EA Fantasy Football

Mock Draft v 2.0

On July 14th the EA Experts got together once again for another 13 round mock draft. League rules dictate nine starters including a quarterback, two receivers, two running backs, a tight end, a team defense, a kicker and a flex position that could be a player from any position. Using a snake draft and considering the scoring to account for 6 points for all TD's. Take a look at the results and what some of the EA Experts had to say…

	Ecker	Moore	Roberts	Richart	Morales	Lopez
	Pick 1	Pick 2	Pick 3	Pick 4	Pick 5	Pick 6
RD1	L. Tomlinson	A. Peterson	T. Brady	B. Westbrook	J.  Addai	S. Jackson
RD2	J. Lewis	T. Romo	A. Johnson	L. Fitzgerald	T. Houshmandzadeh	R. Bush
RD3	S. Smith	M. Jones-Drew	Ro. Brown	B. Jacobs	M. Colston	T. Jones
RD4	T. Gonzalez	J. Witten	A. Gates	G. Jennings	B. Roethlisberger	R. Williams
RD5	R. Johnson	J. Stewart	E. Graham	K. Winslow	F. Taylor	D. Bowe
RD6	H. Ward	D. Driver	Chargers	R. White	L. Evans	D. Clark
RD7	S. Moss	K. Smith	J. Cotchery	M. Bulger	J. Galloway	H. Miller
RD8	Steelers	B. Engram	Re. Brown	A. Gonzalez	D. Stallworth	Bears
RD9	M. Schaub	Patriots	D. Hackett	E. Manning	D. Garrard	J. Cutler
RD10	P. Rivers	I. Bruce	J. Campbell	Cowboys	B. Johnson	V. Jackson
RD11	D. Williams	R. Williams	C. Johnson	C. Taylor	Buccaneers	T. Ginn
RD12	R. William	M. Leinart	N. Folk	S. Gostkowski	D. Lee	B. Favre
RD13	A. Vinatieri	R. Gould	D. Keller	D. Hester	S. Graham	N. Rackers
	Lundy	Ruston	Ostresh	Christman	Crankshaw	Bailey
	Pick 7	Pick 8	Pick 9	Pick 10	Pick 11	Pick 12
RD1	F. Gore	M. Barber	R. Moss	M. Lynch	C. Portis	P. Manning
RD2	B. Edwards	R. Wayne	W. McGahee	L. Johnson	R. Grant	T. Owens
RD3	L. Maroney	C. Johnson	T. Holt	B. Marshall	P. Burress	E. James
RD4	W. Welker	M. Turner	C. Palmer	D. Brees	A. Boldin	W. Parker
RD5	M. Hasselbeck	S. Holmes	D. McFadden	M. Harrison	D. Anderson	C. Johnson
RD6	J. Jones	D. McNabb	M. Forte	S. Young	C. Cooley	L. White
RD7	C. Chambers	J. Shockey	J. Fargas	T. Heap	L. Coles	J. Walker
RD8	Seahawks	Vikings	K. Curtis	B. Berrian	R. Mendenhall	V. Davis
RD9	A. Crumpler	J. Delhomme	F. Jones	P. Crayton	N. Burleson	J. Porter
RD10	K. Watson	D. Mason	B. Watson	Colts	Packers	Jaguars
RD11	J. Hardy	D. McAllister	J. Norwood	R. Curry	A. Green	T. Bell
RD12	V. Young	O. Daniels	Giants	R. Torain	A. Rodgers	J. Garcia
RD13	M. Crosby	N. Kaeding	J. Scobee	J. Brown	P. Dawson	R. Bironas

Team Ecker:

Explain your pick: Jamal Lewis
There are question marks surrounding Lewis, but he is a former rushing champion behind a damn good line. He also has no serious threat behind him on the depth chart. Edge is over the hill, I don't buy that MJD is anything more than a flash in the pan fantasy-wise, Maroney is an afterthought in the New England offense, Ronnie Brown is recovering from a brutal injury...Lewis may not be perfect, but I will take a good situation over raw talent in a second RB.

Favorite Pick: DeAngelo Williams
Most every expert is drooling over Jon Stewart and I look forward to mentioning how late I drafted Williams when he shows he's the starter in Carolina.

Pick you'd like to have back: Steelers Defense
I wasn't thinking and missed out on taking the Patriots defense. Bone-head move. I love the Steelers' D, but the Patriots were the better pick (if for no other reason than they play the Jets, Bills and Fish twice each).



Team Commish Don:

Explain your pick: Jonathan Stewart
It was either Santonio Holmes at receiver or Stewart. I think The Daily Show can go for 1300 rushing yards and 9 scores this year. DeAngelo is really nothing more than a third down and long type of scatback.

