Before you know it, it will be fantasy football draft time, we hope! During the next month or so, I will be conducting several mock drafts. During the drafts, I will pick in all 12 positions, with all sorts of scenarios.
As a rule, I prefer to draft three starting running backs within the first four rounds. It is a tried-and-true strategy, which has done me well for 20-plus years. The mock drafts I do will all assume 12 teams are in the league (unless otherwise noted) with the following positions: quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, tight end, a flex (running back, wide receiver or tight end), kicker, team defense and six bench spots. Therefore, it is a 16-round snake draft.
I am going to take a break from my mock series. (See: Mock 1, Mock 2, Mock 3, Mock 4, Mock 5, Mock 6 and Mock 7.)
In this format, I am playing in a half point-per-reception (0.5 PPR) SuperFlex league, which means that every reception is worth a half-point. We have two flex spots, but in one flex spot you can use a QB. SuperFlex leagues are essentially two QB leagues. Do you have to take a QB in the first round? I have the sixth overall pick. Let’s see how it all works out.
You can see the entire draft by clicking here.
Here is my roster:
Round 1, Pick 6: Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints
Round 2, Pick 7: Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
Round 3, Pick 6: Allen Robinson, WR, Chicago Bears
Round 4, Pick 7: Le’Veon Bell, RB, New York Jets
Round 5, Pick 6: David Johnson, RB, Houston Texans
Round 6, Pick 7: Carson Wentz, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
Round 7, Pick 6: Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland Browns
Round 8, Pick 7: Jared Goff, QB, Los Angeles Rams
Round 9, Pick 6: Christian Kirk, WR, Arizona Cardinals
Round 10, Pick 7: J.K. Dobbins, RB, Baltimore Ravens
Round 11, Pick 6: Jimmy Garoppolo, QB, San Francisco 49ers
Round 12, Pick 7: Zack Moss, RB, Buffalo Bills
Round 13, Pick 6: Buffalo Bills DST
Round 14, Pick 7: Harrison Butker, K, Kansas City Chiefs
Round 15, Pick 6: Hayden Hurst, TE, Atlanta Falcons
Round 16, Pick 7: Hunter Renfrow, WR, Las Vegas Raiders
Some Observations:
In a SuperFlex league, quarterbacks will go off the board earlier, obviously, but I do not think a first-round QB is a must. The quarterback position seems deeper in 2020 than in previous years. If Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson is available to you in Round 1, I think you take them. They are alone in my QB Tier 1.
In this draft, I waited on QB and went with my usual RB early and often strategy, taking four running backs in the first five rounds. Getting Alvin Kamara and Joe Mixon is a huge win as not many teams with have a tandem that good. Allen Robinson is a WR1 and do not tell anyone otherwise, I do not care who his QB is.
Then apparently, I got confused what year it was and selected Le’Veon Bell and David Johnson back-to-back in Rounds 4 and 5. I mean in 2017, this is awesome, but in 2020, well it’s risky, especially in the new world we draft in. Seriously, I think both Bell and Johnson could have decent years. Both are three-down backs with very little competition behind them, all apologies to Duke Johnson in Houston.
With my RB room complete, I waited as long as I felt comfortable to get a QB and grabbed Carson Wentz in Round 6. Wentz was the 13th QB taken in this draft, and I love the value. I followed up by taking Jared Goff in Round 8 and Jimmy Garoppolo in Round 11. It is a solid group. I expect a better year from Goff, and Jimmy G. will be solid enough as a backup.
I was last to draft a TE, getting Hayden Hurst in the 15th round, which is fine by me.
At WR, I am a tad thin with Jarvis Landry, Christian Kirk and Hunter Renfrow added to my WR1 Allen Robinson. Not every position can be perfect in a draft, but with steady WRs like Robinson and Landry, this can work.
I like this team. I said like, not love. If Wentz can be the Wentz of 2019 before the injury and stay on the field in 2020, this is a league contender.
What do you think of this team? Let me know at @FansFantasy on Twitter.
Please try a mock yourself as practice makes perfect. You can mock in minutes by clicking here.
Ken Zalis ranked No. 3 in FantasyPros’ 2019 Fantasy Football Draft Accuracy Rankings.