Written By: Jake Leicht
Over the past several weeks, I have completed four different mock drafts. Two of the drafts were 2QB standard scoring leagues, one was a .5 PPR league, and the other was just a normal standard scoring league. Today, I will be breaking down another standard scoring mock draft. I drafted from the number 11 overall position. We are finally at the bottom of the draft order, so I was able to draft some players that I had not yet broken down on my previous mock drafts. Like normal, this mock was completed using FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Wizard, and the roster settings are as follows: QB, 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!
Final Roster
QB: Philip Rivers, LAR RB: Kareem Hunt, KC RB: Alex Collins, BAL WR: Julio Jones, ATL WR: Stefon Diggs, MIN WR: Marvin Jones, DET FLEX: Ronald Jones III, TB TE: David Njoku, CLE D/ST: New England Patriots K: Greg Zuerlein
BENCH
BN: Chris Carlson, SEA BN: Ben Roethlisberger, PIT BN: Robby Anderson, NYJ BN: Emmanuel Sanders, DEN BN: Devontae Booker, DEN BN: Jordan Wilkins, IND
Final Analysis
I am not really sure how I feel about this team. There are several players that I really like, but I feel like I am missing one big piece. I like my running back position after drafting Kareem Hunt in the first round. I like Alex Collins as well, but this is the first time that I have ever drafted him. Behind those two guys I have several players that have some high upside, but they are fairly young. Chris Carlson, Devontae Booker, Jordan Wilkins, and Ronald Jones III all have the opportunity to start and play heavy snaps for each of their teams.
Having Julio Jones and Stefon Diggs to start out my receiving corps is a great feeling. Marvin Jones is a guy I draft a lot because he does not get the respect he deserves in fantasy circles. Emmanuel Sanders and Robby Anderson are not sexy picks, but I needed to add depth behind my starters. Anderson could be really good if he could stay out of trouble. David Njoku has the chance to be a special tight end if he continues to grow with Tyrod and Baker as well.
Overall, I really like my team. I have older veteran quarterbacks in Philip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger that I was able to draft late. I was able to round my team out with proven players that can put up points in a standard scoring league while simultaneously drafting players with high upside.
Round 1
1) Todd Gurley RB — LAR 2) Le’veon Bell RB — PIT 3) Ezekiel Elliott RB — DAL 4) David Johnson RB — ARI 5) Alvin Kamara RB — NO 6) Antonio Brown WR- PIT 7) Saquon Barkley RB — NYG 8) DeAndre Hopkins WR- HOU 9) Leonard Fournette RB- JAX 10) Odell Beckham WR — NYG 11) Kareem Hunt RB — KC 12) Melvin Gordon- LAC
Analysis: I was all too happy to pick Kareem Hunt with the 11th pick in this standard mock draft. I think that Hunt will have a huge role in the Chiefs’ offensive, especially considering they will be playing with a first year starting quarterback in Pat Mahomes. Last season, he rushed for 1,327 yards on 272 carries and 8 touchdowns. Hunt also caught 53 passes for 455 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was not even the team’s third down back for most of the year. With the Chiefs using him a ton as a rookie, I would expect them to use him even more to take the load off of Mahomes this season as well. I like drafting running backs early in a standard league.
Round 2
13) Dalvin Cook RB — MIN 14) Julio Jones WR- ATL 15) Michael Thomas WR — NO 16) Davante Adams WR — GB 17) Keenan Allen WR- LAC 18) Jordan Howard RB- CHI 19) Devonta Freeman RB- ATL 20) Christian Mccaffrey RB — CAR 21) A.J. Green WR- CIN 22) Jerick McKinnon RB- SAN 23) LeSean McCoy RB- BUF 24) Rob Gronkowski TE- NE
Analysis: Julio Jones is one of the most physically gifted wide receivers in the league. It is not his fault that the Falcons do not target him enough in the red zone. Because of this, Jones is a better PPR receiver at this point in his career. If the Falcons do decide to target Julio close to the goal line like they target him between the 20s, he could easily post WR1 numbers. Last year, Jones had 88 catches for an astounding 1,444 yards, however he only had 3 touchdown catches. How does that even happen? I do think that the Falcons could pressure Steve Sarkisian to call more plays for Jones that could end in touchdowns. Drafting your favorite player in the league in the second round is easy to do, especially when he is the best player available.
