Tuesday, July 17, 2018

2018 Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 9th Pick

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. While we may not be able to draft a "perfect" fantasy football team, the more we practice, the better our teams will be.

Starting on July 7th, we began drafting (at least) one fantasy football team per day using the 2018 Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator and we will continue to do so up until the start of the 2018 NFL season.

Each day, we will switch things up -- e.g., PPR vs. standard scoring, league size, draft slot, 2-QB leagues, auction leagues, etc.

In addition, we will centralize links to our daily fantasy football mock drafts for an easy way to keep track of our mock drafts.

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Details of today's mock draft:
  • Scoring: Point-per-reception (PPR) scoring
  • # of Teams: 12
  • Draft Slot: 9
  • Starters: QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE, Flex (RB/WR/TE), K, DST
  • Bench Size: 6

With that said, here are the results of today's mock draft:

1.09 - Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints: Due to efficiency (6.1 YPC and 10.2 Y/R) and 14 touchdowns (eight rushing, five receiving and one return), Kamara finished as a top-three PPR back as a rookie. Even though that level of efficiency won't be sustainable, Kamara is slated for a (much) larger workload with Mark Ingram suspended for four games. Especially in PPR formats, there's a good chance that Kamara posts another top-five performance and he was the RB6 in this mock.

2.04 - Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers: Playing just eight games in 2015 and one game in 2016, Allen won the AP Comeback of the Year award as he posted career numbers (102/1,393/6) in a healthy 16-game campaign. From Weeks 11 to 17, Allen was absolutely dominant with five 100-yard games during that seven-game span. No player had more receptions (58) or receiving yards (797) and only Antonio Brown (six) scored more touchdowns (five) than Allen over that stretch.

3.09 - T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts: Failing to reach the 1,000-yard mark for the first time since his rookie season, the new offense and return of Andrew Luck bodes well for Hilton, who led the NFL with 1,448 receiving yards in 2016. A bounce-back campaign is on the horizon for the speedster.

- MORE: Los Angeles Chargers Fantasy Football Projections

4.04 - LeSean McCoy, RB, Buffalo Bills: Describing the allegations against him as "baseless," there is plenty of uncertainty with McCoy for the 2018 season. In terms of football, a potential suspension isn't the only concern for the 30-year-old McCoy, who averaged a career-low 4.0 YPC last season. The offense should be one of the least potent in the NFL. That said, the offense will revolve around McCoy, who led the team in rushing (1,138 yards) and receptions (59) last season.

5.09 - Michael Crabtree, WR, Baltimore Ravens: As part of a 1-2 punch with Amari Cooper in Oakland, Crabtree had three (well, two if you don't count 2017) productive seasons as a Raider. During that span, Crabtree has 25 touchdowns -- eight-plus in each of the past three seasons. The move to Baltimore means that Crabtree now becomes his team's clear No. 1 wideout.

- MORE: Michael Crabtree 2018 Fantasy Football Profile

6.04 - Greg Olsen, TE, Carolina Panthers: Signing a two-year extension that keeps him under contract through 2020, Olsen missed more than half of last season. Before that, however, the 33-year-old tight end had three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and finished as fantasy's TE4, TE4 and TE2, respectively, during that span.

7.09 - Dion Lewis, RB, Tennessee Titans: Despite forming a committee with Derrick Henry, his week-to-week role should be even more secure in Tennessee. Lewis had 212 touches for the Patriots last season and finished as fantasy's RB13 in PPR.

8.04 - Nelson Agholor, WR, Philadelphia Eagles: In a breakout campaign, Agholor's 2017 numbers (62/768/8) exceeded his production from the previous two season's combined. Agholor finished as a top-25 fantasy receiver in 2017 in both PPR and standard-scoring formats.

9.09 - Tevin Coleman, RB, Atlanta Falcons: Even if he's the 2 to Devonta Freeman in the team's 1-2 rushing attack, Coleman has exceeded 900 yards from scrimmage in each of the past two seasons and has scored 19 total touchdowns since 2016.

10.04 - Marlon Mack, RB, Indianapolis Colts: With Frank Gore no longer in the picture, Mack is the favorite for the largest share of the backfield's workload, but Indianapolis drafted running backs Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively. Mack had 583 YFS, 21 receptions and four touchdowns with an average of 3.8 YPC as a rookie in 2017.

11.09 - DeSean Jackson, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Jackson had a disappointing first season (50/668/3) in Tampa and averaged a career-low 13.4 Y/R. The speedster should improve upon last year's numbers and provides some depth as my WR5.

12.04 - Tyrell Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers: With Allen out for virtually of 2016, Williams had a breakout season with 69 catches for 1,059 yards and seven touchdowns. With Allen healthy, Williams had 43/728/4 in 2017 — and that level of production is a more reasonable expectation barring an Allen injury in 2018. Williams is my top-ranked fantasy WR at this point of the draft (and although I don't handcuff wide receivers), he provides a bit of insurance if Allen misses time.

13.09 - Philip Rivers, QB, Los Angeles Chargers: Except for 2012 (21st) and 2016 (14th), Rivers has finished as a top-12 fantasy quarterback in the eight of his past 10 NFL seasons. In addition, Rivers has thrown for at least 4,286 yards and 28 touchdowns in each of the past five seasons.

14.04 - Los Angeles Chargers D/ST

15.09 - Stephen Gostkowski, K, New England Patriots

16.04 - Terrelle Pryor, WR, New York Jets: Few players were a bigger fantasy disappointment in 2017. Putting up a 1,000-yard season in his first year as a full-time receiver with a poor quarterback situation, Pryor managed just 20/240/1 when playing with Kirk Cousins last season. His range of outcomes for 2018 is incredibly wide, but I'm ok throwing a dart on Pryor's upside.

- View full mock draft results here

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