Monday, July 8, 2019

PPR Fantasy Football Mock: 12 Teams, 2nd Pick

The best way to become good at something is to practice. So, what should you do if you want to draft a better fantasy football team?

Practice, of course!

Leading up to the start of the 2019 NFL season, Kevin Hanson will use the 2019 Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator (powered by FantasyPros) to complete fantasy football mock drafts.


- MORE: Check out Kevin Hanson's way-too-early 2020 NFL Mock Draft.



We will use a variety of scoring formats -- PPR, half-PPR, standard scoring and even 2-QB leagues, league sizes and draft slots. The goal is to give you a good representation of the team that you may be able to construct given your league settings and the rationale of why we made the picks we did.

>> Our mocks will be tracked here: Fantasy Football Mock Drafts.

That said, nothing beats practicing yourself so (check out the simulator) and complete a mock in a matter of minutes.

2019 PPR Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 2nd Pick

 

Without further ado, here are the picks of our 12-team 2019 fantasy football mock draft using point-per-reception (PPR) scoring:

1.02 - Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

The Giants ranked middle of the pack in total offense (17th) and scoring offense (16th), but Barkley was an absolute stud in a mediocre offense. Leading the NFL in scrimmage yards, Barkley rushed for 1,307 yards and 11 touchdowns and added 91 catches for 721 yards and four more touchdowns. Barkley is my top-ranked player, so I'm happy to get him second overall, as Ezekiel Elliott went first.

MORE: PPR Top 200 Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet

2.11 - Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

Playing full 16-game slates in back-to-back years, Allen saw his numbers dip year-over-year, but he still put up a healthy 97/1,196/6 stat line (WR12 in PPR). A top-15 fantasy wide receiver in any format, Allen is about as steady and consistent as it gets.

3.02 - Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

Durability (11 missed games in two seasons) and inefficiency (career 3.7 YPC) are negatives, but there are some reasons for optimism. A true workhorse, Fournette has averaged nearly 20 carries per game (19.09) when he's been active and the team should sustain more drives with improved quarterback play. Season-ending injuries sidelined Jacksonville's LT/LG/C for major chunks of the season, but running lanes should be wider with their return to health and the addition of road-grading RT Jawaan Taylor in this year's draft. Plus, Fournette could be more involved in the passing game as well.

4.11 - Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks

Despite a consistent level of targets -- 66 to 71 -- in all four of his seasons, Lockett posted career highs in receptions (57), yards (965) and touchdowns (10) as he shattered previous career highs in catch rate (81.4%), yards per reception (16.9) and yards per game (60.3). While those ratios may regress closer to the mean, Lockett's target volume is all but assured to increase at the same time given Doug Baldwin's retirement.

5.02 - Alshon Jeffery, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Jeffery's catch rate was up significantly in 2018 (70.7%) compared to his first season (47.5%, 2017) in Philadelphia and that led to per-game improvements in receptions and yards (5.0/64.8 vs. 3.6/49.3). Missing three games in 2018, Jeffery has now missed at least three games in three of four seasons and has failed to reach the 900-yard mark since 2014, but there is upside as this team's WR3.

6.11 - James White, RB, New England Patriots

Coming off a career-best season, White shattered his previous marks with 181 touches including 87 receptions, 1,176 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns during the regular season. White may see fewer carries, but there's the potential that he's even more involved as a receiver with the retirement of Rob Gronkowski. A top-11 performer last year, there's a pretty good chance that White outperforms his 2019 flex-range ADP.

7.02 - Evan Engram, TE, New York Giants

Even though Engram missed five games last season, he has been one of the best fantasy tight ends on a point-per-game basis in his first two NFL seasons. In terms of fantasy PPG, Engram has finished as the TE4 and TE7 in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Coincidentally, Engram returned from injury just in time for the four games that Odell Beckham missed last season and Engram totaled 22/320/1 with a minimum of 75 yards per game over that four-game span to close the season. Among tight ends, only George Kittle had more fantasy points during that stretch.

8.11 - Lamar Miller, RB, Houston Texans

Miller was more efficient in 2018 (4.6 YPC) than he was in either of his first two seasons (4.0 in 2016 and 3.7 in 2017) in Houston.

9.02 - Tevin Coleman, RB, San Francisco 49ers

Reunited with his former coach, Coleman is the "clear favorite" for the most touches among the team's running backs. With Devonta Freeman sidelined nearly all of 2018, Coleman set career highs in both workload (199 touches) and scrimmage yards (1,076) and scored nine touchdowns last season.

10.11 - DeSean Jackson, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

Now back in Philadelphia, D-Jax gives the Eagles the deep threat they have lacked. Jackson led the NFL in Y/A in 2018 (18.9), 2016 (17.9) and 2014 (20.9).

11.02 - Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

Once again, Ekeler averaged more than five yards per carry and 10 yards per reception. But as he nearly doubled his workload (74 to 145 touches), Melvin Gordon's complementary back finished as the RB25 in PPR last season. Given Gordon's injury history, there is a better chance than not that Ekeler will get an opportunity to make a start or two, but he has stand-alone value even if Gordon stays healthy.

12.11 - Jameis Winston, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Starting only nine games last season, Winston set career highs in completion percentage (64.6), yards per attempt (7.9) and TD% (5.0), but he also set a career high in INT% (3.7). Winston needs to cut down on turnovers, but Tampa's passing offense should rank near the top of the league once again.

13.02 - Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys

The next time that Prescott finishes outside the top-12 fantasy quarterbacks will be his first. And based on my rankings, that won't be this year. Through his first three NFL seasons, Prescott has finished as fantasy's QB6, QB11 and QB10, respectively. In the team's run-first offense, Prescott threw it 526 times in 2018 for 3,885 yards, both of which were career highs, and the presence of Amari Cooper gives Prescott a legitimate weapon in the passing game. Consistent with 22 or 23 passing touchdowns each season, Prescott has rushed for exactly six scores each season and 944 rushing yards over his three seasons.

14.11 - Minnesota Vikings D/ST

15.02 - Jamison Crowder, WR, New York Jets

Not only did he miss roughly half the season, but Crowder set a career low in receptions per game (3.2) and his 43.1 YPG was his lowest since his rookie season. A return to his 2016/2017 numbers -- 60-plus catches and 750-plus yards -- seems reasonable if he can stay healthy.

- View Full Mock Draft Results

Draft Grade (compared to ECR): A+ (98 out of 100)

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