Fantasy football mock draft -- 10-team PPR Tony Romo injury impact

Leo Howell, ESPN Staff
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Aug 29, 2016, 02:00 PM

With the third preseason games kicking off and "draft week" underway, the ESPN Fantasy staff held its final mock draft of the season. This time, it was a 10-team PPR mock.

And once again, a player was injured following the mock draft, a reality that many drafters will experience as they head into their real drafts over the final weeks of the preseason.

This time it was Tony Romo who went down, and while Romo himself was picked as a backup QB, his injury absence will really impact star receiver Dez Bryant. Tristan H. Cockcroft took him early in the second round, and had this to say in retrospect about his selection.

"ARGH! Burned again. Why don't I just trust my instincts when it comes to the Cowboys' passing game? I went a bit against the grain -- 'the grain' referring to my usual strategy -- in selecting Bryant 11th, and I'll admit that at the time I was torn between him and Rob Gronkowski. Given the choice, I'd pick Gronkowski now, and it's not a contest. We'll eventually get a better idea of how long Tony Romo will be sidelined with his back injury, but if it's half a season, that's damning for Bryant's value."

"After all, from 2012-15 -- the four-year span during which Bryant has warranted clear WR1 status (admittedly he has been injured for part of it, but that's his 'healthy' value) -- he averaged roughly 40 percent less fantasy value per snap played when Tony Romo wasn't on the field compared to when he was on it. Extrapolating the numbers using his per-snap rates, Bryant was roughly five fantasy points less productive per game when he was working with any other quarterback than Romo."

Romo's absence definitely hurts Bryant, and his value will likely adjust in drafts as we approach Week 1. However, he's still Dez Bryant, so don't let him fall too far just because his quarterback got hurt.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the latest and last mock. The participants for this draft, in the order in which they selected, were: KC Joyner, Matt Bowen, Kyle Soppe, AJ Mass, Matthew Berry, Jim McCormick, Keith Lipscomb, Field Yates, Leo Howell and Tristan H. Cockcroft.

Round 1

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	1	Joyner	Antonio Brown, WR, Pit	WR 1
2	2	Bowen	Julio Jones, WR, Atl	WR 2
3	3	Soppe	Odell Beckham Jr., WR, NYG	WR 3
4	4	Mass	Todd Gurley, RB, LA	RB 1
5	5	Berry	DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Hou	WR 4
6	6	McCormick	A.J. Green, WR, Cin	WR 5
7	7	Lipscomb	Le'Veon Bell, RB, Pit	RB 2
8	8	Yates	David Johnson, RB, Ari	RB 3
9	9	Howell	Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dal	RB 4
10	10	Cockcroft	Devonta Freeman, RB, Atl	RB 5

Round 2

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	11	Cockcroft	Dez Bryant, WR, Dal	WR 6
2	12	Howell	Adrian Peterson, RB, Min	RB 6
3	13	Yates	Lamar Miller, RB, Hou	RB 7
4	14	Lipscomb	Rob Gronkowski, TE, NE	TE 1
5	15	McCormick	Allen Robinson, WR, Jax	WR 7
6	16	Berry	Mark Ingram, RB, NO	RB 8
7	17	Mass	Jamaal Charles, RB, KC	RB 9
8	18	Soppe	LeSean McCoy, RB, Buf	RB 10
9	19	Bowen	Alshon Jeffery, WR, Chi	WR 8
10	20	Joyner	Doug Martin, RB, TB	RB 11

Round 3

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	21	Joyner	Brandon Marshall, WR, NYJ	WR 9
2	22	Bowen	Eddie Lacy, RB, GB	RB 12
3	23	Soppe	Jordy Nelson, WR, GB	WR 10
4	24	Mass	Mike Evans, WR, TB	WR 11
5	25	Berry	Keenan Allen, WR, SD	WR 12
6	26	McCormick	Brandin Cooks, WR, NO	WR 13
7	27	Lipscomb	Amari Cooper, WR, Oak	WR 14
8	28	Yates	Jarvis Landry, WR, Mia	WR 15
9	29	Howell	Demaryius Thomas, WR, Den	WR 16
10	30	Cockcroft	C.J. Anderson, RB, Den	RB 13

