Fantasy Football 2015: 5-Round Standard League Mock Draft, Potential Team Names

Unless you're in a league that drafts online on a weekday, this weekend will be your last opportunity to take care of fantasy football drafts before the season kicks off Thursday night.

By now, everyone's done their research. Most of said "research" has been done at the same places. Anyone in a league worth paying attention to has looked in on your typical sports websites and read analysis from those who get a check to talk about fantasy sports. The days of your friend's liquored-up uncle coming to the draft with a magazine printed in April that he picked up at the convenience store on the way there are over.

Don't worry; Uncle Steve still has his 12-pack in the cooler next to him. It just to happens to come with an iPad with a spreadsheet of every team's depth chart. Even the most "unprepared" drafters now have a general idea of what's going on because it's impossible not to. Fantasy sports is ubiquitous. Between standard, daily and dynasty leagues, you could probably create an entire television network about fantasy sports.

That said, not enough articles actually give you a good idea of what to expect on draft day. These are not rankings but merely a mock of where to expect players off the board. I'm now four leagues deep, so this is as accurate a representation as possible to where the reaches come and where you can find value. 

Mock Draft

Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Pick	Player	Position	Team
1	Jamaal Charles	RB	Kansas City Chiefs
2	Eddie Lacy	RB	Green Bay Packers
3	Adrian Peterson	RB	Minnesota Vikings
4	Le'Veon Bell	RB	Pittsburgh Steelers
5	Marshawn Lynch	RB	Seattle Seahawks
6	Antonio Brown	WR	Pittsburgh Steelers
7	Matt Forte	RB	Chicago Bears
8	Aaron Rodgers	QB	Green Bay Packers
9	C.J. Anderson	RB	Denver Broncos
10	DeMarco Murray	RB	Philadelphia Eagles
11	Andrew Luck	QB	Indianapolis Colts
12	Dez Bryant	WR	Dallas Cowboys
Pick	Player	Position	Team
13	Odell Beckham Jr.	WR	New York Giants
14	LeSean McCoy	RB	Buffalo Bills
15	Rob Gronkowski	TE	New England Patriots
16	Jeremy Hill	RB	Cincinnati Bengals
17	Demaryius Thomas	WR	Denver Broncos
18	Julio Jones	WR	Atlanta Falcons
19	A.J. Green	WR	Cincinnati Bengals
20	Calvin Johnson	WR	Detroit Lions
21	Alshon Jeffery	WR	Chicago Bears
22	Randall Cobb	WR	Green Bay Packers
23	Lamar Miller	RB	Miami Dolphins
24	T.Y. Hilton	WR	Indianapolis Colts
Pick	Player	Position	Team
25	Russell Wilson	QB	Seattle Seahawks
26	Mike Evans	WR	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
27	Alfred Morris	RB	Washington Redskins
28	Melvin Gordon	RB	San Diego Chargers
29	Jimmy Graham	TE	Seattle Seahawks
30	Emmanuel Sanders	WR	Denver Broncos
31	DeAndre Hopkins	WR	Houston Texans
32	Carlos Hyde	RB	San Francisco 49ers
33	Jordan Matthews	WR	Philadelphia Eagles
34	Tom Brady	QB	New England Patriots
35	Peyton Manning	QB	Denver Broncos
36	Brandin Cooks	WR	New Orleans Saints
Pick	Player	Position	Team
37	Justin Forsett	RB	Baltimore Ravens
38	Mark Ingram	RB	New Orleans Saints
39	Julian Edelman	WR	New England Patriots
40	Latavius Murray	RB	Oakland Raiders
41	Drew Brees	QB	New Orleans Saints
42	Frank Gore	RB	Indianapolis Colts
43	Jonathan Stewart	RB	Carolina Panthers
44	Ameer Abdullah	RB	Detroit Lions
45	Keenan Allen	WR	San Diego Chargers
46	Andre Ellington	RB	Arizona Cardinals
47	Davante Adams	WR	Green Bay Packers
48	T.J. Yeldon	RB	Jacksonville Jaguars
Pick	Player	Position	Team
49	Joseph Randle	RB	Dallas Cowboys
50	Sammie Watkins	WR	Buffalo Bills
51	Amari Cooper	WR	Oakland Raiders
52	Golden Tate	WR	Detroit Lions
53	Ben Roethlisberger	QB	Pittsburgh Steelers
54	Vincent Jackson	WR	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
55	Todd Gurley	RB	St. Louis Rams
56	Arian Foster	RB	Houston Texans
57	Greg Olsen	TE	Carolina Panthers
58	Chris Ivory	RB	New York Jets
59	Joique Bell	RB	Detroit Lions
60	Jarvis Landry	WR	Miami Dolphins

