Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Quarterbacks Fall, Wide Receivers Rise
Round 8
Overall Pick | Team | Selection | |
---|---|---|---|
85 | Jordan Hoover | DeAngelo Williams | RB35 |
86 | Jason Schandl | Delanie Walker | TE5 |
87 | Sam Hauss | Torrey Smith | WR42 |
88 | Jacob Gibbs | Sterling Shepard | WR43 |
89 | JJ Zachariason | Josh Gordon | WR44 |
90 | Aaron Watson | Dorial Green-Beckham | WR45 |
91 | Stan Son | Laquon Treadwell | WR46 |
92 | Joseph Nammour | Jay Ajayi | RB36 |
93 | Matt Blair | Tavon Austin | WR47 |
94 | Jim Sannes | Travis Kelce | TE6 |
95 | Tyler Buecher | C.J. Prosise | RB37 |
96 | Jake Kent | Travis Benjamin | WR48 |
Best Pick: Torrey Smith
Torrey Smith is getting zero love.
I get it, I get it. The duo of Colin Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert will be under center for the 49ers, and that's a "Not great, Bob!" combo.
For arguably the first time in his career, though, volume is on Smith's side.
The 49ers brought in Chip Kelly to coach the team this offseason, which means the offense will be running more plays. How do I know this? Well, over the last 16 years, two of Kelly's three Eagles' offenses rank in the top 10 in plays run per season. And that's without the benefit of utilizing quarterbacks such as Tom Brady or Peyton Manning -- players who allow offenses to sustain long drives based on efficiency.
There will be more plays run in San Francisco and, guys, there's absolutely zero competition for Smith this year. Anquan Boldin's aged wide receiver body is now in Detroit, leaving -- probably -- Bruce Ellington as Smith's main wide receiving companion.
If Smith sees even 20% of the team's targets -- which is a low number considering said competition -- he should have no trouble reaching 110 to 120 targets. But it wouldn't be shocking to see him get to 130, which is big news in an offensive system that's produced WR1 seasons from DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin.