2011 Cafe Mock Draft: Lockout Style

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Twelve enthusiastic Cafe users completed a Cafe mock draft during the NFL lockout. The group started on Saturday, June 18 and finished on Monday, July 25, just as the lockout was coming to a close. The 16-round mock required drafting a full lineup of one QB, two RBs, three WRs, one TE, one K and one DF, as well as seven bench players. It was a non-PPR mock draft, with standard scoring otherwise. Also remember that the wild week of free agency and trading has altered the fantasy value of many players, some significantly. We will be posting another mock (or two) before the season starts.

Thanks to Indibuck, Dan Lambskin, Stelly, petedog9, The Lung, Guru13, aaawall91, WaCougMBS, Venom, u_fig_eater, Kareighuis and thriftyrocker for donating their time and expertise to the proceedings, as well as for submitting final thoughts about the mock draft upon completion. Without further ado …

Pick	Drafter	Player	Pos	Team
1.01	Indibuck	Adrian Peterson	RB	MIN
1.02	Dan Lambskin	Chris Johnson	RB	TEN
1.03	Stelly	Arian Foster	RB	HOU
1.04	petedog9	Jamaal Charles	RB	KC
1.05	The Lung	Ray Rice	RB	BAL
1.06	Guru13	Rashard Mendenhall	RB	PIT
1.07	aaawall91	LeSean McCoy	RB	PHI
1.08	WaCougMBS	Michael Turner	RB	ATL
1.09	Venom	Maurice Jones-Drew	RB	JAC
1.10	u_fig_eater	Stephen Jackson	RB	STL
1.11	Kareighuis	Darren McFadden	RB	OAK
1.12	thriftyrocker	Calvin Johnson	WR	DET

My shakiest pick was … Chris Johnson. I’m starting to wonder if I would have been better off taking Foster. As a CJ owner last year, I remember all too well how the Titans’ (lack of) offense let me down several weeks. – Dan Lambskin

Pick	Drafter	Player	Pos	Team
2.01	thriftyrocker	Andre Johnson	WR	HOU
2.02	Kareighuis	Roddy White	WR	ATL
2.03	u_fig_eater	Greg Jennings	WR	GB
2.04	Venom	Hakeem Nicks	WR	NYG
2.05	WaCougMBS	Michael Vick	QB	PHI
2.06	aaawall91	Larry Fitzgerald	WR	ARI
2.07	Guru13	LeGarrette Blount	RB	TB
2.08	The Lung	Matt Forte	RB	CHI
2.09	petedog9	Frank Gore	RB	SF
2.10	Stelly	Miles Austin	WR	DAL
2.11	Dan Lambskin	Reggie Wayne	WR	IND
2.12	Indibuck	Vincent Jackson	WR	SD

My best pick was … Larry Fitzgerald. At 18th overall (2.06), very few have super stud status. – aaawall91

My best pick was … Frank Gore (and Mike Wallace). Getting Gore that late and then drafting Mike Wallace on the flip made me smile. I have both of them inside the top 10 at their given positions and I think both fell further then they should have. With Gore as my No. 2 RB behind Charles, it gives me a potent 1-2 punch. – petedog9

Pick	Drafter	Player	Pos	Team
3.01	Indibuck	Aaron Rodgers	QB	GB
3.02	Dan Lambskin	Dwayne Bowe	WR	KC
3.03	Stelly	Shonn Greene	RB	NYJ
3.04	petedog9	Mike Wallace	WR	PIT
3.05	The Lung	DeSean Jackson	WR	PHI
3.06	Guru13	Mike Williams	WR	TB
3.07	aaawall91	Dez Bryant	WR	DAL
3.08	WaCougMBS	Peyton Hillis	RB	CLE
3.09	Venom	Drew Brees	QB	NO
3.10	u_fig_eater	Ryan Matthews	RB	SD
3.11	Kareighuis	Jeremy Maclin	WR	PHI
3.12	thriftyrocker	Peyton Manning	QB	IND

My best pick was … Aaron Rodgers (and Vincent Jackson). Picking V-Jax and Aaron Rodgers at the second and third round swing picks to go with Adrian Peterson gives me an outside shot to have the No. 1 producers at QB, RB, and WR, especially if Jackson stays in SD. – Indibuck

My shakiest pick was … Dez Bryant. He’s a younger guy who may fall back from last year before his Year 3 breakout. Let’s hope he and Romo can develop some chemistry; otherwise, it may be the Miles Austin Show for another year. – aaawall91

