Fantasy Football 2015: Standard League Mock Draft and Position Strategy

With NFL training camps well underway across the country, fans have begun to make preparations for their fantasy drafts. It's one of the most tense and physically draining times of the year, but it can lead to great rewards when the season ends in January. 

Of course, some may not have been able to wait and have already taken part in at least one fantasy draft. If that's the case, what are you doing?! There are too many injuries and position battles that will happen in the preseason to know anything right now. 

In order to help prepare for what awaits when draft season hits, here's a (brief) five-round mock draft for a standard 10-team league that will solve all of your problems. 

Round 1	Player	Position	Team
Round 2	Player	Position	Team
Round 3	Player	Position	Team
Round 4	Player	Position	Team
Round 5	Player	Position	Team
1	Jamaal Charles	RB	Kansas City Chiefs
2	Eddie Lacy	RB	Green Bay Packers
3	Marshawn Lynch	RB	Seattle Seahawks
4	Le'Veon Bell	RB	Pittsburgh Steelers
5	C.J. Anderson	RB	Denver Broncos
6	DeMarco Murray	RB	Philadelphia Eagles
7	Adrian Peterson	RB	Minnesota Vikings
8	Matt Forte	RB	Chicago Bears
9	Antonio Brown	WR	Pittsburgh Steelers
10	Aaron Rodgers	QB	Green Bay Packers
11	Demaryius Thomas	WR	Denver Broncos
12	LeSean McCoy	RB	Buffalo Bills
13	Dez Bryant	WR	Dallas Cowboys
14	Rob Gronkowski	TE	New England Patriots
15	Andrew Luck	QB	Indianapolis Colts
16	Jeremy Hill	RB	Cincinnati Bengals
17	Jordy Nelson	WR	Green Bay Packers
18	Odell Beckham	WR	New York Giants
19	Mark Ingram	RB	New Orleans Saints
20	Julio Jones	WR	Atlanta Falcons
21	Emmanuel Sanders	WR	Denver Broncos
22	T.Y. Hilton	WR	Indianapolis Colts
23	Alfred Morris	RB	Washington
24	A.J. Green	WR	Cincinnati Bengals
25	Lamar Miller	RB	Miami Dolphins
26	Alshon Jeffery	WR	Chicago Bears
27	Randall Cobb	WR	Green Bay Packers
28	Jimmy Graham	TE	Seattle Seahawks
29	Mike Evans	WR	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
30	Justin Forsett	RB	Baltimore Ravens
31	Kelvin Benjamin	WR	Carolina Panthers
32	Emmanuel Sanders	WR	Denver Broncos
33	Russell Wilson	QB	Seattle Seahawks
34	Melvin Gordon	RB	San Diego Chargers
35	DeAndre Hopkins	WR	Houston Texans
36	Jonathan Stewart	RB	Carolina Panthers
37	Carlos Hyde	RB	San Francisco 49ers
38	Peyton Manning	QB	Denver Broncos
39	Drew Brees	QB	New Orleans Saints
40	Brandin Cooks	WR	New Orleans Saints
41	Frank Gore	RB	Indianapolis Colts
42	Sammy Watkins	WR	Buffalo Bills
43	Joseph Randle	RB	Dallas Cowboys
44	Joique Bell	RB	Detroit Lions
45	Jordan Matthews	WR	Philadelphia Eagles
46	DeSean Jackson	WR	Washington
47	Andre Ellington	RB	Arizona Cardinals
48	Todd Gurley	RB	St. Louis Rams
49	Julian Edelman	WR	New England Patriots
50	Giovani Bernard	RB	Cincinnati Bengals

The First-Round Picks

Ed Zurga/Associated Press

As the mock draft indicates, there is an outstanding crop of running backs who can and should be taken in the first round. There are no less than four players worthy of being taken with the No. 1 overall selection. 

Ultimately, Jamaal Charles gets the call in this mock draft simply because of his role for the Kansas City Chiefs. Andy Reid's offense doesn't have many dynamic playmakers—Jeremy Maclin will add speed to the receiving corps, but Alex Smith isn't a strong deep passer. 

