Last week I offered up a rundown of my picks from the standard mock draft we held on May 1st in Diary of a Mock Draft. With the results now posted, it's time to breakdown my PPR team from the mock draft RotoWire held last Friday.
I was a little more pleased with my overall team in the standard mock, but still feel like my PPR roster could be a competitive group. With that said, have a look at the results and feel free to disagree.
PPR Results
Round 1, Pick 6 – Ryan Mathews, RB (SD) (6th overall)
Mathews caught 50 of 59 targets for 455 yards and did that damage while backfield-mate Mike Tolbert caught 54 of 79 targets. With Tolbert gone, Mathews should become even more involved in the passing game, see more goal line looks and generally put up major numbers, particularly for PPR leagues. I wanted to grab high-catch RB's early and after the first four came off the board, the only other player I would have taken here was Calvin Johnson. Given my belief that an elite QB is necessary to win a league this deep, I naturally considered Aaron Rodgers here briefly. But I decided to wait and see what type of team I could build with a second or third tier passer.
Round 2, Pick 9 – Victor Cruz, WR (NYG) (23rd overall)
I was thrilled to get Cruz as the 7th receiver off the board. I never thought he'd fall to me in the second, and there was no way I could pass on him. The guy posted 80 catches in 14 games and simply tore up the league last year. With Mario Manningham on the other coast now, he should see a ton of targets. With his elite knack for getting open and superb hands, that should lead to an awful lot of catches and yards. Since I had a plan in place at running back and knew the top receivers would come off the board early, this pick was a no-brainer. I was hoping for Brandon Marshall at best in this spot and got lucky to get Cruz when he was passed over for A.J. Green and Roddy White.
Round 3, Pick 6 – Darren Sproles, RB (NO) (34th overall)
At no point did I ever waiver from this pick. Not for a second. It was the plan from the get go and if Sproles was there, he was mine. The tiny dynamo caught a whopping 86 passes last year and I don't see that number dropping off much, if at all going forward. He has excellent hands out of the backfield and is an impossible cover for bigger linebackers and safeties that just can't shadow his absurd quickness. The Saints also target their running backs very heavily in the passing game. In his first two years in New Orleans, Reggie Bush caught a whopping 5.75 passes per game, and he's not quite as quick as Sproles and being a bigger guy he's easier to locate out of the backfield. Sproles also averaged a ridiculous 6.9 yards per carry and led the team in rushing. He won't get a ton of carries by any means, but he will get a ton of catches and very good total yards. The little man is PPR gold. As the 15th running back off the board he's definitely a steal in my mind.
Round 4, Pick 9 – C.J. Spiller, RB (BUF) (51st overall)
In six games without Fred Jackson at the end of the year Spiller racked up over 600 total yards and five scores. Though Jackson will be back as the starter this year, Spiller earned himself at least a 70-30, if not 60-40 split in touches. Jackson was phenomenal over the first nine games of 2011, and the Bills did just extend him for another two years, but Spiller could be the next Jamaal Charles. His build is similar, his physical traits and rushing skills are comparable and his upside is huge. Granted, his floor is lower than many backs that went as high and several that fell farther, but to win a league this deep requires a risk or two. I would have preferred Roy Helu or Doug Martin in this spot because of the likelihood of a bigger workload, but Spiller's upside made him a calculated risk I felt more than comfortable taking. I targeted him prior to the draft as my third back and didn't feel he'd be there in the fifth, so feeling comfortable with the receiver depth that remained, I pulled the trigger.
Round 5, Pick 6 – Eric Decker, WR (DEN) (62nd overall)
Decker was one of just two guys that I also drafted in the standard mock, and if I can make it work, I plan to own him (or at least his teammate Demaryius Thomas) in all leagues this year. I expect both to be studs with Peyton Manning getting them the ball and anticipate Manning having particularly good chemistry with Decker, who is a mature route runner and an underrated athlete. In a PPR league, I definitely prefer Decker to Thomas, as I like him to lead Denver in catches with upwards of 85+ grabs.
Round 6, Pick 9 – Michael Floyd, WR (AZ) (79th overall)
For my third receiver spot it was a bit of a close coin flip between Floyd and Darrius Heyward-Bey. If you read my standard mock draft diary, you know that I like DHB a lot this year. I think he could have a breakout season. On the other hand, I wouldn't be shocked if Floyd has more catches and perhaps even more scores. Floyd is built as more of a possession receiver than DHB and could be a great red zone weapon with his size and with Larry Fitzgerald drawing more attention. I expect DHB to have more yards, but wouldn't be surprised if Floyd hauled in 75+ balls and went for 8+ scores—two things I'm less confident in DHB doing.
Round 7, Pick 6 – Jay Cutler, QB (CHI) (90th overall)
I don't normally wait to grab a quarterback this late, and while I like Cutler's upside, I realized as soon as I made this pick that I played it all wrong. I would have been happy landing Cutler or Matt Ryan as my starter, since both have that 4,000-yard, 30-touchdown upside. I should have been paying more attention to the other lineups because had I been doing so I would have noticed that Liss and I were the only teams left to not grab a starting QB. And coincidentally I would be up again in the 8th round before his next pick. While it's possible someone like Funston who had just reached for Robert Griffin could have taken a safe backup with one of his next two picks, I would have still gotten one of my two guys. So I should have taken DHB here and given myself great depth at receiver.
