Fantasy Football Draft Strategy 2015: Latest Mock Draft, Analysis and Tips

There you go, incessantly scouring the Internet trying to find that perfect player who is going to finally put you over the top in your fantasy football league. After all, this is your year. Whether it's dethroning your best friend who has not stopped talking about his title since December or letting your friends know that you do, in fact, know the difference between Charles Clay and Clay Matthews, you have a fantasy football league to win, and we are here to help. 

So to get ready for your fantasy draft, let's take a look at the first 10 rounds of my latest mock draft, as I randomly selected at the eighth position in a 10-team standard league. This mock draft is based off of a mixture of ESPN's fantasy average draft positions, along with my own rankings. I willy solely focus on skill players, so don't go asking for kickers and defenses because they'll come in the later rounds of your draft anyway. 

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

It isn't the perfect situation to be drafting eighth, but it isn't a death sentence for your team. If I can give you one piece of advice, let it be this: Stay on your course. 

You're the only one who knows what your team needs. So if all your friends are drafting kickers in the third round for some reason, don't panic. Just build the team to your ideals.

Obviously, the first-round is an all-out scramble for the best possible talent, and it's usually coming in the backfield. While the game's top rushers might be off of the board by the eighth pick, the league is deep enough that you are going to get a stud at running back.

No Lynch, no Lacy, no Peterson, no Bell, no problem. Philadelphia Eagles running back DeMarco Murray is going to be available, and he still is going to put up big-time numbers even if he isn't getting 449 touches in 2015. 

In fact, many fantasy owners are showing concern because Murray will give up carries to Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles. To PennLive.com's Dustin Hockensmith, that won't matter at all:

"

Stylistically, Murray is a superior fit in Kelly's offense, which played a part in the coach jettisoning franchise rushing leader LeSean McCoy at the start of a busy offseason. Murray is the one-cut, north-south runner that Kelly prefers, more often avoiding negative-yardage plays while busting the second-most 20-plus yard rushing plays (15) in the NFL in 2014.

"

If Murray does not put up monster numbers, be sure to surround him on your team with backs that can. After getting my explosive No. 1 receiver in the second round with Odell Beckham Jr. at 13, Lamar Miller was waiting in the third round. 

According to Sports Illustrated's Michael Beller, Miller is worth it:

"

He has a reliably high floor for fantasy production, and you likely won’t have to use anything more than a late-third- or early-fourth-round pick to get him. That may not feel exciting in August, but it will September through December, and that’s what truly matters.

"

Make sure you have your top two wide receivers and running backs set early on. Don't let the occasional early quarterback deter you from getting away from that strategy. If your heart is set on drafting Aaron Rodgers or Andrew Luck but you don't want to take him in the first three rounds, I have bad news for you. One of your friends/peers is going to take them early. 

This is where it gets tricky. In some leagues, when one quarterback goes off the shelf, they all do. In others, they are spread throughout. Follow the trends and look to get your quarterback in the fifth or sixth round. 

I like a quarterback who has the wheels to run but stays in the pocket, which is why Cam Newton was a solid choice given the circumstances. He is a bit of a risky pick this year with his top receiver out in Kelvin Benjamin, but the presence of Greg Olsen and up-and-coming rookie Devin Funchess should allow him to further develop his game. 

Heath Cummings of CBS Sports delves into Newton's situation further and explains why it's a safe bet to take him as your fantasy starter:

"

Newton has played 16 games three times in his career, and has been a top-six quarterback all three. He's never had what we could consider to be a good WR corps. Yes, he had aging Steve Smith and raw Kelvin Benjamin, but it's largely been Newton and Olsen. If anything I would guess the Benjamin news spells more runs for Newton, and he's more efficient on the ground.

"

If you do pick Newton and you have a change of heart or want to solidify your options at the position in case he has a slow start, use that ninth- or 10th-round pick to take a very solid backup quarterback option.  

There is an entire second tier of very good quarterbacks who can add depth to your roster. It was no question when I saw him available that Eli Manning was my pick. The true definition of a pocket passer, Manning is going to put up some big numbers in his second year with new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo and the West Coast offense. 

With a healthy Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz, along with a backfield of Rashad Jennings and screen-man extraordinaire Shane Vereen, Manning is going to have options, which means you are going to get points.

Before worrying about backup quarterbacks, though, get that starting lineup all set before you go for bench depth. That means: Don't wait too long on a tight end or that third or fourth wide receiver; they are going to be in your lineup every week. And getting burned by that one player on your roster that just can't get you more than six points per week will get real irksome after three or four games.

Come selection day, don't use your draft position as an excuse for why you couldn't build a winner. A contender is right around the corner if you just play your own game and pick to the best of your ability. Don't just blindly pick the next-best available player, and for everything that is righteous about football, please make sure the player is healthy before you choose him.