At RotoBaller, we are starting off the month of August with a series of articles analyzing a staff mock draft. The mock draft included 12 of RotoBaller's best and brightest. A forewarning, this mock was drafted at the end of July and will not be able to account for more recent news like the Le'veon Bell suspension and the Josh Gordon reinstatement and suspension.

In this article, Ben Ruppert will be breaking down the teams that selected from picks 4 to 6 in the mock draft. The full mock can be found here: Rotoballer Team Mock.

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Bill Dubiel - 4^th Draft Position

Best Pick: Sammie Coates (12^th Round)

• Sammie Coates was the Steelers 2015 third round pick, and after looking sluggish and out of shape last season, Coates has looked very sharp in training camp. Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley said that Coates is “night and day” ahead of where he was last season. As of now, he has surpassed Markus Wheaton to be the Steelers number two receiver alongside Antonio Brown. With Martavis Bryant done for the season, they need someone to replace his 765 yards and six scores. Because of this, Coates has as big upside in an offense that will throw as much as anyone.

Worst Pick: Chris Hogan (10^th Round)

• Chris Hogan left the Buffalo Bills in the offseason to join the New England Patriots. In theory, going from Tyrod Taylor to Tom Brady at quarterback would increase Hogan’s value. However, Hogan wasn’t the only move the Patriots made at the wide receiver position; Nate Washington was also added. This is on top of Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, and secondary options like Aaron Dobson and Keshawn Martin. The Patrios figure to run two tight end sets with Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennettt, so Hogan would have to win the wide receiver two job outright to have any real fantasy value.

Team Analysis

• Bill has a solid receiving corps including Deandre Hopkins, Mike Evans, and Kelvin Benjamin. In a league where you start three wideouts has the potential to win you your league. Taking Julius Thomas in the ninth round as the 11^th tight end off the board is a nice upside play, given Thomas’ skill set and ability to catch tons of TDs in a pass-happy offense. However, Bill has some major question marks at the running back spot. His first back taken, C.J. Anderson, looked good towards the end of last season but looked very mediocre for most of the year. Which Anderson is the real C.J. Anderson? If Bill’s team gets early Anderson, he will be in a deep hole at RB. Ameer Abdullah flashed high potential last season, but between fumbling and health issues, he was never able to stay on the field. Matt Jones also faced fumbling problems last season, and faces plenty of his own question marks as a runner. His backs certainly have potential, but have just as much of a chance to fall on their faces in 2016. Running back is certainly his weakest position, but it could pay off as the season rolls on. Overall, this is a solid team led by Aaron Rodgers at quarterback.

 

Frank Soler - 5^th Draft Position

Best Pick: Frank Gore (8^th Round)

• Scoring Frank Gore in the eighth round was a solid addition, given this team’s lack of depth at running back. Having LeSean McCoy is a solid RB1 in PPR leagues, but after that the RB crop was thin. Offensive coordinator Rod Chudzinski says that there will be no pitch count on Gore this season, meaning he will get as many carries as he can handle as long as he remains effective. Gore expects himself to top 1,000 yards this season. With a healthy Andrew Luck behind the helm, and stud first-round center Ryan Kelly improving the offensive line, Gore should have a much easier time running the ball than he did a season ago. With the added motivation of people saying he’s “too old” to still be effective, along with only needing 240 yards to crack the top-10 rushers all time, Gore should have no issue staying motivated and effective this season.

Worst Pick: John Brown (4^th Round)

• John Brown was able to haul in over 1,000 yards and seven scores last season, his second full year in the league. Brown certainly has the upside to be an effective receiver, but a fourth round draft grade is a little high for John Brown. According to fanatsyfootballcalculator.com, Brown is a sixth round pick in PPR leagues. Frank selected him before both Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd, both of whom had better seasons than Brown last year. This year, he still has to compete with those two players for targets, along with David Johnson who proved to be a reliable target last season. Brown certainly has upside, but with Fitz and Floyd still on the board in the fourth, along with Jeremy Maclin and Doug Baldwin, there were safer, more established options available.

Team Analysis

• When you have Julio Jones leading your squad in a PPR league, your team is off to one of the best starts it could possibly be. Jones is a stud among studs, and pairing him with Alshon Jeffery was a wise move. With those two receivers as his top options, Frank set himself up in a nice spot. His running backs are Shady McCoy and Frank Gore, giving him two solid options. One thing to note with these four players is, when healthy, they are all solid players. However, none of these players have been able to stay fully healthy lately. With the lack of decent depth options at running back and receiver (Jay Ajayi, Spencer Ware/Josh Doctson, Markus Wheaton), Frank will need to rely on the health of his high picks. He does have an excellent quarterback in Drew Brees, along with good tight end options in former teammates Antonio Gates and Ladarius Green. There is a lot of risk here, but it has potential to pay dividends for Frank.

 

Matt Terelle - 6^th Draft Position

Best Pick: Tyrod Taylor (12^th Round)

• Being able to draft your starting quarterback in the 12^th round is always a plus, but getting one with as much ability as Tyord Taylor is an even bigger plus. Tyrod has the ability to rack up big chunks of yardage through the air and on the ground, making him a very enticing late round quarterback to take. He has a bevy of weapons at his disposal, including Sammy Watkins, LeSean McCoy, and Charles Clay. Not to mention his offensive line will stay together this season, after being rated as one of the best in the league last year. Robert Woods will likely will take the second wide receiver spot, and can make some reliable catches in the Bills system. Taylor was second in the league in rushing yards for quarterbacks last season (behind Cam Newton) and has plenty of room to improve in his second full season as a starter.

Worst Pick: DeVante Parker (5^th Round)

• I really do like the potential of DeVante Parker, and with Adam Gase bringing his system into town, the sky is the limit for Parker coming into the 2016 season. With a bevy of receivers already on his roster, Matt was able to take a little roll of the dice here with this pick. What I don’t like about the pick is the other receivers that were available in that spot. I would much rather have Larry Fitzgerald or Eric Decker, who are two proven receivers in offenses that can put up points. With Carson Palmer airing it out, and Decker catching passes from the gun-slinging Ryan Fitzpatrick, both of those receivers will be solid, Parker has potential, but has a ton of question marks including his health, and Jarvis Landry dominating the targets in the passing game. Matt I didn’t feel have any really bad picks, so I went with this one in the fifth round.

Team Analysis

• Matt should have one of the top teams in the league in our format. With a receiving corps of A.J. Green, Keenan Allen, Demaryius Thomas, and DeVante Parker in a full PPR league, he will be extremely difficult to stop. Matt stocked up on pass catching running backs like Dion Lewis, Giovani Bernard, and Theo Riddick. All of these backs look to have a similar or increased workload in the 2016 season making them great, low risk options at running back. Coby Fleener has huge upside in the Saints offense. Seeing what Brees did to Ben Watson last season means Fleener will likely have a high floor and a high ceiling for most games. Just in case, Martellus Bennett was taken as a backup, and the Pats plan to run plenty of two-TE sets in 2016. If anything were to happen to Tyrod Taylor, Joe Flacco would be Matt’s biggest weakness. Taylor has the potential to be a top-10 quarterback, taken in the 12^th Flacco will be a steady backup, but he may need a better backup plan during the season. Overall, Matt has a solid team and should be playoff competitor in a PPR league.

 

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