Fantasy Football 2015: Preseason Mock Draft, Analysis and Team Names

You need a mock draft? Maybe some draft strategy? Are you without a team name, too? Are you antsy for football season and you want all of this just as training camp begins?

I can dig that, and you've come to the right place. Below, you'll find them all. 

Mock Draft and Strategy

Pick	Position	Player	Team
1	RB	Marshawn Lynch	Seattle Seahawks
2	RB	Adrian Peterson	Minnesota Vikings
3	RB	Eddie Lacy	Green Bay Packers
4	RB	Jamaal Charles	Kansas City Chiefs
5	RB	DeMarco Murray	Philadelphia Eagles
6	RB	Matt Forte	Chicago Bears
7	RB	LeSean McCoy	Buffalo Bills
8	WR	Antonio Brown	Pittsburgh Steelers
9	WR	Demaryius Thomas	Denver Broncos
10	RB	Le'Veon Bell	Pittsburgh Steelers
Round 2
11	RB	Arian Foster	Houston Texans
12	TE	Rob Gronkowski	New England Patriots
13	QB	Andrew Luck	Indianapolis Colts
14	QB	Aaron Rodgers	Green Bay Packers
15	WR	Dez Bryant	Dallas Cowboys
16	WR	Jordy Nelson	Green Bay Packers
17	RB	C.J. Anderson	Denver Broncos
18	WR	Odell Beckham Jr.	New York Giants
19	WR	Julio Jones	Atlanta Falcons
20	WR	A.J. Green	Cincinnati Bengals
Round 3
21	WR	Calvin Johnson	Detroit Lions
22	RB	Jeremy Hill	Cincinnati Bengals
23	RB	Alfred Morris	Washington
24	RB	Carlos Hyde	San Francisco 49ers
25	RB	Lamar Miller	Miami Dolphins
26	WR	Alshon Jeffery	Chicago Bears
27	WR	Randall Cobb	Green Bay Packers
28	WR	Mike Evans	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
29	WR	T.Y. Hilton	Indianapolis Colts
30	QB	Russell Wilson	Seattle Seahawks
Round 4
31	RB	Mark Ingram	New Orleans Saints
32	RB	Melvin Gordon	San Diego Chargers
33	RB	Joique Bell	Detroit Lions
34	TE	Jimmy Graham	Seattle Seahawks
35	QB	Peyton Manning	Denver Broncos
36	WR	Emmanuel Sanders	Denver Broncos
37	WR	Kelvin Benjamin	Carolina Panthers
38	WR	DeAndre Hopkins	Houston Texans
39	RB	Frank Gore	Indianapolis Colts
40	RB	Andre Ellington	Arizona Cardinals
Round 5
41	QB	Ben Roethlisberger	Pittsburgh Steelers
42	TE	Greg Olsen	Carolina Panthers
43	WR	DeSean Jackson	Washington
44	WR	Jeremy Maclin	Kansas City Chiefs
45	QB	Cam Newton	Carolina Panthers
46	RB	Justin Forsett	Baltimore Ravens
47	RB	Jonathan Stewart	Carolina Panthers
48	RB	Giovani Bernard	Cincinnati Bengals
49	WR	Golden Tate	Detroit Lions
50	QB	Matt Ryan	Atlanta Falcons
Round 6
51	WR	Jordan Matthews	Philadelphia Eagles
52	WR	Brandin Cooks	New Orleans Saints
53	WR	Sammy Watkins	Buffalo Bills
54	WR	Brandon Marshall	New York Jets
55	WR	Mike Wallace	Minnesota Vikings
56	WR	Keenan Allen	San Diego Chargers
57	TE	Martellus Bennett	Chicago Bears
58	TE	Travis Kelce	Kansas City Chiefs
59	TE	Julius Thomas	Jacksonville Jaguars
60	QB	Drew Brees	New Orleans Saints
Round 7
61	RB	Todd Gurley	St. Louis Rams
62	RB	T.J. Yeldon	Jacksonville Jaguars
63	WR	Vincent Jackson	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
64	WR	Jarvis Landry	Miami Dolphins
65	WR	Brandon LaFell	New England Patriots
66	WR	Julian Edelman	New England Patriots
67	WR	Amari Cooper	Oakland Raiders
68	TE	Zach Ertz	Philadelphia Eagles
69	RB	C.J. Spiller	New Orleans Saints
70	WR	Victor Cruz	New York Giants
Round 8
71	WR	Steve Smith	Baltimore Ravens
72	WR	Torrey Smith	San Francisco 49ers
73	WR	Andre Johnson	Indianapolis Colts
74	WR	Martavis Bryant	Pittsburgh Steelers
75	TE	Jason Witten	Dallas Cowboys
76	RB	Tevin Coleman	Atlanta Falcons
77	RB	Latavius Murray	Oakland Raiders
78	QB	Matt Stafford	Detroit Lions
79	TE	Dwayne Allen	Indianapolis Colts
80	WR	Nelson Agholor	Philadelphia Eagles
Round 9
81	RB	Rashad Jennings	New York Giants
82	RB	Joseph Randle	Dallas Cowboys
83	TE	Jordan Cameron	Miami Dolphins
84	TE	Delanie Walker	Tennessee Titans
85	RB	Chris Ivory	New York Jets
86	QB	Tony Romo	Dallas Cowboys
87	WR	Michael Floyd	Arizona Cardinals
88	WR	Roddy White	Atlanta Falcons
89	WR	Anquan Boldin	San Francisco 49ers
90	TE	Owen Daniels	Denver Broncos
Round 10
91	TE	Coby Fleener	Indianapolis Colts
92	QB	Ryan Tannehill	Miami Dolphins
93	WR	Kevin White	Chicago Bears
94	WR	Eric Decker	New York Jets
95	RB	LeGarrette Blount	New England Patriots
96	RB	Isaiah Crowell	Cleveland Browns
97	RB	Ryan Mathews	Philadelphia Eagles
98	RB	Bishop Sankey	Tennessee Titans
99	QB	Eli Manning	New York Giants
100	D/ST	N/A	Seattle Seahawks

