Football Garbage Time 2016 NFL Preseason Fantasy Football Mock Draft – Round 1

By the Football Garbage Time Staff

Well, the wait is almost over.

It’s been a long off season, and we’ve all had to make do with, among other entertainment, watching Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors set the new regular season win record just to epically fail by losing a 3-1 advantage in the NBA Finals to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.  And of course, if the NBA wasn’t your speed, there was also Season 6 of “Game of Thrones”, where {partial spoiler alert} a major character died essentially once per episode…plus a whole bunch of extras…

But enough of all that, as we’re about two months away from the start of the 2016 NFL Season, and you all know what that means…fantasy football is BACK!

Yup, it’s time to start scouting out players for your fantasy football team and we here at Football Garbage Time are ready to help!  In fact, we care so much that this year we did an early preseason Fantasy Football Mock Draft on Twitter so you can get ready even earlier than usual!  And don’t worry, we’ll still do our regular Fantasy Football Mock Draft closer to the beginning of the season.

So, without further to do, here…we…go…

– Ha Kung Wong, Editor-in-Chief

Round 1

Pick 1 – Aaron Rodgers – QB

Scott King

• Scott’s Commentary Coming Soon!
• [Editors Note: With Jordy Nelson back, I understand why one would want to trust Aaron Rodgers as their fantasy football team captain once again.  But first overall is a tough sell considering the dearth of workhorse RBs and elite WRs in the league.  However, consistency is definitely the goal for a first round pick, and in every season where Rodgers played at least 15 games, he had at least 3,800 passing yards, 200 rush yards and 32 total TDs.  Plus, head coach Mike McCarthy taking back the reigns and going back to basics is great news for the Packers offense.]

Pick 2 – Le’Veon Bell – RB

Ha Kung Wong

• Le’Veon Bell, a.k.a. “Juice”, may be making waves with his rap song “Focus” where he has the line “I’m at the top and if not I’m the closest/Ima (sic) need 15 a year and they know this…”, controversially implying he’s worth $15M a year, but for fantasy football, he’s probably one of the least controversial picks you could make in the first round.  Sure, he’s coming off an MCL and PCL injury that he got last year in Week 8, but he’s well on his way to making training camp and says his leg is “probably stronger than it ever was.”  Remember, Bell is only one season removed from 2,215 total yards and 11 total TDs.  Heck, even with the injury, Bell was on pace last year for over 1,800 total yards.  And he’s incredibly consistent from week to week.  In fact, in 2014, he had at least 100 total yards in 13 of the 16 games he played.  Maybe there’s a tiny injury risk, but I think he’ll be back to form and well worth the second overall pick in basically any fantasy football format.

Pick 3 – Cam Newton – QB

Joanne Kong

• Beginning as silent phenomes in the 2015 season, the Carolina Panthers are entering the 2016 season with a target on their backs and will definitely not be taken lightly. According to FantasyPros.com, Cam Newton is currently ranked the number one quarterback for fantasy football. In 2015, Newton had 3,837 passing yards, 35 touchdowns, 636 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. Having one of the best seasons in his career, the stats were good enough to help bring the Carolina Panthers to the Super Bowl. Leaving the 2016 Super Bowl less than victorious, Newton is looking to lead the Panthers to a second Super Bowl season, this time with a very different outcome. With a shortage of consistent quarterbacks, I’m hoping to anchor my team with a dependable quarterback with my first round pick.  And heck, even LA Rams RB Todd Gurley thinks you should consider taking Cam Newton early in the first round of fantasy football drafts.  And do you want to tell him he’s wrong?  I didn’t think so.

Pick 4 – Antonio Brown – WR

Ryan Whitfield

• It’s a passing league, so I’m taking high end pass catchers early in the draft every time (have I told you guys lately how I feel about running backs)? Every year there’s a handful of backs that emerge out of nowhere for 1,000 yards and 8 TDs, but I got Antonio Brown going for 2,000 yards and 10+ TD’s this year. No brainer.

Pick 5 – Odell Beckham Jr. – WR

Joey Alibro

• Under former offensive coordinator and now head coach Ben McAdoo, Eli and his favorite target had tons of success, so look for that to continue in 2016.

Pick 6 – DeAndre Hopkins – WR

John Kirkland

• Picked up Hopkins ’cause I believe the Texans are going to roll this year and he will repeat, or best, last year’s 1,500 yard / 11 touchdown season.

Pick 7 – Julio Jones – WR

Scott King

• Scott’s Commentary Coming Soon!

Pick 8 – Adrian Peterson – RB

Ha Kung Wong

• Sure, Adrian Peterson is now on the wong side of 30 (31 to be precise), but did you know that he’s had over 1,200 rushing yards in every year that he’s played at least 14 games?  And did you know he’s played at least 14 games in 7 of his 9 NFL seasons, and only one of those missed seasons was due to injury?  In addition, the Vikings might finally be getting their act together as Teddy Bridgewater is starting to find some consistency and the addition of rookie WR Laquon Treadwell should help open up the backfield.  Frankly, if you’re looking for a sure thing at RB, and one of the few remaining workhorse backs in the NFL, you can’t go wrong selecting “All Day” Peterson.

Pick 9 – Lamar Miller – RB

Joanne Kong

• Playing four years with the Miami Dolphins, Lamar Miller is now with the Houston Texans… and so what, you say? Well, the Texans are known to be a run heavy team and will probably remain one, even with the addition of former Denver Broncos quarterback, Brock Osweiler. Also, with the exit of running back Arian Foster, leaving a hole in the Texans offense, Miller should be a welcome, and well used, addition. In 2015, Miller had 872 rushing yards, 8 touchdowns and 2 receiving touchdowns. With dependable running backs Le’Veon Bell, Adrian Peterson and Todd Gurley taken, and rookies being an unpredictable gamble for a first round selection, Miller’s stock is on the rise with this intriguing Texans team.

Pick 10 – Rob Gronkowski – TE

Ryan Whitfield

• After a run of elite WR’s being taken it’s the perfect time to nab the best tight end in the game. As long as you have the stomach to hold your breath, clench your teeth and bear white knuckles week in and out when opponents attack his knees along with all of us in New England, then the risk/reward is worth it.

Pick 11 – Todd Gurley – RB

Joey Alibro

• Under former offensive coordinator and now head coach Ben Mcadoo, Eli and his favorite target have had tons of success so look for that to continue in 2016.
• [Editor’s Note: And Todd Gurley himself thinks he should be selected in the top 3 of fantasy football drafts, so in comparison, 11th is a steal.]

Pick 12 – David Johnson – RB

John Kirkland

•  What? You didn’t go WR / WR? I know – crazy! This year I’m trying something different and Johnson was a must-pick for me. He is the reason I finally won the title in my main fantasy football league last year. Picked him up mid-season and rolled with him through to first place. Hoping for a repeat.

Disagree with our picks?  Sound off and let us know!  And don’t forget to check out our Round 2 Fantasy Football Mock Draft Picks!