Practice, of course!
Leading up to the start of the 2019 NFL season, Kevin Hanson will use the 2019 Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator (powered by FantasyPros) to complete fantasy football mock drafts.
- MORE: Check out Kevin Hanson's way-too-early 2020 NFL Mock Draft.
We will use a variety of scoring formats -- PPR, half-PPR, standard scoring and even 2-QB leagues, league sizes and draft slots. The goal is to give you a good representation of the team that you may be able to construct given your league settings and the rationale of why we made the picks we did.
>> Our mocks will be tracked here: Fantasy Football Mock Drafts.
That said, nothing beats practicing yourself so (check out the simulator) and complete a mock in a matter of minutes.
2019 PPR Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 3rd Pick
Without further ado, here are the picks of our 12-team 2019 fantasy football mock draft using point-per-reception (PPR) scoring:
1.03 - Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers
Breaking Matt Forte's single-season record for receptions (107) by a running back, McCaffrey totalled 1,965 yards from scrimmage and 13 total touchdowns in his sophomore campagain. Even though I have Saquon Barkley ranked ahead of him, McCaffrey (or any of the top four backs, for that matter) have a case to be the first player off the board in fantasy drafts.
2.10 - Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
One of three NFL players to begin his career with five consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, Evans set career highs in yards (1,524), yards per reception (17.7) and yards per target (11.0) last season. Technically, I have Leonard Fournette (17th) ranked higher than Evans (19th) in my Top-200 PPR Cheat Sheet, the pick predictor feature (see screen shot below) means that I have a better chance to get both Fournette and Evans if I draft Evans first.
Durability (11 missed games in two seasons) and inefficiency (career 3.7 YPC) are worrisome, but there are several reasons for optimism. A true workhorse, Fournette has averaged nearly 20 carries per game (19.09) when he's been active and the team should sustain more drives with improved quarterback play. Season-ending injuries sidelined Jacksonville's LT/LG/C for major chunks of last season, but running lanes should be wider with their return to health and the addition of road-grading RT Jawaan Taylor in this year's draft. Plus, Fournette could be more involved in the passing game as well. He's a high-upside RB2.
4.10 - Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Despite a consistent level of targets -- 66 to 71 -- in all four of his seasons, Lockett posted career highs in receptions (57), yards (965) and touchdowns (10) as he shattered previous career highs in catch rate (81.4%), yards per reception (16.9) and yards per game (60.3). While those ratios may regress closer to the mean, Lockett's target volume is all but assured to increase with Doug Baldwin's retirement.
5.03 - Kerryon Johnson, RB, Detroit Lions
Playing just 10 games as a rookie, Johnson had exactly 150 touches -- 118 carries and 32 receptions. Averaging 5.4 yards per carry, Johnson was PPR's RB14 through Week 11 before missing the remainder of the season. Provided he stays healthy in 2019, the second-year back could see north of last year's 15 touches per game and once again perform as a top-15 back when he's on the field.
6.10 - Robby Anderson, WR, New York Jets
Anderson's numbers were down year-over-year, but he finished strong when Sam Darnold returned from a foot injury. Over the final four games of the season, Anderson had 23 catches for 336 yards and three touchdowns. During that span, Anderson was the WR6 in PPR. Anderson is one of my favorite targets as a third receiver.
7.03 - James White, RB, New England Patriots
Coming off a career-best season, White shattered his previous marks with 181 touches including 87 receptions, 1,176 scrimmage yards and 12 touchdowns during the regular season. White may see fewer carries, but there's the potential that he's even more involved as a receiver with the retirement of Rob Gronkowski. While he performed as an RB1 (top-12 back) in any format last season, it feels like stealing to get him as an RB4 in PPR formats.
8.10 - Tevin Coleman, RB, San Francisco 49ers
Reunited with his former coach, Coleman is the "clear favorite" (via NBC Sports' Matt Maiocco) for work among the team's running backs.
9.03 - Carson Wentz, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
The obvious concern with Wentz is durability as the fourth-year quarterback has now missed at least three games in back-to-back seasons. If he can stay healthy, however, he has a ton of upside. Wentz showed how good he could be in 2017 when he was the QB2 through Week 14 before missing the final three weeks of the season. The addition of DeSean Jackson gives Wentz the best and most complete group of weapons that he has had in his young career.
10.10 - David Njoku, TE, Cleveland Browns
In his age-22 season, Njoku finished 2018 with 56 catches, 639 yards and four touchdowns to end the year as fantasy's TE9 in PPR. While the offense will continue to blossom as Baker Mayfield enters his sophomore campaign, Njoku (and all of the team's other pass-catchers) move down a spot in the target pecking order with Odell Beckham now at the top.
11.03 - Jamison Crowder, WR, New York Jets
Missing roughly half the season, Crowder also set a career low in receptions per game (3.2) and his 43.1 YPG were the lowest since his rookie season. A return to his 2016/2017 numbers -- 60-plus catches and 750-plus yards -- (or better) seems possible, however, if he can stay healthy.
12.10 - Mohamed Sanu, WR, Atlanta Falcons
Sanu set a career high in receiving yards (838) in 2018 and just missed by one in receptions (66, career high: 67). Even with Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley as the team's top-two receivers, Sanu could once again finish as a top-36 wide receiver in 2019.
13.03 - Jared Goff, QB, Los Angeles Rams
Outperforming his ADP in each of his first two seasons in Sean McVay's offense, Goff currently sits as fantasy's QB13 in terms of fantasy football ADP. Last year, he entered the season with an ADP of QB16 and finished as fantasy's QB7. The year before that, Goff was outside the top-24 fantasy QBs in ADP yet finished as a top-12 quarterback. With such a talented trio of wide receivers, it wouldn't be a surprise if Goff finished as a top-10 fantasy quarterback and outperformed his ADP once again.
14.10 - Los Angeles Chargers D/ST
15.03 - Giovani Bernard, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
With 36 of his touches coming in the two games that Joe Mixon missed, Bernard had just 55 in his other 10 games played. Even so, The Athletic's Paul Dehner suggests he could see double-digits touches per week.
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