Looking at a mock draft and being in a mock draft is critical before you do the real deal.  There are lots of sites that host fantasy mock drafts. Do yourself a favor and get into one sooner rather than later.  But first, since we want to help you be the champ of your league, here is a breakdown of the official Rant Sports mock draft.

Click here to review the results of the first-ever RantSports Fantasy Football Mock Draft.

1st Round Analysis

I was given the 8th overall pick and most Top 200 lists put Aaron Rodgers and Michael Turner around this spot and both are very good options.  I watched the top five running backs go, obviously, Adrian Peterson, Chris Johnson, MJD, Turner and Ray Rice went first.  One of the keys to drafting is watching the trends.  Since all the elite backs were gone, I felt that I needed to draft a running back.  I selected Steven Jackson.  He is the best player on his team and with rookie Sam Bradford at QB, he has a lot of upside.  Jackson runs very hard and is the workhorse of that offense.  I was very surprised that Chris W. chose Peyton Manning over Aaron Rodgers. Tony was very lucky to see him drop to the 12th over all pick. 

2nd Round Analysis

In the second round, I was tempted to take a quarterback, but the first two QBs that were drafted in this round were Tom Brady and Phillip Rivers. Both are very capable, but Rivers might not have Vincent Jackson for six games or more and Brady might not have Welker at the start of the season (watch me contradict myself in the 5th round).  So with all these thoughts running through my mind, I chose Ryan Grant with the 17th overall pick.  I really wanted Ryan Mathews, because regardless of how much NFL experience he has, Mathews could be a bust or he could be the best rookie back in the last five years.  I think that he will have an explosive rookie season. However, Grant is pretty dependable.  Scott drafted Larry Fitzgerald as 20th pick overall, but with Leinart at quarterback, I think that might have been a reach.

3rd Round Analysis

Round three began as the Round of the WR, with Miles Austin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, Sidney Rice, DeSean Jackson and Steve Smith of the Giants all being drafted.  I was torn between going with the flow and drafting DeSean Jackson, but instead, I chose Beanie Wells.  You might be asking yourself, “three running backs in a row?” Yes, I drafted three running backs in a row. I did this because there are a lot of No. 1 wide receivers left on the board and running backs get more chances to make big plays (AKA: more touches).  Mark my words, this is the year of Beanie Wells.

4th Round Analysis

Tony began round four by drafting Joseph Addai.  I was looking forward to getting a chance to draft a quarterback in this round.  I went with the most naturally talented quarterback left in the draft.  I chose Joe Flacco.  It seemed like a reach to me, but most people were praising my choice.  He has a lot of very good offensive weapons around him.  I think that on both sides of the ball, the Baltimore Ravens will put up a lot of fantasy points this year.  I was very happy that Vernon Davis and Dallas Clark were chosen at the end of the fourth round.  Tight ends are completely underrated. They can produce pretty big numbers, but only the top 2-3 should be drafted this high. I would include Owen Daniels in that list too.

5th Round Analysis

In our last round of the Mock Draft, Reggie Bush was selected first.  I have always liked Bush because he has big play abilities but unfortunately, he hasn’t been very dependable fantasy wise.  With Mike Bell gone this season, Reggie should get more opportunities.  I also loved Chris D.’s pick of Kevin Kolb.  He has a ton of offensive weapons to work with in Philly and a very impressive track record when he has been given a chance to start.  I finally drafted a wide receiver in this round.  I selected Wes Welker, even though he is coming off an injury. He is one of the toughest guys on the football field. He plays extremely hard and catches everything thrown to him. He is also very valuable in points per reception leagues.  Many good wide receivers were selected in this round such as, Michael Crabtree, Hakeem Nicks, Steve Smith of Carolina, Ochocinco, Percy Harvin, Mike Wallace and Mike Sims-Walker.  All of these are high-end No. 2 wide receivers.  Since I missed out on all the No. 1 wide receivers, I was happy to get Welker in the fifth round.

Final Team

Alex
1. Steven Jackson RB
2. Ryan Grant RB
3. Beanie Wells RB
4. Joe Flacco QB
5. Wes Welker WR

At the end of our draft, I felt very good about my team.  If this were my real team, I might try to trade one of my excellent running backs for a wide receiver before the season started.  I might be able to get Randy Moss or Miles Austin for Ryan Grant or Steven Jackson.  This team does have a lot of upside.  Jackson and Grant are very dependable.  Wells, Flacco and Welker all very explosive players that could end in the Top 10 at each of their positions.  I do think that I ended up with the best team out of the draft, but that’s probably because I drafted it.