Favorite Pick: Maurice Jones-Drew
Jones-Drew is Top 10 overall if/when Freddy T goes down. That means 1500+ total yards and 10+ scores easy.

Pick you'd like to have back: Matt Leinart
The Leinart pick was auto-picked for me. If I was there, I would have taken a flyer on Devein Hester (who Larry Legend got in round 12, nice!).



Team Roberts:

Explain your pick: Ronnie Brown
This is what happens when you wait until the third round to draft your RB. I had my eyes on Larry Johnson and Ryan Grant before this pick, but they were both snatched up before I had a chance. I know that Ronnie Brown is recovering from an ACL injury, but I do like his upside with the key additions the Dolphins made to help solidify their O-line. Also having Ricky Williams back should help increase his shelf life…so no regrets.

Favorite Pick: Andre Johnson
I love me some Andre3000. He's phenomenal talent and he finally has a solid QB to help get him the ball. Unlike the majority of the receivers in the league, Andre is the focal point of the Texans offense, so you know he's going to get the ball often. Physically he has all the tools to succeed; he only needs to stay healthy. If he stays healthy the entire season, then I have no doubt that he will be a top 3 receiver in the league and Fantasy.

Pick you'd like to have back: Bernard Berrian
The more I look at this pick, the more it bothers me. I don't like the idea of him and Dunn splitting carries…I especially don't like the idea of the Bucs possibly acquiring Kevin Jones. I don't like crowded backfields. I should have taken another big play receiver or like Dwayne Bowe or a running back that didn't have so many question marks like Julius Jones or Fred Taylor.



Team Richart:

Explain your pick: Roddy White
I really like Roddy White this year as he is by far the best receiving threat for the Falcons. He had a breakout year last year with over 1,200 yards and 6 TD's in a lost season by the Falcons. With the addition of Michael Turner, teams will have to respect the running game which should create some nice one-on-one matchups for White on the outside. I felt really good getting him near the end of round 6 (70th OVR) where there weren't very many reliable options with his upside still available.

Favorite Pick: Anthony Gonzalez
I thought getting Anthony Gonzalez where I did was a steal. Gonzalez was terrific for Peyton Manning and the Colts last season filling in for the injured Marvin Harrison. Even if Harrison is healthy, don't be surprised to see Gonzalez finish as a Top 25 WR (i.e. Brandon Stokley in 2004!!!).

Pick you'd like to have back: Marc Bulger
As the draft played out, it looks like I could have waited another round or two to get my starting QB. Drafting the injury prone Bulger forced me to have to spend my 9th round on a quality back-up in Eli Manning. I have also been a fan of Bulger, and when he is healthy and on the top of his game, he has the potential to be a Top 5 caliber QB. But he really struggled last year and has been injury prone so I probably should have passed on him in the 7th and taken a different position.



Team Lopez:

Explain your pick: Reggie Bush
Basically I feel that Reggie will have a bounce-back year after giving the staff time to create a game plan around him. I don't trust Deuce being at 100% after a second knee surgery and as my 2nd back taken, I think Reggie will produce some solid points this season. Granted, I would have felt much better about this pick if points per catch were counted in this league, but I'll take a chance on him anyway.

Favorite Pick: Steven Jackson
Easy pick and the one I felt most confident about. I would have thought that he would go with the 3rd or 4th pick, so seeing him at #6 made it an easy decision. His QB is back, his O-Line is healthy, he gets to play the Zona and San Fran defenses four times, and he is a monster that will go for at least 1,300 and 10 scores.

Pick you'd like to have back: Dallas Clark
I should have waited on a tight end; I jumped the gun after seeing Gates/Winslow/Cooley get taken even though I could have waited another round or so for basically the same value. Plus, assuming Marvin will be back, I'm not sure that Clark will match the relatively low mark of 58 catches and he definitely won't get another 11 TD's. Also, notice that I quickly took Heath Miller as added insurance for the position.



Team Lundy:

Explain your pick: Frank Gore
This was a tough one for me and I always hate drafting in those middle picks of the round. But, when Mike Martz is around, running backs suddenly turn into receivers. Considering Gore has had better than 50 catches in each of the last two seasons, that may suit him fine. A tough pick for me, but good upside.

Favorite Pick: Wes Welker
This is my favorite pick because I never expected him to be there in the 4th round. In terms of bargains, this was like finding a $20 bill in a pair of shorts you haven't worn in a year-a pleasant surprise and you can't wait to spend it.

Pick you'd like to have back: Frank Gore
Yeah, I had to rate this as the pick I'd like back too. In hindsight, given what I was able to do at receiver, I might have given some thought to Clinton Portis or even Peyton Manning. Man…I HATE picking in the middle of the round.



