Fantasy Football: Half PPR Mock Draft Recap
The latest episode of Fantasy Footballers Podcast was a 1/2 PPR Mock Draft! Here you’ll get a summary of each pick from hosts, Andy, Mike, and Jason. Mock drafts are the best way to test draft strategies and get a lay of the land as to where your target players are being drafted.
You can listen to the full mock draft episode here and view the full draft results on Sleeperbot.
Draft settings will be 12 team – Half PPR scoring – 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex, 1 Kicker, 1 DE, 5 bench
Round 1
Jason’s Pick (1.03) – RB David Johnson
Andy’s Pick (1.08) – RB Saquon Barkley
Mike’s Pick (1.09) – WR Odell Beckham Jr.
RBs are flying off draft boards early and often this year and for good reason. It’s all about supply and demand. Stud guaranteed workhorse RBs can be cheat codes in fantasy, yet they’re hard to come by. Thus, if you can get your hands on one of them early on, it absolutely must be considered. That’s exactly what Jason and Andy did in Round 1. Jason opted for David Johnson over Ezekiel Elliott in this half PPR scoring format due to DJ’s higher pass-catching upside while Andy locked in dual-threat Saquon Barkley, in part, because he didn’t believe a RB with Barkley’s upside would be available in Round 2. This left Mike with a choice while on the clock with the ninth overall pick: follow the RB run and take a player like Leonard Fournette or Kareem Hunt or take advantage of elite players being left on the board at other positions. Ultimately, Mike was able to land OBJ at pick 1.09, a selection and strategy I wholeheartedly agree with.
Round 2
Mike’s Pick (2.04) – WR Keenan Allen
Andy’s Pick (2.05) – TE Rob Gronkowski
Jason’s Pick (2.10) – WR A.J. Green
But Mike wasn’t done grabbing elite WRs just yet. With four more RBs going off the board in between his first and second-round picks (Fournette, Hunt, Gordon, Cook), he decided to go with Keenan Allen here because he had Allen ranked a tier above the available RBs. Although locking in guaranteed volume at the RB position early in drafts can be a beneficial strategy, there are many ways to win in fantasy football. Mike’s OBJ/Allen start is a fantastic example of letting the draft board come to you rather than forcing picks based on position with no regard for draft slot and available players. Andy continued the pass-catcher trend, going the early TE route by selecting the upside of Gronk. Jason took A.J. Green stating, “I still believe in A.J. Green. I think A.J. Green is an elite WR.”
Round 3
Jason’s Pick (3.03) – WR Adam Thielen
Andy’s Pick (3.08) – WR T.Y. Hilton
Mike’s Pick (3.09) – RB Rashaad Penny
Jason had a tough choice between Jerick McKinnon, Doug Baldwin, and A.J. Thielen. Ultimately, he went with Thielen because he likes a lot of the later round RB options this year and wanted to test out the theory of waiting a little bit longer on grabbing his RB2. Andy drafted T.Y. Hilton because he believes Andrew Luck will return this season, which will make Hilton a solid WR1. Mike took his first RB by locking in the presumed guaranteed workload of 2018 first-round pick, Rashaad Penny. Mike believes the highly valuable Jimmy Graham role in Seattle is now going to Penny. That’s because he believes many of Graham’s red zone and end zone targets will now be turned into carries for Penny as Seattle looks to transition back to a more run-heavy offense.
Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Round 4
Mike’s Pick (4.04) – WR Larry Fitzgerald
Andy’s Pick (4.05) – WR Josh Gordon
Jason’s Pick (4.10) – WR JuJu Smith-Schuster
There was a huge run on WRs in the fourth-round as nine of the twelve picks went towards that position. Mike, Andy, and Jason all three went along with that trend. Larry Fitzgerald has guaranteed volume on his side, Josh Gordon’s talent can not be denied, and JuJu Smith-Schuster is the WR2 in one of the best offenses in the league.
Round 5
Jason’s Pick (5.03) – RB Sony Michel
Andy’s Pick (5.08) – RB Ronald Jones
Mike’s Pick (5.09) – RB Derrius Guice
The rookie RB run! All three guys weighed the risk vs. reward of the unknown and decided this was a good time to invest in potential upside and volume at the RB position. This may seem too early to take these guys but fantasy owners are RB hungry this year and the reality is all “safer” RB options are usually already gone by this point. Jason went with pure upside by taking the first-round pick in a New England Patriots’ offense, Sony Michel. Andy invested in Ronald Jones because of the lack of competition for touches and he believes in the player and the Buccaneers’ offense. Mike drafted Derrius Guice because of his talent and stated his TD-upside has the potential to turn him into an RB1.
