so on. Mason Crosby is a kicker.

Best picks: Brian Quick is exactly what you want out of a 13^th round pick. He might even be his team’s #1 receiver. Sam Bradford has to throw to someone. He might not be any good though. I would have taken Jacob Tamme 2 rounds ago at least if I didn’t have a tight end or if he didn’t have the same bye week as Antonio Gates. He caught 67 passes for 631 yards and 4 touchdowns in 10 games as the starter for the Colts in 2010 and now he’s reunited with Peyton Manning with less receiving talent around him to steal targets. He’s especially valuable in PPR. Mike Williams is a good value in the 13^th round and Philadelphia’s defense is a great value in the 14^th round. I don’t value defenses much, but they should have one of the best fantasy defenses and they get Cleveland week 1.

Worst picks: Anyone who took a kicker before the 15^th round or a defense before the 14^th round. They’re just not valuable enough positions. Picking a defense every week playing a terrible offense is a much better value than using an earlier pick on a good defense, while kickers are completely unpredictable. The selection of Sebastian Janikowski gets a specific mention here. Other than that, nothing to hate on here.

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