Round 3
25) Mike Evans WR- TB 26) Adam Thielen WR- MIN 27) Joe Mixon RB- CIN 28) T.Y. Hilton WR- IND 29) Aaron Rodgers QB- GB 30) Amari Cooper WR- OAK 31) Derrick Henry RB- TEN 32) Doug Baldwin WR- SEA 33) Tyreek Hill WR- KC 34) Travis Kelce TE- KC 35) Stefon Diggs WR- MIN 36) Lamar Miller RB- HOU
Analysis: Stefon Diggs had one of the most iconic catches in the history of the NFL last season when he scored the game winning touchdown as time expired in the playoffs versus the New Orleans Saints. This year, I look for him to have a huge season playing with the Vikings’ new quarterback, Kirk Cousins. I believe that Cousins’ favorite receiver will be Diggs because of his versatile skill set and ability to make a play on deep balls. Last year with Case Keenum (a less dynamic QB), Diggs had 64 catches for 849 yards and 8 touchdowns. I believe that in this new offense led by Cousins, he could see double digit touchdowns and more receptions. In a standard scoring league that starts 3 wide receivers, Stefon Diggs makes for a nice pick in the back of the 3rd round.
Round 4
37) Allen Robinson WR — CHI 38) Alex Collins RB- BAL 39) Deshaun Watson QB — HOU 40) Jay Ajayi RB- PHI 41) Kenyan Drake RB- MIA 42) Brandin Cooks WR- LAR 43) Juju Smith-Schuster WR — PIT 44) Zach Ertz TE- PHI 45) Russell Wilson QB- SEA 46) Larry Fitzgerald WR- ARI 47) Tom Brady QB- NE 48) Jarvis Landry WR- CLE
Analysis: This is the first fantasy mock draft of the year that I have drafted Alex Collins. It is not that I do not like Collins, because I do. I believe that many fantasy football owners view him as a high upside back in a run heavy offense. They would be correct. At this point in the 4th round, I do not see any other running backs that I like. Collins is by far and away the best option at the position to me in a standard scoring league. Last year with the Ravens, he had 973 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns while only starting 12 games. If Collins is able to stay healthy, he could easily have a 1,000 yard season and double digit touchdowns. Those are great numbers for a running back being drafted as an RB2 in a standard scoring league.
Round 5
49) Golden Tate WR — DET 50) Demaryius Thomas WR- DEN 51) Josh Gordon WR- CLE 52) Alshon Jeffery WR-PHI 53) Michael Crabtree WR- BAL 54) Rex Burkhead RB- NE 55) Chris Hogan WR- NE 56) Rashaad Penny RB- SEA 57) Mark Ingram RB- NO 58) Sony Michel RB- NE 59) Marvin Jones WR- DET 60) Devin Funchess WR- CAR
Analysis: I am a sucker for Marvin Jones every single season. I absolutely love his upside in Detroit’s offense. Matt Stafford loves throwing the ball deep and taking shots down the field. Jones has the perfect skill set to make those types of plays for the Lions’ offense. Jones had a stellar season last year, even though fantasy football players do not recognize him for it. He had 61 catches for 1,101 yards and 9 touchdowns. Yeah, those are awesome stats in a standard scoring league. Marvin Jones is my WR3, and I think I will have him on a lot of my teams this fantasy football season.
Round 6
61) Kyle Rudolph TE- MIN 62) Ronald Jones III RB- TB 63) Corey Davis WR- TEN 64) Jimmy Graham TE- GB 65) Cam Newton QB — CAR 66) Greg Olsen TE- CAR 67) Marlon Mack RB- IND 68) Sammy Watkins WR- KC 69) Dion Lewis RB- TEN 70) Carson Wentz QB- PHI 71) Evan Engram TE- NYG 72) Royce Freeman RB- DEN
Analysis: Jones is the best back on the Bucs. I have drafted him in several leagues already. 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.”
