Fantasy Football: Analyzing a Team in the Mock Draft World Championships
The best way to improve at anything is to practice—and then practice some more.
With the Mock Draft Simulator at Full Time Fantasy, it’s easy to practice and complete a mock draft within a matter of a few minutes.
Experimenting with new ideas from draft to draft allows you to gain insights into how your team may turn out. With the simulator, however, there is the ability to experiment within the mock. You can actually turn back the pick and re-do it to test out a variety of if-then scenarios.
FullTime also lets you draft for free and then submit your team in the Mock Draft World Championships, so you can watch it climb the standings all year. Here’s more info, plus an interview with the 2018 champion. You can win a $2,500 prize or The Ultimate Fantasy Football Experience, a trip to Vegas to compete in the Main Event next year. So of course I have to try my hand.
I’ve completed a mock draft with the third pick in a 12-team league and now I’ll analyze my results:
1.03: Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers (RB3)
I was assured one of Saquon Barkley, Alvin Kamara and McCaffrey at No. 3, and it's certainly within the range of possibilities that it's McCaffrey that leads that group (and all running backs) in fantasy production in 2019. Breaking Matt Forte's single-season receptions record for running backs last season, CMC is a do-it-all back that virtually never comes off the field. Especially in full PPR formats like this, he's about as safe as it gets.
2.10: Antonio Brown, WR, Oakland Raiders (WR9)
Unlike McCaffrey, Brown is no longer as safe as it gets among wide receivers (something that he once was), but he’s the unquestioned No. 1 in an offense that should be playing from behind in most of their games this season. Assuming he keeps his head (or helmet) on straight, there is plenty of upside here.
3.03: Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars (RB14)
Another reason I took Brown at 2.10 is I expected that Fournette would still be on the board here. Durability (11 missed games in two seasons) and inefficiency (career 3.7 YPC) have been a concern, but workload (19.09 carries per game) has not been. Injuries decimated the offensive line last season, but a healthy line, improved quarterback play and more involvement in the passing game could lead Fournette to outperforming his RB14 draft slot in this mock.
4.10: Kenny Golladay, WR, Detroit Lions (WR20)
After breaking out in his sophomore campaign (70/1,063/5), Golladay offers intriguing upside entering his third season. Through four rounds, I like the RB/WR balance that this team has.
5.03: Evan Engram, TE, New York Giants (TE5)
Returning from injury just in time for Odell Beckham's four missed games last season, Engram had a 22/320/1 line over that stretch to end the season. Extrapolating those numbers over a full season without OBJ may be a reach, but Engram has five or more targets in 21 of 26 games, which provides both a high floor and upside even with Eli Manning under center.
6.10: Josh Gordon, WR, New England Patriots (WR31)
How many games will Gordon play in 2019? That’s anyone’s best guess. Although he’s been a fantasy ticking timebomb, he once led all wide receivers in fantasy points in a year where he was suspended for two games. At a minimum, he’s a potential high-reward WR3 option here and should have been one of the first 30 receivers off the board.
7.03: Tarik Cohen, RB, Chicago Bears (RB29)
The Bears drafted David Montgomery, a much more versatile early-down option to replace Jordan Howard, and added a capable back in Mike Davis as well. That said, The Human Joystick (perhaps my favorite nickname ever) was a top-12 performer in 2018 and has a chance to be a top-24 performer in PPR formats.
8.10: Duke Johnson, RB, Houston Texans (RB36)
One of the better receiving backs in the league, Johnson goes from a situation (in Cleveland) where his full-season role was unclear to a situation (in Houston) where he will “get all the playing time he can handle.” Given the scoring upside in the Deshaun Watson-led offense, Johnson has plenty of upside even if they add a free agent back or two to the mix before the season.
9.03: Jameis Winston, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (QB12)
The duo of Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick led the Bucs to the most passing yards in the NFL last season. While Winston always has the chance to implode, the upside is sky high with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, O.J. Howard and more.
10.10: Kalen Ballage, RB, Miami Dolphins (RB43)
At the beginning of training camp and before the Kenyan Drake foot injury, ESPN’s Cameron Wolfe tweeted that Ballage had a “real chance to win starting RB job.” Drake has recently returned to practice, but there is obvious upside getting a potential starting running back as my fifth running back in Round 10.
11.03: Jamison Crowder, WR, New York Jets (WR49)
My projections for Crowder (66/818/4) put him inside my top 45 wide receivers for 2019, but perhaps that’s too conservative. The Athletic’s Connor Hughes wrote that it’s possible Crowder “creeps near or past 100 catches” in 2019. Given his early chemistry with second-year quarterback Sam Darnold and how slot receivers have flourished in Adam Gase’s offenses, Crowder is one of my favorite value receivers.
12.10: Justin Jackson, RB, Los Angeles Chargers (RB53)
Even when he intended to play, durability has eluded Melvin Gordon, who has missed multiple games in three of four seasons. With Gordon’s holdout “expected to continue into the season,” a significant jump in workload should be expected for Jackson. While I expect Austin Ekeler to get more work than Jackson, ESPN’s Eric Williams, for one, speculates that the workload could be close to a 50-50 split.
13.03: Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys (QB16)
One of my favorite quarterback values, Prescott is my 11th-ranked fantasy quarterback heading into 2019. In fact, he has never finished outside the top 11 in any of his first three seasons. Given the best ball format of this mock, I didn’t want to take a zero during Winston’s bye and Prescott was a screaming value at this juncture of the mock.
14.10: DaeSean Hamilton, WR, Denver Broncos (WR63)
Emmanuel Sanders has impressed in his return from his Achilles injury and Courtland Sutton could be a breakout candidate, but Hamilton provides some receiver depth. He was productive down the stretch—25 catches in the final four games.
15.03: Eagles DST (DST14)
A top-10 fantasy defense for me, Philly’s defense should have many opportunities to play with a lead and they have a favorable matchup in 12 of 16 games this season.
16.10: Jake Elliott, K, Philadelphia Eagles (K10)
As is typical for most of leagues, I’ll wait until the final round to draft my kicker and Elliott was the best of the bunch when I was on the clock.