My shakiest pick was … Peyton Hillis. After starting QB-RB, I was hoping to get my hands on a WR like Dez Bryant, so when he was gone I decided to go RB2 in Hillis and kind of regretted it after the fact. I have enough depth in Thomas and Leshoure to where I wouldn’t feel too badly if Hillis fell off badly or is part of a true time-split, but it’s definitely the pick that I felt was the shakiest, and it certainly dictated the direction of the rest of my draft considering I started Vick-Turner. – WaCougMBS

Pick	Drafter	Player	Pos	Team
4.01	thriftyrocker	Antonio Gates	TE	SD
4.02	Kareighuis	Jonathan Stewart	RB	CAR
4.03	u_fig_eater	Philip Rivers	QB	SD
4.04	Venom	Ahmad Bradshaw	RB	FA
4.05	WaCougMBS	Brandon Marshall	WR	MIA
4.06	aaawall91	Dallas Clark	TE	IND
4.07	Guru13	DeAngelo Williams	RB	FA
4.08	The Lung	Wes Welker	WR	NE
4.09	petedog9	Tom Brady	QB	NE
4.10	Stelly	Santonio Holmes	WR	FA
4.11	Dan Lambskin	Anquan Boldin	WR	BAL
4.12	Indibuck	Marques Colston	WR	NO

My shakiest pick was … Antonio Gates. He was by far the No. 1 TE on my board, and I hoped to jump start a TE run with that pick, but Vernon Davis was still available at 5.12. 20/20 hindsight lets me have Davis and Jonathan Stewart, giving me much more respectable RBs (Ed. note — Dodged a bullet there!). – thriftyrocker

My best pick was … Philip Rivers. He was a guy I was targeting, and I landed him. Last year, everything that could go wrong for him, did. He lost McNeil, V-Jax, Mathews, and Gates for various periods, and still rocked. He had a better YPA than all the quarterbacks taken before him. I really can’t think of a reason not to take Rivers here, other than if you prefer Brady. – u_fig_eater

My best pick was … DeAngelo Williams. Almost regardless of where he ends up, I think he’s worth it in the fourth. I’ve seen him go later, but this year being a bit shallow at RB I like locking up a guy that has an enormous ceiling and to me is reasonably safe. – Guru13

Pick	Drafter	Player	Pos	Team
5.01	Indibuck	Mark Ingram	RB	NO
5.02	Dan Lambskin	Jason Witten	TE	DAL
5.03	Stelly	Tony Romo	QB	DAL
5.04	petedog9	Jermichael Finley	TE	GB
5.05	The Lung	Knowshon Moreno	RB	DEN
5.06	Guru13	Steve Johnson	WR	BUF
5.07	aaawall91	Percy Harvin	WR	MIN
5.08	WaCougMBS	Kenny Britt	WR	TEN
5.09	Venom	Brandon Lloyd	WR	DEN
5.10	u_fig_eater	Sidney Rice	WR	FA
5.11	Kareighuis	Jahvid Best	RB	DET
5.12	thriftyrocker	Austin Collie	WR	IND

My best pick was … Tony Romo. The one guy I feel like I will be targeting in a lot of drafts this year given his situation and ADP is Romo. I think he can be a top-five QB this year given the talent around him in the passing game. Getting that in the fifth is pretty good value in my opinion. – Stelly

My shakiest pick was … Sidney Rice. Losing out on Brandon Lloyd (5.09) hurt, a lot. Austin Collie or Vernon Davis could have been better picks here. There’s uncertainty about Rice’s hip, and his QB. If I can get anything close to the 1,300 / 8 numbers he put up two years ago, this pick works. I also am crossing my fingers that the Vikings sign a good QB, or Rice goes to a potent offense. There’s also the pipe dream he ends up with the Pats. I don’t think that will happen, but hey, it’s out there. – u_fig_eater

My best pick was … Austin Collie. I’ll take the risk for top-five upside. Makes my lineup unstoppable if you ignore that pesky RB position. – thriftyrocker

Pick	Drafter	Player	Pos	Team
6.01	thriftyrocker	Michael Crabtree	WR	SF
6.02	Kareighuis	Vernon Davis	TE	SF
6.03	u_fig_eater	Johnny Knox	WR	CHI
6.04	Venom	Santana Moss	WR	FA
6.05	WaCougMBS	Mario Manningham	WR	NYG
6.06	aaawall91	Sam Bradford	QB	STL
6.07	Guru13	Julio Jones	WR	ATL
6.08	The Lung	Matt Schaub	QB	HOU
6.09	petedog9	Steve Smith	WR	CAR
6.10	Stelly	Cedric Benson	RB	FA
6.11	Dan Lambskin	Felix Jones	RB	DAL
6.12	Indibuck	Ryan Grant	RB	GB