Round 7
73) Will Fuller WR- HOU 74) Marshawn Lynch RB- OAK 75) Delanie Walker TE- TEN 76) Jamaal Williams RB- GB 77) Tevin Coleman RB- ATL 78) Drew Brees QB- NO 79) Jordy Nelson WR- OAK 80) Kerryon Johnson RB- DET 81) Robert Woods WR- LAR 82) Tarik Cohen RB- CHI 83) Emmanuel Sanders WR- DEN 84) Andrew Luck QB- IND
Analysis: Emmanuel Sanders has had a really nice 8 year career in the NFL. Last season was one of his first. He only had 47 receptions for 555 yards and 2 touchdowns. That is pathetic, but so was his quarterback play. At this point in the draft, I do not think that there were many good options left at the wide receiver position. I think that having Case Keenum throwing him the ball will help Sanders, and I look for him to bounce back this upcoming season. Hopefully he can hold off rookies wide receivers Courtland Sutton and Daesean Hamilton and continue starting this season for the Broncos.
Round 8
85) Pierre Garcon WR- SF 86) Robby Anderson WR- NYJ 87) Nick Chubb RB- CLE 88) Kirk Cousins QB- MIN 89) Randall Cobb WR — GB 90) Jimmy Garoppolo QB — SF 91) Isaiah Crowell RB- NYJ 92) Julian Edelman WR- NE 93) DeVante Parker WR- MIA 94) Marquise Goodwin WR- SF 95) Cooper Kupp WR- LAR 96) Matthew Stafford QB- DET
Analysis: Robby Anderson is a very risky pick due to his legal problems. The fact is that he has some serious upside. He played in 16 games last year with some very questionable quarterback play. He accumulated 7 touchdowns on 63 catches and 941 yards. You have to think that playing with Sam Darnold will help, especially considering he can be a gunslinger. Yes, I am assuming Darnold will start. I am also assuming that Anderson stays out of trouble. I did not love picking Emmanuel Sanders, so I had to add some depth behind him.
Round 9
97) Carlos Hyde RB — CLE 98) Jacksonville Jaguars DST 99) Jamison Crowder WR- WAS 100) Aaron Jones RB- GB 101) Los Angeles Rams DST 102) Kenny Stills WR- MIA 103) Allen Hurns WR- DAL 104) Chris Thompson RB- WAS 105) Sterling Shepard WR- NYG 106) Duke Johnson RB- CLE 107) Chris Carson RB- SEA 108) Dez Bryant WR- FA
Analysis: I am a big fan of Chris Carson this season, especially after watching his first preseason game against the Colts last week. I believe that Carson is clearly better than Penny at this point, even though the Seahawks used a first round pick on him. He shows nice speed to go along with his physical running ability. I look for Carson to start for the Seahawks both early and late in the season. That is tremendous value out of a running back being selected in the 9th round.
Round 10
109) Kelvin Benjamin WR- BUF 110) Devontae Booker RB- DEN 111) D.J. Moore WR- CAR 112) CJ Anderson RB- CAR 113) Rishard Matthews WR- TEN 114) Minnesota Vikings DST 115) Ty Montgomery RB- GB 116) Calvin Ridley WR- ATL 117) Gio Bernard RB- CIN 118) Nelson Agholor WR- PHI 119) Marqise Lee WR- JAX 120) D’Onta Foreman RB- HOU
Analysis: Much like my last pick of Chris Carson, I am drafting Devontae Booker late in drafts if I can. I really liked what I seen from Booker in the Broncos’ running game, even though his stats did not look great. That is the benefit of actually watching preseason games. I do think that Denver will give Royce Freeman opportunities this season to win the job, but I expect Booker to win the job out of camp due to experience and pass protecting abilities. Again, Booker is just depth for me, so I feel good about drafting him in double digit rounds this year.