Round 4

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	31	Cockcroft	T.Y. Hilton, WR, Ind	WR 17
2	32	Howell	Julian Edelman, WR, NE	WR 18
3	33	Yates	Sammy Watkins, WR, Buf	WR 19
4	34	Lipscomb	Carlos Hyde, RB, SF	RB 14
5	35	McCormick	Jordan Reed, TE, Wsh	TE 2
6	36	Berry	Randall Cobb, WR, GB	WR 20
7	37	Mass	Cam Newton, QB, Car	QB 1
8	38	Soppe	Golden Tate, WR, Det	WR 21
9	39	Bowen	Matt Forte, RB, NYJ	RB 15
10	40	Joyner	Thomas Rawls, RB, Sea	RB 16

Round 5

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	41	Joyner	Greg Olsen, TE, Car	TE 3
2	42	Bowen	Doug Baldwin, WR, Sea	WR 22
3	43	Soppe	Jonathan Stewart, RB, Car	RB 17
4	44	Mass	Latavius Murray, RB, Oak	RB 18
5	45	Berry	Jeremy Maclin, WR, KC	WR 23
6	46	McCormick	Donte Moncrief, WR, Ind	WR 24
7	47	Lipscomb	Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Den	WR 25
8	48	Yates	Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Car	WR 26
9	49	Howell	Jeremy Hill, RB, Cin	RB 19
10	50	Cockcroft	Eric Decker, WR, NYJ	WR 27

Round 6

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	51	Cockcroft	Duke Johnson Jr., RB, Cle	RB 20
2	52	Howell	DeVante Parker, WR, Mia	WR 28
3	53	Yates	Danny Woodhead, RB, SD	RB 21
4	54	Lipscomb	John Brown, WR, Ari	WR 29
5	55	McCormick	Ryan Mathews, RB, Phi	RB 22
6	56	Berry	Aaron Rodgers, QB, GB	QB 2
7	57	Mass	Michael Floyd, WR, Ari	WR 30
8	58	Soppe	Jordan Matthews, WR, Phi	WR 31
9	59	Bowen	Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Ari	WR 32
10	60	Joyner	Allen Hurns, WR, Jax	WR 33

Round 7

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	61	Joyner	Melvin Gordon, RB, SD	RB 23
2	62	Bowen	Frank Gore, RB, Ind	RB 24
3	63	Soppe	Giovani Bernard, RB, Cin	RB 25
4	64	Mass	DeMarco Murray, RB, Ten	RB 26
5	65	Berry	Jeremy Langford, RB, Chi	RB 27
6	66	McCormick	Russell Wilson, QB, Sea	QB 3
7	67	Lipscomb	Marvin Jones, WR, Det	WR 34
8	68	Yates	Sterling Shepard, WR, NYG	WR 35
9	69	Howell	Arian Foster, RB, Mia	RB 28
10	70	Cockcroft	Ameer Abdullah, RB, Det	RB 29

Round 8

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	71	Cockcroft	Delanie Walker, TE, Ten	TE 4
2	72	Howell	Travis Kelce, TE, KC	TE 5
3	73	Yates	Theo Riddick, RB, Det	RB 30
4	74	Lipscomb	Josh Gordon, WR, Cle	WR 36
5	75	McCormick	Rashad Jennings, RB, NYG	RB 31
6	76	Berry	Coby Fleener, TE, NO	TE 6
7	77	Mass	Tyler Eifert, TE, Cin	TE 7
8	78	Soppe	Andrew Luck, QB, Ind	QB 4
9	79	Bowen	Zach Ertz, TE, Phi	TE 8
10	80	Joyner	Drew Brees, QB, NO	QB 5

Round 9

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	81	Joyner	DeSean Jackson, WR, Wsh	WR 37
2	82	Bowen	Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pit	QB 6
3	83	Soppe	DeAngelo Williams, RB, Pit	RB 32
4	84	Mass	Tyler Lockett, WR, Sea	WR 38
5	85	Berry	Matt Jones, RB, Wsh	RB 33
6	86	McCormick	Stefon Diggs, WR, Min	WR 39
7	87	Lipscomb	Chris Ivory, RB, Jax	RB 34
8	88	Yates	Gary Barnidge, TE, Cle	TE 9
9	89	Howell	Torrey Smith, WR, SF	WR 40
10	90	Cockcroft	Willie Snead, WR, NO	WR 41

Round 10

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	91	Cockcroft	T.J. Yeldon, RB, Jax	RB 35
2	92	Howell	Bilal Powell, RB, NYJ	RB 36
3	93	Yates	Devin Funchess, WR, Car	WR 42
4	94	Lipscomb	Derrick Henry, RB, Ten	RB 37
5	95	McCormick	Charles Sims, RB, TB	RB 38
6	96	Berry	James White, RB, NE	RB 39
7	97	Mass	Michael Crabtree, WR, Oak	WR 43
8	98	Soppe	Kevin White, WR, Chi	WR 44
9	99	Bowen	Michael Thomas, WR, NO	WR 45
10	100	Joyner	Tevin Coleman, RB, Atl	RB 40

