It’s only April, but it’s never too early to start mock drafting!

Below is our first 2012 Fantasy Football Mock Draft — This mock is based on a standard PPR scoring format, with line-up requirements consisting of 1QB, 2RBs, 3WRs, 1TE, 1DST and 1K.

The unique part about this mock draft is that it took place on our fantasy football forum involving our “DC Nation” community. What is “DC Nation”? That’s the name of our diehard forum community that has already made DraftCalc.com’s forum one of the most active in the fantasy football industry! DraftCalc has only been live for three days and our forum traffic is already through the roof! If you aren’t yet a part of our community, jump on the forum and get involved!

Below you will find each selection and the forum user that made it; below that I have provided commentary that addresses each round as a whole. Thanks to all who participated in this 24 hour running mock draft discussion. Enjoy!

Round One

1.01 – Arian Foster RB (Smitty)

1.02 – LeSean McCoy RB (rabidbucfan)

1.03 – Ray Rice RB (Whos_Ur_Doggie)

1.04 – Calvin Johnson WR (footballjunkie)

1.05 – Aaron Rodgers QB (Smitty)

1.06 – Cam Newton QB (ffbfan06)

1.07 – Matt Forte RB (Smitty)

1.08 – Larry Fitzgerald WR (ffbfan06)

1.09 – Matthew Stafford QB (Whos_Ur_Doggie)

1.10 – Drew Brees QB (ffbfan06)

1.11 – Darren McFadden RB (footballjunkie)

1.12 – Andre Johnson WR (Whos_Ur_Doggie)

Smitty’s Take: It’s hard to argue against Arian Foster at the top spot in any scoring format. LeSean McCoy definitely deserves consideration at the 1.01, and honesty the same can be said about both Calvin Johnson and Ray Rice, but Foster is the easy and safe call at the 1.01 in 2012. There were no real surprises in round one, as both Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton are potential league leaders, just like the top four I just mentioned, and the stigma around taking a quarterback in the first-round is history. Matthew Stafford at 1.09 is a bit high for my liking, as he almost has to duplicate his 2011 numbers in 2012 to earn that value (something he is more than capable of, though). Two ADPs to watch as we near the months of June and July: 1) Andre Johnson and, 2) Darren McFadden. Both studs are coming off of extremely disappointing and injury-plagued seasons; both could be extremely undervalued come draft day, especially McFadden, who is currently in the news with rumors floating around suggesting that last year’s foot injury was of the Lisfranc variety. Monitor McFadden’s off-season health in the coming months, and clearly react accordingly, good or bad.

Round Two

2.01 – Hakeem Nicks WR (rabidbucfan)

2.02 – Chris Johnson RB (ffbfan06)

2.03 – Maurice Jones-Drew (_X_)

2.04 – Greg Jennings (Smitty)

2.05 – Tom Brady (rabidbucfan)

2.06 – Wes Welker (_X_)

2.07 – Roddy White (Whos_Ur_Doggie)

2.08 – Ryan Mathews (Smitty)

2.09 – A.J. Green (Whos_Ur_Doggie)

2.10 – Adrian Peterson (rabidbucfan)

2.11 – Marshawn Lynch (footballjunkie)

2.12 – DeMarco Murray (JRMRRT)

Smitty’s Take: The second-round is where things get a bit more interesting. Hakeem Nicks has top 2-5 receiver talent, there is no question about it, but his injury history makes him extremely high-risk/high-reward. Sure, Nicks played 15 games last year, but he was cursed with nagging shoulder, knee, and hamstring injuries, and of course he missed 3 games in 2010. If high-risk/high-reward is your style in the early rounds, Nicks is by no means a bad choice, but I myself have players like Tom Brady and Maurice Jones-Drew as safer 1.10-2.03 grabs heading into 2012. Potential breakouts emerged in the second-round, three of which are Ryan Mathews at 2.08, A.J. Green at 2.09 and DeMarco Murray at 2.12; All three could produce top 3-5 numbers at their positions in 2012. Of the three, Murray has the most risk, but his upside equals anyone’s upside. Green is one of my biggest monster-breakout candidates heading into next season; I wouldn’t be shocked at all if Green cranked out 80 receptions for 1,300+ yards and 12+ touchdowns. What about potential busts in this round? Well, while Chris Johnson instantly stands out as a big-time potential bust, I have high hopes for the runner and I have a funny feeling that with a solid off-season he could turn into one of those players that wins grips of leagues for fantasy owners in 2012. Don’t get me wrong, I, like many others, worry that CJ2K’s days are numbered, but I still feel like the risk is minimal anywhere near the middle of the second-round (or later)… I’ll take that risk all day long (just not in every league I play in). Adrian Peterson at 2.10 could go either way as far as an end result goes; I’d rather have him as my third-drafted player, but anywhere in the 2.10-3.05 range doesn’t scream “risk” in my opinion.

