Saturday, July 14, 2018

2018 Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 1st 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: Point-per-reception (PPR) scoring
  • # of Teams: 12
  • Draft Slot: 1
  • 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:

1.01 - Le'Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers: Franchise tagged for the second time in as many offseasons, Bell won't report before the end of the preseason if the two sides are unable to reach a long-term deal before the looming July 16th cutoff. 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.

2.12 - Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons: Missing two-plus games last season, Freeman still managed to finish as the RB13 after much better seasons in 2015 (RB1) and 2016 (RB6). Over the past three seasons, only Todd Gurley (4,599), Bell (4,522) and LeSean McCoy (4,396) have more yards from scrimmage than Freeman (4,357) and his 35 touchdowns are tied with Gurley for the most over that stretch.

3.01 - Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Even though he posted a career-low 1,001 yards last season, Evans has now begun his career with four consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. Only two other players — Randy Moss and A.J. Green — have started their careers with four 1,000-yard seasons. Over his four NFL seasons, Evans has 32 touchdowns and a pair of 12-score campaigns.

4.12 - Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland Browns: Leading the NFL last season with a career-high 112 receptions, Landry finished the season with 987 yards and nine touchdowns (also a career high). Now in Cleveland, I don't expect a repeat of those numbers (receptions/TDs, at least), but he's a solid WR2 in PPR formats.

5.01 - Michael Crabtree, WR, Baltimore Ravens: As part of a 1-2 punch with Amari Cooper in Oakland, Crabtree had three (well, two if you don't count 2017) productive seasons as a Raider. During that span, Crabtree has 25 touchdowns -- eight-plus in each of the past three seasons. The move to Baltimore means that Crabtree now becomes his team's clear No. 1 wideout and I love him as the WR3 on this squad.

6.12 - Delanie Walker, TE, Tennessee Titans: Extending his streak of 800-yard seasons to four, Walker finished as PPR's TE6 in his age-33 season. The veteran tight end has finished as a top-12 fantasy tight end in all five of his seasons with the Titans and should do so again.

7.01 - Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers: Since entering the league in 2011, Newton has finished as a top-four fantasy quarterback in all but two seasons (2014 and 2016). Of course, a huge part of his fantasy success is generated by his rushing production. Averaging 7.7 rushing scores per season, Newton has 100-plus rush attempts and 500-plus rushing yards every year except for 2016.

8.12 - Dion Lewis, RB, Tennessee Titans: With Lewis likely to be more involved on passing downs, Derrick Henry and Lewis should form a 1-2 punch for the Titans backfield. Lewis had 212 touches for the Patriots last season and finished as fantasy's RB13 in PPR, but his week-to-week role should be even more secure in Tennessee.

9.01 - Tevin Coleman, RB, Atlanta Falcons: Even if he's the 2 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. The contract-year back has scored 19 total touchdowns since 2016. While I draft Coleman on his own merit (as opposed to handcuff value), he has RB1 upside if Freeman were to miss any time.

10.12 - Kenny Stills, WR, Miami Dolphins: Over the past two seasons, Stills has 100 catches for 1,573 yards and 15 touchdowns. I actually prefer the other "Kenny" (Golladay), but I figured there would be a better chance to get both by taking Stills first.

11.01 - Theo Riddick, RB, Detroit Lions: With 50-plus catches in each of the past three seasons, Riddick has a total of 186 receptions during that span. Even with the addition of rookie Kerryon Johnson and free agent LeGarrette Blount, Riddick should continue to get many passing-down opportunities.

12.12 - 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. Golladay is a candidate for a second-year breakout and is a high-upside WR5.

13.01 - Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals: Joe Mixon missed some time, but Bernard was highly productive down the stretch. In five December games, Bernard had 507 YFS, averaged 4.75 YPC with 24 receptions and two scores. Gio offers late-round value as a back that could return flex value in PPR formats.

14.12 - Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons: In the first season with Steve Sarkisian calling the plays, Ryan threw for 4,095 yards, a seven-year low, and 20 touchdowns, a nine-year low. On a positive note, the addition of Calvin Ridley in the first round gives a boost to an already talented group of pass-catchers. As a bye-week or injury replacement, Ryan is a nice value with the last pick of the 14th round.

15.01 - Los Angeles Chargers D/ST

16.12 - Chris Boswell, K, Pittsburgh Steelers

- View full mock draft results here

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