Through TSR’s association with Yardbarker, I was invited to be one of the “experts” to participate in Fox Sports’ mock draft, which will apparently be published in its fantasy football magazine later this summer. The other participants were John Juhasz, John Halin, Roger Rotter and Michael Harmon (of FOX Sports), Chris Wesseling (Rotoworld), John Hansen (Guru Report), Derek VanRiper (RotoWire), David Gonos (OPEN Sports), Michael Fabiano (NFL.com), Emil Kadlec (Football Diehards) and Dan Roemhild (MockDraftCentral).

This is a 12-team mock, with high-performance, PPR scoring. The starting lineups consist of a QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, a flex, a TE, a K and a DT. I had the #5 overall pick. Unfortunately, the flash-driven draft room was giving my computer fits and I kept getting disconnected. I probably reloaded the room 100 times over the 90-minute draft and had a to make a few picks with only 30 seconds on the clock and five or six picks ahead of me that needed to be crossed off my cheatsheet.

Anyway, enough with the violins, here’s how the draft went:

1.05: Andre Johnson, WR
When I saw that I had the 5th pick, and Chris Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew and Ray Rice off the board, my first instinct was to take Frank Gore or Steven Jackson, but with PPR scoring and 3-4 starting WRs, it really enhances the value of the position. Last season, AJ scored 302 points under this format, with Gore (255) and Jackson (242) far behind. Besides, there were a few RBs that might be available in the 4th or 5th rounds that I liked, so I figured I would zag while the rest of the league was zigging.

2.08: DeAngelo Williams, RB
With Reggie Wayne off the board, this pick was pretty much a no-brainer for me. Williams finished last season as RB11 and with Jonathan Stewart coming off of surgery, Williams should have another nice season. The Panthers are one of the best rushing teams in the league, and even with a healthy Stewart, Williams figures to be RB1-caliber.

3.05: Steve Smith 2.0, WR
I was tempted to take Shonn Greene or Chris Wells here, but there were still a few RBs on the board — Josesph Addai, Jerome Harrison, Knowshon Moreno and LeSean McCoy — that I thought could have similar seasons, so I elected to go with the safest pick on the board, Steve Smith, who was remarkably consistent last season. He scored 255 points on the season and 127 came in his final eight games. I almost went with Smith 1.0, but he’s getting a bit older and I didn’t want to have too much invested in the Carolina offense.

4.08: Dallas Clark, TE
This was one of those times where my connection to the draft room almost ended in disaster, but I feel pretty good about picking up Clark here. Usually the top TE goes somewhere in the third round, so to get him in the 4th felt like a value pick. I thought about taking Knowshon Moreno or LeSean McCoy here, but decided to roll the dice and hope that one made it back to me in the 5th round.

5.05: Knowshon Moreno, RB
In his rookie season, Moreno finished as fantasy’s RB23 and averaged 15.0 ppg over the last eight games of the season, which are RB9 numbers. I thought about McCoy here, but Moreno is the better natural runner and he’s about as good in terms of pass catching, so he’s in line for a big year.

6.08: Brandon Jacobs, RB
I had to make this pick quickly as a result of the aforementioned draft room problems, but I feel all right about it. Jacobs’ knee is apparently feeling much better so many are predicting a bounce-back year for the big back. I have some doubts, but as a RB3/flex guy, I feel pretty good about him in the 6th round.

7.05: Tony Gonzalez, TE
That’s right, I took two tight ends in the first seven picks! I was actually counting on Santana Moss to still be on the board, but he went late in the 6th. I took a look at the WRs that remained — Jeremy Maclin, Robert Meachem, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Braylon Edwards — and I couldn’t get excited about any of them. So I went with Gonzo (last year’s TE5), who I would plan to trade away for a good WR3 once the season started. There was just too much value here to pass up.

8.08: Eli Manning, QB
Keep in mind that Donovan McNabb was still on the board as well. My plan is to go QBBC this season unless one of the “sure things” at QB — Rodgers, Brees, P. Manning, Brady, Schaub or Romo — slips a round or two past their average draft position (ADP). I considered taking Derrick Mason here to give myself a solid third WR, but I couldn’t pass up Manning, who was QB10 last year and is likely to finish in the QB8-QB10 range again this season. I like his upside too, with Smith 2.0, Hakeem Nicks and Kevin Boss all improving.

9.05: Derrick Mason, WR
I realize that Anquan Boldin is in town, but that might help free up Mason on the other side. He may not finish as high as WR17 again, but as my third WR, I’d be happy if he finishes in the top 30, and that’s a pretty good bet. I thought about Steve Breaston here but thought that he might slip to the 10th and I was a little worried about Early Doucet breathing down his neck.

10.08: Matt Ryan, QB
Had I realized that Eddie Royal was still on the board, I might have taken him here, but I had a brainfart and didn’t realize he was still available. However, I was happy to take Ryan here. With he and Eli on the roster, I should be able to play the better matchup and get good production out of the QB position.

The rest of the draft went this way:

11.05: Jerricho Cotchery, WR
I needed some WR depth and I think Braylon Edwards might be the odd man out, not Cotch.

12.08: Chris Chambers, WR
Chambers scored 120 points in nine games with the Chiefs, which are WR19 numbers. If this had been a real team, I probably would have steered clear for fear of Chambers cursing my squad, but since it was a mock, I didn’t care.

13.05: Brian Westbrook, RB
There wasn’t much out there at RB, but I figured Westy would land somewhere and ease into a 3rd down role. With a PPR, that could be valuable.

14.08: Devery Henderson, WR
Henderson was WR38 last season and played well in the postseason. He’s a boom or bust guy, but he isn’t a bad flex option.

15.05: Bengals DT
Cincy owned the 6th-best fantasy defense in ’09, so I figured there wouldn’t be too much off a drop off this season. I haven’t yet completed my DTBC analysis, so I took a stab with the Bengals.

16.08: Matt Prater, K
I needed a kicker and he was out there, so I drafted him.

Here’s my lineup:

QB: E. Manning / Ryan
RB: D. Williams
RB: Moreno
WR: A. Johnson
WR: S. Smith 2.0
WR: Mason
Flex: Jacobs
TE: D. Clark
K: Prater
DT: Bengals

Bench: T. Gonzalez, Cotchery, Chambers, Westbrook, Henderson


Photos from fOTOGLIF