Twelve Team PPR Dynasty League Mock Draft

            The third week of the NFL’s Preseason is in the books. The third week is basically the dress rehearsal for some of the top players in the league. Teams like to keep their starters on the field a bit longer than they normally would. This is great for fantasy owners. We get a sneak peak at what type of shape some of our favorite players are in. It also allows for us to get a good idea of the teams’ starting lineups. This allows us to have one more chance to figure out one of those late round sleeper picks.

This time I used the fanspeak.com On the Clock mock draft simulator, available at https://fanspeak.com/fantasyotc/, to participate in a twelve team draft for a dynasty league with a PPR format. I was very pleased by the outcome of this draft. My team definitely ended up looking like a champion. As I always do, I selected my draft position by using an online random number generator. I was given the seventh spot.

In the first round I grabbed Matt Forte. Forte may be 28 years old, but he is the absolute best running back in PPR formats. The thought of having him on my team definitely outweighed the downside of his age.

I then took Antonio Brown. Brown is still young and was an absolute PPR beast in 2013. The Steelers will enter the 2014 season with Emmanuel Sanders. This means Brown is going to be Rothelisberger’s only proven target. It is not a stretch to think he will once again be able to duplicate his success from last season.

Arian Foster and Matt Forte is just too good of a one-two punch to pass on. Even if they are closer to 30 than they are to 20, passing on that would be a bad decision.

I wanted to take another running back in the third round. By this point, all the top young running backs were long gone. I could have taken Zac Stacy, but something else caught my eye. Arian Foster had not been taken yet. Foster may be older and may have spent most of the 2013 season out with an injury, but just two years ago he was one of the two best running backs in fantasy football. Foster is expected to be used even more this season in the passing game. This may not be a great long term pick, but having two of the top ten best backs in the league is just way to appealing.

I then grabbed my young tight end. At just 25 years old, Rob Gronkowski has some great long term potential. Whenever thinking about draft Gronk, you must consider his injury history. However, there is just not another tight end in the league like him when he is in the game. The risk outweighs the reward. If he can stay healthy, I would have the best tight end in the NFL for a number of years.

My next pick once again went away from the logically choice of drafting youth in dynasty leagues. At this point in the draft, I could have gone with a quarterback, running back, or wide receiver. I figured the quarterbacks would still be there in the next round and the wide receivers were not appealing to me at all. I already have Forte and Foster, but I can still start a third running back. I got Marshawn Lynch. Who wants to face a team that has those three running backs?

My sixth round pick was spent on my quarterback. I got Colin Kaepernick. This is a great addition to my lineup. Kaepernick just keeps on improving as he continues to run the 49ers’ offense. He has shown no signs of regressing. The future is so bright for this young gunslinger.

At this point I needed to add some youth to my lineup. After seeing Brandin Cooks in the preseason, I am definitely starting to rethink my position on this kid. Cooks has shown all the signs of a great possession receiver. He may not be ready to start in fantasy leagues this season, but he will get there pretty soon.

DeSean Jackson was a stud in the Eagles’ high powered offense, he is a huge addition to Washington’s offense.

I then selected DeSean Jackson. Jackson completes my starting lineup. I had to choose Cooks first because I knew if I waited any longer he would not be available. Dynasty league drafts are sometimes like this. Sometimes you will find yourself taking backups before you starters. This is because you have to think about both this season and seasons down the road. Cooks is ranked higher in dynasty leagues because of his age. However, obviously when it comes to the 2014 fantasy football year Jackson is the easy choice for the starting roster.

In the ninth round I got Cordarrelle Patterson. Patterson proved last year that he is a football player. This is the absolute best compliment one can give to a player in the NFL. It is a term used to show they are the type of player that can do everything. They are not limited to just their position. They can be plugged in anywhere at any time and be highly successful. Patterson can catch, run, and contribute on special teams. With all the different ways this guy can put up fantasy points, he may turn into one of the most sought after gems in the game at some point in his career.

I decided to add more youth with my next pick. I choose rookie running back Devonta Freeman. Eventually Steven Jackson will retire. Then the Falcons’ backfield will be open up for either Freeman or Jaquizz Rodgers to take over. The Falcons have shown they do not have too much interest in Rodgers becoming their full time running back. It is only a matter of time before Freeman becomes the man.

I then got Jeremy Maclin. I am so high on Maclin this year. He is the number one wide receiver for the high flying Eagles offense. He is also in a contract year. The team’s front office have stated that if Maclin can produce the type of year DeSean Jackson did in 2013, they will try to lock him down for a number of years. I am thinking he will get that extension.

I have two more spots on my bench at this point and I still need to draft a kicker and a defense. I did not want to wait much longer on the two starting position, but Shane Vereen dropped this far and I could not pass. Vereen is so valuable in PPR leagues. He may not be on the field as much as fantasy owners would like, but when he is Brady gets him the ball. At this point in the draft, it is too hard to pass him up.

Josh Gordon may very well be the best late round flier in dynasty leagues.

With my thirteenth pick I choose a defense. I went with the Arizona Cardinals. They were the last of the top five defenses available. Normally I would have chosen Justin Tucker here instead, but since the defenses were already going off the board I figured this was the time to pull the trigger on one. Sometimes the perfect plan just does not work out the way you would like it too.

Justin Tucker ended up going right before I was up for my next pick. I still got Stephen Gostkowski, so I guess I really cannot complain. Gostkowski is the better kicker in redraft leagues. However, when it comes to dynasty leagues, Tucker is the number one option for me.

I was down to my last pick. I just needed to fill one single roster spot. What to do. I went through the players and was not seeing anything jumping out at me based on the average draft positions. Instead I figured I would go with a deeper sleeper here. I chose Josh Gordon. Gordon led the NFL in receiving yards in 2013 and now has a possible year long suspension ahead of him. However, dynasty leagues do not just play one year. After sitting out through the 2014 season, Gordon would be back on my team. He is only 23 years old and has already shown that he can compete with the best in the business.

If you would like to see the full results from this mock draft go to https://fanspeak.com/fantasyotc/share.php?d=aef4a8eb12c00e4901c778a7b7d63809. At the end of the draft my team looked like this:

Matt Forte, Arian Foster, and Marshawn Lynch… How did I get so lucky?

• QB: Colin Kaepernick
• RB: Matt Forte
• RB: Arian Foster
• WR: Antonio Brown
• WR: DeSean Jackson
• TE: Rob Gronkowski
• FLEX: Marshawn Lynch
• K: Stephen Gostowki
• DEF: Cardinals
• BENCH: Brandin Cooks
• BENCH: Cordarrelle Patterson
• BENCH: Devonta Freeman
• BENCH: Jeremy Maclin
• BENCH: Shane Vereen
• BENCH: Josh Gordon

I wish this was a real league. The great thing about dynasty league is the ability to gain bragging rights for many years to come. As far as I am concerned, this team looks like it would be the leagues very first champion. It possibly could even win the first two or three championships. After that things would be a little tough on me, but with as many championship rings as I would have, it would not be that big of a deal.