My shakiest pick was … Santana Moss. Taking him at 6.04 was a bit of a reach, even though he posted a career high in catches in 2010. What concerns me are two things: Anthony Armstrong and Leonard Hankerson. I am certain he won’t be targeted 145 times like he was last year. Fingers crossed for one more WR2 type season from my WR3. – Venom

My shakiest pick was … Julio Jones. He’s plenty talented and could end up being a good WR3 for me but a lack of OTCs, etc. that are concerns for all rookies this year worries me a bit. Not sure I’d make that pick if given the opportunity again. That being said, I really like Jordy Nelson and Jacoby Jones to be able to pick up the slack. – Guru13

Pick	Drafter	Player	Pos	Team
7.01	Indibuck	Jacoby Ford	WR	OAK
7.02	Dan Lambskin	Marshawn Lynch	RB	SEA
7.03	Stelly	Mike Sims-Walker	WR	FA
7.04	petedog9	Pierre Garcon	WR	IND
7.05	The Lung	Matt Stafford	QB	DET
7.06	Guru13	Jordy Nelson	WR	GB
7.07	aaawall91	Ryan Williams	RB	ARI
7.08	WaCougMBS	Daniel Thomas	RB	MIA
7.09	Venom	Fred Jackson	RB	BUF
7.10	u_fig_eater	Jimmy Graham	TE	NO
7.11	Kareighuis	Ben Roethlisberger	QB	PIT
7.12	thriftyrocker	Joseph Addai	RB	IND

My shakiest pick was … Jacoby Ford. The bad part of drafting at the swing picks is that you eventually have to make some reaches in order to fill your roster. Jacoby Ford at 7.01 is a good example of that. I badly needed a third WR and I knew that, 23 picks later, the pickings would be slim. Ford was my best available WR and I had to “reach” (from an ADP standpoint) to take him. I could also make the argument that I should have taken my AP handcuff, Toby Gerhart, in the 15th round instead of a backup TE. – Indibuck

My shakiest pick was … Mike Sims-Walker. This one is easy. I regretted it almost immediately. There were plenty of better choices at that spot, I just dropped the ball. I remember making this pick in a hurry…I knew I was going to be away from a computer for a bit, so wanted to get my pick in on time. Maybe would have been better to miss it, and let a alternate pick that one for me! – Stelly

My best pick was … Daniel Thomas (7.08). Considering some of the RBs that went right before and after him, I was ecstatic to get Thomas in this spot. Would much rather have him than the Lynchs, Addais, Jacksons and Law Firms of the world. – WaCougMBS

Pick	Drafter	Player	Pos	Team
8.01	thriftyrocker	Beanie Wells	RB	ARI
8.02	Kareighuis	Braylon Edwards	WR	FA
8.03	u_fig_eater	Mike Williams	WR	SEA
8.04	Venom	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	RB	NE
8.05	WaCougMBS	Mikel Leshoure	RB	DET
8.06	aaawall91	C.J. Spiller	RB	BUF
8.07	Guru13	James Starks	RB	GB
8.08	The Lung	Owen Daniels	TE	HOU
8.09	petedog9	Michael Bush	RB	OAK
8.10	Stelly	Malcom Floyd	WR	FA
8.11	Dan Lambskin	Matt Ryan	QB	ATL
8.12	Indibuck	Marcedes Lewis	TE	JAC

(Ed. note — No responses were given on eighth round players. In particular, I like the Owen Daniels and Matt Ryan picks. I think Braylon Edwards was the big reach.)