The fourth member of that top running-back quartet is Le'Veon Bell, who would be No. 1 if he wasn't suspended for the season's first two games. Given how close all the players are, his guaranteed absence for two weeks knocks him down slightly. 

The biggest risk in the first round is Adrian Peterson. Minnesota's star running back only played one game last season, has carried the ball over 2,000 times in his career and has reached an age when it's reasonable to expect a player at his position to decline. 

Despite some of those red flags, there have been analysts boldly proclaiming that Peterson should be the first player taken, like ESPN.com's Mike Clay:

"

Over the past 15 years, 13 running backs 30 years old or older have put together a season with 1,000 scrimmage yards and at least 10 touchdowns. That includes 30-year-old Priest Holmes' 2,110-yard, 27-touchdown 2003 campaign. As for Peterson's recovery from the time off, we can only speculate his impact. He could be fresh. He could've lost a step. Maybe the two offset and it's a non-factor.

"

Peterson is still firmly in the first round even if it's in the back half of that mix.

There's great depth at running back, even in the later rounds, but being able to get one of the top seven or eight players at the position will make your life much easier coming out of the draft. 

Potential Bargain Values

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

One name justifiably not in the top 50 picks is New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. That will change if his four-game suspension is overturned or even reduced by two games, that ranking is going to change. 

However, given the information at our disposal, being able to get Brady outside the first five rounds knowing he will be around for 12 games with a healthy Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman at his disposal makes him one of the best value picks. 

Running back is a position that's so deep and offers so much value in the early and middle rounds that it may be hard to come by someone worth selecting in the back half of a draft, especially one with significant injury concerns. 

Darren McFadden is going to be that maddening selection someone makes earlier than they should this year because of Dallas' offensive line, inevitably disappointing his owners. 

Yet last season was the first time in McFadden's career that he appeared in all 16 games. He wasn't productive with 3.4 yards per carry, but that was behind an Oakland offensive line Pro Football Focus had ranked 24th in run blocking last year.

The Cowboys don't need to depend on McFadden since they can use a rotation that includes Joseph Randle and Lance Dunbar. McFadden has the highest ceiling of anyone in that trio, but it's on him to prove he's capable of handling a starter's workload. 

New Impact Stars

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

With so many skill-position players being drafted early, it's going to be fashionable for fantasy owners to add rookies this year. It's not a bad decision, as they will be good value since they haven't played yet. 

Quarterbacks are always tricky to measure in their first year. Jameis Winston has great weapons to play with in Tampa Bay, like Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson, but his 18 interceptions last season at Florida State are concerning. 

Marcus Mariota is entering a situation with the Tennessee Titans that doesn't offer him a lot of help, so his rookie season figures to be a struggle. 

This year's running back crop, led by Melvin Gordon and Todd Gurley, looks strong. Gurley is progressing in rehab from a torn ACL suffered last season, though Eric Edholm of Yahoo Sports did note St. Louis isn't going to rush him back on the field.

That makes Gordon the top rookie back in this class, as San Diego figures to use him as the starter right out of the gate. He's also walking into the best situation because the Chargers have a great quarterback in Philip Rivers and dynamic wide receivers like Keenan Allen and Malcom Floyd. 

Wide receivers are often a dangerous risk in their rookie season because the position is quarterback-dependent. Amari Cooper has the potential to be great, but no one knows exactly what Derek Carr is going to be.

Kevin White has been limited with a shin problem that NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said (via NFL.com's Kevin Patra) could force the Chicago Bears to put him on the PUP list, forcing him to miss at least the first six weeks.

The two wideouts who look solid at this particular time are Philadelphia's Nelson Agholor and Baltimore's Breshad Perriman. The one thing they have in common is playing in offensive systems that like to spread the field with quarterbacks who throw the ball deep. 

Perriman, especially, could fill the role in Baltimore's offense left by Torrey Smith. He's got size and speed to take advantage of Joe Flacco's huge arm. The former UCF star isn't a great route-runner and won't make a lot of plays in traffic right away, but big plays and touchdowns will come his way.