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2014 NFL Draft Mock top 10 (Fantasy purposes only)

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports


So what would the top ten of this year’s NFL Draft look like if team owners and general managers were only concerned with helping fantasy football teams? Defensive players and kickers are no where to be found and erased from draft boards and replaced with, well of course, more offensive players! We are not worried about position depth or building for the future. The only thing these NFL teams want to do is help out you fantasy owners! So here it is, this is how the top ten would look if each team made their selection for the sole purpose of fantasy football.

1) Houston Texans- The Texans need a QB and they need one bad. This offense has elite level players at 3 of the 5 key offensive fantasy positions in Arian Foster, Andre Johnson and last year’s first round pick DeAndre Hopkins (who may just be the most talented of the bunch). They are not taking a tight end here but for fantasy purposes selecting the top quarterback on their board could lead to a big value boost for all the above mentioned players, not to mention a nice sleeper quarterback walking into a near perfect situation with a talented offense and a coach who knows how to get the most out of his signal callers. Fantasy verdict: QB- Blake Bortles

2) St. Louis Rams- The Rams seem confident in their QB/RB duo of Sam Bradford and Zac Stacy. They have a young but talented WR core and will look to add another building block to their offense via the draft to protect this young emerging core of offensive talent. They could go WR here to give Sam Bradford another weapon to work with but they can possibly find that WR later in the draft as they hold an additional first round draft pick. Being able to grab their top rated offensive lineman on the board with this first selection would go a long ways towards improving the performance of everyone else on the offense and getting them back to the playoffs. Fantasy Verdict: OT- Greg Robinson

3) Jacksonville Jaguars- This offense has lacked play makers for years and their head coach wants to win by running the ball and playing great defense. This is not a good sign for fantasy owners. But Cecil Shorts is a legit WR to target later in your draft and Marcades Lewis really came on in the final third of the season under first year offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch. Add first year starter Toby Gerhart to the mix and you have one 2014s major sleepers for fantasy football, especially if Jacksonville spends this pick on another WR to stretch the field or an offensive lineman to help solidify the rushing attack. Chad Henne is an under rated QB who can get the ball out quick and knows how to find open WRs which will open up running lanes for Toby Gerhart who will make his first ever Pro Bowl in 2014. Fantasy Verdict: WR- Sammy Watkins

4) Cleveland Browns- Another talented offense lacking a legit number one quarterback. Wide receivers Greg Little and Josh Gordon have all the talent in the world but no one to get them the ball consistently. Ben Tate is one of the most under rated running backs in the game and tight end Jordan Cameron made the Pro Bowl this past season. This is a great situation for a young quarterback to come in and lift the play of everyone else around him making himself and them more valuable. Fantasy Verdict: QB- Derek Carr

5) Oakland Raiders- Oaklands offense is somewhat of a mess as they bring in yet another quarterback to spin the wheel on their offense. Matt Schaub brings experience and leadership to a team that desperately needed both after finishing last season thinking Terrelle Pryor was possibly the long term answer at the position. They boast a fearsome 1-2 punch at running back between Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew but really offer little else to get excited about elsewhere. This is a team that needs help on the edges and should look to bring in an immediate starter at the WR position who will benefit from a strong run game and veteran quarterback. Fantasy Verdict: WR- Mike Evans

6) Atlanta Falcons- The Falcons are a team built to win now and that will certainly impact this pick. They have two of the best receivers in the game and a rushing attack that wears down opponents over the course of 60 minutes. Matt Ryan is one of the best quarterbacks in the game (when he has time to throw) so Atlanta must look into protecting their franchise signal caller with this pick. Selecting an offensive lineman here would go a long way towards stabilizing an offense that gave up way too much pressure last year and finally give Matt Ryan the time he needs to stand calmly in the pocket and pick apart defenses. Fantasy Verdict: OT- Jake Matthews

7) Tampa Bay Buccaneers- The Buccaneers could go a couple of different directions with this pick but for fantasy purposes it is simple. They own one of fantasy football’s elite talents at running back and they will look to make his life easier by keeping him healthy and helping pave the wave for him even more with this road grading offensive lineman. Adding an offensive lineman that can come in and start immediately is a boost for the entire offense so Doug Martin owners should expect a major bounce back season from the former pro bowler now that he is finally healthy. Fantasy Verdict: OT- Taylor Lewan

8) Minnesota Vikings- The Vikings offense is filled with elite talent and at times can look unstoppable, sadly those times never happen for more than a handful of plays. This is another perfect situation for a young quarterback to step into with an offense filled with veteran leadership and skilled play makers. Also, bringing in a quarterback that can threaten a defense with his legs as well as his arm will cause defensive coaches nightmares while trying to figure out how to stop both him and Adrian Peterson. A new-age dynamic quarterback would also open up a ton of space downfield for the likes of Cordarrelle Patteron and Kyle Rudolph to each become major fantasy football sleepers. Fantasy Verdict: QB- Johny Manziel

9) Buffalo Bills- Buffalo cannot keep their running backs healthy and its time they do something about it. They are going to give EJ Manuel every chance in the world to show them what he can do and it would benefit everyone (fantasy owners included) if they were to spend this top pick on an offensive lineman so they could finally see what this offense can look like if it stays healthy and can actually block defenders. Fantasy Verdict: OT- Zack Martin

10) Detroit Lions- Arguably the most talented offense in the NFL could get a whole lot better if their GM was only worried about putting up fantasy points. Thankfully for this mock draft that is all we are worried about. The constant double and triple teaming of Calvin Johnson has to stop and until Detroit actually brings in another weapon that scares opposing defenses it never will. They could go WR here or draft another lineman but the smart pick is to bring in the WR/TE hybrid Eric Ebron and line him up in the slot, on the LOS or out wide. Pairing Eric Ebron up with an offense that already includes MegaTron and Reggie Bush would create so many mismatches in favor of the offense it would not be fair. Eric Ebron would easily vault into top 5 tight end territory and challenge for the top spot on a yearly basis. Fantasy Verdict: TE- Eric Ebron

*Follow me on twitter @KylanJE where I will answer all of your questions and you can suggest topics for the next faketeams fanpost

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