Pick	Drafter	Player	Pos	Team
9.01	Indibuck	Mike Thomas	WR	JAC
9.02	Dan Lambskin	Brandon Jacobs	RB	NYG
9.03	Stelly	Zach Miller	TE	OAK
9.04	petedog9	PIT Steelers	DF	PIT
9.05	The Lung	Ryan Torain	RB	WAS
9.06	Guru13	Brandon Pettigrew	TE	DET
9.07	aaawall91	Delone Carter	RB	IND
9.08	WaCougMBS	Josh Freeman	QB	TB
9.09	Venom	Chris Cooley	TE	WAS
9.10	u_fig_eater	Mike Tolbert	RB	SD
9.11	Kareighuis	Rashad Jennings	RB	JAC
9.12	thriftyrocker	Roy Helu	RB	WAS

My shakiest pick was … PIT Steelers defense. I really thought the defenses would start to fall around the 9th or 10th round and I wouldn’t have much left to pick from when my turn came back. That wasn’t the case in hindsight. I could have waited a round or two and probably still got them. – petedog9

The pick in the second-half of the draft that caught my attention was … Delone Carter. At first blush, it seems awfully early to take a third string RB in a passing offense. But latest word is that Addai may be a salary cap casualty, and Donald Brown has done nothing to impress so far. The door is wide open for the tough, between the tackles rookie RB on a team that needs that presence to keep the passing game honest. And there could be a whole lot of touchdowns for Carter, even if the yardage isn’t there. The more I thought about it, the more I liked the pick. – Indibuck

Pick	Drafter	Player	Pos	Team
10.01	thriftyrocker	Montario Hardesty	RB	CLE
10.02	Kareighuis	James Jones	WR	FA
10.03	u_fig_eater	Deion Branch	WR	NE
10.04	Venom	A.J. Green	WR	CIN
10.05	WaCougMBS	Kellen Winslow	TE	TB
10.06	aaawall91	Ronnie Brown	RB	FA
10.07	Guru13	Eli Manning	QB	NYG
10.08	The Lung	Rob Gronkowski	TE	NE
10.09	petedog9	Chad Ochocinco	WR	CIN
10.10	Stelly	LaDainian Tomlinson	RB	NYJ
10.11	Dan Lambskin	Steve Smith	WR	NYG
10.12	Indibuck	Shane Vereen	RB	NE

The pick in the second-half of the draft that caught my attention was … Montario Hardesty (and Randy Moss and Dustin Keller). – aaawall91

My best pick was … A.J. Green. His ADP is hovering at about the seventh round, so to snag the top rookie of the year three rounds later is a steal in my opinion. I am mildly concerned about who will be throwing him the football, but with his talent, all a QB has to do is get it close. He’ll make plays. – Venom

The pick in the second-half of the draft that caught my attention was … Ronnie Brown. He is a FA and could land in a great spot and be a super value for where he was taken. I also liked Hines Ward in the 11th, who fell way too far. I would have taken him in the 10th, but I already had Wallace. – petedog9

My late round sleeper pick that I love is … Chad Ochocinco (and Randy Moss). This is a roll of the dice here and I am playing the odds that one of my bench WRs between Moss and Ochocinco will have a major bounce back year with whatever new team that they land with. These guys were not too long ago top tier WRs and could, given the right circumstances, see a major jump in production from last year. – petedog9

Pick	Drafter	Player	Pos	Team
11.01	Indibuck	Mark Clayton	WR	FA
11.02	Dan Lambskin	Nate Burleson	WR	DET
11.03	Stelly	Lee Evans	WR	BUF
11.04	petedog9	Robert Meachem	WR	NO
11.05	The Lung	Hines Ward	WR	PIT
11.06	Guru13	Tim Tebow	QB	DEN
11.07	aaawall91	Kevin Kolb	QB	PHI
11.08	WaCougMBS	Danny Amendola	WR	STL
11.09	Venom	Davone Bess	WR	MIA
11.10	u_fig_eater	Mike Goodson	RB	CAR
11.11	Kareighuis	Danario Alexander	WR	STL
11.12	thriftyrocker	Joe Flacco	QB	BAL

My late round sleeper pick that I love is … Mark Clayton. Clayton and Bradford showed great chemistry last year until Clayton got hurt early. If he comes back healthy and the young STL offense takes another step forward, Clayton has WR2 upside. – Indibuck

The pick in the second-half of the draft that caught my attention was … Tim Tebow. While Tebow is a risk, at 11.6 it is a great pick, and Guru13 used a great strategy to pair him with Eli the previous round, allowing him to spend his first nine picks on position players while still getting both safety and upside at QB. Really, the upside of the pair is as high as any QB outside of Vick. The worst case is you start Eli every week, but that is still a low QB1 and not a substantial deficit compared to your competition. – thriftyrocker

