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.
Details of today's mock draft:
- Scoring: Standard scoring (i.e., non-PPR scoring)
- # of Teams: 12
- Draft Slot: 7
- 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:
1.07 - Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants: Over the past two years, a rookie running back -- Ezekiel Elliott (2016) and Kareem Hunt (2017) -- has led the NFL in rushing. Could Barkley make it three rookies in a row? Arguably the most talented back to enter the league since Adrian Peterson, Barkley has a rare combination of size (233 pounds) and athleticism (4.4 forty and 41-inch vertical) and was highly productive (3,801 YFS and 43 TDs over past two seasons) at Penn State.
2.06 - Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers: With double-digit touchdowns in back-to-back seasons, Adams has a total of 149/1,882/22 over the past two years. With Jordy Nelson now in Oakland, Adams will have an opportunity to improve upon last year's top-12 production as the No. 1 receiver for Aaron Rodgers.
3.07 - Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings: Thielen has only 10 touchdowns in his four NFL seasons, but he built upon his breakout 2016 season to lead the team in targets (142), receptions (91) and receiving yards (1,276). Only Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, Keenan Allen and DeAndre Hopkins had more yards than Thielen last season.
4.06 - 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.
5.07 - 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.
6.06 - Rex Burkhead, RB, New England Patriots: Burkhead scored eight touchdowns (in 10 games) as he rushed for 264 yards and added 30 catches for 254 yards in his debut season with the Patriots. Given the knee injury to Sony Michel and the four-game suspension of Julian Edelman, it's possible that Burkhead could be even more heavily involved in the offense in the first four games of the season, which makes him a nice complement to Ingram.
7.07 - Greg Olsen, TE, Carolina Panthers: Before missing half of last season, Olsen had three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons and finished as fantasy's TE4, TE4 and TE2, respectively, during that span.
8.06 - Jamaal Williams, RB, Green Bay Packers: Only three running backs had more carries than Williams (122) from Week 10 on -- Melvin Gordon (137), Frank Gore (134) and LeSean McCoy (130). That said, Williams averaged only 3.6 yards per carry as a rookie and the workload allocation for the team's top-three backs could be fluid throughout the season although the two-game suspension of Aaron Jones to start the season helps Williams' case.
9.07 - Kenny Stills, WR, Miami Dolphins: Over the past two seasons, Stills has 100 catches for 1,573 yards and 15 touchdowns and he's finished as a top-30 receiver in standard-scoring formats both seasons. There may be some game-to-game volatility, but there is a chance that he has a third consecutive top-30 season with Jarvis Landry in Cleveland.
10.06 - Kelvin Benjamin, WR, Buffalo Bills: Traded during the season to the Bills, Benjamin finished the full season with 48 receptions, 692 yards and three touchdowns. With only 16/217/1 in his six games with the Bills, Benjamin wasn't 100 percent during that time, but he should lead the team in receiving assuming good health in 2018.
11.07 - Chris Carson, RB, Seattle Seahawks: A sleeper pick in 2017, Carson was off to a promising start, but he missed the final 12 games. If it weren't for the team drafting Rashaad Penny in the first round this year, many would tout Carson as a breakout candidate in 2018. Even so, the second-year back entered training camp atop the depth chart and he's a nice value in the double-digit rounds.
12.06 - Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Mixon missed a couple of December games, but Bernard was highly productive down the stretch. Gio had 507 YFS, averaged 4.75 YPC with 24 receptions and two scores across five December games.
13.07 - 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. This is a perfect example of how well waiting on QB can work out for roster construction.
14.06 - Los Angeles Chargers D/ST
15.07 - Stephen Gostkowski, K, New England Patriots
16.06 - Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: When opportunities presented themselves, Godwin capitalized and posted a 26/442/1 (17.0 Y/R) second-half line with 68-plus yards in three of his final four games. Making "a lot of plays everyday," Godwin could once again see his role expand as the season progresses, but it may not be until 2019 that we see a breakout from Godwin.
- View full mock draft results here
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