Round Three

3.01 – Julio Jones (footballjunkie)

3.02 – Jamaal Charles (JRMRRT)

3.03 – Rob Gronkowski (_X_)

3.04 – Mike Wallace (footballjunkie)

3.05 – Vincent Jackson (_X_)

3.06 – Jimmy Graham (footballjunkie)

3.07 – Frank Gore (_X_)

3.08 – Trent Richardson (Smitty)

3.09 – Steven Jackson (rabidbucfan)

3.10 – Victor Cruz (bddavidson)

3.11 – Kenny Britt (JRMRRT)

3.12 – Marques Colston (_X_)

Smitty’s Take: While Julio Jones at 3.01 seems high at a glance, I like the pick a lot. It’s bold, but Jones can absolutely outperform that draft slot. “Reaching” for players isn’t always an issue if that player can still extremely-outperform the draft slot! Jamaal Charles seems about right at 3.02, as this is his first season back from ACL surgery. Rob Gronkowski (3.03) and Jimmy Graham (3.06) both deserve their third-round placement, and an argument can be made for either to be more deserving of a second-round positioning. Victor Cruz is bold at 3.10, but capable of earning such a slotting. For those that don’t know my track record in the industry, Cruz was one of my biggest breakout predictions last season, as I placed him inside my top 10 overall Bold Predictions for the 2011 fantasy football season — I’m a big believer in the guy, and that won’t change entering this upcoming season! Steven Jackson may be at his end, so I myself would let him fall a round or two further than 3.09; although, it’s not crazy to think that he can have a nice start to the 2012 fantasy football season, at which point he could be sold high and before he completely flatlines. Frank Gore may, or may not, have strong RB2 upside left in the tank, but unless I can land the running back as my fourth- or fifth-drafted player, I think I let someone else take the risk this upcoming year. Trent Richardson won’t likely fall to the 3.08 come August, at least that’s my prediction; I see his ADP climbing handfuls of spots in the coming months. T-Rich, if drafted into the right situation, could be a 1,100-yard, 10TD back as a rookie!

Round Four

4.01 – Fred Jackson (rabidbucfan)

4.02 – Dez Bryant (bddavidson)

4.03 – Dwayne Bowe (Whos_Ur_Doggie)

4.04 – Steve Smith (CAR) (_X_)

4.05 – Jordy Nelson (rabidbucfan)

4.06 – Michael Vick (Smitty)

4.07 – Jeremy Maclin (_X_)

4.08 – Philip Rivers (rabidbucfan)

4.09 – Michael Turner (rabidbucfan)

4.10 – C.J. Spiller (Whos_Ur_Doggie)

4.11 – Percy Harvin (_X_)

4.12 – Demayrius Thomas (bddavidson)

Smitty’s Take: Fred Jackson is boom or bust at 4.01, and the same can be said about C.J. Spiller, who was slotted at 4.10. Michael Turner could prove to be a steal at 4.09, although, he still has a lot of “bust” factor to his name. Still, as your fourth-drafted player, Turner is worth the risk. I see his ADP rising as we near August, though. Michael Vick is starting to look like one of the bigger potential steals entering the months of June, July and August… Did he have an extremely disappointing 2011 NFL season? Sure, I think we can all agree to that without equivocation, but at 4th- to 5th-round value, the risk attached to a 2012 Vick investment is relatively minimized. Keep in mind that landing a quarterback in the 4th- and 5th-rounds that ends up finishing as a top 1-2QB often results in a fantasy league championship (think Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees during recent seasons); Vick screams “value-grab” to me this off-season.

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