The fantasy football 2014 season is almost here and that means mock drafts for fantasy owners and this year Matthew Berry, the ESPN expert on fantasy, has put together some advice along with top sleeper picks, player rankings and free agent options for the season and fantasy owners looking for an inside edge would be wise to check out some of his notes heading into things.
Berry will have a more detailed look at things heading into the season by position and with sleepers and busts, but this far away from the preseason he has some things ready for owners, including how many players at each position to draft to put teams in position to win. Most leagues are going to have two quarterbacks as the roster options and that is a good place to start, but depending on if it's a PPR league or a standard it can change who should be drafted first. Leagues have different points totals as well and those can change up what mock drafts are best to follow.
Either way, this year looks to be going the way of the quarterback again and names like Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers should be some of the first names off the board. Brees has Jimmy Graham back and that means he will be putting up some big numbers again and he likely will be the league leader in passing yards. Stafford also should be up there with Calvin Johnson and now that he has added Golden Tate to an offense that also includes Reggie Bush, the team should be high scoring once again.
At the running back position, some sleepers to watch out for include Rashad Jennings as well as Eddie Lacy, as he is coming off of a fine season that saw him win rookie of the year. Jennings is set to get a full load in the new offense for the Giants and another name to pick up is Andre Williams, as he should also be getting some production for the Giants. Two way backs like Matt Forte and Jamaal Charles should be taken early and in PPR leagues those players are massively valuable.
The wide receiver position has some players that have moved teams and that could affect how much attention certain players get, while it could open things up more for other names. The Colts are an interesting offense to watch, as Andrew Luck has put up solid numbers over these two years and he should be even better now with the players they have added. Reggie Wayne is coming back healthy along with Dwayne Allen and the team adds Hakeem Nicks to the WR corps and also will get a full season from Trent Richardson after trading a first round pick for him last year.
Eli Manning needs to have a comeback season for the Giants and he could be a sleeper option as a backup quarterback. The team will be using Victor Cruz and Rueben Randle as the top wideouts and if Odell Beckham gets healthy, he could be a threat as well. Stevie Johnson moving to the 49ers is another name to watch, while Sammy Watkins could be the most productive rookie taken in the draft, as he should be a starter in Buffalo.
Check here for the Matthew Berry 2014 draft manifesto and advice heading into drafts this summer.