By: Jake Leicht
Last week, I completed a standard scoring mock draft while drafting from the number 4 slot. Today, I will be breaking down my 2QB, standard scoring mock draft. This mock was completed using FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Wizard (https://draftwizard.fantasypros.com/football/mock-draft-simulator/settings/), and the roster settings are as follows: 2QB, 2RB, 3WR, 1TE, 1Flex (RB/WR/TE), D/ST (team defense), and K. I drafted 6 bench players as well. Make sure to check out last week’s mocks, and stay tuned later in the week for more!
Round 1
1) Todd Gurley RB — LAR 2) Le’veon Bell RB — PIT 3) Aaron Rodgers QB — GB 4) Ezekiel Elliott RB — DAL 5) Antonio Brown WR — PIT 6) David Johnson RB — ARI 7) Alvin Kamara RB — NO 8) Saquon Barkley RB — NYG 9) Deshaun Watson QB — HOU 10) Deandre Hopkins WR — HOU 11) Tom Brady QB — NE 12) Russell Wilson QB — SEA
Analysis: I love getting Elliott in standard scoring leagues. I drafted him with the 3rd overall draft pick in my previous standard scoring league mock draft. Here is what I had to say about him:
“I would have preferred to have landed either Todd Gurley or Le’Veon Bell with the the 3rd overall pick of the draft (very happy to get him now with the 4th pick), but Ezekiel Elliott is a fine consolation prize. Elliott is one of the most talented backs in football, and he gets to run behind the best offensive line in the league as well. In a standard scoring league, drafting players with big time touchdown potential is a must, especially early in the draft. Elliott scored a total of 16 touchdowns, 15 on the ground and 1 in the air, in his rookie season. He also added 1,631 yards on the ground as well as 363 yards through the air.
Last season, Elliott was suspended for 6 total games due to domestic violence. He was in and out of the Cowboys’ backfield as his appeal played out. Ultimately, last season was still a relative success. In only 10 games, Elliott rushed for 983 yards and 7 touchdowns. The question is whether or not the Cowboys’ supporting cast will be good enough to warrant attention from opposing defenses. Dez Bryant and Jason Witten are no longer on the team. Will Elliott have to face 8 defensive players in the box on a game-by-game basis? Maybe, but he is still the 3rd best player on the board in a standard scoring league.”
Round 2
13) Dalvin Cook RB — MIN 14) Keenan Allen WR — LAC 15) Odell Beckham WR — NYG 16) Leonard Fournette RB — JAC 17) Melvin Gordon RB — LAC 18) Kareem Hunt RB — KC 19) Julio Jones WR — ATL 20) Carson Wentz QB — PHI 21) Michael Thomas WR — NO 22) Cam Newton QB — CAR 23) Christian Mccaffrey RB — CAR 24) Davante Adams WR — GB
Analysis: I drafted Michael Thomas two weeks ago during my 2QB mock draft from the number 2 pick. Here is how I broke Thomas down for the upcoming year:
“I love getting Michael Thomas in the second round of a standard scoring league. Thomas only had 5 touchdown catches last season, so he can definitely get back to the 9 touchdowns he scored in 2016. He is Drew Brees’ favorite target in an explosive offense that will be sure to put up points in a hurry this year. Thomas is one of my favorite players to watch because he is able to run every route on the NFL route tree. I am shocked that wide receivers like Mike Evans and Davante Adams were picked before him.
One of the reasons that he is safe is because of his number one receiving target (Thomas) who I took instead.”
Round 3
25) Devonta Freeman RB — ATL 26) A.J. Green WR — CIN 27) Mike Evans WR — TB 28) LeSean McCoy RB — BUF 29) Drew Brees QB — NO 30) Jordan Howard RB — CHI 31) Tyreek Hill WR — KC 32) Rob Gronkowski TE — NE 33) Jerick McKinnon RB — SF 34) Kirk Cousins QB — MIN 35) T.Y. Hilton WR — IND 36) Adam Thielen WR — MIN
Analysis: LeSean McCoy is one of the best running backs of his generation. Shady has always been a threat in the running and passing game, and he is one of my favorite players to watch every Sunday. The only downside to drafting him is the fact that he doesn’t have very good talent around him in Buffalo. Is best quarterback is a rookie who will probably not start the season as the team’s starter. The Bills’ best wide receiver is Kelvin Benjamin, and he hardly stretches the defense. The team’s second round pick from 2017, Zay Jones, has had a terrible offseason that has included an arrest and a major injury.
