Sunday, July 8, 2018

2018 Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 2nd 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: 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 - Todd Gurley, RB, Los Angeles Rams: What a difference a year (coach) makes! Leading all running backs in fantasy points scored, Gurley compiled 2,093 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns, both of which led the NFL. Repeating those lofty numbers in back-to-back seasons may be unreasonable for Gurley (or any NFL player), but he or Le'Veon Bell will be the top-overall pick in most fantasy drafts this summer. (Bell went 1.01.)

2.11 - Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers: As a rookie, McCaffrey finished with 80 receptions, 1,086 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns as he scored the ninth-most PPR fantasy points. The signing of C.J. Anderson deals a blow to what appeared to be a massive opportunity for McCaffrey, but the second-year back has a chance to post better year-over-year numbers in 2018.

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 four receivers had more yards than Thielen last season.

4.11 - 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). Landry is the WR15 in my fantasy football projections based on PPR scoring.

5.02 - JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers: Exceeding expectations in his rookie season, Smith-Schuster had 41 catches for 686 yards and four touchdowns over his final seven regular-season games including three 100-yard games during that span. Even as the offense's third option behind Antonio Brown and Bell, Smith-Schuster is poised for a bigger and better second season with Martavis Bryant traded to the Raiders.

6.11 - Dion Lewis, RB, Tennessee Titans: Lewis had 212 touches for the Patriots last season and finished as fantasy's RB13 in PPR. Even if Derrick Henry gets a slightly larger workload than Lewis, his week-to-week role should be even more secure in Tennessee (than it was in New England).

7.02 - 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.

8.11 - Marquise Goodwin, WR, San Francisco 49ers: Goodwin had the best season of his career with 56 catches for 962 yards and two touchdowns. Especially productive in the second half, Goodwin had a five-game stretch of 78-plus yards from Weeks 10 to 15 including three straight with 99-plus. With Garcon healthy, Goodwin would do well to repeat last year's numbers, but he's a fine WR4 for this team.

9.02 - Ronald Jones, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: While he may lack the size (205 pounds) of being a workhorse back, Jones has elite burst and explosiveness and has drawn his share of comparisons to Jamaal Charles. A top-40 pick in this year's draft, Jones figures to lead the backfield in touches and is a nice value in Round 9.

10.11 - Cameron Meredith, WR, New Orleans Saints: While he missed all of last season with a torn ACL, Meredith had 66 catches for 888 yards and four touchdowns over 14 games with the Bears in 2016. Even though he's the WR2/3 on the team, Meredith has some upside in a better, Drew Brees-led offense.

11.02 - Tyler Eifert, TE, Cincinnati Bengals: Over the past four seasons, Eifert has nearly as many touchdowns (18) as games played (24). Durability is the obvious concern, but if (a massive if) he can stay healthy, upside for double-digit scores is a legitimate possibility.

12.11 - 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. As ESPN's Matt Bowen predicts, Golladay is certainly a candidate for a second-year breakout.

13.02 - Charles Clay, TE, Buffalo Bills: Leading the team in receiving yards (558) last season, Clay is the team's most reliable pass-catcher outside of LeSean McCoy, who led the team in targets and receptions. With Eifert as this team's TE1, it made sense to draft someone to fill in if/when Eifert misses games.

14.11 - Houston Texans DST

15.02 - 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.

16.11 - Jake Elliott, K, Philadelphia Eagles

- View full mock draft results here

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