The opening day of the NFL regular season is less than two weeks away, which means a whole lot of viewing pleasure is just around the corner for football fans. For fantasy football junkies, it’s a doubly exciting time.
If you haven’t had your fantasy draft yet, we’ll be looking a sample four-round, standard-scoring 10-team mock that can give you some ideas for your early-round picks. Following that, we’ll discuss three notable selections who have potential to either boom or bust this season, and then we’ll look at some witty team names.
Even if you’ve already drafted, stick around—you might get some trade ideas, and maybe you’ll come up with a new team name before you’re done reading.
Four-Round Mock Draft
Notable Picks
RB DeMarco Murray, Philadelphia Eagles (Round 2, Pick 6)
There’s no question DeMarco Murray has the talent to put up numbers worthy of a first-round pick. His 2014 campaign with the Dallas Cowboys, highlighted by 2,261 yards from scrimmage and 13 total touchdowns, showed just that.
Now, he’ll have to prove he can succeed away from the Dallas Cowboys’ all-world offensive line, splitting carries with two other talented backs in Philadelphia and coming off a taxing 449-touch season.
Ryan Mathews, like Murray, is an Eagles newbie, and it’s doubtful the Eagles brought him in just to ride the pine all season. He’s just two seasons removed from a big season as the San Diego Chargers’ bell cow before injuring his MCL in 2014.
And Darren Sproles is Darren Sproles—a dependable scatback who’s made a career of stealing fantasy points from his teams’ top running backs.
Murray has a shot at distinguishing himself enough to get the lion’s share of snaps at halfback, but don’t hold your breath.
WR Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers (Round 2, Pick 2)
Randall Cobb had two big factors working in his favor for his fantasy value in 2014: great talent and the best quarterback in the NFL. The only thing missing for the No. 7 fantasy wideout was big target numbers—he was thrown to just 126 times, fewer than any receiver in the top 10 in fantasy points.
Well, guess what? Now that Jordy Nelson, the Packers’ most targeted receiver from last year, is out for the season with a torn ACL, Cobb is poised to rack up big yardage and touchdowns.
Right now, the concern is a shoulder injury Cobb suffered Saturday night in Green Bay’s preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Packers don’t believe it is a broken collarbone, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
ESPN’s Rob Demovsky posted a picture of Cobb on the sidelines later in the game without any sort of brace, sling or ice.
Keep on eye on Cobb’s status, because if he is good to go for Week 1, he’ll be a solid early second-round pick.
WR Brandin Cooks, New Orleans Saints (Round 3, Pick 8)
Like Cobb, Cooks is in line for a monster role increase as Drew Brees‘ new No. 1 target. However, departed pass-catchers Jimmy Graham and Kenny Stills open up even more targets for Cooks than Nelson’s absence will for Cobb.
Cooks flashed prodigious potential as a rookie in 2014, putting up 53 receptions for 550 yards in 10 games. If you extrapolate those numbers to a full 16-game slate, they balloon to 85 catches and 880 yards. And that’s with Stills, Graham and Marques Colston all competing with him for touches.
In case you forgot, Brees is the NFL’s reigning passing-yardage king and has held that title five of the past nine seasons. The Saints’ offensive mojo comes through the air, and Brees will look to Cooks a whole bunch in 2015 as New Orleans looks to maintain that passing identity.
Team Name Ideas
Are you still at a loss for what your team’s name should be? See if one of the below monikers suits your fancy or sparks your imagination to come up with something even better.
Gronky Kong
Turn Your Head and Coughlin
Watt Me Whip, Watt Me J.J.
Dezervoir Dogs
The Boldin the Beautiful
Forgetting Brandon Marshall
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