Team Names

Just go to this Reddit thread and pick your favorite (NSFW language). Obviously the best ones are not fit to print, and since I enjoy my job, I shall just direct you there. But seriously. Some of you all are way too creative. 

Projected Reaches

RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

When I ranked backs earlier this month, Peterson was eighth. Not overall. At his position. While we've been conditioned to consider Peterson among the elite at his position, there is much more anecdotal evidence suggesting we'll see the former All-Pro show marked signs of regression in 2015.

Let's start off with the obvious: Peterson basically missed an entire year of football last season. Spin that positively, it's one fewer year of wear and tear on his body. Spin it negatively, he has not practiced his profession at the highest level in a year. At the very least, we should consider this similarly to a season-long injury.

Peterson is also 30. In the last five seasons, exactly one running back 30 or older has ranked inside the top 10 at his position in standard leagues (Fred Jackson, 2013). Ten 30-plus running backs have rushed for 1,000 or more yards in the last decade, per Pro-Football-Reference.

Peterson's made a career out of proving his doubters wrong, but perhaps don't use a first-round pick on him. That's my hot take of the afternoon.

QB Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports

Wilson's been nothing if not consistent as a passer. In three seasons, he's averaging 3,316 yards and 24 touchdowns against 8.7 interceptions. He has never thrown for more than 3,475 yards or for fewer than 3,118; he's never thrown for more than 26 touchdowns or fewer than 20; he's never tossed more than 10 interceptions or fewer than seven.

This dude is remarkably consistent. Where Wilson derived a ton of value last season was on the ground, where he had a career-high 849 yards and six touchdowns. Unlike Robert Griffin III, Michael Vick, et al., Wilson doesn't seem necessarily more prone to injuries due to his running habits. He's generally a good, smart slider who maximizes gains without taking too many unnecessary hits

On the other hand, his 2015 rushing numbers were a pretty stark increase from his previous production. Wilson had 1,028 yards and five rushing touchdowns in his first two seasons. He nearly eclipsed both of those totals in 2014 alone and basically came up 10 points short of matching it from a fantasy perspective.

One of the biggest mistakes fantasy owners make is looking at one-year production rather than a larger sample. The overwhelming likelihood is that Wilson's rushing numbers, particularly the touchdowns, are down in 2015.  

Projected Value

RB Chris Ivory, New York Jets

Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

Ivory has been one of the NFL's most effective under-the-radar backs for two straight seasons. He's compiled 1,654 yards and nine touchdowns without touching 200 carries or posting 1,000 yards in either campaign. Of course, both saw him sharing carries, first with Bilal Powell in 2013 and Chris Johnson a year ago.

Barring a surprise, Ivory is atop the depth chart alone this season. Powell and newcomer Zac Stacy will receive carries, but the overwhelming bulk of the load should wind up on the shoulders of Ivory, who comes into this season with big expectations.

"People haven't seen my full potential," Ivory said, per Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. "People that actually watch the game, they know my talent and what I'm capable of. Me, within myself, I definitely know what I'm capable of. I'm striving for greatness."

The underlying numbers say Ivory has some untapped potential. Pro Football Focus' elusiveness rating ranked Ivory third, behind only Eddie Lacy and Marshawn Lynch. While he has marked deficiencies in other areas, PFF also ranked him the 10th-best runner overall in its grading system.

For someone who is being taken 26th in his position, Ivory's ceiling is a lot higher.