With all of these problems surrounding Shady, you may be asking why I drafted him. Last season, he basically had the same talent around him, and he still had a phenomenal season. McCoy had 1,586 total yards and 8 total touchdowns in 2017. I think his numbers will go down, but Shady still warrants 2nd round consideration this year. I am happy to take him as my RB2 in the 3rd round.
Round 4
37) Doug Baldwin WR — SEA 38) Travis Kelce TE — KC 39) Joe Mixon RB — CIN 40) Josh Gordon WR — CLE 41) Larry Fitzgerald WR — ARI 42) Amari Cooper WR — OAK 43) Allen Robinson WR — CHI 44) Zach Ertz TE — PHI 45) Stefon Diggs WR — MIN 46) Sony Michel RB — NE 47) Matthew Stafford QB — DET 48) Derrick Henry RB — TEN
Analysis: Again, keep in mind this is a standard scoring league. Last season, Diggs scored 8 touchdowns to go along with 849 yards receiving. Those are solid numbers to get out of a WR2, which is what I drafted him to be on this team.
Diggs has a special skill set. He can attack the ball in the air, and he is also a threat to have a lot of yards after the catch. You may remember that special touchdown at the end of regulation against the Saints in the playoffs last year. Now, Diggs will have an upgrade at quarterback as Kirk Cousins signed with the team this offseason. I look forward to seeing how Cousins utilizes his new targets, and with Diggs being the most physically gifted receiver on the roster, I look for him to have a huge year in 2018.
Round 5
49) Jimmy Garoppolo QB — SF 50) Jarvis Landry WR — CLE 51) Demaryius Thomas WR — DEN 52) Alshon Jeffery WR — PHI 53) Kenyan Drake RB — MIA 54) Andrew Luck QB — IND 55) Jared Goff QB — LAR 56) Ben Roethlisberger QB — PIT 57) Juju Smith-Schuster WR — PIT 58) Derrius Guice RB — WAS 59) Rashaad Penny RB — SEA 60) Alex Collins RB — BAL
Analysis: Alshon Jeffery is an utter steal in the 5th round of a standard scoring league. I would have been all too happy to have drafted him as my WR2. In this draft, I was able to pair him with Michael Thomas and Stefon Diggs. That is a star studded wide receiving corps in a league that starts 3 wide receivers.
Jeffery played most of last season with a serious shoulder injury. Now, Jeffery should be very healthy. In his first season with the Eagles, he accrued only 789 yards, but he did have 9 touchdowns. I think that with him being completely healthy going into 2018, Jeffery will definitely have more than 800 yards through the air. If Carson Wentz is also healthy, Jeffery could put up high-end WR2 numbers. Sign me up for that in the 5th round.
Round 6
61) Philip Rivers QB — LAC 62) Michael Crabtree WR — BAL 63) Brandin Cooks WR — LAR 64) Jay Ajayi RB — PHI 65) Golden Tate WR — DET 66) Mark Ingram RB — NO 67) Marvin Jones WR — DET 68) Chris Hogan WR — NE 69) Patrick Mahomes QB — KC 70) Lamar Miller RB — HOU 71) Jimmy Graham TE — GB 72) Corey Davis WR — TEN
Analysis: Mahomes will be one of my favorite fantasy quarterbacks on my rosters this season. I drafted him as my backup quarterback in my previous standard mock draft. I am very happy to draft him early with Marcus Mariota to be one of my two starting quarterbacks in this 2QB league. Here is what I wrote about him last week:
“After two pretty safe and boring picks, I went with one of my favorite quarterbacks for this upcoming fantasy season, Pat Mahomes. If you haven’t Youtubed Mahomes’ college highlights, do yourself a favor and do that right now. He has one of the strongest arms in the NFL already, and he will be playing with some great playmakers in KC this season. The best thing about Mahomes is that he has the benefit of being in Andy Reid’s offensive system which is always conducive to nice fantasy numbers. Reid made Alex Smith fantasy relevant, what could he do with a talent like Mahomes? He is the perfect upside parring for my earlier quarterback selection, Andrew Luck. I am very excited to have him on this mock draft team, and I am planning to select him in my real fantasy drafts this summer.”
