Fantasy Football Party: Mock Draft #1

Fantasy Football Party: Mock Draft #1

Our first preseason mock draft is in the books! Thanks so much to Urban Growler for hosting during the monsoon of the century on Tuesday night. Before I give my thoughts on the mock, here’s a quick rundown:

  • 10 teams, starting 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 FLEX, 1 K, 1 DEF. 2 bench spots.
  • Snake draft format
  • Standard (non-PPR) scoring
Phillip Jennings Alex Harley Chris R’obert
QB FAT Tony Romo – 10 Andrew Luck – 4 Russell Wilson – 5 Aaron Rodgers – 4 Drew Brees – 5
RB Adrian Peterson -1 Eddie Lacy – 3 Mark Ingram, Saints – 3 Ezekiel Elliott -1 Doug Martin – 3
RB Jonathan Stewart – 4 Carlos Hyde – 5 Jeremy Langford – 6 Le’Veon Bell – 2 Latavius Murray – 4
WR Mike Evans -2 Antonio Brown -1 Odell Beckham Jr. – 1 Amari Cooper – 3 Julio Jones -1
WR Brandon Marshall – 3 Keenan Allen – 2 Allen Robinson – 2 Larry Fitzgerald – 5 Dez Bryant – 2
WR Randall Cobb – 5 Kamar Aiken – 8 Demaryius Thomas – 4 Marvin Jones – 8 Kelvin Benjamin – 6
TE Greg Olsen – 6 Coby Fleener – 6 Delanie Walker – 9 Jimmy Graham – 9 Travis Kelce – 9
FLEX Emmanuel Sanders – 7 Rasahd Jennings – 7 Ameer Abdullah – 7 Justin Forsett – 6 Michael Crabtree – 7
K Graham Gano – 12 Dan Bailey – 12 Brandon Mcm’ANUS – 12 Blair Walsh – 11 Steven Hauschka – 11
DEF Seahawks – 11 Vikings – 11 Chiefs – 11 Bills – 12 Bengals – 12
BEN Matt Forte – 8 Josh Gordon – 9 Matt Jones – 8 Melvin Gordon – 7 DeAngelo Williams – 8
BEN Jordan Matthews – 9 Chris Ivory – 10 Sammie Coates – 10 Philip Rivers – 10 Sterling Shepard – 10
Randy Ryan 2V Bo Magsh
QB Carson Palmer – 6 Elisha Manning – 7 Ben Roethlisberger – 9 Cam Newton – 4 Tom Brady – 6
RB Todd Gurley-1 David Johnson -1 Lamar Miller -1 Thomas Rawls – 3 LeSean McCoy – 1
RB DeVonta Freeman – 2 C.J. Anderson – 5 Jeremy Hill – 6 DeMarco Murray – 5 Jamaal Charles – 2
WR TY Hilton – 3 Jordy Nelson – 2 A.J. Green – 2 DeAndre Hopkins – 2 Alshon Jeffery – 3
WR Golden Tate – 4 Brandin Cooks – 3 Jarvis Landry – 3 Tyler Lockett – 6 Julian Edelman – 4
WR Allen Hurns – 7 Sammy Watkins – 4 Doug Baldwin – 4 Stefon Diggs – 7 John Brown – 7
TE Jordan Reed – 5 Ladarius Green – 12 Eric Ebron – 12 Gronk -1 Tyler Eifert – 10
FLEX DeSean Jackson – 10 Dion Lewis – 6 Eric Decker – 5 Michael Thomas – 8 Jeremy Maclin – 5
K Chandler C. – 11 Mason Crosby – 11 Stephen Gostkowski – 10 Justin Tucker – 11 Adam Vinatieri – 11
DEF LA Rams – 12 Cardinals – 10 Panthers – 11 Texans – 12 Broncos – 12
BEN Ryan Mathews – 8 DeVante Parker – 8 Giovani Bernard – 7 Arian Foster – 9 Michael Floyd – 8
BEN Willie Snead – 9 Danny Woodhead – 9 Donte Moncrief – 8 Mohamed Sanu – 10 Blake Bortles – 9

At first blush I think my favorite team among these belongs to R’obert, though I don’t mind what Randy did, either. I like my team a lot, but there’s WAY too much risk involved. I kinda got carried away and figured what the hell, it’s a mock draft, go big or go home. There’s certainly a ton of upside with this squad, but overall probably way too much risk. I could’ve mitigated it with later round picks given larger benches so I’m not necessarily throwing a team like this out—especially since it’s a 10-team league so there’d be a deep waiver wire—but given the parameters of this mock I could’ve played things a bit safer.

Philip Jennings surprised folks off the top by taking Adrian Peterson, but I like that pick. In PPR or ½-PPR leagues I’m all for taking the top 3 WRs first, but in standard leagues I think it’s smart to take advantage of the few true bell-cow RBs out there. Wide receiver is incredibly deep this year (as are QB and TE), so while everyone is loading up there I’m all for going after elite RB talent and letting everyone else roll the dice on the committees. Some will work out, some won’t. But you’ll be set at the position, and still have plenty of solid WR options available to you.

Ryan put together a nice squad as well, though with Lewis, Green, Watkins, Nelson and Parker there’s a ton of injury concern a la my team.

