Fantasy Football Mock Draft, Standard 12-Team League

It’s never too early for a fantasy football mock draft to test out what’s trending as far as which players get selected in the first few rounds and what other players drop to late rounds. In this mock draft, I had the first overall pick of 12 teams for a standard fantasy football league.

Here are my 15 selections with a small piece of analysis for each choice.

1.1 LeSean McCoy, RB Philadelphia Eagles

McCoy is a solid RB1 pick who had over 2,100 total yards on 314 carries in 2013. Entering into just his sixth year in the NFL, McCoy is a hands-down No. 1 choice.

2.12 Jordy Nelson, WR Green Bay Packers

Obviously with the first pick in a 12-team draft, my second pick comes 23 turns later after several top receivers have been selected. I like getting Nelson, who ranked 11th among wide receivers last year even with Aaron Rodgers out several weeks. Nelson should continue to be targeted plenty in 2014.

3.1 Zac Stacy, RB, St. Louis Rams

Stacy, as the Rams No. 1 running back, makes an excellent selection for a fantasy RB1. As a rookie last year, Stacy rushed for 973 yards in the 14 games he started. With no significant competition outside of rookie Tre Mason, Stacy should continue to dominate the carries for the Rams this season.

4.12 Rashad Jennings, RB, New York Giants

Going with another running back while the pickings were still good. Jennings did a better-than-average job with 4.5 yards per carry, covering for the injured Darren McFadden half of 2013. At this time, Jennings is the only completely healthy running back the New York Giants have heading into training camp. Here’s a sweet 80-yard rush touchdown just to refresh your memory.

5.1 DeSean Jackson, WR, Washington Redskins

I was actually surprised to see Jackson still available as I opened the fifth-round of the draft. Now with the Washington Redskins and a healthy Robert Griffin, Jackson should remain plenty productive. He should continue to put up top-tier WR2 numbers or even cross into the WR1 category.

6.12 Sammy Watkins, WR, Buffalo Bills

Rookies are a bit risky to draft for fantasy football, but why not take a chance on the first receiver taken in the 2014 NFL draft? Coming off 1,464 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns, this Clemson product should do wonders for the Bills’ offense, making him a reliable flex play.

7.1 Colin Kaepernick, QB, San Francisco 49ers

With five quarterbacks already drafted, if I didn’t go for one in this round, it would be 23 more turns until I would have the opportunity. By then, I’d be looking at a Jay Cutler (injury-prone) or Philip Rivers (got fortunate last year) type of choice. I feel with Kaepernick, who has an incentive pay-based contract, that he’ll produce QB1 numbers most weeks. His receiving crew of Michael Crabtree, Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis are no slouches either.

8.12 Christine Michael, RB, Seattle Seahawks

Does the term “running back by committee” mean anything to you? The Seahawks have just announced that they plan, at least at this time, to split the carries between their stud running backs. Marshawn Lynch and Michael figure to get a bulk of the touches. Apparently, he has been incredibly impressive in practices and giving him carries will keep Lynch healthy should the team make it to playoffs once again.

9.1 Eric Ebron, TE, Detroit Lions

This might have been a bit risky, but instead of reaching for a tight end early, I thought I would wait. Hearing that the Detroit Lions might use Ebron in a Jimmy Graham type of role has me intrigued. Ebron is obviously worth monitoring through practices and preseason games to see exactly how he is utilized Quarterback, Matthew Stafford throwing his way sure doesn’t hurt things.

10.12 Anquan Boldin, WR, San Francisco 49ers

Boldin may be entering his 12th year in the NFL, but the guy is a durable player, posting the 1,179 yards and seven touchdowns in 2013. This is the most yards he has had since his 2007 season. He should thrive as he continues to build chemistry with Kaepernick. Plus I just love having at least one pair of teammates on my fantasy roster.

11.1 LeGarrette Blount, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Does anyone remember Blount when he was with the Patriots during playoffs just this past season? He is like a wrecking ball on third downs, and even though Le’Veon Bell is the big man on campus for Pittsburgh, I can’t imagine they wouldn’t plug in Blount to plow the ball in for a touchdown in third and fourth down plays.

12.12 Ryan Tannehill, QB, Miami Dolphins

I just missed taking Ben Roethlisberger as my backup quarterback, and I just couldn’t bring myself to draft Johnny Manziel or Eli Manning, so I went with Tannehill here. This selection doesn’t exactly thrill me, but Tannehill ranked 16th in fantasy points last year, so I could do worse.

13.1 Cincinnati Bengals Defense

According to ESPN, the Bengals currently have the fifth-ranked fantasy defense. When I selected my defense, nine others had already been taken. I’m thinking I got a little bargain here with this pick.

14.12 Ladarius Green, TE, San Diego Chargers

I chose Green here, just in case the Ebron experiment goes bust. Plus, I think Green is a big sleeper going to break out in 2014 as the Chargers’ veteran tight end Antonio Gates has been slowing down. On a redraft team, if Green proves golden and Ebron is a flop, I wouldn’t hesitate to drop Ebron and pick up another RB or WR in his place.

15.1 Robbie Gould, Kicker, Chicago Bears

I’ve always been inclined to draft my kicker in the last round, so ending up with an average-ranked kicker in Gould is par for the course. If I opted for a higher-ranked kicker, I would have had to have chosen him in the 13th round, potentially sacrificing the Bengals defense.

I would love to hear any feedback on the overall mock draft results.

All statistical information in this article comes from Pro Football Reference.

Photo: Business Insider