Round 11

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	101	Joyner	Julius Thomas, TE, Jax	TE 10
2	102	Bowen	Jay Ajayi, RB, Mia	RB 41
3	103	Soppe	Sammie Coates, WR, Pit	WR 46
4	104	Mass	Corey Coleman, WR, Cle	WR 47
5	105	Berry	Justin Forsett, RB, Bal	RB 42
6	106	McCormick	LeGarrette Blount, RB, NE	RB 43
7	107	Lipscomb	Christine Michael, RB, Sea	RB 44
8	108	Yates	Kamar Aiken, WR, Bal	WR 48
9	109	Howell	Vincent Jackson, WR, TB	WR 49
10	110	Cockcroft	Carson Palmer, QB, Ari	QB 7

Round 12

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	111	Cockcroft	Will Fuller, WR, Hou	WR 50
2	112	Howell	Eli Manning, QB, NYG	QB 8
3	113	Yates	Chris Hogan, WR, NE	WR 51
4	114	Lipscomb	Tom Brady, QB, NE	QB 9
5	115	McCormick	Tajae Sharpe, WR, Ten	WR 52
6	116	Berry	Jamison Crowder, WR, Wsh	WR 53
7	117	Mass	Mohamed Sanu, WR, Atl	WR 54
8	118	Soppe	Markus Wheaton, WR, Pit	WR 55
9	119	Bowen	Devontae Booker, RB, Den	RB 45
10	120	Joyner	Travis Benjamin, WR, SD	WR 56

Round 13

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	121	Joyner	Darren Sproles, RB, Phi	RB 46
2	122	Bowen	Phillip Dorsett, WR, Ind	WR 57
3	123	Soppe	Zach Miller, TE, Chi	TE 11
4	124	Mass	Blake Bortles, QB, Jax	QB 10
5	125	Berry	Paul Perkins, RB, NYG	RB 47
6	126	McCormick	Antonio Gates, TE, SD	TE 12
7	127	Lipscomb	Philip Rivers, QB, SD	QB 11
8	128	Yates	Derek Carr, QB, Oak	QB 12
9	129	Howell	Tavon Austin, WR, LA	WR 58
10	130	Cockcroft	Jason Witten, TE, Dal	TE 13

Round 14

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	131	Cockcroft	Jerick McKinnon, RB, Min	RB 48
2	132	Howell	James Starks, RB, GB	RB 49
3	133	Yates	Tony Romo, QB, Dal	QB 13
4	134	Lipscomb	Isaiah Crowell, RB, Cle	RB 50
5	135	McCormick	Dion Lewis, RB, NE	RB 51
6	136	Berry	DeAndre Washington, RB, Oak	RB 52
7	137	Mass	Broncos D/ST	D/ST 1
8	138	Soppe	Seahawks D/ST	D/ST 2
9	139	Bowen	Panthers D/ST	D/ST 3
10	140	Joyner	Shane Vereen, RB, NYG	RB 53

Round 15

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	141	Joyner	Texans D/ST	D/ST 4
2	142	Bowen	Dorial Green-Beckham, WR, Phi	WR 59
3	143	Soppe	Stephen Gostkowski, K, NE	K 1
4	144	Mass	Andre Ellington, RB, Ari	RB 54
5	145	Berry	Cardinals D/ST	D/ST 5
6	146	McCormick	Vikings D/ST	D/ST 6
7	147	Lipscomb	Raiders D/ST	D/ST 7
8	148	Yates	Jets D/ST	D/ST 8
9	149	Howell	Chiefs D/ST	D/ST 9
10	150	Cockcroft	Bengals D/ST	D/ST 10

Round 16

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	151	Cockcroft	Steven Hauschka, K, Sea	K 2
2	152	Howell	Justin Tucker, K, Bal	K 3
3	153	Yates	Blair Walsh, K, Min	K 4
4	154	Lipscomb	Mason Crosby, K, GB	K 5
5	155	McCormick	Adam Vinatieri, K, Ind	K 6
6	156	Berry	Graham Gano, K, Car	K 7
7	157	Mass	Chandler Catanzaro, K, Ari	K 8
8	158	Soppe	Jimmy Graham, TE, Sea	TE 14
9	159	Bowen	Dan Bailey, K, Dal	K 9
10	160	Joyner	Chris Boswell, K, Pit	K 10