By: Fan Sports Lists Team

The Fan Sports Lists team held a mock draft this week to test out 10 rounds of draft strategies. We will revisit these teams throughout the year to evaluate results and see what we can learn.

Each of the Fan Sports Lists contributors drafted two teams to test out multiple strategies in different places in the draft order. We also included two teams that we pulled straight from the Fan Sports Lists Top-200. That gave us 10 teams for a 10 round snake draft.

 Here are the results for each team in the order the draft was done along with thoughts about the strategy and outcome:

Louis-Z shocked the world (well at least the 4 of us drafting) by taking Gurley 1st overall. While most drafters might call this a reach, it is hard to argue against taking the most talented RB in the sport who’s also focus of his offense right away. By taking Lacy with his sandwich picks for rounds 2 and 3, Louis-Z went heavy on RBs early and ended up going with a quantity approach at WR. He also went extremely strong at QB with 2 of the game’s best QBs when not suspended.

Louis-Z
Round	Player selected
Round 1	Todd Gurley
Round 2	Jordy Nelson
Round 3	Eddie Lacy
Round 4	Drew Brees
Round 5	Julian Edelman
Round 6	Doug Baldwin
Round 7	Tyler Eiffert
Round 8	Tom Brady
Round 9	DeSean Jackson
Round 10	Tyler Lockett

 

Kras: For this first team the strategy that I went with was “best player available”, which is easy to do and say when you get Antonio Brown with the #2 pick overall. The RBs on the team are not as strong as I would have liked them to be but I think being able to get Rodgers and Jeffery will help negate some of that. Both players could have productive years. I think one of the better moves this team was able to make was getting Marvin Jones in the 10th round. The offense that he is in is a volume passing offense that can put up yards. Overall I think taking the best players available made this team strong in some areas (QB,WR) and needing improvement in others (RB).

Kras
Round	Player selected
Round 1	Antonio Brown
Round 2	Aaron Rodgers
Round 3	Alshon Jeffrey
Round 4	Mark Ingram
Round 5	Latavius Murray
Round 6	Delanie Walker
Round 7	Randall Cobb
Round 8	Donte Moncrieff
Round 9	James White
Round 10	Marvin Jones

 

JJ Bens: My draft strategy is to make sure that I get the players that I like without reaching to far for them. I like DeAndre Hopkins a lot this year so at number 3 pick I didn’t hesitate to take him. Then for me I like to try and find value depending on how the draft flows. I was happy in rounds 3, 5 and 10 to get what I feel were steals (Marshall, Wilson, Blount). I chose to wait on tight end because I figured once the top 3 were off the board, there just wasn’t a whole lot of separation from 4-10. I also felt it was important to grab Derrick Henry having already selected DeMarco Murray for injury precaution and potential upside of the player.

JJ Bens
Round	Player selected
Round 1	DeAndre Hopkins
Round 2	LeSean McCoy
Round 3	Brandon Marshall
Round 4	DeMarco Murray
Round 5	Russell Wilson
Round 6	Ryan Matthews
Round 7	Devante Parker
Round 8	Derrick Henry
Round 9	Zach Ertz
Round 10	LeGarrette Blount

 

By definition, the “List” team was taking best available until positions started to fill up. Value dropped to this team in the 1st round with OBJ. The make-or-break question for this roster may be whether Rawls emerges as a good lead back for Seattle.

List
Round	Player selected
Round 1	Odell Beckham
Round 2	Cam Newton
Round 3	Keenan Allen
Round 4	Thomas Rawls
Round 5	Jarvis Landry
Round 6	Matt Forte
Round 7	Gary Barnidge
Round 8	Duke Johnson
Round 9	Allen Hurns
Round 10	Gio Bernard

 

Nate Leer: I went with my beloved “Gronk 1st” strategy. I followed that up by going quality WR heavy the with a quantity approach at RB followed by QBs late. Getting the platoon of Stafford and Carr late makes for a fine situation so I really just need 2 of my RBs to pan out. The hope is that one of the Jacksonville RBs makes himself the clear man to own and that Hill or Abdullah bust out this year.

Nate Leer
Round	Player selected
Round 1	Gronk
Round 2	Allen Robinson
Round 3	Mike Evans
Round 4	Jeremy Hill
Round 5	Michael Floyd
Round 6	Ameer Abdullah
Round 7	Chris Ivory
Round 8	T.J. Yeldon
Round 9	Derek Carr
Round 10	Matthew Stafford

 

Louis-Z got GREAT value at the 6th slot with Julio. He also did well getting the huge upside play in Le’Veon Bell. By getting a couple vet RBs late, Louis-Z’s team would be able to get by early in the season then bring the hammer down when the Bell tolls in week 4.

