We just had our yearly fantasy football keeper league draft at work this week. I will be breaking down the draft in the third of my five-piece mock draft series. Keep in mind, when I list an owner not having a pick in a certain round, it simply just means that pick was used on a keeper and they have elected to forfeit their pick in the current round for the 2011 season. We each had an opportunity to keep up to four players, but some owners chose to keep less. Either way, this draft will give you a great indication of where players are being selected in a keeper league format. In most instances in a keeper league, you must over value and consequently over draft some players due to the lack of depth from the player pool. For example, Jason Witten is on average being draft between rounds 4-6 in normal drafts. However, in a keeper league with a more shallow player pool available, Witten is being taken anywhere from rounds 2-4. Keep that in mind when evaluating our mock draft. It is a standard league scoring PPR (point per reception) format with bonuses for 150+ yard games rushing or receiving. Quarterbacks also get a five point bonus for throwing over 400 yards. It is a snake style draft format, so the player with the last pick in the round will select first in the following round, so on and so forth. We do not use a tight end position. Instead, he have 2 running back starters, 2 wide receiver slots and 2 flex positions that you can play RB, WR or TE’s. We could not keep anyone selected in the first three rounds of last year’s draft, so the first three rounds should be close to a normal fantasy football league draft.
Owners:
#1 overall pick – Cowboy
#2 overall pick – Andrew
#3 overall pick – Jeff
#4 overall pick – Tim
#5 overall pick – Tony
#6 overall pick – Adam
#7 overall pick – Lucas
#8 overall pick – Ryan S.
#9 overall pick – Erik
#10 overall pick – Corey
#11 overall pick – Ryan B.
#12 overall pick – Billy
Mock Draft Round 5:
49) Reggie Bush
50) Mark Ingram
51) Matt Ryan
52) Plaxico Burress
53) Matt Schaub
54) No Pick (Antonio Gates, keeper)
55) Vernon Davis
56) Danny Amendola
57) Antonio Brown
58) Austin Collie
59) Pierre Garcon
60) No Pick (Dwayne Bowe, keeper)
Round Overview: It’s funny to me that the guy Miami spent all their off-season acquiring, in the form of Reggie Bush, was selected in our draft after Miami rookie RB Daniel Thomas. Bush is explosive, but we’ve all been waiting for that breakout season. It may never come, but he can be a useful running back in a PPR league nevertheless. With his pass-catching ability out of the backfield, Bush makes up for any rushing inefficiencies. The best pick of this round was Mark Ingram by Andrew. What a steal this guy could be for the Saints and how fitting is it that he was selected after the man whose spot he is filling, in the form of Bush. Ingram has been compared to Emmitt Smith since I could remember, and in that Saints offense he could be lethal. Add the fact that Ingram was a keeper selection, nearly doubling his value. If Ingram stays healthy, he is already listed as the top back in Saints camp. I like seeing Plaxico being drafted here. It is a safe pick with not a whole lot of risk involved…just kidding. But, people know what Burress “could do” when he was playing at his best. Yet, how will two years off settle with him? I believe he’ll be better off because it gave his body plenty of time to rest. Jim Harbaugh loves tight ends so why not take a chance on Vernon Davis? He has proven that he has elite ability. He just hasn’t proven it on a consistent basis. The Antonio Brown pick here could be a nice steal. It may be a bit early for him here, but if he is utilized in the Pittsburgh offense, he will be an asset. The two Colts Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon would be solid picks any other year, but not this season with the questions behind Manning.
Mock Draft Round 6:
61) No Pick (Mike Wallace, keeper)
62) Mike Tolbert
63) LaDainian Tomlinson
64) No Pick (Arian Foster, keeper)
65) James Starks
66) Mike Thomas
67) Matthew Stafford
68) Michael Crabtree
69) Lee Evans
70) A.J. Green
71) Jonathan Stewart
72) Sidney Rice
Round Overview: I chuckle when I look at this round a bit. Last year, I thought LT was done. He proved me semi-wrong. He actually broke down late in the season after an amazing first half, proving he is not dead. I like the pick better this year due to the value. He isn’t being overpaid for in the sixth round of a keeper league. James Starks could be a monster if given the opportunity. I love his upside. Matthew Stafford could be the steal of this round. Stafford is primed for a breakout season with a healthy Megatron and Jahvid Best. Will Michael Crabtree make a McFadden-like impression on the league this year? My guess is no, but the talent is too good for me to pass on him in this round. A.J. Green and Julio Jones were ranked #1 & #2 WR’s in the country as freshman a few years ago. Fast forward to their rookie years in the NFL and they are ranked the #1 & #2 rookie WR’s. I have always favored Jones, however with the value of this pick in the sixth and considering Jeff can keep Green, while Erik can’t keep Jones, I actually favor the Green pick instead. He is the only receiving option with the Bengals outside of Jordan Shipley. Check out my next article for rounds 7 & 8 to be reviewed…
