I have recently completed a few mock drafts on a well known website, and it appears that there are going to be many players in trouble when the season starts. Granted, a mock isn’t always the most accurate way to judge things, but it does help to paint a picture of how things can shape up in your real draft. With the fifth pick, here is one of the teams I recently drafted.

QB- Drew Brees

RB- Adrian Peterson, Le’Veon Bell, Toby Gerhart, Joique Bell, Roy Helu, Charles Sims

WR- Pierre Garcon, Emmanuel Sanders, Jeremy Maclin, Danny Amendola, Kenny Britt

TE- Julius Thomas, Zach Ertz

Defense- Ravens

Kicker- Sebastian Janikowski

It could just be me, but I think that would be a pretty tough team to beat. How was I able to build such a monster lineup? The mistakes of others gave me opportunities to take advantage of. Here are mistakes to avoid in your draft.

Mistake 1: Drafting A Defense Too Early

Some players get a little antsy after the first few rounds and want to draft a defense. When I snagged Toby Gerhart in the sixth round, someone picked the Seattle Seahawks. When I drafted Joique Bell in the sixth round, another player selected the San Francisco 49ers. In 2013, Bell finished with 151 points in standard scoring leagues and the defense for San Francisco finished with 154 points. Even though it is nice to own a defense that gives you consistently high points, you are able to pick different defenses up off of the waiver wire each week and plug that defense into your lineup if it has a good matchup. Other than your kicker, you can’t really do that with the other positions. There are still too many talented players left to start drafting defenses that early. Depending on what is available, I try not to draft a defense until the 13th round.

Mistake 2: Waiting Too Long For Tight Ends

If you drafted the 10th-highest scoring wide receiver last season, he scored 30 points less than the third-highest scoring wide receiver. If you drafted the 10th-highest scoring tight end last season, he scored 48 points less than the third-highest scoring wide receiver. To me, that means it is crucial to draft Julius Thomas, Rob Gronkowski or Vernon Davis . I don’t want to spend a first-round pick on Jimmy Graham, so Thomas, Gronk and Davis are players I am targeting in the third and fourth rounds.

Mistake 3: Not Understanding Draft Position And Value

In one mock draft, Colin Kaepernick was selected in the first round. That player has no idea what he is doing. I understand that some people don’t take mock drafts seriously, but the person that selected him tried to defend himself by saying that Kaepernick was going to have a great year. At the fifth position in your draft, you will have access to Calvin Johnson, Peyton Manning, Marshawn Lynch, Eddie Lacy and Arian Foster. Kaepernick is currently going in the 8th round, so why select him seven rounds early?

I know it is early, but pay attention to these mistakes that players will make in your league and you can capitalize on several opportunities.

Coach Jack

Categories: Fantasy Football

Tags: Fantasy Football