LZ
Round	Player selected
Round 1	Julio Jones
Round 2	Le’Veon Bell
Round 3	C.J. Anderson
Round 4	Golden Tate
Round 5	Ben Roethlisberger
Round 6	Travis Kelce
Round 7	Frank Gore
Round 8	Arian Foster
Round 9	Will Fuller
Round 10	Alfred Morris

 

K (Kras): This was the second team that I picked and I liked the way this team turned out. I think there is good balance up and down the roster. This team has quality WRs, RBs that are poised to have solid seasons and a QB who is in for what should be a similar year to what he had last season. I have what I believe is two of the better RBs in the NFL. Both have the potential to finish in the top 5 in the league at their position. Here again the tight end situation is questionable, outside the top 3 TE’s in the NFL they all have big question marks. Overall I like this team and it closely resembles a lot of teams I have in actual FF leagues.

K
Round	Player selected
Round 1	David Johnson
Round 2	Jamal Charles
Round 3	Kelvin Benjamin
Round 4	Brandin Cooks
Round 5	Blake Bortles
Round 6	Eric Decker
Round 7	Jeremy Maclin
Round 8	Rashard Jennings
Round 9	Coby Fleener
Round 10	Josh Gordon

 

J (JJ Bens): I used this second team as somewhat of an experiment. I decided to stick to my board and not to be tempted when a player I liked was available. This is something I think a lot of fantasy players do – if you like the guy take him even if he is not the best player on your board. However, liking or disliking a player for non-fantasy sports reasons is foolhardy. We all have some sort of information or maybe just a feeling that persuades us to have more confidence in a player when making a list to draft from. Those opinions that were formed objectively should be followed. I am happy with how this team turned out staying true to my board.

J
Round	Player selected
Round 1	Adrian Peterson
Round 2	Lamar Miller
Round 3	D Thomas
Round 4	Andrew Luck
Round 5	T.Y. Hilton
Round 6	Melvin Gordon
Round 7	Emmanuel Sanders
Round 8	Justin Forsett
Round 9	Kevin White
Round 10	Julius Thomas

 

This seems to be a good year to have a pick later in the 1st round since there is a lot of great options available deep into the draft. This team is a perfect example getting a huge upside play in the 1st round and one of the most productive players from last year in the 2nd round. This team was able to make similar selections with picks in the next 4 rounds as well – productive RBs and high upside receivers. This ends up looking like a pretty good team.

L
Round	Player selected
Round 1	Dez Bryant
Round 2	Devonta Freeman
Round 3	Doug Martin
Round 4	Sammy Watkins
Round 5	Jordan Reed
Round 6	Jonathan Stewart
Round 7	Carson Palmer
Round 8	Jeremy Langford
Round 9	Jordan Matthews
Round 10	Eli Manning

 

N (Nate Leer): I would have preferred to go WR/WR here but Easy-E was just too good to pass up. Once again I waited to double-up on QBs late and took a top TE early. The upside of my first 5 picks was balanced with taking players late that should be solid even if they are not spectacular.

N
Round	Player selected
Round 1	Ezekiel Elliott
Round 2	A.J. Green
Round 3	Greg Olsen
Round 4	Amari Cooper
Round 5	Carlos Hyde
Round 6	Larry Fitzgerald
Round 7	Matt Jones
Round 8	Philip Rivers
Round 9	Tyrod Taylor
Round 10	Danny Woodhead

Draft Results By Round:

Andy – Round 1 Pick 1/1	Todd Gurley
Kellen – Round 1 Pick 2/2	Antonio Brown
Jeff – Round 1 Pick 3/3	DeAndre Hopkins
List – Round 1 Pick 4/4	Odell Beckham
Nate – Round 1 Pick 5/5	Gronk
A2 – Round 1 Pick 6/6	Julio Jones
K2  – Round 1 Pick 7/7	David Johnson
J2  – Round 1 Pick 8/8	Adrian Peterson
L2 – Round 1 Pick 9/9	Dez Bryant
N2 – Round 1 Pick 10/10	Ezekiel Elliott

Team & Round – Pick/Overall

Player selected

 

N2 – Round 2 Pick 1/11	A.J. Green
L2 – Round 2 Pick 2/12	Devonta Freeman
J2 – Round 2 Pick 3/13	Lamar Miller
K2 – Round 2 Pick 4/14	Jamal Charles
A2 – Round 2 Pick 5/15	Le’Veon Bell
Nate – Round 2 Pick 6/16	Allen Robinson
List – Round 2 Pick 7/17	Cam Newton
Jeff – Round 2 Pick 8/18	LeSean McCoy
Kellen – Round 2 Pick 9/19	Aaron Rodgers
Andy – Round 2 Pick 10/20	Jordy Nelson

 