Round 6
Mike’s Pick (6.04) – WR Marvin Jones
Andy’s Pick (6.05) – WR Julian Edelman
Jason’s Pick (6.10) – RB Royce Freeman
Mike stole last season’s WR9 overall, Marvin Jones, at pick 6.04. Bravo. All three guys were in agreement Jones was a great value there. Andy decided the reward of being the slot receiver for Tom Brady slot receiver largely outweighed the risk of him returning from injury. Jason happily landed Royce Freeman, who he almost drafted over Michel a round earlier.
Round 7
Jason’s Pick (7.03) – TE Trey Burton
Andy’s Pick (7.08) – WR Corey Davis
Mike’s Pick (7.09) – RB Marshawn Lynch
Six TEs were drafted in the seventh round and Jason played a role in that, selecting new Bears’ starting TE Trey Burton. Jason clearly believes in the player and his projected role this season, as do I (Trey Burton truthers stand up)!! Andy believes in the talent of Corey Davis and is buying a Titans offense upgrade in 2018. Mike does NOT in any way believe in Doug Martin and this belief allowed him to confidently select Marshawn Lynch over other RB options such as Rex Burkhead, Aaron Jones, Isaiah Crowell, and Tarik Cohen.
Round 8
Mike’s Pick (8.04) – RB Aaron Jones
Andy’s Pick (8.05) – RB Isaiah Crowell
Jason’s Pick (8.10) – RB Marlon Mack
Mike and Jason both spoke highly of Aaron Jones, stating reports out of Green Bay are Jones is the guy you’re going to want to own later in the season. Mike takes a high upside shot on him in the eighth round. Andy locked in his third RB by sacrificing some upside for perceived dependability as Isaiah Crowell projects to be the starting RB of the Jets. Jason, like Mike, shot for the moon and took Marlon Mack for the upside he could possibly present in an Andrew Luck-led offense stating, “I am a believer in Marlon Mack.”
Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Round 9
Jason’s Pick (9.03) – WR Randall Cobb
Andy’s Pick (9.08) – QB Andrew Luck
Mike’s Pick (9.09) – WR Robby Anderson
Jason continued his high-upside trend by absolutely stealing Randall Cobb in the ninth-round. With Aaron Rodgers as the QB in Green Bay, Jason believes Cobb has a chance to catch eight to ten TDs this season. I’m with Jason on this one #CobbComebackSZN. With Andy being a T.Y. Hilton owner, he decided to go all in on Andrew Luck’s health by bringing in Luck as well. He went with the highest upside by grabbing the Hilton/Luck stack and explained that if Luck doesn’t work out, he believes in his ability to stream at the QB position.
Round 10
Mike’s Pick (10.04) – QB Matthew Stafford
Andy’s Pick (10.05) – RB Nick Chubb
Jason’s Pick (10.10) – QB Marcus Mariota
All three of the guys prove waiting on the QB position is a viable and fruitful strategy. Mike grabbed Matthew Stafford and Jason grabbed Marcus Mariota here in the tenth round. Jason believes in a Mariota bounce-back season with a new coaching staff in town and I’m with him.
Round 11
Jason’s Pick (11.03) – QB Jameis Winston
Andy’s Pick (11.08) – WR Danny Amendola
Mike’s Pick (11.09) – RB Corey Clement
However, Jason also believes in Jameis Winston and grabbed him as well. Jason doesn’t like Winston’s opening schedule but promised between Mariota and Winston he’ll be able to stream all season long. Mike took one of his favorite sleepers this season, Corey Clement. Mike stated Clement, “Has the possibility of being the starting RB with the Philadelphia Eagles.”
Round 12
Mike’s Pick (12.04) – TE Vance McDonald
Andy’s Pick (12.05) – RB Doug Martin
Jason’s Pick (12.10) – WR Kenny Golladay
Mike is the doing the #NoPantsVanceDance and taking a shot on the upside of Vance McDonald at an extremely palatable price. I’m a fan of this decision and wrote about why here. Jason took a high upside shot on Kenny Golladay. He’s SO SMOOTH.
Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images
Round 13
Jason’s Pick (13.03) – DEF Arizona Cardinals
Andy’s Pick (13.08) – DEF New Orleans Saints
Mike’s Pick (13.09) – DEF Carolina Panthers
Round 14
Mike’s Pick (14.04) – K Chris Boswell
Andy’s Pick (14.05) – K Harrison Butker
Jason’s Pick (14.10) – K Ryan Succop