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: Point-per-reception (PPR) scoring
- # of Teams: 12
- Draft Slot: 8
- 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:
1.08 - DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans: Leading the NFL in receiving touchdowns (13) last season, Hopkins now has four seasons with 75-plus catches and three seasons with 1,200-plus yards through his age-25 season. With a league-high 174 targets last season, Hopkins had 35-percent target share in 10 of 15 games and double-digit targets 11 times. As the focal point of Houston's offense, he arguably has the highest floor among all receivers in the league.
2.05 - 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), Le'Veon 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.
3.08 - Demaryius Thomas, WR, Denver Broncos: Thomas is coming off his worst season (83/949/5) since breaking out in 2012 (Peyton Manning's first year in Denver). 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 85 catches and 1,100 yards seems reasonable with steadier quarterback play.
4.05 - Allen Robinson, WR, Chicago Bears: Still only 24 years old and with an 80/1,400/14 season (2015) under his belt, Robinson was lost for (almost) all of 2017 with a torn ACL sustained in Week 1. Robinson avoided the PUP list to start training camp.
5.08 - Michael Crabtree, WR, Baltimore Ravens: As part of a 1-2 punch with Amari Cooper in Oakland, Crabtree now becomes his team's clear No. 1 wideout. Over the past three seasons, Crabtree has 25 touchdowns -- eight-plus in each of the past three seasons.
- MORE: Michael Crabtree 2018 Fantasy Football Profile
6.05 - Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots: Showing no signs of slowing down, Brady threw for a league-high 4,577 yards in 2017 and finished as fantasy's QB4. Going into 2018, he remains a top-three option in my rankings with Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson.
7.08 - Dion Lewis, RB, Tennessee Titans: 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.
8.05 - Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints: Ingram set career highs in 2017 with 1,124 rushing yards, 12 touchdowns, 58 receptions and 416 receiving yards. 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.
- MORE: 12 Undervalued Players Compared to Fantasy ADP
9.08 - Jack Doyle, TE, Indianapolis Colts: Doyle finished second on the team in targets (108) last season and posted career highs with 80 catches and 690 yards last season. While he may not repeat last year's numbers with the addition of Eric Ebron, the return of Andrew Luck helps Doyle and the Colts offense in general.
10.05 - Isaiah Crowell, RB, New York Jets: Only 25 years old, Crowell has rushed for 850-plus yards in each of the past two seasons. While the Browns-to-Jets offseason move isn't necessarily an offensive upgrade, Crowell is a nice value in Round 10.
11.08 - Chris Carson, RB, Seattle Seahawks: A sleeper pick in 2017, Carson was off to a promising start, but he missed the final 12 games. If it weren't for the team drafting Rashaad Penny in the first round this year, many would tout Carson as a breakout candidate in 2018. Even so, it's possible that his current position atop the depth chart carries into Week 1.
- MORE: Fantasy Football ADP Weekly Risers/Fallers
12.05 - Ty Montgomery, RB, Green Bay Packers: Before sustaining a Week 4 ribs injury, Montgomery had 59 touches (41 carries and 18 receptions), which was tied for eighth-most over the first three games of the season. Perhaps Jamaal Williams runs away with the job or Aaron Jones emerges post-suspension, but it's also possible that Montgomery assumes a larger workload than most (including me) currently project.
13.08 - Cameron Brate, TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Brate and the Bucs agreed to a six-year contract this offseason and the veteran tight end has a combined 105/1,251/14 over the past two seasons.
14.05 - Los Angeles Chargers D/ST: Normally, I wait until the final two rounds to draft my DST/K, but I thought the player I was targeting -- Tyrell Williams -- here would be available in Round 16. And he was.
15.08 - Stephen Gostkowski, K, New England Patriots
16.05 - 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.
- View full mock draft results here
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