Round 7 73) Evan Engram TE — NYG 74) Julian Edelman WR — NE 75) Devante Parker WR — MIA 76) Marcus Mariota QB — TEN 77) Dion Lewis RB — TEN 78) Delanie Walker TE — TEN
79) Matt Ryan QB — ATL 80) Greg Olsen TE — CAR
81) Will Fuller WR — HOU 82) Sammy Watkins WR — KC 83) Royce Freeman RB — DEN 84) Emmanuel Sanders WR — DEN
Analysis: I am super pumped up to be able to draft a QB like Marcus Mariotaas my QB2 in this 2QB mock draft. Last year at this time, Mariota was viewed as a potential top 5 quarterback for fantasy. Last year, he struggled due to injury. He was not able to get the fantasy points on the ground like many fantasy owners had hoped.
This year, I believe Mariota will have a much better running attack to backup his passing game. Adding Dion Lewis was huge for his development. Corey Davis is also a year older, so his weapons on the outside should be better than ever. A quarterback with his upside should be drafted higher in a 2QB league. Having Mariota and Mahomes on my roster is very risky, but it could also bring me a fantasy championship. I will take the risk and have fun watching 2 gunslinging quarterbacks play for me come the fall.
Round 8 85) Pierre Garcon WR — SF 86) Marshawn Lynch RB — OAK 87) Jameis Winston QB — TB 88) Derek Carr QB — OAK 89) Dak Prescott QB — DAL 90) Devin Funchess WR — CAR 91) Tevin Coleman RB — ATL 92) Robert Woods WR — LAR 93) Ronald Jones RB — TB 94) Jamison Crowder WR — WAS 95) Marquise Goodwin WR — SF 96) Cooper Kupp WR — LAR
Analysis: Jones is the best back on the Bucs. I drafted him last week in another standard scoring league mock draft. Here is how I broke him down:
“I think that Ronald Jones will be the starting running back for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Getting the USC rookie in the 6th round to pair with Elliott and Freeman is a great addition to my backfield. Last season at USC, Jones rushed for 1,550 yards and 19 touchdowns. I do have some questions about his playmaking ability out of the backfield due to the fact that he only had 32 receptions over his 3 seasons in college. His only competition for carries on the Bucs’ roster is Peyton Barber. Barber is okay, but the Bucs just used a 2nd round pick on RoJo in April, so it is apparent they are looking at him to lead their backfield for the next several seasons. I am all too happy to get a young starting running back in round 6 (now round 8!).”
Round 9
97) Alex Smith QB — WAS 98) Case Keenum QB — DEN 99) Sterling Shepard WR — NYG 100) Kyle Rudolph TE — MIN 101) Robby Anderson WR — NYJ 102) Blake Bortles QB — JAC 103) Carlos Hyde RB — CLE 104) Randall Cobb WR — GB 105) Jordy Nelson WR — OAK 106) D.J. Moore WR — CAR 107) Eli Manning QB — NYG 108) Marlon Mack RB — IND
Analysis: I selected Kyle Rudolph in the 8th round of my 2QB mock draft 2 weeks ago. Getting him in the 9th round here feels like an absolute steal. Here is what I wrote about him:
“Instead, I drafted Kyle Rudolph to be my TE1. Rudolph is a red-zone threat that scored 8 touchdowns last year, and his team just added a better quarterback than he had last year. Cousins is great in the red zone, and Rudolph is one of the better red zone tight end targets in the league. I am happy to have drafted him in the 8th (now 9th) round of a 12 team standard scoring league.”
Round 10
109) Kenny Stills WR — MIA 110) Isaiah Crowell RB — NYJ 111) Nick Chubb RB — CLE 112) Allen Hurns WR — DAL 113) Jacksonville Jaguars DST 114) Tarik Cohen RB — CHI 115) Mitch Trubisky QB — CHI 116) Duke Johnson RB — CLE 117) Kerryon Johnson RB — DET 118) Marqise Lee WR — JAC 119) Chris Thompson RB — WAS 120) Baker Mayfield QB — CLE
Analysis: I drafted Kerryon Johnson in my previous 2QB Mock Draft in the 11th round. Now, I took him in the 10th. I am completely fine with this value. Here is what I wrote about Johnson:
“In his first press conference as the head coach of the Detroit Lions, Matt Patricia vowed to be more of a smash-mouth football team on both sides of the ball. Over the past decade, the Lions have had one of the worst rushing teams in the NFL. They have not had a great running back since Barry Sanders, and going into the offseason the Lions needed to add a playmaker at the position. They decided to go with Kerryon Johnson in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Johnson fits the smash-mouth promise of Matt Patricia, and he is clearly the most talented running back on the roster. Getting a young starting running back with potential for a relatively high number of touchdowns in a standard format is huge for my team at this juncture of the draft.”
