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: 2
- 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:
1.02 - Le'Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers: Bell won't report until after the preseason is over, but it "would be a shock" for him to miss regular-season games. Aside from his six-game 2015 season, the three-down workhorse has 1,200-plus rushing yards, 75-plus receptions and 600-plus receiving yards in three of his past four seasons. Personally, I'd take Bell over Todd Gurley at No. 1, so I'm happy that Bell fell to No. 2.
2.11 - Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots: Gronkowski has 1,000-plus yards in three of the past four years and he has scored double-digit touchdowns in five seasons over his career. Given the huge dropoff after the top-three tight ends, I'm comfortable using a pick on Gronk at the end of Round 2.
3.02 - Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings: Thielen has only 10 touchdowns in his four NFL seasons, but the former UDFA 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.
4.11 - Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos: Coming off his worst season (83/949/5) since breaking out in 2012 (the year Peyton Manning signed with Denver), the Broncos have their best quarterback situation of the past few seasons. 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 90 catches and 1,200 yards seems reasonable with steadier quarterback play.
- MORE: 12 Undervalued Players Compared to Their Fantasy Football ADPs
5.02 - 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. Playing full 16-game seasons in back-to-back years, Ingram has rushed for 1,000-plus yards and scored double-digit touchdowns in consecutive seasons. 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.
6.11 - Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Denver Broncos: While Sanders missed four games, his 2017 numbers (47/555/2) were nearly half of his 2016 production (79/1,032/5). Before last season, Sanders had three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
7.02 - Sony Michel, RB, New England Patriots: Expectations would be through the roof for most running backs selected in the first round. For the Patriots, however, it's anyone's guess how the workload will be allocated in any given week. Given his draft pedigree (and talent, of course), Michel figures to be heavily involved more often than not and it wouldn't surprise me if he finished as the team's most productive fantasy back.
8.11 - Rex Burkhead, RB, New England Patriots: Missing six games in his first season with the Patriots, Burkhead scored eight touchdowns as he rushed for 264 yards and added 30 catches for 254 yards. I expect Burkhead to lead the backfield in touchdowns and we've seen LeGarrette Blount rush for 18 touchdowns only two seasons ago. Using Round 7/8 picks to secure the high-upside role of a lead Patriots back (Michel or Burkhead) makes sense to me.
9.02 - 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 both seasons.
10.11 - 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, but there is the potential for a second-year breakout.
11.02 - Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers: Big Ben has played a 16-game season only three times in his career, but he has weekly QB1 upside when he's on the field with the league's best RB/WR combo in Bell and Brown. A must-start at home, Roethlisberger has had less success at home.
12.11 - Philip Rivers, QB, Los Angeles Chargers: When Roethlisberger misses time (or has a bad road matchup), I've got Rivers. 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.
13.02 - James White, RB, New England Patriots: Locking down the Patriots backfield may create more frustration than anything, but White is a lock for 50 receptions as the team's change-of-pace back.
14.11 - Houston Texans D/ST
15.02 - 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.
16.11 - Harrison Butker, K, Kansas City Chiefs
- View full mock draft results here
Complete your own mock drafts for free on our Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator page.
Check out more of our content:
