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Over the last few days, five TSK writers have held a mock fantasy draft of the SEC's football players. The idea was to crowdsource the value of the conference's incoming and returning stars. Fantasy football mock drafts certainly have their flaws if they are used to draw broad conclusions on a team's season, but they can be useful to identify offensive skill positions, and the logic behind what factors enable them.
For example, a pedestrian quarterback could get selected earlier than a better quarterback because he has more weapons in his receiving corps. Or a running back may rack up a lot of yardage not based on his individual skill, but because he has a tremendous offensive line. You get the idea.
We wanted to keep things simple so we assumed standard scoring, held a snake draft, and kept the teams smaller than usual since we were only drawing from a single conference. The teams are comprised of the following positions: Quarterback, Running back, Receiver, FLEX, Defense/Special Teams/Kicker, Bench 1, and Bench 2.
The Draft Order and Trends
Player | Position | Fantasy Team |
Leonard Fournette (LSU) | RB | Josh |
Calvin Ridley (Alabama) | WR | Jordan |
Jalen Hurd (Tennessee) | RB | Cam |
Chad Kelly (Ole Miss) | QB | David |
Christian Kirk (TAMU) | WR | Will |
In the first round, four players were selected from the SEC West including the only quarterback that most are expecting to have a great season in the conference. Leonard Fournette is drafted first overall.
Player | Position | Fantasy Team |
Boom Williams (Kentucky) | RB | Will |
Nick Chubb (Georgia) | RB | David |
Josh Dobbs (Tennessee) | QB | Cam |
Sony Michel (Georgia) | RB | Jordan |
Ralph Webb (Vanderbilt) | RB | Josh |
After only having one player selected in the first round, the eastern division has five players drafted in the second with four of them being running backs. In total, five running backs from the SEC East have already been drafted. Ralph Webb is the only Vandy player represented in the rest of the draft.
Player | Position | Fantasy Team |
Fred Ross (MSU) | WR | Josh |
OJ Howard (Alabama) | TE | Jordan |
Damore'ea Stringfellow (Ole Miss) | WR | Cam |
Jovon Robinson (Auburn) | RB | David |
Trevor Knight (TAMU) | QB | Will |
The third round is totally comprised of the SEC West giving that division nine selections to the SEC East's six selections. Noticeably, the SEC West is credited with having superior signal-callers and receivers, while the East seems to have the better running backs. Jovon Robinson is one of only two SEC West running backs drafted, and the next won't come until the final round.
Player | Position | Fantasy Team |
Evan Engram (Ole Miss) | TE | Will |
Quincy Adeboyejo (Ole Miss) |
WR | David |
Malachi Dupre (LSU) |
WR | Cam |
Drew Barker (Kentucky) | QB | Jordan |
Terry Godwin (Georgia) | WR | Josh |
By the fourth round, three Ole Miss skill players have been selected as well as their quarterback. Right behind them is Georgia with three skill players selected. Meanwhile, Kentucky has as many players drafted as Tennessee, Alabama, and LSU. Auburn and Mississippi State each have only one player drafted, and both will only have one player drafted by the end.
Player | Position | Fantasy Team |
Alabama | D/ST/K | Josh |
LSU | D/ST/K | Jordan |
Missouri | D/ST/K | Cam |
Antonio Callaway (Florida) | WR | David |
Alvin Kamara (Tennessee) |
RB | Will |
This round went to the defense, and shows the order in which this draft valued their relative worth. Alabama and LSU have been under-represented in terms of offensive assets, but their defense and special teams are clearly valued. There aren't many defenses selected this early in most mock drafts. Missouri's defense is also valued, and will be the last time a Tiger is drafted.
Player | Position | Fantasy Team |
Josh Reynolds (TAMU) | WR | Will |
Florida | D/ST/K | David |
Jeremy Sprinkle (Arkansas) | TE | Cam |
Gehrig Dieter (Alabama) |
WR | Jordan |
Luke Del Rio (Florida) | QB | Josh |
After the sixth round there are two transfers drafted in Gehrig Dieter and Luke Del Rio. The third tight end is also drafted, all of which have come out of the SEC West.
Player | Position | Fantasy Team |
Jacob Eason (Georgia) | QB | Josh |
Jordan Scarlett (Florida) | RB | Jordan |
Bo Scarbrough (Alabama) | RB | Cam |
Rawleigh Williams III (Arkansas) |
RB | David |
Tennessee | D/ST/K | Will |
The draft ends with 19 selections from the SEC West and 16 selections from the SEC East. There have been 11 running backs taken, and seven of them hail from the SEC East. There have been a total of 10 receivers drafted, but only two are from the SEC East. Six quarterbacks were drafted with four of them belonging to the SEC East.
In the SEC East, Florida, Tennessee, and Georgia tied with four total selections. Kentucky had two selections, and Mizzou and Vandy each had one. South Carolina had zero selections. The Gamecocks are the only program not to have a single player drafted.
In the SEC West, Alabama had five players drafted to lead the division. Behind them, Ole Miss had four players drafted, LSU and TAMU had three, Arkansas had two, and Mississippi State and Auburn each had one.
Assorted Draft Logic and Strategies
David Wunderlich
Quarterback | Running Back | Receiver | FLEX | D/ST/K | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
Chad Kelly | Nick Chubb | Quincy Adeboyejo | Jovon Robinson | Florida | Antonio Callaway | Rawleigh Williams III |
Jordan Rinard
Quarterback | Running Back | Receiver | FLEX | D/ST/K | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
Drew Barker |
Sony Michel |
Calvin Ridley |
OJ Howard |
LSU |
Gehrig Dieter |
Jordan Scarlett |
Josh (jcohen155)
Quarterback | Running Back | Receiver | FLEX | D/ST/K | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
Luke Del Rio |
Leonard Fournette |
Fred Ross |
Ralph Webb |
Alabama |
Terry Goodwin |
Jacob Eason |
Will (wamarsh)
Quarterback | Running Back | Receiver | FLEX | D/ST/K | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
Trevor Knight |
Boom Williams |
Christian Kirk |
Evan Engram |
Tennessee |
Alvin Kamara |
Josh Reynolds |
In hindsight, I am definitely tying my fortunes to Kevin Sumlin's offense which, I guess, isn't the worst hill to die on. I think defending SEC Freshman of the Year Christian Kirk' s abilities justified my first round choice, and I thought Trevor Knight was the best quarterback on the board after Chad Kelly, so I feel alright with those picks. I was torn between Josh Reynolds and Travin Dural in the sixth round, but ultimately decided Reynolds would see more targets thrown his way than Dural despite A&M's crowded receiving corps. Here's to hoping TAMU scoring offense returns to near its 2013 heights.
I don't think Boom Williams is better than Nick Chubb, but with Chubb's lingering injury issues and splitting carries with Sony Michel I thought I'd take Williams with the sixth pick despite his own durability issues. If Boom gets to 1,000 yards - which he probably would have done last season if he'd played in all 12 games - the pick may hold its own.
I'm pretty happy I ended up with Tennessee's defense and special teams. I knew heading in that I wanted a SEC East defense that would beat up on the several woeful SEC offenses, and selecting Tennessee's special teams has the added bonus of featuring Cameron Sutton and Evan Berry returning kicks. For the FLEX position I think I have some,ahem, flexibility between Engram, Kamara, and Reynolds.
Opening The Floor
Who are some of the more overvalued and undervalued players. Did a skill player or D/ST/K not make it into the Top 35 that should have?