B/R Writers' Fantasy Football Mock Draft: View from the 10 Spot, Rounds 5-8

Ten B/R Featured Columnists recently assembled to provide a realistic mock draft with 10 different owners—each with their own ranking systems and draft strategies. I was randomly allotted the No. 10 spot.

Rounds 1-4 (with every pick listed) were discussed here.

Here’s a look at Rounds 5-8 with my thought process and analysis while making each selection.

*The writers who participated in the draft were:

 1. Alexander Onushco

2. Ryan Lester

3. Tim Keeney

4. Ralph Longo

5. Gary Davenport

6. James Reagan

7. Rob Tong

8. Daniel Stack

9. Matt Madsen

10. Marco Patitucci

Round 5: A Giant Need

Round 5

41. Alex: Demaryius Thomas, WR

42. Ryan: Mike Wallace, WR

43. Tim: Dwayne Bowe, WR

44. Ralph: Steve Smith, WR

45. Gary: Marques Colston, WR

46. James: Michael Turner, RB

47. Rob: Doug Martin, RB

48. Dan: Roy Helu, RB

49. Matt: Percy Harvin, WR

50. Marco: Ahmad Bradshaw, RB

In Round 5, my objective was focused: Get the best available RB. Ahmad Bradshaw didn’t have a huge year yardage-wise in 2011 (659 rushing, 267 receiving), but he did have 11 total TDs.

And with the departure of Brandon Jacobs (571 yards rushing, eight total TDs), Bradshaw’s workload and productivity should increase in 2012 even with the addition of David Wilson, the Giants’ first-round draft pick this year.

A surprise in Round 5 was Doug Martin being selected with the 47th pick overall. The Tampa Bay rookie was behind such backs as Bradshaw, Helu, Wells, Green and McGahee on my board.

Martin does have a lot of upside, though, especially if he can win the starting job outright from incumbent LeGarrette Blount.

Round 6: Time for TE

Round 6

51. Marco: Aaron Hernandez, TE

52. Matt: Miles Austin, WR

53. Dan: Mikel Leshoure, RB

54. Rob: Vincent Jackson, WR

55. James: Reggie Bush, RB

56. Gary: Shonn Greene, RB

57. Ralph: DeSean Jackson, WR

58. Tim: Jonathan Stewart, RB

59. Ryan: Brandon Lloyd, WR

60. Alex: Robert Griffin III, QB

The way position depth was breaking down, Round 6 was the best opportunity to get the TE that I wanted at a reasonable value.

Sitting at pick No. 51, no TE had gone since Jimmy Graham at No. 14. With 37 picks passing between the second and third TEs taken, I consider Hernandez a steal at this spot.

While I acknowledge Hernandez isn’t in the top tier with Gronkowski and Graham, his production should be fairly close this season.

Hernandez is a young player (22) who is still improving. The Patriots have also been experimenting different ways to get him more involved, such as using him out of the backfield. I like his chances of repeating as the No. 3 fantasy scoring TE in 2012 and closing the gap between Gronk/Graham and the field.

Robert Griffin III was selected fairly early as the last pick in Round 6.  He was the seventh QB selected. Some fantasy boards have him ranked well out of the top 100 players overall. This was another "upside" pick, with Alex going for the home run over safer picks like Eli Manning and Matt Ryan.

Mikel Leshoure was also an interesting pick. He was a second-round draft choice for Detroit in 2011 but blew out his Achilles before the season and has yet to play an NFL down.

He’s facing a two-game suspension at the beginning of the year for violating the league’s substance abuse policy as well.

Round 7: A Stable Backfield

Round 7

61. Alex: James Starks, RB

62. Ryan: C.J. Spiller, RB

63. Tim: Antonio Gates, TE

64. Ralph: Jermichael Finley, TE

65. Gary: Jason Witten, TE

66. James: Vernon Davis, TE

67. Rob: Torrey Smith, WR

68. Dan: Antonio Brown, WR

69. Matt: Eric Decker, WR

70. Marco: Beanie Wells, RB

In Round 7, I added another RB in Beanie Wells. Even after Round 1, I knew I would not have the best RB grouping, but I’m hoping to counter that with depth. Adding another starting back who will be getting a lot of carries is a start. 

Wells has had some struggles with a knee injury and hasn’t been the most consistent scorer. In fact, over one-third of his total fantasy points came from two games in 2011 (Weeks 4 and 12).

Willis McGahee was a player I considered but ultimately his age (30) and lack of TD production in the last two years led me to Wells, the younger player (23) and more prolific scorer of late.

Four owners went TE in Round 7, and Eric Decker was the second Bronco WR off the board as fantasy owners seem to feel confident in the Denver aerial attack with Peyton Manning at the helm.

Round 8: Going 3-Wide

Round 8

71. Marco: Jeremy Maclin

72. Matt: Willis McGahee, RB

73. Dan: BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB

74. Rob: Matt Ryan, QB

75. James: Eli Manning, QB

76. Gary: Steve Johnson, WR

77. Ralph: Isaac Redman, RB

78. Tim: DeAngelo Williams, RB

79. Ryan: Reggie Wayne, WR

80. Alex: Fred Davis, TE

In Round 8, I picked up my third receiver, Jeremy Maclin of the Philadelphia Eagles.

This was probably the best value selection of the draft for my fantasy squad. Maclin’s teammate, DeSean Jackson, went with the 57th pick overall, and I have Maclin ranked higher (it’s close) in this year’s projections.

I would be surprised if Maclin doesn’t finish in the top 25 for WR scoring this season. In 13 games last season, Maclin had 63 catches for 859 yards and five TDs. As Maclin is healthy coming into this season, the 24-year-old should be able to build upon the potential of his 2010 campaign of 70 catches, 964 yards and 10 TDs.

Another great value in Round 8 could turn out to be Eli Manning. Manning could have been the fifth QB off the board—in this draft he was the ninth.

Manning has great receivers and a lot of confidence coming off his second Super Bowl title. Also, he nearly threw for 5,000 yards in 2011 (4,933).

That's it for Rounds 5-8. Next time, I will finish the analysis of the B/R Writers' Draft with Rounds 9-15.