Pick	Drafter	Player	Pos	Team
12.01	thriftyrocker	Bernard Scott	RB	CIN
12.02	Kareighuis	Kendall Hunter	RB	SF
12.03	u_fig_eater	Emmanuel Sanders	WR	PIT
12.04	Venom	Jay Cutler	QB	CHI
12.05	WaCougMBS	Leonard Hankerson	WR	WAS
12.06	aaawall91	DeMarco Murray	RB	DAL
12.07	Guru13	Jacoby Jones	WR	HOU
12.08	The Lung	Jerome Simpson	WR	CIN
12.09	petedog9	Reggie Bush	RB	NO
12.10	Stelly	Ryan Fitzpatrick	QB	BUF
12.11	Dan Lambskin	Pierre Thomas	RB	NO
12.12	Indibuck	Tashard Choice	RB	DAL

My late round sleeper pick that I love is … Emmanuel Sanders. He had only eight less targets than Hines Ward over the second half of last season. If Mike Wallace gets double covered, it could open things up for Sanders. – u_fig_eater

My late round sleeper pick that I love is … Jacoby Jones. He could show up this year… or he could not. Again. Last year was the best season of his career and he caught 22 passes in the last four games — I think there’s a fair amount of upside here. – Guru13

The pick in the second-half of the draft that caught my attention was … Jerome Simpson. He could be a real diamond in the rough, and at this late in the draft when he probably could have been taken 18-20 picks earlier considering the WRs going in the early 11th, I think he could be one of the real steals of the draft. And if not? Just a 12th-rounder at the end of your draft. – WaCougMBS

My best pick was … Pierre Thomas. For as late as he lasted, I think that’s excellent value. There’s a chance he doesn’t contribute much, but for the potential reward, spending a 12th round pick on him was a no-brainer. – Dan Lambskin

Pick	Drafter	Player	Pos	Team
13.01	Indibuck	GB Packers	DF	GB
13.02	Dan Lambskin	Ben Tate	RB	HOU
13.03	Stelly	Earl Bennett	WR	CHI
13.04	petedog9	Randy Moss	WR	FA
13.05	The Lung	Danny Woodhead	RB	NE
13.06	Guru13	Tim Hightower	RB	ARI
13.07	aaawall91	Lance Moore	WR	FA
13.08	WaCougMBS	Steve Breaston	WR	FA
13.09	Venom	Jordan Shipley	WR	CIN
13.10	u_fig_eater	Matt Cassel	QB	KC
13.11	Kareighuis	Arrelious Benn	WR	TB
13.12	thriftyrocker	Greg Little	WR	CLE

My late round sleeper pick that I love is … Ben Tate. If something does happen to Foster, Tate has a chance to step in and give me a top 10 RB. – Dan Lambskin

My late round sleeper pick that I love is … Earl Bennett (and Jacquizz Rodgers). Bennett is nothing spectacular, but Martz has said he wants to increase his role in the offense, so that should give him some upside. Rodgers needs some things to happen for my pick to have any value, but Turner getting injured or needing a breather here and there aren’t out of the realm of possibility. – Stelly

The pick in the second-half of the draft that caught my attention was … Randy Moss. Going this late in the draft, he could be a diamond in the dirt. It’s also shocking how much he’s fallen in one year, without getting injured, and without a huge drop in ability. – u_fig_eater

My late round sleeper pick that I love is … Steve Breaston. He’s either boom or bust depending on what Arizona does to remedy its QB situation, but assuming they solve said issue and Breaston can be re-signed for a reasonable amount of money, I like him to hold down a WR2 role that could get him some PT as a WR3 on fantasy teams. Should one of these things not come to fruition before the season starts (Ed. note — One thing did not.), I can cut him and it was just my 13th rounder.

Pick	Drafter	Player	Pos	Team
14.01	thriftyrocker	Donnie Avery	WR	STL
14.02	Kareighuis	NE Patriots	DF	NE
14.03	u_fig_eater	NY Jets	DF	NYJ
14.04	Venom	Thomas Jones	RB	KC
14.05	WaCougMBS	Justin Forsett	RB	SEA
14.06	aaawall91	Donald Brown	RB	IND
14.07	Guru13	Derrick Mason	WR	BAL
14.08	The Lung	Willis McGahee	RB	BAL
14.09	petedog9	Tony Gonzalez	TE	ATL
14.10	Stelly	Jacquizz Rodgers	RB	ATL
14.11	Dan Lambskin	Chad Henne	QB	MIA
14.12	Indibuck	Mark Sanchez	QB	NYJ

