There's no time to waste in draft season, so let's get right to the Mock Draft below. The draft is probably my favorite industry league draft during camp, the Site Owners Fantasy Association (SOFA). It took place Tuesday night, August 19th.
It is crucial to understand the league scoring system and starting requirements, because it greatly affects draft value. This is PPR league that starts 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 DEF, and 1 Kicker. Standard is scoring otherwise, with four points per passing touchdown.
Don't underestimate how heavily this format tilts towards receivers, especially because of the flex position. Unless you have three exceptional running back options, you should plan to start four wideouts every week. In this scoring system, players like Roddy White and Bobby Engram outscored Marion Barber and Willis McGahee last season. Using our <a href="http://www.rotoworld.com/premium/draftguide/football/cheatsheet_page.aspx" 2008="" projections, Jerricho Cotchery outscores Maurice Jones-Drew and Larry Johnson. Chris Chambers tops Laurence Maroney. That doesn't mean you should draft in that order (position scarcity still matters), but running backs will slip in this format.
Here are the results.
Round One1.01. Fantasy Sharks:LaDainian Tomlinson
1.02. Fantasy Guru:Adrian Peterson
1.03. The Huddle:Brian Westbrook
1.04. Rotowire:Joseph Addai
1.05. FFMastermind:Steven Jackson
1.06. FSP:Clinton Portis
1.07. Sports Weekly:Frank Gore
1.08. FFToday:Marshawn Lynch
1.09. FootballGuys:Marion Barber
1.10. KFFL:Larry Johnson
1.11. Rotoworld:Randy Moss
1.12. Fantasy Insights:Terrell Owens
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Trends, Etc: Westbrook usually goes ahead of Peterson in this format, but not always. . Steven Jackson's holdout hasn't hurt him yet, although I've seen him fall further in other drafts. . There is always a Larry Johnson believer out there. He went about 15 picks too early in our view. . Owners clearly believe Lynch will catch more passes this year. I was hoping to get him and a top receiver with my first two picks, but Lynch didn't fall. I happily took Randy Moss.
Round Two2.01.Reggie Wayne
2.02. Rotoworld:Andre Johnson
2.03.Reggie Bush
2.04.Tom Brady
2.05.Ryan Grant
2.06.Peyton Manning
2.07.Braylon Edwards
2.08.Maurice Jones-Drew
2.09.Larry Fitzgerald
2.10.Marques Colston
2.11.T.J. Houshmandzadeh
2.12.Tony Romo
Trends, Etc: One of the hardest decisions of my draft was A.J. vs. Reggie Bush. It definitely changes the complexion of a team to go WR-WR in any format, no matter how many points they score. (Our optimistic projections for Johnson would place him as the RB5 in scoring.
Still, the top tier of wideouts is safe. I don't feel that way about Bush. I knew the top wideouts would be gone next time around. And frankly, it's a good idea to try different strategies in these "industry" leagues. There's sadly almost nothing at stake. Everyone in the draft would rather win their local leagues with friends and co-workers, which is how it should be. They certainly put more energy into it. Plus I had the right draft slot to go this route. . Brady fell further than usual, but Peyton Manning's knee injury didn't scare people away. Three quarterbacks going in round two show the difference in how the industry views the position this season.
Round Three3.01.Chad Johnson
3.02.Drew Brees
3.03.Santonio Holmes
3.04.Darren McFadden
3.05.Steve Smith (CAR)
3.06.Calvin Johnson
3.07.Torry Holt
3.08.Brandon Marshall
3.09.Brandon Jacobs
3.10.Jamal Lewis
3.11. Rotoworld:Wills McGahee
3.12.Matt Forte
Trends, Etc: It was very surprising Chad Johnson didn't fall further because of his shoulder injury, which has a lot of mystery around it. . Steve Smith and Brandon Marshall didn't get knocked much for their suspensions, which makes sense. . I was disappointed Jacobs didn't fall two more spots. As you'll see later, this was a draft that I took the players with sinking stock. The guys no one wanted. McGahee would have gone in the mid-second round two weeks ago. There are definite concerns, but I was comfortable with the value here. . Calvin Johnson's preseason hype is definitely affecting his status.
To practice your own Mock Drafts and see ADP data, head to our new site MockDrafts.Rotoworld.com.
Round Four4.01.Wes Welker
4.02. Rotoworld:Anquan Boldin
4.03.Carson Palmer
4.04.Plaxico Burress
4.05.Ben Roethlisberger
4.06. Antonio Gates
4.07.Greg Jennings
4.08.Jason Witten
4.09.Laurence Maroney
4.10. Thomas Jones
4.11.Michael Turner
4.12.Roy Williams (DET)
Trends, Etc: I really wanted Welker, but thought McGahee might go on the turn and running back was a bigger priority. I'm not remotely concerned about Boldin's contract displeasure. . Gates' improving health rightly puts him first at tight end. . Solid running back options like Maroney, Jones, and Turner fall late. . Palmer is a good value a round or more later than Brees and Romo.
