Monday, August 20, 2018

2018 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 4th 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: Standard scoring (i.e., non-PPR scoring)
  • # of Teams: 12
  • Draft Slot: 4
  • 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:

1.04 - Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys: The 2016 rushing champion, Elliott served a six-game suspension in 2017 but led the league in rushing yards per game (98.3) with a larger workload (24.2 carries per game). With limited weapons in the passing game, the Cowboys and Elliott will face many eight-men fronts, but the former Buckeye should get north of 300 carries with a chance for another rushing title.

2.09 - Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: Down to 218 pounds, Mixon is poised for bigger things in his sophomore campaign. The versatile back averaged just 3.5 yards per carry last season behind one of the league's worst offensive lines, but offseason upgrades at left tackle and center should help.

3.04 - Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs: Recording back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, Kelce finished 2017 with 83 catches for 1,038 yards and a career-high eight touchdowns. After Rob Gronkowski, Kelce is the clear TE2 -- or perhaps even the TE1(a) given Gronk's durability history.

4.09 - Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos: Thomas is coming off his worst season (83/949/5) since breaking out in 2012 (Peyton Manning's first year in Denver). Signing Case Keenum may not return Thomas to the days of 90/1,400/10 numbers he posted from 2012 to 2014, but a bounce-back campaign to the tune of 85 catches and 1,100 yards seems reasonable with steadier quarterback play.

5.04 - Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints: Even with rookie Alvin Kamara finishing as fantasy's RB4, Ingram set career highs in 2017 with 1,124 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns, 58 receptions and 416 receiving yards. Although he'll miss the first four games due to a PED suspension, that creates more fantasy appeal (to a certain degree) as there is a discount for his strong production from Weeks 5 to 16.

- MORE: Mark Ingram 2018 Fantasy Football Profile

6.09 - Tevin Coleman, RB, Atlanta Falcons: Even if he's the 2 to Devonta Freeman in the team's 1-2 rushing attack, Coleman has finished as a top-24 running back and exceeded 900 yards from scrimmage in each of the past two seasons with 19 total touchdowns since 2016.

7.04 - Marquise Goodwin, WR, San Francisco 49ers: Goodwin had the best season of his career with 56 catches for 962 yards and two touchdowns. Especially productive in the second half, Goodwin had a five-game stretch of 78-plus yards from Weeks 10 to 15 including three straight with 99-plus. Goodwin continues to impress and even with Pierre Garcon now healthy, San Francisco Chronicle's Eric Branch writes that "Goodwin remains the 49ers’ top wide receiver."

8.09 - Randall Cobb, WR, Green Bay Packers: Since exceeding 800-plus yards in his three healthy seasons from 2012 to 2015, Cobb has 600-something yards in back-to-back seasons. Given a secure WR2 role, however, Cobb should bounce back provided that he and Aaron Rodgers can stay healthy.

9.04 - 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.

10.09 - Kenny Golladay, WR, Detroit Lions: Golladay's best games were his first (4/69/2) and his last (2/80/1). Missing five games, the rookie totalled only 22/328/0 in his nine games from Weeks 2 to 16. A true breakout may not occur in 2018, but teammate Golden Tate said the following of the second-year receiver: "… I'm telling you, this guy can be dominant. He's a WR1 kind of guy."

11.04 - Peyton Barber, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tampa's leading rusher in 2017, Barber had 335 rushing yards (15th-most in the NFL) on 78 carries (4.29 YPC) from Weeks 13 to 17. Currently atop the team's depth chart, Barber has set a goal of "1,000 yards – and more." Perhaps that's unrealistic with second-rounder Ronald Jones in the mix, but he'd be a steal in the 11th round as a 1,000-yard runner.

- MORE: Barber is the biggest weekly riser in Fantasy Football ADP

12.09 - 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. On my list of 12 Undervalued Players Compared to Fantasy ADP, Rivers has thrown for at least 4,286 yards and 28 touchdowns in each of the past five seasons.

13.04 - Tyrell Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers: With Keenan 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.

- MORE: 16 Fantasy Football Sleepers

14.09 - Frank Gore, RB, Miami Dolphins: Returning home to Miami, the 35-year-old Gore has been incredibly durable -- seven consecutive 16-game seasons. Remarkably consistent, Gore has finished as a top-20 fantasy running back every season except for his rookie campaign, although he has averaged less than 4.0 YPC in each of the past three seasons. Listed as the co-starter with Kenyan Drake, it's possible that the veteran back once again exceeds expectations.

15.04 - Baltimore Ravens D/ST

16.09 - Dan Bailey, K, Dallas Cowboys

- View full mock draft results here

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