Drafting from the 4

This mock draft was an 8 team snake draft, where I drafted from the fourth position.

Immediately I knew that McCoy, Peterson, and Charles would be taken. Some people, in this position, would overvalue Peyton Manning, and pick him here. I always approach my drafts knowing that there will still be QB's available later on in the draft, specifically rounds 5-8. So, I took a look at the WR and RB fields, knowing a TE or QB could not go #4 overall. At this point, no receivers were taken, and the top RB's still available(Eddie Lacy, Matt Forte) do not deserve to be this high in the first round, and they went later in the first round. Calvin Johnson was available, so I drafted him.

KEY DRAFTING APPROACH: When in a situation like I was, or any other situation where you are deciding between two positions, particularly in the first three rounds, look at what tier of player is left, and if they deserve the pick you are using. For example, with my pick, the best available RB was Eddie Lacy, who is not deserving of the fourth overall pick, in my personal opinion, and in rankings. So, I went to the WR's, and in this case, no WR's were drafted, so I picked the best WR out there.

As far as my first four rounds go, I usually try to use those four rounds to gather my starting WR's and RB's. In this order, I drafted Megatron, LeVeon Bell, Alshon Jeffrey, and Reggie Bush.

LeVeon Bell is one of those sophomore Running Backs who can have a great second season. With an outstanding Rookie year, Bell proved to Pittsburgh that they can rely on him for yards on the ground, as well as receiving. Bell had 45 receptions for 399 yards, which is an average of 8.87 YPC. Bell is a dual threat, like Reggie Bush, who can rack up the fantasy points in two different categories.

Alshon Jeffrey and Wes Welker are both players who have extreme explosiveness and big play potential on every down. What I like about Jeffrey is the fact that the Bears can rely on him, and it showed last year. Jeffrey had 89 receptions in 2013, and 62 of those catches were for first downs. This stat, even though it is not talked about much, is one that shows reliability, and trust in the player. Jeffret also will be coming off of a 1,500 yard and 7 TD season. As for Welker, any receiver who has Peyton Manning throwing to him is going to have a successful season. The only thing I would watch out with Welker is, he is not the only receiver Manning likes to throw to. Welker was targeted 110 times, which is 16% of all of Manning's attempts in 2013. But, Welker still recorded 778 receiving yards, and 20 TD"s.

Finally, who could pass up on RG3. The man breathes fantasy potential. In 2012, when RG3 was fully healthy, he was able to avoid mistakes, and make the big plays. In 2013, he had 3 more passing yards than the season before, but had 7 more INT's, and 3 more fumbles. The difference in mistakes is due in part to his mobility. When RG3 is mobile, he can extend the play, and avoid the INT's by scrambling for a few extra yards, run out of bounds, or buy himself more time to find the extra receiver.

Here is the rest of my draft, by position, including all of my backups.


QB: Robert Griffin III (Round 7)
RB: LeVeon Bell (Round 2)
RB: Reggie Bush (Round 4)
WR: Calvin Johnson (Round 1)
WR: Alshon Jeffrey (Round 3)
Flex: Wes Welker (Round 6)
TE: Vernon Davis (Round 5)
D/ST: Seattle/Carolina (Rounds 9 and 11)
K: Matt Prater (Round 10)

Backups: Chris Johnson, Reuben Randle, Danny Woodhead, Jay Cutler, Martellus Bennett