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Fantasy Football 2016: 3-Round Mock Draft and Suggestions for Team Names

Fantasy Football
September 4, 2016

With the start of the 2016 NFL regular season quickly approaching, fantasy football is back in full swing, and last-minute draft preparations are revealing some interesting trends.

For perhaps the first time in modern fantasy football history, wide receivers look to be more popular than running backs as first-round selections. Also, quarterback seems deeper than ever before, which puts less onus on spending a high pick on the most important position in real football.

There is no surefire strategy that will guarantee you a championship or even a trip to the playoffs, but maximizing value and avoiding big-time busts in the early rounds can go a long way toward accomplishing those goals.

Ahead of your fantasy draft, here is a three-round mock draft to prepare you for what you can expect, along with some team names to consider for your squad.

   

Mock Draft: 1st Round

Just seven players rushed for 1,000 or more yards in the NFL last season, and only two of them had more than 1,106 yards.

That lack of elite production from the running back position has seemingly led to a philosophical shift in fantasy football, and the result is a first round littered with top-flight pass-catchers.

Chief among them is Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Antonio Brown, who tied for the league lead with 136 catches, ranked second with 1,834 yards and reeled in 10 touchdowns last season.

Brown has registered at least 110 receptions and 1,499 yards in each of the past three campaigns, and according to Chris Raybon of 4for4 Football, there is still room for improvement:

Taking a receiver first overall comes with some risk since they are so dependent on quarterback play, but Brown was still dominant in 2015 even with Ben Roethlisberger missing four games due to injury.

With that in mind, Michael Detillier of WWL-870 views him as a can’t-miss option in fantasy:

Running backs remain valuable, which is why Minnesota Vikings superstar Adrian Peterson and Los Angeles Rams standout Todd Gurley are worthy of early selections as well.

Both players are the centerpieces of their respective offenses, and provided they are able to stay healthy, they will give certainty at a position with a ton of question marks.

The biggest outlier in the first round is New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Gronk struggled with injuries for a couple of seasons, but he put up at least 1,100 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in each of the past two seasons, and due to the huge advantage that gives him over every other tight end, he is most definitely worth a look in the opening round, even with quarterback Tom Brady out for the first four games.

   

Mock Draft: 2nd Round

More running backs come off the board in the second round with most of the elite wide receivers no longer available, but Dallas Cowboys wideout Dez Bryant has a chance to get back into that top class.

Bryant had an awful 2015 season, as he struggled through injuries and quarterback Tony Romo missed the bulk of the year as well.

While Bryant should enter the regular season healthy, his quarterback is once again on the shelf, and Romo is expected to miss six to 10 weeks, according to ESPN.com’s Todd Archer.

Per NFL Fantasy Football, fantasy expert Michael Fabiano believes that adversely impacts Bryant’s fantasy value:

Rookie Dak Prescott will start in Romo’s place, and while he has looked excellent during the preseason, banking on an inexperienced quarterback to feed such a high fantasy pick is a substantial risk.

In terms of running backs, Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Doug Martin could provide a huge return on a second-round investment.

He ranked second in the NFL last season with 1,402 rushing yards, and with quarterback Jameis Winston likely to continue improving, there should be plenty of open running lanes.

Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell may have been the No. 1 overall pick if not for a three-game suspension, so taking him in the second round is a worthwhile gamble.

Veteran DeAngelo Williams was great in Bell’s absence last season, and nabbing him as a handcuff and temporary replacement later in the draft will make the Bell selection look even better.

   

Mock Draft: 3rd Round

With at least 20 solid quarterbacks fantasy owners can feel comfortable starting any given week available in the draft, waiting on signal-callers and opting to mix and match based on opponents is the best course of action at the position this season.

Even so, there are undoubtedly some elite quarterbacks who stand out above the rest, and it’s likely at least one will go in the first three rounds of your draft.

The top candidate is reigning NFL MVP and Carolina Panthers stud Cam Newton, who racked up nearly 4,500 total yards, 45 total touchdowns and just 10 interceptions last season.

As pointed out by PFF Fantasy Football, he also came through when the games mattered most late in the season:

Newton will be hard-pressed to match his 2015 production, but with No. 1 wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin back in the fold, he has more weapons than ever and is poised to maintain his standing as the top quarterback in fantasy.

Washington Redskins tight end Jordan Reed showed tons of potential in his first two NFL seasons, but he struggled to stay on the field. He missed two games last season but still ended the year with gaudy numbers in the form of 87 receptions for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns.

Reed is quarterback Kirk Cousins’ favorite target, and aside from Gronk, he is the only tight end worth taking this early.

   

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

Read more Fantasy Football news on NerdyFootball.com

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