Round 8, Pick 9 – Ben Tate, RB (HOU) (107th overall)
If he had Houston's backfield to himself, Tate would be a first or second round pick in almost all leagues (he might drop some in PPR). He's a highly talented back in the league's most run-friendly scheme. He'll still get carries playing behind Arian Foster though and so this late in the draft he was worth taking a shot for his upside. If Foster goes down, I've suddenly got a top-10 back. I like a few backs that went after him, particularly Mikel Leshoure, but didn't see many with as high an upside as Tate. I would have taken my top backup receiver in this spot had one of my targets fallen, but I only would have passed on Tate for DHB, Torrey Smith or Greg Little.
Round 9, Pick 6 – Doug Baldwin, WR (SEA) (118th overall)
Baldwin hauled in 51 balls as an undrafted rookie after a shortened offseason and catching passes from an erratic and injured Tarvaris Jackson and a wildly mediocre Charlie Whitehurst. This late in the draft I felt pretty good about landing this savvy slot receiver who will enter the offseason as the team's second best target and be on the other end of a much more accurate passer in Matt Flynn. Had I not grabbed Tate as my top reserve running back in the previous round, I would have liked to get Ronnie Hillman—whom I considered strongly here—for his upside in a PPR league. He looks like a good bet to be the third down back in Denver and could see 30-40 catches to go with about 80-100 carries or so. I also wanted Shane Vereen, who didn't last another round and would have liked Felix Jones too. I can see all of those backs being valuable in PPR this year, with Vereen probably carrying the most upside overall. But with Baldwin's potential for 70+ catches, I was happy to get him as my top backup receiver.
Round 10, Pick 9 – Jacob Tamme, TE (DEN) (135th overall)
I felt okay waiting on tight end because I felt confident I could land a guy that should see plenty of targets and catches. Tamme is that guy this late. He showed good chemistry with Manning at the end of the 2010 season when he caught 67 passes and four scores in just 10 games. If I'd missed on him, I would have taken Greg Olsen and been fine with that too.
Round 11, Pick 6 – Brandon LaFell, WR (CAR) (146th overall)
I didn't like this pick as soon as I made it, and a week later I'm still not a fan. LaFell got just the 6th most targets on the Panthers last year and even though Legedu Naanee and Jeremy Shockey are gone, I don't expect his numbers to rise too much. He does have good size and overall athleticism, but so does David Gettis who missed all of last season with a torn ACL and should be back in the mix. Rookie slot guy Joe Adams was also added in the fourth round of this year's draft and should steal targets. LaFell has potential to do more, so it's not a terrible pick, but there are a lot of guys I would change this selection to if given a do-over.
Round 12, Pick 9 – Evan Royster, RB (WAS) (163rd overall)
Like Decker, Royster is one of those guys I'd like to grab in all leagues this year. I'm probably one of the few that believes he will challenge Helu for carries in training camp and could even be the more productive of the two. Mike Shanahan can be the devil for fantasy backs, but sometimes if you have the right one, he can be your best friend. Based on the way Royster finished the season (304 total yards in the final two games), I'll roll the dice on him getting a chance as Helu's primary backup. And I'll roll it every chance I get.
Round 13, Pick 6 – Houston Texans DEF/Special Teams (174th overall)
I broke my own rule and went with my defense a round early. Even though I normally wait until the second to last pick to grab a defense, I decided it wasn't worth waiting in this case because 1.) I wasn't sure who I wanted for my last bench spot and 2.) the Texans have an elite defense. As it turns out, the Steelers D somehow went undrafted, so it proves my theory of never taking a defense early.
Round 14, Pick 9 – Leonard Hankerson, WR (WAS) (191st overall)
I like Hankerson to become the No. 2 receiver for the Skins this year, and wouldn't be shocked if he emerged as the team's best target. He's a more complete receiver that Pierre Garcon, who's more of a deep ball specialist, and he has more size than Santana Moss to be a more effective red zone option. Realistically, Fred Davis should be his top competition for targets, catches and yards. Either way, I like Hankerson's upside if he can get his hip back to 100|PERCENT|. Ideally, I would have taken him over LaFell and gone with another high upside receiver in either spot, someone like Brian Quick or Jon Baldwin. I also toyed with taking Ryan Broyles or Jordan Shipley because it's a PPR league, but Broyles will likely start out on the PUP list and I just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger on Shipley. Had this been a league we were playing out, I would have taken Matt Flynn to backup Cutler, especially since he hosts the Patriots on Cutler's bye week.
Round 15, Pick 6 – Matt Prater, K (DEN) (202nd overall)
Prater has a booming leg and should have plenty of scoring opportunities with Manning leading the attack. Virtually zero thought went into this pick, as should be the case on all kicker selections.