Round 11
121) Cameron Meredith WR- NO 122) Desean Jackson WR- TB 123) Corey Clement RB- PHI 124) Matt Breida RB- SF 125) Kenny Golladay WR- DET 126) Tyler Lockett WR- SEA 127) Mike Williams WR- LAC 128) Josh Doctson WR- WAS 129) Martavis Bryant WR- OAK 130) Philadelphia Eagles DST 131) Philip Rivers QB- LAC 132) Bilal Powell RB- NYJ
Analysis: I do not like drafting quarterbacks early in drafts unless I am playing in a 2QB league. I love getting valuable veteran quarterbacks that have a track record of fantasy success rather than spending up on the higher end quarterbacks. That strategy works perfectly for me in this mock draft because I was able to grab Philip Rivers in the 11th round. Rivers has some of the best weapons in the league in Melvin Gordon, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, and Tyrell Williams. I expect Rivers to put up low end QB1 numbers this season as long as he is healthy. I like his competitive nature as well.
Round 12
133) Dede Westbrook WR- JAX 134) David Njoku TE — CLE 135) Nyheim Hines RB- IND 136) Jared Goff QB- LAR 137) Paul Richardson WR- WAS 138) Legarrette Blount RB — DET 139) Latavius Murray RB- MIN 140) James White RB- NE 141) Anthony Miller WR- CHI 142) Jordan Reed TE- WAS 143) Theo Riddick RB- DET 144) Doug Martin RB- OAK
Analysis: David Njoku is a very intriguing fantasy tight end this year. Especially after his first preseason game where he caught 2 touchdown passes in limited action. 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 13
145) Pat Mahomes QB- KC 146) Mohamed Sanu WR — ATL 147) Michael Gallup WR- DAL 148) George Kittle TE- SF 149) Courtland Sutton WR- DEN 150) Trey Burton TE- CHI 151) Geronimo Allison WR- GB 152) Jared Cook TE- OAK 153) Jack Doyle TE- IND 154) Terrance Williams WR- DAL 155) Ben Roethlisberger QB — PIT 156) Ben Watson TE- NO
Analysis: Sure, Ben Roethlisberger never seems to stay healthy, but he is amazing when he plays at home. It helps that he has some of the best weapons in the league to play with in Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown as well as up-and-coming star JuJu Smith-Schuster. Big Ben is a safe top 15 QB bet, and he would probably be in my lineup most weeks when he plays at home. Not the greatest pickup, but safe.
Round 14
157) Frank Gore RB- MIA 158) Jordan Wilkins RB- IND 159) Austin Eckler RB- LAC 160) Peyton Barber RB- TB 161) Chris Ivory RB- BUF 162) Spencer Ware RB- KC 163) Vance McDonald TE- PIT 164) T.J. Yeldon RB- JAX 165) O.J. Howard TE- TB 166) Kenneth Dixon RB- BAL 167) Tyler Eifert TE- CIN 168) Los Angeles Chargers DST
Analysis: This pick is all upside. I do not draft kickers and defenses until my last two picks, so I like to take a shot in the dark on a young guy that could surprise people. This year, I am taking a shot on Jordan Wilkins. Wilkins is a rookie running back out of Mississippi that could be an immediate player for the Colts. I am not sure that Marlon Mack will be able to handle a full workload of carries, and Nyheim Hines is not exactly built like a guy that can handle a heavy load either.
Round 15
169) Keelan Cole WR- JAX 170) Kalen Ballage RB- MIA 171) Houston Texans DST 172) Denver Broncos DST 173) Mike Gesicki TE- MIA 174) Baltimore Ravens DST 175) Matt Ryan QB- ATL 176) Seattle Seahawks DST 177) New Orleans Saints DST 178) Christian Kirk WR- ARI 179) New England Patriots DST 180) Green Bay Packers DST
Analysis: The Patriots are an interesting defense to own because they have some playmakers. They also play in a division that has some very weak offenses. I do not get excited about defenses, and I typically stream them during the season.
Round 16
181) Stephen Gostkowski K — NE 182) Greg Zuerlein K — LAR 183) Justin Tucker K — BAL 184) Jake Elliott K — PHI 185) Matt Bryant K — ATL 186) Wil Lutz K — NO 187) Chris Boswell K- PIT 188) Harrison Butker K — KC 189) Matt Prater K- DET 190) Robbie Gould K — SF 191) Mason Crosby K — GB 192) Daniel Carlson K- MIN
Analysis: Greg Zuerlein is the best kicker in the NFL. He plays on a good offense in warm weather, and he has a huge leg. I would be happy to have him as my kicker in the last round.