Round 11
121) Nelson Agholor WR — PHI 122) Andy Dalton QB — CIN 123) C.J. Anderson RB — CAR 124) Tyrod Taylor QB — CLE 125) Aaron Jones RB — GB 126) Rishard Matthews WR — TEN 127) Martavis Bryant WR — OAK 128) Dez Bryant WR — FA 129) Kelvin Benjamin WR — BUF 130) Calvin Ridley WR — ATL 131) Tyler Lockett WR — SEA 132) Rex Burkhead RB — NE
Analysis: This is kind of a gut pick for me here. Tyrod Taylor is a talented dual-threat quarterback that can score fantasy points in a multitude of ways. The Bills never really bought into giving Tyrod the best possible weapons they could, and they also never really bought into him being their franchise quarterback.
I believe the Browns will give Taylor every opportunity to start the entire 2018 season. They really do want to give Baker Mayfield time to learn how to be a great NFL quarterback. Tyrod will have the best wide receiving weapons that he has ever had in his career. I am eager to see what he can do in his new system. As long as he plays well, Taylor should be a great QB3 option in 2QB leagues.
Round 12
133) Devontae Booker RB — DEN 134) Jamaal Williams RB — GB 135) Trey Burton TE — CHI 136) Mike Williams WR — LAC 137) James White RB — NE 138) Jordan Reed TE — WAS
139) Peyton Barber RB — TB 140) D’onta Foreman RB — HOU 141) Josh Doctson WR — WAS 142) Desean Jackson WR — TB 143) Cameron Meredith WR — NO 144) Los Angeles Rams DST
Analysis: I am not super into the Redskins’ passing attack this season. I view Alex Smith as a downgrade from Kirk Cousins, so I therefore think that every receiving weapon outside of Jamison Crowder will be negatively affected.
Josh Doctson is still an intriguing receiving prospect. Last year, he had 6 touchdowns and 502 yards receiving. If you consider the fact that Stefon Diggs only had 8 touchdowns, Doctson has the potential to be a high end WR3. I am not sure if Alex Smith will give him the same jump ball opportunities as Cousins did last year, but I think Docston will turn out to be serviceable.
Round 13
145) Kenny Golladay WR — DET 146) Ty Montgomery RB — GB 147) Mohamed Sanu WR — ATL 148) Michael Gallup WR — DAL 149) Ryan Tannehill QB — MIA 150) Paul Richardson WR — WAS
151) Lamar Jackson QB — BAL 152) Nick Foles QB — PHI 153) Legarrette Blount RB — DET 154) Philadelphia Eagles DST 155) Josh Mccown QB — NYJ 156) Jack Doyle TE — IND
Analysis: Michael Gallup is a rookie that should start for the Cowboys. Dallas’ receiving corps should look like Hurns, Gallup, and Beasley. I do not think that is going to scare many NFC teams to be honest. Everyone knows that Dallas will be a very run heavy team, so he may not get a ton of scoring opportunities. At this point in the draft, I am definitely reaching on Gallup’s talent. Over his two seasons at Colorado State, Gallup had 2,690 receiving yards on 176 catches and 21 touchdowns. Obviously he will not be able to replicate those stats in the NFL next season, but it is nice to know that he has at least produced at a high level at the collegiate level.
Round 14 157) Cameron Brate TE — TB 158) Tyrell Williams WR — LAC 159) Corey Clement RB — PHI 160) Tyler Eifert TE — CIN 161) Ted Ginn WR — NO 162) Dede Westbrook WR — JAC 163) Joe Flacco QB — BAL 164) Minnesota Vikings DST — MIN 165) David Njoku TE — CLE 166) O.J. Howard TE — TB 167) Sam Bradford QB — ARI 168) Giovani Bernard RB — CIN
Analysis: David Njoku is a very intriguing fantasy tight end this year. Here is what I previously wrote about him:
“I rarely draft two tight ends in fantasy football. In this case, I see a young tight end in a pass happy offensive scheme with a quarterback that has fallen in love with his former tight ends. David Njoku is a physical specimen. Last season, he was one of the Browns’ best red zone receivers. I think that he will have a great relationship with Tyrod Taylor, making him a very intriguing TE2 option.”
