First Footballers Mock Draft of 2020 Recap (Fantasy Football)
Nothing gears you up for fantasy football quite like a mock draft. You can get a feel for players’ ADP, identify potential sleepers and late-round steals, and experiment with different draft strategies. On Thursday’s episode, the Fantasy Footballers’ hosts Andy, Mike, and Jason dive into the first mock draft of the 2020 season. Let’s break down their picks and see how their first mock draft shaped up. For a more detailed explanation behind each pick, check out their First Mock Draft of 2020 episode.
12 team .5 PPR QB/2 RB/2 WR/TE/Flex/DEF – 5 bench spots – starting at the 5th position.
Round 1 – Dalvin Cook
Other players considered: None
Unanimous decision after big names such as Ezekiel Elliot and Michael Thomas went off the board in the first four picks.
Round 2 – Austin Ekeler
Other players considered: Travis Kelce, Kenny Golladay, Mike Evans, Miles Sanders, Jonathon Taylor
Ekeler may come as a surprise in the 2nd Round, but Melvin Gordon‘s absence vacates 162 rushing attempts and 42 targets. Ekeler should be the centerpiece in the offense and has the opportunity to finish as a top-10 RB. Mike and Andy both agree that Ekeler is the correct pick here, but Jason is not as high on Ekeler due to a bad offense and competition between fellow RB Justin Jackson and rookie RB Joshua Kelley.
Round 3 – Miles Sanders
Other players considered: Amari Cooper, Juju Smith-Schuster
If the draft happens to fall in such a way where you can get three great running backs, it may be worth it to grab them in the early rounds. The Ballers decided to go with Sanders after some debate over taking a WR or another RB. With three RBs, the Ballers want to see how the rest of the draft falls. After all, mock drafting is all about experimentation.
Round 4 – Calvin Ridley
Other players considered: Mark Andrews, T.Y. Hilton, A.J. Green, D.J. Chark, David Johnson, Le’Veon Bell
Had the Ballers gone with another position besides an RB in the 3rd Round, names like David Johnson and Le’Veon Bell are still available at an excellent value here in the 4th. Mike’s TE3, Mark Andrews, is also still available; however, the WR fantasy production begins to dip. Ridley may not be the most popular pick, but he is poised for a 2020 breakout year. He showed signs of stardom toward the end of last season before suffering an abdominal injury. The Falcons made no moves to add WR depth and also replaced target hog Austin Hooper with Hayden Hurst.
Round 5 – D.J. Chark
Other players considered: T.Y. Hilton
Chark is another promising 2020 breakout candidate available in the later rounds of the draft. He showed monster flashes of production with QB Gardner Minshew in Jacksonville. With another year of growth for both players, the targets should keep coming Chark’s direction.
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Round 6 – Deebo Samuel
Other players considered: Julian Edelman, Michael Gallup, Marquise Brown
Team needs came into play with this pick choosing a WR over another RB, TE, or QB. With Emmanuel Sanders gone, Samuel has the opportunity to step into the WR1 role for the 49ers. Kyle Shanahan used Samuel creatively in his offense as a rookie. Over 15 games, he had 57 receptions on 81 targets for 802 yards and three receiving touchdowns. He also rushed 14 times for 159 yards and added another three touchdowns. San Francisco has a handful of WRs such as Kendrick Bourne, Dante Pettis, Chris Thompson, and rookie Brandon Aiyuk. However, Samuel should be the primary beneficiary of Emmanuel Sanders’ absence.
Round 7 – Marquise Brown
Other players considered: Kyler Murray, Jared Cook
While Andy and Mike are more subdued on Brown’s 2020 outlook, Jason is bullish on his sophomore production with Lamar Jackson. There was some debate about whether or not to take QB Kyler Murray, but with so many late value QBs available, the choice was made to go with Brown.
Round 8 – Jared Cook
Other players considered: Evan Engram, Jordan Howard, Marin Jones Jr.
It was pretty clear that a TE should be taken at this pick. Mike would have gone with Evan Engram, even with his injury concerns, but with the other elite TEs off the board, Cook is an excellent pick in the 8th round.
Round 9 – Marlon Mack
Other players considered: Ronald Jones
Prior to the 2020 NFL draft, Marlon Mack sat a lot higher than he currently is after the Colts drafted Jonathon Taylor. There will be stiff competition between Taylor, Mack, and Nyheim Hines, but drafting a potential starting RB in the 9th Round is a no-brainer. Even if you only get a few weeks of production from Mack, he more than satisfies his draft price.
Round 10 – Drew Brees
Other players considered: Matthew Stafford
If you are new to the Fantasy Footballers, you may be wondering why it took until the 10th Round to draft a QB. The fact that Drew Brees was still available in the 10th Round should help explain this. There is tremendous value late in drafts at the QB position. The same cannot be said for other skilled positions such as WR or RB. Save those earlier picks for better WRs, RBs, and TEs and scoop up QBs like Brees or Matthew Stafford later in your draft.
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Round 11 – Darrel Henderson
Other players considered: Alshon Jeffery, Diontae Johnson, Alexander Mattison, Cam Akers
The last two picks of this mock draft are the “taking a shot” rounds on guys who you think may hit. If they don’t, you can always toss them to the waiver wire with little to no draft capital wasted.
Round 12 – Diontae Johnson
Other players considered: Mike Gesicki, Preston Williams, Jaylen Reagor
If Johnson is available in the 12th Round, I will not hesitate to smash the draft button in every single league I am in. Despite starting his NFL career with terrible QB play (and two different QBs), Johnson managed to make a name for himself. With a healthy Ben Roethlisberger and hopefully a more productive Juju Smith-Schuster, Johnson has the opportunity to step up in a big way in his second year. Snatching him in the 12th Round is a huge steal.