My late round sleeper pick that I love is … Donnie Avery. Best match to Brandon Lloyd on the STL roster. Seems to be ready to go. Wouldn’t be surprised if he has a top-25 year. – thriftyrocker

My late round sleeper pick that I love is … Donald Brown. Most would argue he is done with Addai most likely back and Carter drafted, but if Manning isn’t playing for whatever reason (due to his neck injury), I don’t expect the Colts to be the dominant force through the air we know them as. While I don’t think any of the Indy backs will be overly effective, they all will get tons of carries if Manning has to miss time, I expect. – aaawall91

The pick in the second-half of the draft that caught my attention was … Willis McGahee. This could end up being a steal. If Baltimore cuts him, he could end up a starter somewhere else. He doesn’t have a ton of tread on his tires, and he has a nose for the end-zone. Love the pick. – Stelly

The pick in the second-half of the draft that caught my attention was … Tony Gonzalez. I was surprised to see him fall as far as he did. He isn’t what he once was, but I think he’s better than some of the TEs drafted much earlier. – Dan Lambskin

The pick in the second-half of the draft that caught my attention was … Jacquizz Rodgers. Had I been paying attention when my pick came around in the 13th, I probably would have taken him; if Turner is dinged up or they need a quick change of pace back, Rodgers is going to be their guy. Maybe he’ll come in and pull somewhat of a poor man’s MJD. – Guru13

Pick	Drafter	Player	Pos	Team
15.01	Indibuck	Aaron Hernandez	TE	NE
15.02	Dan Lambskin	DET Lions	DF	DET
15.03	Stelly	CHI Bears	DF	CHI
15.04	petedog9	Sebastian Janikowski	K	OAK
15.05	The Lung	PHI Eagles	DF	PHI
15.06	Guru13	Stephen Gostkowski	K	NE
15.07	aaawall91	SD Chargers	DF	SD
15.08	WaCougMBS	ATL Falcons	DF	ATL
15.09	Venom	Neil Rackers	K	HOU
15.10	u_fig_eater	Dustin Keller	TE	NYJ
15.11	Kareighuis	Bilal Powell	RB	NYJ
15.12	thriftyrocker	Alex Henery	K	PHI

The pick in the second-half of the draft that caught my attention was … Bilal Powell. Definitely. In a redraft, he won’t be drafted … but in a dynasty he is worth a snag and stash. – Venom

Pick	Drafter	Player	Pos	Team
16.01	thriftyrocker	DAL Cowboys	DF	DAL
16.02	Kareighuis	Nate Kaeding	K	SD
16.03	u_fig_eater	Matt Bryant	K	ATL
16.04	Venom	BAL Ravens	DF	BAL
16.05	WaCougMBS	David Buehler	K	DAL
16.06	aaawall91	Mason Crosby	K	GB
16.07	Guru13	STL Rams	DF	STL
16.08	The Lung	Rob Bironas	K	TEN
16.09	petedog9	Plaxico Burress	WR	FA
16.10	Stelly	Garrett Hartley	K	NO
16.11	Dan Lambskin	Robbie Gould	K	CHI
16.12	Indibuck	Adam Vinatieri	K	IND

(Ed. note — Nice gamble on Plaxico Burress at the end of the draft.)

Teams also provided their thoughts on the following questions. What need to happen for your team to win a league championship? Excluding your own team, who had the best draft and the shakiest draft? Were there any quality undrafted free agents left?

Indibuck

My team would win the league championship if I can get production at the RB2 and WR3 slots while my studs stay healthy. While not ideal, I think the combo of the rookie Ingram and the rehabbed Ryan Grant can deliver. And hopefully one of Ford, Clayton, or Mike Thomas would produce above their ADP.

I would say Venom has the team to beat. There’s solid talent across the starting lineup. MJD was a steal at the 1.09 spot.

When you have a 12 person mock draft with owners that know what they are doing, everyone is going to have a hole or two in their starting lineup. But since I have been asked to name a shaky team, I would say WaCoug’s. You could call it the “All-Potential-Bust” Team, as his starting lineup is filled with quality players, but they all seem to have at least one question mark coming into 2011. From Vick (can he replicate his 2010 numbers?) to Hillis (seems destined to split carries with Hardesty) to Turner (how much is left in the tank and does ATL shift to more of a passing attack with their offseason upgrades?) to Marshall (can MIA find a QB and running game to take pressure off the pass) to Sims-Walker (where does he end up?) to Britt (when does he get arrested again?) Again, I’m not disputing the talent, but there’s too much risk across the board for my liking.

