Saturday, September 1, 2018

2018 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 5th 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: Standard scoring (i.e., non-PPR scoring)
  • # of Teams: 12
  • Draft Slot: 5
  • 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:

1.05 - David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals: Missing all but part of Week 1 last year, Johnson is two seasons removed from 2,118 yards from scrimmage, 80 catches and 20 touchdowns. The ambitious goals he set for himself in 2017 -- 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards -- remain his goals for 2018. The order may be debatable, but Johnson is a top-four fantasy back along side Todd Gurley, Le'Veon Bell and Ezekiel Elliott and you could still argue that he's worthy of the top-overall pick.

2.08 - 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 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.

3.05 - T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts: Failing to reach the 1,000-yard mark for the first time since his rookie season, the new offense and return of Andrew Luck bodes well for Hilton, who led the NFL with 1,448 receiving yards in 2016. While he likely won't lead the league in receiving yards again, a bounce-back season should be in the cards for Hilton.

4.08 - Kenyan Drake, RB, Miami Dolphins: Over the final five games of the 2017 season, Drake ran for a league-high 444 yards on 91 carries (4.88 YPC) with two touchdowns and added 17 receptions for 150 yards. While his December workload (21.6 touches per game) won't carry over into 2018 as the co-starter with Frank Gore, Drake could finish as a top-24 fantasy back in 2018.

5.05 - Allen Robinson, WR, Chicago Bears: Going into his age-25 season, Robinson already has an 80/1,400/14 season (2015) under his belt. Missing virtually all of 2017 with a torn ACL (Week 1), rehabbing the injury could inhibit his ability to build (a strong) rapport with Mitch Trubisky at least early in his Bears' tenure. That said, getting some preseason work is certainly a positive step as he recovers from his torn ACL.

6.08 - 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 and there is a reasonable chance that he bounces back with Case Keenum under center.

7.05 - Delanie Walker, TE, Tennessee Titans: Extending his streak of 800-yard seasons to four, Walker finished as fantasy's TE7 (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.

8.08 - Sammy Watkins, WR, Kansas City Chiefs: When things are going right, Watkins can be as productive as any receiver in the league. That said, he's now playing for his third team in three years and had only 39/593/8 for the league's highest-scoring offense last year. Given his talent level playing in what should be one of the league's best offenses, there is plenty of upside even if he's the fourth option behind Kareem Hunt, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill.

9.05 - Nelson Agholor, WR, Philadelphia Eagles: In a breakout campaign, Agholor's 2017 numbers (62/768/8) exceeded his production from the previous two season's combined. Agholor finished as a top-25 fantasy receiver in 2017 in both PPR and standard-scoring formats. With Alshon Jeffery expected to miss (at least) the first two games of the season, Agholor has a chance to repeat as a top-25 fantasy wide receiver.

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

11.05 - Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers: Throwing for 3,800-plus yards in each of the past five seasons, Big Ben has thrown 28-plus touchdowns in four of those five seasons. Since being drafted 11th overall in 2004, however, Roethlisberger has played a 16-game season only three times in his career so there's certainly a strong chance that he'll miss a game or two in 2018. With the league's best RB/WR combo in Bell and Antonio Brown, Roethlisberger has weekly QB1 upside (especially at home), but he's finished as the yearly QB20, QB13 and QB10 over the past three seasons, respectively.

12.08 - Philip Rivers, QB, Los Angeles Chargers: 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. Rivers has thrown for at least 4,286 yards and 28 touchdowns in each of the past five seasons.

13.05 - Jordan Wilkins, RB, Indianapolis Colts: Especially if Marlon Mack misses time to begin the season, the fifth-round rookie out of Mississippi should be able to carve out an early-down role in what could be a committee backfield.

14.08 - Los Angeles Chargers D/ST

15.05 - Chase Edmonds, RB, Arizona Cardinals: Arizona's fourth-round selection, Edmonds set Fordham's record for career rushing yards (5,862) as a four-year starter. Johnson is an every-down back, but Edmonds will become an RB2/flex option if DJ were to miss any time.

16.08 - Matt Prater, K, Detroit Lions

- View full mock draft results here

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