Round 15
169) Doug Martin RB — OAK 170) Nyheim Hines RB — IND 171) Bilal Powell RB — NYJ 172) Los Angeles Chargers DST 173) Anthony Miller WR — CHI 174) Latavius Murray RB — MIN 175) George Kittle TE — SF 176) Theo Riddick RB — DET 177) Chris Carson RB — SEA 178) Kalen Ballage RB — MIA 179) Denver Broncos DST 180) Josh Allen QB — BUF
Analysis: I do not like drafting defenses. I would prefer to stream them. For this draft, I will take the Los Angeles Chargers because they have one of the best pass rushing tandems in the league with Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram.
Round 16 181) Houston Texans DST 182) Kenneth Dixon RB — BAL 183) Sam Darnold QB — NYJ 184) New Orleans Saints DST 185) Frank Gore RB — MIA 186) Baltimore Ravens DST 187) New England Patriots DST
188) Samaje Perine RB — WAS 189) Josh Rosen QB — ARI 190) Atlanta Falcons DST 191) Seattle Seahawks DST 192) Teddy Bridgewater QB — NYJ
Analysis: I love drafting Rosen late in 2QB drafts. Here is what I wrote about the pick last time I did a 2QB mock:
“Earlier, I said that I never draft Sam Bradford under any circumstance in fantasy football. I was happy to take Bradford’s perceived rookie backup with my last position player pick. I think that Josh Rosen will end up being the rookie quarterback that starts the most games this year. In a 2QB league, I believe that Rosen may actually get drafted above Bradford the closer we get to the beginning of the year. He has a great arm, and he will have weapons to play with in Arizona. I do have some major question marks about his offensive line, and Rosen has been known to get injured as well. The fact of the matter is that I would much rather draft a rookie quarterback that could be a starter than a 4th or 5th string running back or receiver.”
Round 17
193) Greg Zuerlein K — LAR 194) Stephen Gostkowski K — NE 195) Justin Tucker K — BAL 196) Matt Bryant K — ATL 197) Wil Lutz K — NO 198) Dan Bailey K — DAL 199) Jake Elliott K — PHI 200) Chris Boswell K — PIT 201) Mason Crosby K — GB 202) Cairo Santos K — NYJ
203) Matt Prater K — DET 204) Harrison Butker K — KC
Final Roster
QB: Marcus Mariota, TEN QB: Pat Mahomes, KC RB: Ezekiel Elliott, DAL RB: LeSean McCoy, BUF WR: Michael Thomas, NO WR: Stefon Diggs, MIN WR: Alshon Jeffery, PHI FLEX: Ronald Jones, TB TE: Kyle Rudolph, MIN D/ST: LA Chargers K: Matt Bryant, ATL
BENCH
BN: Kerryon Johnson, DET BN: Tyrod Taylor, CLE BN: Michael Gallup, DAL BN: David Njoku, CLE BN: Josh Doctson, WAS BN: Josh Rosen, ARI
Final Analysis: Overall, I am very happy with this team. I love getting Ezekiel Elliott in a standard scoring league. Pairing him up with LeSean McCoy in my backfield is a great way to accumulated fantasy points on a weekly basis. My wide receiving trio of Michael Thomas, Stefon Diggs, and Alshon Jeffery is probably my strongest position in this draft. I love the touchdown potential from this group. Kyle Rudolph is a fine tight end option because of the fact that Kirk Cousins is an effective quarterback in the red zone. My fantasy starting lineup wouldn’t be complete without both of my starting quarterbacks Pat Mahomes and Marcus Mariota. Both guys are young, and they have yet to reach their potential. I could see both guys being top 10 fantasy quarterbacks this year.
My bench is also solid. My running back group is rounded out with Ronald Jones and Kerryon Johnson, two rookies that will probably start for their respective teams this season. Josh Doctson and Michael Gallup are young, but they could contribute in the AFC East because of the lack of weapons on each of their teams. David Njoku should see plenty of targets to be a legit TE2 option. The man throwing Njoku the ball is Tyrod Taylor, and I am more than happy with making him my QB3 in this format. Finally, Josh Rosen is probably the safest rookie to draft this season because Sam Bradford will most certainly get hurt at some point. Rosen will be asked to step in and play in 2018.
I really like this team, and I hope you found my pick breakdowns to be helpful for your offseason studying needs!