Dan Lambskin

My team would win the league championship if everyone plays to their full potential. I think the key will be getting reliable production from my RB2 slot. Between Felix, Lynch, Jacobs and (Pierre) Thomas, there should be a juicy match-up each week.

I really like Petedog’s team. The starters have the capability to be explosive and there is a good amount of depth as well. It’s definitely a team that could challenge for the points title.

Guru13’s team is pretty shaky. Eli is a borderline starter (he’s good but he can’t carry a team like some QBs) and the WR corps could be a huge bust. His RBs are OK nothing special (although DeAngelo could make them pretty good depending on where he lands).

The note-worthy undrafted player I see is Cam Newton. The guy was the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

Stelly

My team would win the league championship if the J-E-T-S, JETS! JETS! JETS offense steps it up. Greene and Holmes are very talented players. The Jets want Greene to be their bell cow, and in that offense, he could really produce. Same with Holmes — he put up nice numbers when he got off suspension last season, and he could turn into a great WR2.

The best team drafted (besides my own) was petedog9 — his RBs are fantastic. Landing Charles and Gore is robbery. We should be ashamed to have let Gore fall to him in the second. Match that with Brady, Wallace, and Finley, and he’s going to be tough to beat. I like to blame him to stealing some of my picks right in front of me, thus weakening my team.

The shakiest team drafted (besides my own) was aaawall91. I think everyone has a solid team, but I don’t like his QB situation, and his WRs scare me a bit as well. He does have some nice depth that could fill in for some of the players that I don’t like though.

petedog9

My team would win the league championship if one of those WRs pans out. I am content at the QB / RB / TE positions overall. I really think Steve Smith will surprise if he gets out of Carolina, and I think he will get his wish and be traded to a contender. I have always been a big Steve Smith fan as I beleive he is one of the toughest guys playing. I have read San Diego may trade Vincent Jackson this year and look to replace him with Steve Smith. If he goes to SD, he could be huge.

All the teams are pretty damn solid and overall everyone did a great job. I really like two teams as they have alot of “my guys” which are guys I would have targeted myself. That’s Dan Lambskin and The Lung. I like Dan’s overall balance and his bench is full of guys with upside. Witten is due for a bounce back and if Matty Ice can pull his weight, he would be tough to beat. I think Lung’s team has that same potential; it all hinges on Matt Forte and whether he has the year people think he is gonna have. Lung would then be rock solid from top to bottom. I like his QB tandem as well.

The shakiest team is a tough call as I think everyone did a solid job. If I have to pick one, I am gonna say Venom’s squad and the main reason I have for this is I just do not like his two starting RBs. I believe this is the year MJD falls off the cliff. They have already come out and said that they will lessen his workload and give more to Jennings. I also do not like Bradshaw. Just too much uncertainty with the NYG backfield and the front office was looking to draft Ingram if Prince didn’t fall to them. They are still shopping for a No. 1 RB. I have heard Ronnie Brown rumors to NYG already.

The note-worthy undrafted players I see are Terrell Owens and Kyle Orton.

Guru13

My team would win the league championship if Brandon Pettigrew shows up like I think he could this year. It seems a lot of people think Stafford hurts his value, but I don’t see any reason why he can’t add to his 71 catches from last year.

The best team drafted (besides my own) was Kareighuis. The only hole I can think up right now would be depth, but the receivers on his bench are all guys that have potential. James Jones’s value hinges on where he ends up, but I really like Danario Alexander and Arrelious Benn — excellent late picks.

The shakiest team drafted (besides my own) was: Lambskin’s. Mostly because I don’t like Bowe or Boldin as much as most folks do, but the RB2 spot is likely to be a revolving door for this team I suspect.

aaawall91

My team would win the league championship if my players stay healthy and my running backs take on key roles.

Dan Lambskin’s starters (with the exception of Witten), u_fig_eater, WaCougs (with the exception of his last six picks), Guru13 (if free agency moves work out like I think they will) and The Lung (if Hines Ward can return back to normal) all have potential top of the division teams. And thriftyrocker has a very well put together roster; I’d expect it to be the runner up to the championship (if this were a real league).

The shakiest team drafted (besides my own) was Venom. With the exception of Hakeem and Brees (great picks), the rest of the team is on my “don’t draft” list, unless it’s good value for the most part.