What I liked about R’obert’s team is the way he was able to take advantage of the market’s current position on a couple of RBs I’m extremely high on—Doug Martin and Latavius Murray. I think both are underrated in general, so getting them in the 3rd and 4th round showed that the middle-round selection of top WRs is a fine play as well if the folks up front don’t snag that top tier of WRs right away.

Alex got some great values at RB as well, and I liked the boldness of taking Coby Fleener in the 6th round as the third TE off the board. He’s certainly got top 5 TE upside, and at that later point in the draft I like being aggressive there.

My favorite pick of Harley’s was probably Sammie Coates in the 10th. I’ve got him too low on my cheat sheet. He’ll be moving up soon.

Thanks again everyone for participating, and we hope to see you out at our next events!

2016 Pre-Season Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets

2016 Pre-Season Fantasy Football Cheat Sheets

Update: 7/31 (added Bo Mitchell’s Cheat Sheet, updated John Tuvey’s)

Our 2016 fantasy football cheat sheets have arrived! We’ll be updating these throughout the preseason as news/injuries dictate, so check back often and be sure to print the latest version(s) prior to your draft.

Maggio’s cheat sheet @MPLSMaggio

Mitchell’s cheat sheet @Bo_Mitchell

Tuvey’s cheat sheet @jtuvey

 

You can follow us (@ZoneblitzCOM), like us on Facebook, or bookmark our Fantasy Football Resources page to stay on top of when the latest versions are released.

And as always, feel free to hit us up on Twitter with questions. Happy drafting!

Fantasy Football Party Preseason Events Schedule

Fantasy Football Party Preseason Events Schedule

That’s right–1500 ESPN’s Fantasy Football Party Podcast comes to you this season with BONUS PRESEASON EVENTS! Mock drafts, Q&A, comedy jokes, and more!

WIN A $50 ZUBAZ GIFT CARD AT EACH EVENT!

 

 

Sunday, August 28 | 1 – 4 pm

Northgate Brewing

783 Harding St. NE, Minneapolis

Featuring Purple FTW! host Andy Carlson (@AndyCarlsonShow) and The Blitzed podcast and TheHuddle.com contributor Harley Schultz (@NewClearHarley) as VIP mock drafters!

 

Wednesday, August 31 | 6 – 9 pm

Bent Brewstillery

1744 Terrace Dr., Roseville, MN

Featuring KSTP Sports’ Chris Long (@ChrisLongKSTP), Star Tribune’s Michael Rand (@RandBall), Zoneblitz.com’s own Andy Tellijohn (@ZoneBlitzCom), ProWrestling.net’s Jason Powell (@ProWrestling.net), The Howl Podcast and howlintwolf.com editor-in-chief Aaron Groshong, and The Blitzed podcast and TheHuddle.com contributor Harley Schultz (@NewClearHarley) as VIP mock drafters!

 

 

MODERATED BY: 1500 ESPN Fantasy Football Party co-hosts Bo Mitchell, John Tuvey, Anthony Maggio

 

Up to 12 individuals/teams can participate in the mock draft portion of the event. We’ll draft 12 rounds, with the co-hosts providing advice, analysis, and plenty of comedy jokes. Participants will be first come first served, up to 12 teams. Email ffparty@zoneblitz.com prior to the event with your name and the date(s) of the event(s) you’d like to participate in, or send us a message on twitter to @theFFParty. Once 12 spots are taken, we’re full!

We’ll also have a drawing for one $50 Zubaz gift card! Anyone is eligible to enter, either by emailing ffparty@zoneblitz.com prior to the event or by signing up at the event. WINNER MUST BE PRESENT! If gift card isn’t claimed within 2 minutes, we’ll keep drawing names until someone wins.

If you have any questions, please email ffparty@zoneblitz.com.

Maggio’s Week 16 Fantasy Football Position Rankings

Here it is, folks. My FINAL weekly rankings of the 2016 season. It’s championship week, so let’s go win some titles!

Adjustments will be made throughout the week to account for news, injuries, etc. Post questions in the comments below or on Twitter @MPLSMaggio.

This is also the final week of FantasyDraft.com hosting a Pants Party listener league, so get in and show Bo and I what you’ve got! It’s still $5 to play, and the top five of 15 entrants in the payout zone, with $21 to first place!  Click this link to get in, and do it before the contest fills up! And if you’re a first-time player at FantasyDraft.com, deposit $10 when you click this link to play and you’ll get $5 fantasy cash to use as a free entry into our contest!

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Maggio’s Week 15 Fantasy Football Position Rankings

Hopefully you survived last week’s injury carnage and are in your league’s semifinals this week!

Here are my weekly position rankings to help you set your fantasy lineup. Adjustments will be made throughout the week to account for news, injuries, etc. Post questions in the comments below or on Twitter @MPLSMaggio.

Also, in honor of the fantasy playoffs, FantasyDraft.com is changing up our weekly league to a tournament-style contest instead of a 50/50 for the final three weeks. It’s still $5 to play, and now the top five of 15 entrants in the payout zone, with $21 to first place!  Click this link to get in, and do it before the contest fills up! And if you’re a first-time player at FantasyDraft.com, deposit $10 when you click this link to play and you’ll get $5 fantasy cash to use as a free entry into our contest!

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