On June 12th, I participated in a CFF mock draft, my first since we launched the Preseason Fantasy Guide.

I’ve provided a snapshot of the first eight rounds below and my round-by-round pick analysis. Hopefully,

you find some of this information useful as we get closer to the 2017 season.

Pre-Draft Philosophy:

I went into the mock draft knowing I was drafting in the 10th position, hoping that receivers would be

undervalued and Middle Tennessee WR Richie James would slip to me. I assumed QBs Lamar Jackson,

Nick Fitzgerald, and Quinton Flowers, along with RBs Derrius Guice, Saquon Barkley, and Ito Smith

would be gone before pick #10. Personally, I don’t think Richie James should slip past pick #7 in any

Full-FBS draft.

Draft Grid (First 8 Rounds):

Round 1.10—Jalin Moore, RB Appalachian State

After watching the top three quarterbacks, top three running backs, and MTSU WR Richie James go off

the board before my pick I was hoping for Memphis WR Anthony Miller, but he was selected one spot

ahead of me at #9. I still like Jalin Moore in Appalachian State’s run-heavy offense, but it was an internal

struggle to select him over Oregon RB Royce Freeman.

Round 2.15—Royce Freeman, RB Oregon

I did not think Freeman would still be available five picks later, so selecting him was an easy decision,

even though I was ready to pull the trigger on Ohio State QB JT Barrett.

Round 3.34—Alexander Mattison, RB Boise State

I always feel the running back position is the deepest on draft day, so rarely do I take three running backs

with my first three picks, but Boise State running backs have been good to fantasy owners over the years

and I couldn’t pass on Mattison’s fantasy potential at the end of Round 3.

Round 4.39—Keke Coutee, WR Texas Tech

Last year, I pounced on Texas Tech WR Jonathan Giles in as many drafts as possible. This year, Coutee is

THAT receiver I want in 2017. I could have played it safe and picked Texas A&M WR Christian Kirk, but

that’s not my style.

Round 5.58—Brandon Wimbush, QB Notre Dame

I was eying Ole Miss QB Shea Patterson with this selection, but he disappeared two picks before mine.

The plan was to take Patterson here and Wimbush in Round 6, as I believe the Notre Dame quarterback

would still have been available. But this is college fantasy football, and when you really want a player, you

don’t wait. I may have lost Patterson, but I wasn’t going to lose Wimbush.

Round 6.63—Ray Lawry, RB Old Dominion

We were at a point in the draft where I had to consider ‘best player available’ and I could not pass on a

Top 15-20 running back in Round 6.

Round 7.82—Justice Hill, RB Oklahoma State

I was on the clock in Round 7 debating two more running backs, Hill and Oklahoma RB Rodney

Anderson. I decided on Hill, thinking that Anderson would slip to me five selections later. I really like

Hill’s potential in that Oklahoma State offense this year.

Round 8.87—Alize Mack, Tight End Notre Dame

I tried to select Oklahoma RB Rodney Anderson here, but could not pick him due to a roster maximum of

five RBs, a stipulation I was not aware of before the draft began. So much for sleepers at the running back

position, I was capped out. I had to adjust with the clock winding down and was very satisfied picking

Notre Dame TE Alize Mack, who may end up being the Irish’s best receiver in 2017. There was still a lot of

WR talent on the board, so grabbing Mack was a wise choice.

Round 9.106—Lucky Jackson, WR Western Kentucky

I was not kidding when I mentioned that a ton of receiver talent was still available in Round 8, so getting

Western Kentucky WR Lucky Jackson in Round 9 made the frustration of not being able to pick any more

running backs a lot easier to digest.

Round 10.111—Cam Phillips, WR Virginia Tech

I think Cam Phillips is a Top 20 receiver in 2017, so the value was there in Round 10. I was targeting FAU

WR Kalib Woods in this draft and selecting Phillips cost me a shot a Woods, who was selected early in

Round 11, but Phillips as my WR3 is solid.

Round 11.130—De’Andre Johnson, QB Florida Atlantic

Florida Atlantic QB De’Andre Johnson is another one of those players on my short-list of guys I want in

2017. I love his fantasy potential running OC Kendal Briles’ offense. However, Johnson isn’t a lock to be

the Owls’ starting quarterback, so I knew that I still needed another quarterback before the end of the

draft. In a deeper league, I would have targeted FAU QB Jason Driskel a few rounds later.

Round 12.135—Corey Willis, WR Central Michigan

Loading up on running backs early didn’t cost me value at the receiver position, as the selection of Central

Michigan WR Corey Willis resulted in me securing three Top 25 receivers in my last four selections.

Round 13.154—Isaiah Johnson-Mack, WR Washington State

Oklahoma TE Mark Andrews and WR Jeff Badet were already selected at this point of the draft and I

happen to like Jeff Mead to be the Sooners’ top receiver in 2017. However, I passed on Mead right here

and decided on another player with high upside, Washington State receiver Isaiah Johnson-Mack.

Round 14.159—Zach Abey, Quarterback Navy

If this were a real draft and not a mock draft, I would have passed on Abey and selected Mead, but I

mentioned earlier that I needed another quarterback after my selection of De’Andre Johnson, and I could

not let Navy QB Zach Abey go undrafted.

Round 15.178—Georgia Defense/Special Teams

Round 16.183—Eddie Pineiro, K Florida

I hate, hate, hate, drafting defenses and kickers in college fantasy football drafts. I want to load up on as

much skill talent as possible in every draft possible. I like to wait up until a few days before the season

starts to finalize my roster. Therefore, I get as much time possible to see if a player like De’Andre Johnson

wins the starting job. In this draft, we were required to select a DST and a kicker. Did I forget to mention

how much I hate drafting defenses and kickers? I like to stream those positions week-to-week during the

season.

Post Draft Analysis:

I feel as if a lot of fantasy potential went undrafted, which is why I prefer deep leagues (12 or more teams)

with deep roster requirements (20 or more roster spots). I made a list of my top three players at QB, RB,

and WR that were not drafted. I was very surprised some of the following players did not find a roster

spot, even though there were only a total of 60 reserve spots among the 12 teams.

Quarterbacks 1. Mike White, Western

Kentucky 2. Armani Rogers, UNLV 3. David Cornwell, Nevada

Running Backs 1. Dedrick Mills, Georgia

Tech 2. Tyrone Owens, New

Mexico 3. Mike Boone, Cincinnati

Receivers 1. KeeSean Johnson,

Fresno State 2. Devin Duvernay, Texas 3. Juwan Johnson, Penn

State

Update (June 15): FAU WR Kalib Woods has been indefinitely suspended after being arrested and charged with two counts of felony battery. Until the matter has been resolved, give more consideration to WRs John Mitchell, Kamrin Solomon, and Henry Bussey.