WaCougMBS

My team would win the league championship if Michael Vick stays healthy, one of Hillis, Thomas or Leshoure plays as a viable RB2 and two of my six WRs at least play like starters. Quite a bit of boom or bust on this team with guys like Marshall and Britt headlining my WRs, but if both of them could hit and everyone else plays around their expected level of production, I think this team could be in there in Week 15.

I really like aaawall91’s team. He’s a tad weak at QB if Bradford is his starter, but he’ll be usable, and he has the upside of Kolb landing in a dream situation through trade and making his team really a beast. Solid at RB1 and all WR slots, and adding in Dallas Clark and a slew of RBs like Spiller, Carter and Murray and he doesn’t need a lot of luck other than avoiding injuries to have a great title shot with a squad like this.

I don’t hate anyone’s team, and I honestly think everyone did a pretty good job of limiting their weaknesses, but if I have to pick it’s Stelly. This mostly centers around the fact that his depth leaves much to be desired as far as upside with guys like Evans, LT, Bennett on the bench and the fact that his Holmes-MSW combo as WR2 and WR3 is pretty weak compared to the corps across the league. With a TE a bit more elite than Miller I’d look past this a tad, but this team is really kind of stars and scrubs with Foster, Austin, Romo and “the rest.”

The note-worthy undrafted players I see are Jordan Todman, Jamie Harper and Deji Karim.

Venom

My team would win the league championship if, most importantly, I don’t catch the injury bug and secondly, if my veterans stay productive. MJD and Bradshaw aren’t exactly known for durability, which is why I went RB/RB again in the seventh and eighth. If they can both stay on the field all season, Brandon Lloyd puts up at least 80 percent of his 2010 numbers and Santana Moss doesn’t fall off the map due to new talent, I have a playoff team.

I like petedog9s team. Charles and Gore are a great tandem at RB. Add Tom Brady and newly knighted stud WR Wallace and that equals a ton-o-points.

I would have to say Stelly’s team was the shakiest. If Arian Foster doesn’t match his 2010 season, I think he may be in trouble.

u_fig_eater

My team is built to be boom or bust. I basically need guys to play up to their potential. S-Jax has always gotten the touches and yardage, he just needs the TDs to be elite. Mathews has everything to gain as the feature back in the league’s #1 offense. And I’m hoping Jimmy Graham can become a red zone target for Drew Brees. There’s no clear #1 weapon in New Orleans, and Graham could become that guy. Knox is the best receiver on the Bears, and with Martz going into this second year in Chicago, I’m hoping he develops into a Desean Jackson / Mike Wallace type of deep threat. There’s a lot of hope, for better or for worse.

The best team drafted (besides my own) was Petedog9’s team. It’s sick how he landed Jamaal Charles and Frank Gore. Then he follows up with Brady, Finley, and Mike Wallace? Wow. I guess the only questions are at WR2 and WR3, but he’s shored it up with some late round fliers. He just needs one of the other WRs to emerge, and then play the match-ups at WR3.

The note-worthy undrafted players I see are T.O., Torrey Smith, Devin Hester, Dexter McCluster.

thriftyrocker

My team would win the league championship if I find two RBs by October. The 11 deep RB run to start the draft pretty much forced a top down strategy filling in all my other positions with studs, and then trusting the NFL’s history of extreme turnover at RB to get me enough bodies at RB. I ended up with four home run swings (Wells, Hardesty, Helu, Scott) and one sac fly (Addai). I don’t see any Arian Fosters in this group, but it should be enough to compete.

Kareighuis had the best draft. He benefited from guys reaching for upside at QB (Bradford/Stafford), leaving Roethlisberger for him to snatch at the end of the 7th, as well as somehow Vernon Davis sticking around for half a round after the TE run was over. I liked some of his upside picks too in Rashad Jennings, Danario Alexander, etc. Weakest spot is WR3, and the only pick I didn’t get was James Jones in the 10th.

There’s nothing bad about Guru13’s roster, but it just seems to lack punch. To have a good year, he needs 2008 DeAngelo Williams to show up, and he needs Tebow to start all year and run wild like in his three-game stint last year.

Blair White will be a great pickup for this team if somehow I did a 2-for-1 trade to upgrade one of my RBs. Having White to pair with Collie mitigates a lot of the risk in owning Collie.

 
R.J. White is the head editor at the Cafe, writes for FanDuel and Razzball and has previously written for FanHouse. Catch up with him in the forums under the name daullaz. Follow him on Twitter; don't follow him in real life.
 

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