Mock Draft Discussion/Analysis

[joejlitz]

Put me down on the " a little worried about" Arian Foster bandwagon. Don't get me wrong, still great, but I don't know if he will be elite next year

What are your concerns, Murph? He had another great fantasy year and scored 17 TDs; #3 RB behind Peterson and Martin and #5 RB/WR/TE overall in our PPR league. I'm not seeing the cause for concern. Teach me, Obi Wan.

[murphysxm]

Just felt like he regressed as the season went on. He started the season as a guy you counted on to carry you with 20+ points every week. By the end of the season that confidence was gone. Just an early gut call.

[11stever11]

Put me down on the " a little worried about" Arian Foster bandwagon. Don't get me wrong, still great, but I don't know if he will be elite next year

I am a bit worried about him as well. He has 351 rushing attempts and 40 catches with at least another game to go which will put him well over 370 touches. Many running backs struggle the next season when they go over 370 touches the prior season although not all (AP for example). Another reason for concern is his average yards per carry this season is 4.1 with a good offensive line. His average yards per carry has dropped from 4.9 to 4.4 to 4.1 over the last three seasons. With all that said, I would still take him mid to late first.

[Indibuck]

In my mind, there are 4 elite PPR RBs, and they went 1-4 in our draft.

I understand the concerns about Foster... But he's a TD machine and about as consistent a RB you will find outside of AP. I have him ranked 4th currently, and barring injury, he's not going to fall out of the top half of the first round in redrafts.

Not crazy about McCoy at 6... New coaches and the emergence of a talented backup means he is a little dicier proposition in 2013 IMHO. That being said, all the RBs behind the top 4 have either questions or PPR warts.

[murphysxm]

Not crazy about McCoy at 6... New coaches and the emergence of a talented backup means he is a little dicier proposition in 2013 IMHO. That being said, all the RBs behind the top 4 have either questions or PPR warts.

I wasn't crazy about it either, but it was between him and 2 others also with ? marks.

[joejlitz]

In my mind, there are 4 elite PPR RBs, and they went 1-4 in our draft.

I understand the concerns about Foster... But he's a TD machine and about as consistent a RB you will find outside of AP. I have him ranked 4th currently, and barring injury, he's not going to fall out of the top half of the first round in redrafts.

Not crazy about McCoy at 6... New coaches and the emergence of a talented backup means he is a little dicier proposition in 2013 IMHO. That being said, all the RBs behind the top 4 have either questions or PPR warts.

I'm not sure McCoy will be splitting too much time with Brown. The last coaching staff didn't appear too high in him. Despite rushing for 340+ in his first two games, he still fumbled way too much and while he showed some burst in the next 3 games before McCoy came back, he was quite pedestrian overall. Most telling for me was that when McCoy came back, there was no timeshare. It was all McCoy, all the time. If I thought the kid was gonna be a part of my team's future, I'm running him out there and resting a healthy McCoy or at least splitting time with him. Bryce Brown needs carries. He needs game action. And the coaching staff stopped giving it to him. Weird, I thought. So my conclusion was that McCoy will feature - even with a new coaching staff, talent is talent and BB apparently has significantly less.

With all that said, I don't trust the Eagles offense next year. That's why I passed on McCoy.

As for other RBs with warts...what about Marshawn? I considered him at 5 because I don't see the warts. Then, I looked at how Calvin Johnson scored 340 pts this year and Skittles had 260. So Johnson was the no brainer. But still I like Lynch as a #1 and I think the only warts may be that his offense needs a #1 WR in order to take another man out of the box and get him some more room to run.

[moochman]

I echo the concerns over Foster and Rice as well. Houston looks like a team ripe for a fall due to aging from cogs on the O. Foster doesn't pass the eyeball test and regression from Schaub could make it much easier for Ds to shut down the run game.
Rice seems to have lost some sheen this year and Pearce could erode into his PT.
After the elite of the elite things get a bit dicey.
Hope is Reid will help QB spot will show improvement enough to open the field for Charles.

[murphysxm]

As for other RBs with warts...what about Marshawn? I considered him at 5 because I don't see the warts. Then, I looked at how Calvin Johnson scored 340 pts this year and Skittles had 260. So Johnson was the no brainer. But still I like Lynch as a #1 and I think the only warts may be that his offense needs a #1 WR in order to take another man out of the box and get him some more room to run.

He was one of the guys I considered, Charles being the other. I passed on Lynch because his DUI charges are still unsettled and I didn't want that headache of possible suspension. Came close on Charles, but felt I was much higher on him than others so should take the "safe" pick.

[Indibuck]

As for other RBs with warts...what about Marshawn? I considered him at 5 because I don't see the warts. Then, I looked at how Calvin Johnson scored 340 pts this year and Skittles had 260. So Johnson was the no brainer. But still I like Lynch as a #1 and I think the only warts may be that his offense needs a #1 WR in order to take another man out of the box and get him some more room to run.

He was one of the guys I considered, Charles being the other. I passed on Lynch because his DUI charges are still unsettled and I didn't want that headache of possible suspension. Came close on Charles, but felt I was much higher on him than others so should take the "safe" pick.

Plus Lynch doesn't have the receptions that some of the other backs do.

I like the Charles pick there with Reid coming in.

[bungle613]

Gronk in the first....ya got balls Thirft! Fully understand the rational...not sure if I would have the cahones to make that pick.