Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Half-PPR Fantasy Football Mock Draft (1st 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 2020 NFL season, we will use the 2020 Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator (powered by FantasyPros) to complete fantasy football mock drafts.

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.

Without further ado, here are the picks of our 12-team 2020 fantasy football mock draft using half-PPR scoring with the 1st pick:

1.01 - Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers

Almost never coming off the field, McCaffrey joined Roger Craig (1985) and Marshall Faulk (1999) as one of only three backs to record 1,000/1,000 seasons in NFL history. The do-it-all back led the league in touches (403), yards from scrimmage (2,392) and touchdowns (19). The gap between him and the RB2 (Aaron Jones) was 122.9 fantasy points (half-PPR), or larger than the gap (122.2) between Jones (RB2) and Devonta Freeman (RB21). Another season of 400-plus touches seems unlikely, but his prolific work in the passing game gives him as high of a floor and ceiling as any back in the league.

2.12 - Chris Carson, RB, Seattle Seahawks

Carson (hip) is expected to be ready for Week 1. Playing 15 games last season, Carson handled a career-high 315 touches for 1,496 yards from scrimmage and nine touchdowns.

3.01 - Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Teammate Chris Godwin ranked second in fantasy points per game; Evans ranked third. The dynamic duo gets a new (or old?) quarterback and the only thing that may hold back the passing game is the likelihood that Tampa plays with more leads, which in turn could lead to fewer pass attempts in 2020.

4.12 - DeVante Parker, WR, Miami Dolphins

It was the unconvential fifth-year breakout for Parker, who shattered previous career highs with 72 catches on 128 targets for 1,202 yards and nine touchdowns. Over the final eight games with UDFA Preston Williams sidelined, Parker was at his best -- 44/802/5 on 76 targets in eight games without Williams; 28/400/4 on 52 targets with him. Given the opt outs of the 2020 NFL season by Albert Wilson and Allen Hurns, the duo of Parker and Williams may see an even larger target share with Wilson and Hurns sitting 2020 out.

MORE: Fantasy Football 2020: 12 Undervalued Players in Fantasy Drafts

5.01 - Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Football Team

Beginning his career with five consecutive 50-yard games including a pair of 100-yard performances, McLaurin was quick to emerge as the team's top receiver. Finishing his rookie campaign with 58 catches for 919 yards and seven touchdowns in 14 games, McLaurin should be even better in 2020 as Dwayne Haskins becomes more comfortable as the starter.

6.12 - Evan Engram, TE, New York Giants

Durability has been an issue for Engram, who has missed at least five games in each of the past two seasons and had Lisfranc surgery in December. When he was on the field in 2019, however, he averaged 5.5 catches and 58.4 yards per game, both of which were career highs.

7.01 - David Montgomery, RB, Chicago Bears

Earlier this offseason, GM Ryan Pace talked about Montomgery's ability to "carry a heavier load" if the team runs more often in 2020. While the former Cyclone averaged only 3.7 YPC, he finished his rookie campaign with 242 carries and 25 receptions. Dealing with a groin injury, Montgomery is "expected to be out 2-4 weeks," which puts his availability for the season opener in question.

8.12 - James White, RB, New England Patriots

Perennially undervalued in fantasy drafts, it was White, not Sony Michel, that has led the Patriots running backs in fantasy scoring in both of Michel's first two seasons. One of the league's best pass-catching backs, White has more than 70 catches in back-to-back seasons and that trend should continue in 2020.

9.01 - Jamison Crowder, WR, New York Jets

Crowder led the Jets in targets (122), receptions (78), yards (833) and touchdowns (six) last season. With Robby Anderson and Demaryius Thomas no longer on the roster, Crowder could be even better in 2020 if Sam Darnold can stay healthy. The slot receiver's ADP has been steadily rising in August.

MORE: Jamison Crowder 2020 Fantasy Football Profile and Outlook

10.12 - Carson Wentz, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles have a dynamic one-two punch at tight end with Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert, but their receiving corps was decimated by injuries last season. Wentz became the league's first 4,000-yard passer without a 500-yard (wide) receiver. The front office turbo-charged the receiving corps with the addition of speed and lots of it this offseason.

MORE: Philadelphia Eagles 53-Man Roster Projections

11.01 - Hayden Hurst, TE, Atlanta Falcons

Hurst doubled his production in 2019 to 30/349/2, but that paled in comparison to (now former) teammate Mark Andrews. Hurst's trade to Atlanta does wonders for his fantasy outlook as Austin Hooper signed a free-agent deal with Cleveland. Before Hooper's mid-season injury, he was fantasy's top-scoring tight end and finished second behind Julio Jones in team targets.

12.12 - Ryquell Armstead, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

With Jacksonville releasing Leonard Fournette, it opens the door for a substantial workload for Armstead (and the team's other backs). Last year's fifth-round pick out of Temple averaged only 3.1 yards per carry in 2019, but he's a big back (5'11", 220 pounds) with good speed (4.45 forty) that averaged more than 10 yards per reception (10.3 Y/R). As SI's John Shipley notes, however, Devine Ozigbo "could get some decent Week 1 run" the "longer Armstead doesn't practice."

13.01 - Devine Ozigbo, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

As noted with Armstead, Fournette's release opens up a huge opportunity for the rest of the team's backs as his 341 touches are no longer on the roster. It's not a lock that Armstead handles the majority of early-down work following Fournette's release and Ozigbo is worthwhile pick in the double-digit rounds. An additional concern for both Armstead and Ozigbo is the impact that negative game script could have on the unit's production.

14.12 - Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Indianapolis Colts

The Colts used the 34th-overall pick on Pittman, who has great size (6'4", 223 pounds) to win in contested-catch and red-zone situations and is an underrated athlete (4.52 forty). While the passing offense goes through Hilton, when healthy, it wouldn't be a surprise if Pittman led the team in receiving touchdowns as a rookie.

15.01 - New England Patriots DST

16.12 - Jake Elliott, K, Philadelphia Eagles

- View Full Mock Draft Results

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