Andy – Round 3 Pick 1/21	Eddie Lacy
Kellen – Round 3 Pick 2/22	Alshon Jeffrey
Jeff – Round 3 Pick 3/23	Brandon Marshall
List – Round 3 Pick 4/24	Keenan Allen
Nate – Round 3 Pick 5/25	Mike Evans
A2 – Round 3 Pick 6/26	C.J. Anderson
K2 – Round 3 Pick 7/27	Kelvin Benjamin
J2 – Round 3 Pick 8/28	D Thomas
L2 – Round 3 Pick 9/29	Doug Martin
N2 – Round 3 Pick 10/30	Greg Olsen

 

N2 – Round 4 Pick 1/31	Amari Cooper
L2 – Round 4 Pick 2/32	Sammy Watkins
J2 – Round 4 Pick 3/33	Andrew Luck
K2 – Round 4 Pick 4/34	Brandin Cooks
A2 – Round 4 Pick 5/35	Golden Tate
Nate – Round 4 Pick 6/36	Jeremy Hill
List – Round 4 Pick 7/37	Thomas Rawls
Jeff – Round 4 Pick 8/38	DeMarco Murray
Kellen – Round 4 Pick 9/39	Mark Ingram
Andy – Round 4 Pick 10/40	Drew Brees

 

Andy – Round 5 Pick 1/41	Julian Edelman
Kellen – Round 5 Pick 2/42	Latavius Murray
Jeff – Round 5 Pick 3/43	Russell Wilson
List – Round 5 Pick 4/44	Jarvis Landry
Nate – Round 5 Pick 5/45	Michael Floyd
A2 – Round 5 Pick 6/46	Ben Roethlisberger
K2 – Round 5 Pick 7/47	Blake Bortles
J2 – Round 5 Pick 8/48	T.Y. Hilton
L2 – Round 5 Pick 9/49	Jordan Reed
N2 – Round 5 Pick 10/50	Carlos Hyde

 

N2 – Round 6 Pick 1/51	Larry Fitzgerald
L2 – Round 6 Pick 2/52	Jonathan Stewart
J2 – Round 6 Pick 3/53	Melvin Gordon
K2 – Round 6 Pick 4/54	Eric Decker
A2 – Round 6 Pick 5/55	Travis Kelce
Nate – Round 6 Pick 6/56	Ameer Abdullah
List – Round 6 Pick 7/57	Matt Forte
Jeff – Round 6 Pick 8/58	Ryan Matthews
Kellen – Round 6 Pick 9/59	Delanie Walker
Andy – Round 6 Pick 10/60	Doug Baldwin

 

Andy – Round 7 Pick 1/61	Tyler Eiffert
Kellen – Round 7 Pick 2/62	Randall Cobb
Jeff – Round 7 Pick 3/63	Devante Parker
List – Round 7 Pick 4/64	Gary Barnidge
Nate – Round 7 Pick 5/65	Chris Ivory
A2 – Round 7 Pick 6/66	Frank Gore
K2 – Round 7 Pick 7/67	Jeremy Maclin
J2 – Round 7 Pick 8/68	Emmanuel Sanders
L2 – Round 7 Pick 9/69	Carson Palmer
N2 – Round 7 Pick 10/70	Matt Jones

 

N2 – Round 8 Pick 1/71	Philip Rivers
L2 – Round 8 Pick 2/72	Jeremy Langford
J2 – Round 8 Pick 3/73	Justin Forsett – Bal-8
K2 – Round 8 Pick 4/74	Rashard Jennings
A2 – Round 8 Pick 5/75	Arian Foster
Nate – Round 8 Pick 6/76	T.J. Yeldon
List – Round 8 Pick 7/77	Duke Johnson
Jeff – Round 8 Pick 8/78	Derrick Henry
Kellen – Round 8 Pick 9/79	Donte Moncrieff
Andy – Round 8 Pick 10/80	Tom Brady

 

Andy – Round 9 Pick 1/81	DeSean Jackson
Kellen – Round 9 Pick 2/82	James White
Jeff – Round 9 Pick 3/83	Zach Ertz
List – Round 9 Pick 4/84	Allen Hurns
Nate – Round 9 Pick 5/85	Derek Carr
A2 – Round 9 Pick 6/86	Will Fuller
K2 – Round 9 Pick 7/87	Coby Fleener
J2 – Round 9 Pick 8/88	Kevin White
L2 – Round 9 Pick 9/89	Jordan Matthews
N2 – Round 9 Pick 10/90	Tyrod Taylor

 

N2 – Round 10 Pick 1/91	Danny Woodhead
L2 – Round 10 Pick 2/92	Eli Manning
J2 – Round 10 Pick 3/93	Julius Thomas
K2 – Round 10 Pick 4/94	Josh Gordon
A2 – Round 10 Pick 5/95	Alfred Morris
Nate – Round 10 Pick 6/96	Matthew Stafford
List – Round 10 Pick 7/97	Gio Bernard
Jeff – Round 10 Pick 8/98	LeGarrette Blount
Kellen – Round 10 Pick 9/99	Marvin Jones
Andy – Round 10 Pick 10/100	Tyler Lockett