Team Ruston:

Explain your pick: Michael Turner
I know, we should probably all stay away from any Falcons players. Yet I took one in the 4th round. But at this point, I had only one RB and two WRs, so I felt that I really needed to secure a decent #2 RB. And there's some potential with Turner. Atlanta has improved their offensive line. Turner has averaged 5.5 yards per carry in his career. And if he's durable enough to carry the load, he has the potential to be a top 10 back.

Favorite Pick: Donovan McNabb
My favorite pick was snagging McNabb in the 6th round. Considering that there were 5 QBs taken in the first 4 rounds, McNabb in the 6th is a steal. The guy is a 5-time Pro Bowler and could easily return to old form and end up as a top 5 QB again.

Pick you'd like to have back: Jeremy Shockey
If I could take any pick back, it would be the 7.8 pick of Jeremy Shockey. I have an inexplicable hatred for Shockey. But I believe I'm not alone here and there's probably some club I could join on this. With the injuries and trade rumors, his fantasy value for this year is a little up in the air at the moment. However, we've seen in the past what kind of numbers he can put up, and you gotta respect that. With that said, if I had it to do over again, I'd probably take Anthony Gonzalez at this spot instead, being the Buckeye homer that I am.



Team Pesti:

Explain your pick: Darren McFadden
Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I learned a lot last year by passing on AP and I refuse to let it happen again this year. Looking at the history, running backs are the only sure bets as rookies to put up points, and the Raiders have too much invested not to give McFadden a shot. He's got game-breaker ability and an opportunity. That's all I need to see. I'll be drafting him in a lot of leagues this year and expect 1000+ yards and 6-7 scores out of the rookie.

Favorite Pick: Randy Moss
In my mind Moss is by far and away the best option at receiver this year and the position itself is full of questions after the top tier is off the board. You have to draft quality early this year, or you're going to be in trouble from week-to-week. Passing on the running backs that were available wasn't a big deal, since I could target some of my value picks later.

Pick you'd like to have back: Justin Fargas
I fell into the handcuff trap too early on this pick. I still think that Fargas plays a role in the Oakland offense this year, and he's my insurance in case there's a timeshare with McFadden out of the gate. I wish I could have had this pick back because I think I could have pulled Fargas a round later.



Team Christman:

Explain your pick: Marvin Harrison
8 straight years of 1,000+ yards and 10 or more TD's before last years' injury (first time he's missed more than 4 games). If you take into account past performance, potential, the team's offensive situation, and injury history when compared with some of the WRs taken before him (Boldin, Williams, Jennings) this is actually a steal at 58 overall.

Favorite Pick: Drew Brees
There's a definite drop off from the top 4 quarterbacks. I landed him 15 picks after the 3rd QB went off the board and I'll get almost equal production. Also, 3 more QBs were taken before my pick in the 5th.

Pick you'd like to have back: Bernard Berrian
I should have taken Anthony Gonzalez like I wanted to. Not sure why I thought I had a shot at Gonzalez in the next round. Stupid.



Team Crankshaw:

Explain your pick: Anquan Boldin
It is almost contract time for Boldin and he could leave millions on the table if he doesn't perform. Look for him and Fitzgerald to each be over 70 catches and 1,000 yards with one of them having 10+ TD's

Favorite Pick: Aaron Rodgers
Best late pick of the draft. He has the tools around him to excel this year in the NFC.

Pick you'd like to have back: Clinton Portis
This is the one I want back. Horrible pick considering Peyton Manning, TO or Reggie Wayne were available. 1st round picks can't be gambles and while Portis has been healthy I don't like this pick.



Team Morales:

Explain your pick: Fred Taylor
I honestly don't feel an explanation is needed here but apparently everyone else in the room felt I need to so here is my reasoning. He's Jacksonville's #1 and has finished top 10 at his position last year. Not to mention he had an average of 5.4 which is the best of his CAREER! Even though he splits carries with MJD (the reason I think he's had late success) he will still rush for over 1000 yards and 5-7 TD's. Not bad for a 5th rounder.

Favorite Pick: Ben Roethlisberger
He has great weapons around him and should see in improvement whit the addition of Mendenhall to help setup the pass through the run. I consider him top tier with Peyton, Brady, and Brees.

Pick you'd like to have back: Lee Evans
I don't like anyone in that offense. I could have targeted a tight end or even Donald Driver or Hines Ward.

Important Dates

07/16 - Live Draft Tracker available on Xbox LIVE™ and PLAYSTATION®Network

09/03 - Prize Eligible Registration Cut-off

09/04 - Live Score Tracker available on Xbox LIVE™ and PLAYSTATION®Network

09/04 - Start of Pro Season

10/22 - Midseason League Drafts Begin

11/02 - Midseason League Scoring Begins

11/27 - Trade Deadline

12/06 - Waiver Deadline