Coming back to you with another mock draft strategy video, I took on the 12th pick this time.
If you missed my strategy with the 1st overall pick, check it out here!
This video was done before the Preseason Week 3 games, so Julian Edelman, Spencer Ware and Cameron Meredith hadn’t been injured yet. Right now, Yahoo!’s ranks have been updated and look slightly different than they did in this video. Make sure to check the updated ranks, especially now after the injuries.
Full Team
QB: Ben Roethlisberger, PIT (10)
RB: Melvin Gordon, LAC (1)
RB: Dalvin Cook, MIN (3)
WR: Jordy Nelson, GB (2)
WR: Michael Crabtree, OAK (4)
WR: Larry Fitzgerald, ARI (5)
TE: Kyle Rudolph, MIN (8)
K: it doesn’t matter
DEF: Buffalo Bills (14)
Bench
WR: Golden Tate, DET (6)
RB: Bilal Powell, NYJ (7)
WR: Pierre Garcon, WAS (9)
QB: Carson Palmer (11)
RB: Rex Burkhead, NE (12)
RB: Theo Riddick, DET (13)
The Strategy
Aaron Rodgers going with the seventh overall pick blessed me with two guys I wasn’t really expecting to get. Jordy Nelson does fall to the 12th pick from time to time, but he’s more likely to go 9th or 10th. Same goes for Melvin Gordon. Nelson is far-and-away a better option than the other WRs in this range and Gordon can provide you unrivaled stability at the RB position for as long as he’s healthy. As I mention in the video, he’s going to struggle to carve out more than 4 yards per carry, but his workload and touchdown upside is second to none.
Dalvin Cook isn’t going to be there at the third/fourth round turn anymore. His ADP is creeping up into the second round, where he isn’t even a value, but at the end of the third, he’s a solid pick. Going for a balanced approach, I followed up a RB and WR in the first and second rounds with a RB and WR in the third and fourth rounds. If I hadn’t taken Nelson, I would’ve snatched up Davante Adams with my fourth pick, but having two receivers from the same team with your first four picks isn’t an ideal strategy. Your touchdown ceiling is capped for any given week if you do that.
Larry Fitzgerald and Golden Tate are severely undervalued in fantasy football drafts right now. Particularly in PPR leagues, they are both an every-week WR1/2 with touchdown upside that could positively regress that isn’t taken into account.
I’m surprised that Powell is still falling so far. Every time he’s on the field, he looks like the most explosive player on the Jets’ offense. He’s going to play often and leave Matt Forte in the dust in just a few weeks. It was tough for me to go with Kyle Rudolph over Stefon Diggs, mainly because Diggs is my draft crush this season, but I needed a TE and Rudolph in the eighth round is very fair value. Plus, I already had four WRs that should be reliable for the whole season. I could’ve waited on TE, but I hate the options after Rudolph and Zach Ertz.
Pierre Garcon in the ninth round is fantastic value that I couldn’t pass up. I finally went QB in Ben Roethlisberger in the 10th round, but I really wish I has just taken Darren McFadden instead. Big Ben is nearly unusable on the road against a decent defense. Thankfully, I snagged Carson Palmer to alleviate some of those concerns. Palmer could very well end up scoring more points than Roethlisberger this season.
Rex Burkhead could pay huge dividends if the New England Patriots commit to him as a 12-15 touch kind of guy as their starting RB. Theo Riddick is undervalued as the main passing down back in the Detroit Lions offense, particularly in PPR, with upside for more if Ameer Abdullah goes down once again.