My MFL 10s Mock Draft Fantasy Team Analysis

The MyFantasyLeague.com MFL 10s mock draft is officially behind us now, after about a week or so of drafting. I’m happy with my roster, but there are certainly spots that I feel I got ganked just before my pick. This is my review of my team, with some highlights and lowlights.

You can also go here to see the first two rounds, with analysis, as well as the third and fourth rounds, and then finally, the fifth through eighth rounds, with analysis. But to see the draft in its entirety, just go here.

Remember that this is a 12-team PPR mock draft, with passing TDs at four points each, three starting wide receivers and a flex position (RB, WR, TE).

My Mock Draft Final Roster

Quarterbacks

• Drew Brees, NO (Pick 2.04)
• Alex Smith, SF (14.04)

Analysis: I love me some old school NFC West, apparently. Brees in the second round is great by me, considering he has averaged 4,800 passing yards over the past three seasons. He also finished 2011 strong, with 14 TDs in his final three games … Smith I like as a QB2 primarily because of all the weapons placed around him. The O-line has another year together, rookie A.J. Jenkins, Mario Manningham and Randy Moss bolster the Niners’ WR corps.

Running Backs

• Marshawn Lynch, SEA (Pick 1.09)
• Steven Jackson, STL (Pick 3.09)
• Isaac Redman, PIT (Pick 7.09)
• Stevan Ridley, NE (Pick 9.09)
• Isaiah Pead, STL (Pick 13.09)

Analysis: There were few running backs that ran better than Lynch over the second-half of last season. He’s not huge in PPR leagues, but he’ll be good for 25 catches or so. That ninth pick (in a mock draft or real draft)  is a weird spot, where a half-dozen players can be picked without argument … Jackson is solid in PPR leagues and I was happy he dropped that far. He’s still be under 30 years old – and his first pro year was as a backup to Marshall Faulk. I grabbed Pead as a handcuff later … Getting Redman in the seventh is great, considering he could become the primary back in Pittsburgh and he’s adept in the passing game.

Wide Receivers

• Marques Colston, NO (Pick 4.04)
• Vincent Jackson, TB (Pick 5.09)
• DeSean Jackson, PHI (Pick 6.04)
• Santonio Holmes, NYJ (Pick 8.04)
• Greg Little, CLE (Pick 10.04)
• Danny Amendola (Pick 15.09)

Analysis: I’m not ecstatic about getting Brees’ No. 1 target, since the Saints have so many targets. But after three rounds, I didn’t have any wide receivers and I had to go back-to-back-to-back essentially. As you can see, that worked out really well, with Colston/Jackson/Jackson as my starters. Redman/Holmes are my likely Flex picks in the early weeks … Little is the top wide receiver on the Browns, entering his second year – and a full offseason of training (remember, there was an NFL lockout this time last year, keeping him out of training camp).

Tight End:

• Owen Daniels, HOU (Pick 11.09)

Analysis: This is the spot where I dropped the ball the most in the mock draft. Daniels has proved to be a good Fantasy tight end in the pasts, but he hasn’t been the same since his knee injury. I was one pick away in Round 10 from getting Tony Gonzalez, and that killed me. I’m not upset I didn’t get a top-five tight end, however.

Kicker:

• Stephen Gostkowski, NE (Pick 16.04)

Analysis: I didn’t do it in this draft because I had set up an autopick in Round 15 and wasn’t around to make the move. But one thing I like to do when I pick near the back end of the second-to-last round is to draft my kicker a round early. That way, I usually get a kicker from one of the top three offenses, and rarely does the guy that I want (in this case, it would have been Amendola) get picked before my Round 16 pick, just a few picks away.

Defense/Special Teams:

• San Francisco 49ers (Pick 12.04)

Analysis: As I mentioned in my column on SportsIllustrated.com, the Niners DST might be one of the few DSTs that pays off as the first DST taken in a draft. Usually, a defense suffers a little setback a year after leading in Fantasy. They were among the leaders in points and yards allowed, interceptions, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries and sacks. The one category they weren’t leaders in was defensive touchdowns scored (just three). Sixteen teams scored on defense more than San Francisco in 2011. Here’s why that’s good: DTDs are scored because of luck, usually. That luck will come back to them this season.

Let me know what you thought of my draft, or which picks you would have made instead. I’m all ears! It’s the Fantasy preseason! These picks would likely be different a month or two from now, anyway!