Round Five5.01.Kellen Winslow
5.02.Dwayne Bowe
5.03.Earnest Graham
5.04.Roddy White
5.05.Jerricho Cotchery
5.06.Willie Parker
5.07.Lee Evans
5.08.LenDale White
5.09.Edgerrin James
5.10.Marvin Harrison
5.11. Rotoworld:Selvin Young
5.12.Kevin Smith
Trends, Etc: Once again, serviceable RB2/3 options continue to fall. . Marvin Harrison is an excellent boom-or-bust pick at this stage. LenDale White goes two rounds in front of Chris Johnson, which is surprising. We have Johnson projected just ahead of White in PPR leagues, but both should be productive. . Young has some boom-or-bust to him, but he can be a top-15 back while healthy.
Round Six6.01.Tony Gonzalez
6.02. Rotoworld:Ronnie Brown
6.03.Laveranues Coles
6.04.Kevin Curtis
6.05.DeAngelo Williams
6.06. Rudi Johnson
6.07.Jonathan Stewart
6.08.Chris Chambers
6.09.Nate Burleson
6.10. Donald Driver
6.11.Hines Ward
6.12.Julius Jones
Trends, Etc: Definitely my gut check pick of the night. Jonathan Stewart and Chris Johnson were there, and Stewart was very tough to pass on this late. The idea isn't to make popular picks in August; the idea is to win. And for a sixth-round pick, I believe Brown can make a huge difference in November and December when championships are decided. Perhaps I'm wrong, but don't afraid to make unpopular picks, no matter what they are.
There is only one certainty in fantasy football: The consensus is a moron. The consensus will look horribly, pathetically odd eight weeks from now. I've said this before, but no set of rankings could look half as crazy as what will actually happen. That's the beauty of sport. We can make our projections as educated as possible. But if we knew what would happen, it wouldn't be much fun.
With all that said, the Rudi Johnson and Nate Burleson picks this early made me shudder. Just like my Brown pick probably did for others. Rudi is going to split carries, if he's ever healthy enough to play. Burleson is in a great situation, but is an inconsistent talent. . Interesting to see DeAngelo Williams and Stewart go closely together. Expect to see that in most drafts.
Round Seven7.01.Ricky Williams
7.02.Chris Johnson
7.03.Donovan McNabb
7.04.Matt Schaub
7.05.Santana Moss
7.06.Jay Cutler
7.07.Fred Taylor
7.08.Joey Galloway
7.09.Bernard Berrian
7.10.Chris Cooley
7.11. Rotoworld:David Garrard
7.12.Chester Taylor
Trends, Etc: The running back talent starts to fall off a cliff after this round. Arguments can be made for Johnson, Ricky, and the Taylors as solid RB2/3 flex options. Chris Wesseling will tell anyone that will listen Johnson should have gone two rounds higher, and I hope he's proven right. The running backs after this round get risky. . Looks like Rotoworld is not the only site with Matt Schaub fever. Cutler is in my tier of quarterbacks with Roethlisberger and McNabb, so I was very disappointed to see him go ahead of me. I didn't trust who would get back to me and went with my highest ranked remaining quarterback. . Galloway, Berrian, and Moss all get hurt in PPR leagues because they won't rack up receptions.
Round Eight8.01.Matt Hasselbeck
8.02. Rotoworld:Jeremy Shockey
8.03.Vincent Jackson
8.04.Derrick Mason
8.05.Javon Walker
8.06. Ted Ginn Jr.
8.07.Rashard Mendenhall
8.08.Eli Manning
8.09.Derek Anderson
8.10. Felix Jones
8.11.Dallas Clark
8.12.Marc Bulger
Trends, Etc: With Mason, Walker, and Ginn going off the board way too early, I'm feeling warm and fuzzies about having Boldin (our tenth-ranked PPR wideout) as my WR3. . At this stage, I chose being strong at other positions rather than building running back depth. Felix Jones and Mendenhall aren't bad picks at all in this round. But Shockey gives me an every-week starter, a PPR gem in Sean Payton's system. May as well go all the way receiver. If I really need the help, the wideouts are good trading chips. . Rotoworld isn't huge on Derek Anderson this season, but this is further than we've seen him fall. He's a fair value here.
To see the rest of this draft, head over to Rotoworld. Analysis of the second half of the draft will go up on Pancake Blocks on Wednesday. And to get rankings and projections for each player, check out the Rotoworld online draft guide.
