Twelve Team Standard Scoring Mock Draft

In order to select my position in the mock drafts I use a random number generator website. This time I got the sixth pick. This is perfect. I love to pick right in the middle of the order. This way I never have to wait too long in between my picks. I get a top notch player and do not have to sacrifice getting a below average guy in the second round.

Eddie Lacy is could be considered a top five fantasy football running back.

When my first pick came up I felt like I was in such luck. I had my choice between Marshawn Lynch and Eddie Lacy. I really could not have asked for anything better than this. I decided to go with Lacy. Lacy was an absolute stud last year, especially when Aaron Rodgers was healthy. Once Rodgers went down, defenses started focusing in on the rookie running back. He still did well even with eight defenders in the box. Rodgers is coming into the season with a clean bill of health and Lacy should really benefit from this.
I was not as fortunate in the second round. I was hoping Brandon Marshall was going to drop to me. Sure enough, two picks before I was up he was snatched away from me. I was looking at my wide receiver options and did not see anything jump out at me. Then I checked out the running backs. Not very many were left. I knew I had to jump on one now because if I did not I probably would not get a strong second running back. I ended up with Andre Ellington. Ellington is going into a good situation. He performed well as a starter in the second half of 2013. Because the Cardinals are so good at the wide receiver positions, defenses cannot afford to zero in on the running backs. This will allow for Ellington to be very successful running up the middle.
Now I knew I needed to take a wide receiver. My pick came up and there was nothing. Not a single wide out available was worth a third round pick. I decided to take Zac Stacy instead. I typically never go three running backs in a row because it means my wide receivers will be incredibly weak, but it was a better option than wasting a third rounder on a guy I could get in the fourth or fifth.

Crabtree could emerge as one of the best wide receivers in fantasy football in 2014.

Fourth round came up and I grabbed my first wide receiver. I got Michael Crabtree. Crabtree was a stud in the last few games of the season and only improved throughout the playoffs. He is coming at a fair price in drafts this year. He should easily be a high end second wide receiver. In my case he will have to do as a first.
The very next round I grabbed T.Y. Hilton. I looked at my team and wished it was a dynasty league. So far every guy I have is young. Hilton had emerged as Andrew Luck’s go to guy. Reggie Wayne is 35 years old, so it is looking like the torch is being passed.
In the sixth round I was hoping to take Julian Edleman, but once again he was stolen from me shortly before my pick. Instead I took Jeremy Maclin. This might be a bit of a reach at this point, but my wide receivers are pretty thin. If Maclin lives up to what the eagles expect of him, he may end up being a number one wide receiver. At this point he is a third wide out at best. However, since I only have Hilton and Crabtree, the potential reward greatly outweighs the risk.
It was time to take my quarterback. I basically had a choice between Colin Kaepernick and Nick Foles. I choose to go with Foles. I had just selected Maclin so why not grab a wide receiver/ quarterback combo. Foles did not make any mistakes last year. With how risky my team is turning out to be, I really wanted a guy here who would just put up a steady number of fantasy points each week.

Nick Foles did not make many mistakes in 2013. He is a great choice for an owner who just needs consistency from his quarterback.

Next I took Trent Richardson. Grabbing a number one running back on any NFL team in the eighth round is never a bad idea. Sure he was only the 33rd highest scoring running back in 2013, but with Lacy, Stacy, and Ellington the risk in grabbing Richardson here is minimal. If he does not pan out it is not a big deal. I am not planning on starting him anyways.
I now wanted another back up wide receiver. I ended up taking Tavon Austin. Once again, I was wishing this was a dynasty league. Austin has a lot of potential because the Rams try to get the ball in his hands a number of different ways. He may end up being a bit of sleeper this season.

Following Austin, it was time to fill another starting position. Normally I would take tight end earlier in the draft, but since I waited I missed the major run on tight ends. So I figured I would just wait even longer and take two at some point. The first tight end I took was Charles Clay. I think Charles Clay is highly underrated and is definitely a number one tight end especially in a league with twelve or more teams.

Then I took another running back. I went out on a limb and went with Mark Ingram. It seems like every year is the year Ingram is going to turn it on and live up to that super high selection on his draft day. This year seems to have the best potential so far. Since Darren Sproles is out of New Orleans, Ingram will have more opportunities to prove himself. If he cannot get the job done this year, he never will.

Next I chose Robert Woods. Woods is going to be the number one wide receiver in Buffalo. He is going to be a number one wide out who is treated like a number two by defenses. Defenses are going to focus more on Sammy Watkins because of all his rookie hype. While they are busy watching a first year player, Woods should be able to make a giant leap in his second season.

Remember how I said I planned on taking two tight ends. Well my second tight end was selected in the thirteenth round. I got the once best tight end to ever grace fantasy football: Antonio Gates. Gates has definitely fallen off the map in recent years, but he is still worthy of a spot start from time to time based on who the Chargers are playing.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ defense is not getting very much love in fantasy drafts this year, but they should be.

Typically I would never wait this long to grab a defense or a kicker, but this time I did because my starting lineup was so unproven. Due to my starters all being young I wanted to make sure I had a lot of options on my bench. In the fourteenth round I still ended up getting the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense. The Chiefs’ were the number one defense in the league during the first half of 2013. They had the absolute best special teams unit and scored more touchdowns than any other defense.

In the final round I grabbed a kicker. I sat and watched as so many good one flew off the board. I hoped and prayed my guy would not go. Sure enough, he did not. I got Mason Crosby. Crobsy was fantastic in 2013 and nobody really notice. Everyone was too busy talking about Gostkowski, Prater, and Tucker to see that Crosby was putting up between 10 and 15 fantasy points a game.
My roster ends up looking like this:

Most people are going to be enamored with Sammy Watkins, but do not be surprise when Woods becomes the best Bills’ receiver to own.

QB: Nick Foles
RB: Eddie Lacy
RB: Andre Ellington
WR: Michael Crabtree
WR: T.Y. Hilton
FLEX: Zac Stacy
TE: Charles Clay
K: Mason Crosby
DEF: Chiefs
BENCH: Jeremy Maclin
BENCH: Trent Richardson
BENCH: Tavon Austin
BENCH: Mark Ingram
BENCH: Robert Woods
BENCH: Antonio Gates

At a first glace I was not a huge fan of this team. However, after seeing what the rest of the teams in the mock draft looked like I am definitely competitive. This all comes down to if my guys can live up to expectation. These young players are always risky. Just because they do good in their first or second year does not mean they will be able to do it again. As far as I am concerned the only guy only my roster with a proven track record is Mason Crosby. Other than him, everyone has some sort of a question mark. If they all were to perform as well as they did last season, or better, this is a championship contender.