You can also check out my positional rankings here.

As you can see, I don't really think you should even be thinking about drafting any position other than running back for the first seven picks (and if Le'Veon Bell wasn't suspended for two games, it would be the top eight picks, since he would be the top overall selection on my board if he was playing a full 16 games). 

There is just too much uncertainty at running back to risk missing out on one of the elite options. After that first tier of backs, so many players come with question marks or are stuck in committee situations. Even some of the RB2 options are risky.

• Arian Foster is injury prone.
• There's no guarantee that C.J. Anderson will remain the feature back in Denver given the team's depth at the position. Remember, Montee Ball was considered a first- or second-round talent in a lot of mocks last summer (though Anderson does seem like the perfect fit for Gary Kubiak's offense). 
• Jeremy Hill has Giovani Bernard to contend with for touches. 
• Alfred Morris is a complete non-factor in the passing game.
• Carlos Hyde is an unknown commodity. 
• Lamar Miller has just one good season under his belt. 
• Mark Ingram has C.J. Spiller to contend with for touches. 

It won't be hard to swing and miss in the RB2 range, in other words, which makes it important you nab a safe option at the position if you can. Even with Bell missing two games, at least you know you are getting an elite option for the other 14 weeks, making him still a worthy top-10 pick.

If you are taking a non-RB in the first round, there are only six players you should be considering. At wideout, Antonio Brown is absolutely the first receiver who should be off the board, but Demaryius Thomas and Dez Bryant are also legitimate options. At quarterback, Andrew Luck and Aaron Rodgers are 1A and 1B at the position.

And then there is Rob Gronkowski. 

Gronk has more value at tight end than any other player, posting wideout numbers at a pretty weak position once you get past the Jimmy Grahams and Greg Olsens of the world. But the rub is that Gronk is extremely injury prone and, oh yeah, Tom Brady (for the moment, at least) is suspended for the first four games of the NFL season. 

That makes Gronk too risky to use a first-round pick on for my tastes, but if you find yourself near the end of the first round and want to wait on deeper positions like quarterback or wide receiver (easily the two deepest positions for fantasy owners right now), you can take the chance on Gronk and go with a running back with your early second-round selection.

It's not a strategy for the feint of heart, of course, but for players who want to maximize value at each position, Gronk makes a ton of sense.

Your strategy from there is going to be based on a lot of factors. If you nabbed a running back with your first-round pick, for instance, you have some flexibility to go the "best player available" route. Or maybe you double down on the position knowing you can get solid receivers and quarterbacks later.

Whatever route you go, stay flexible. Take what the board gives you. Know the tendencies of your league mates (some folks can't resist drafting players from their favorite teams, for instance). Don't get too cute looking for sleepers or excellent values until the middle rounds. Early in the draft, you should be playing it safe. 

Nailing on a risky pick early in the draft may or may not help you win your league. Blowing your early picks, however, is a pretty surefire way to miss out on the playoffs. 

Team Names

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

There are a ton of articles out there giving you creative team-name ideas and oldies but goodies you can recycle. Here, however, I'm more interested in coming up with a few names based on rookies or breakout players from last year so you can have something fresh.

• Amari 2600 (Yes, yes, this is an Atari reference. Not only am I a nerd, but I'm an old nerd)
• Gurley Talk
• Gotta Go To Odell's
• All About the Kelvin Benjamins (Because he's money, am i right?)
• Too Many Brandin Cooks (Here, enjoy this)
• MegaErtz
• Not One Mariota (That's how much Chip Kelly will pretend he cared about not being able to draft him)

OK, OK, so some of these are a bit corny. So save me, folks, and leave some of your best ideas in the comments. I need all the help I can get.