The NFL Draft is over, and there’s no better time to be completing mock drafts. With rookies in place on their new teams, ADP will slowly begin to take shape leading up to real fantasy football drafts. It’s important to mock throughout the offseason (for more on why, click here) to build your drafting chops and to get a feel of where you can land some of the guys on your short list. Here’s my first mock after the NFL Draft. It’s a 12-team, standard scoring league, and I randomized to the fifth pick. This was also my first draft using our Draft Wizard app. Mocking with the Draft Wizard is great on desktop or mobile, but the user experience is even better on the app with some extra features you can’t find elsewhere. If you don’t believe me, check it out!
The roster settings here were one QB, two RBs, three WRs, one TE, one flex, and six bench spots.
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2019 Fantasy Football Mock Draft
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers (GB) 5.05, Jared Goff (LAR) 10.08
I selected a QB a little earlier than usual here, but the player pool at this stage felt pretty week based on ECR, so I went with Rodgers. It felt like a reach grabbing any of the receivers or backs available, and Rodgers in the fifth round is definitely not a reach. He should be healthier this season and so should his receiving corps. New addition Jace Sternberger will make a nice target for A-Rodg as well. Jared Goff is an excellent backup and one that I got practically for free in the 10th round. He was phenomenal for the Rams last season and should only get better in 2019.
Running Back
Alvin Kamara (NO) 1.05, Chris Carson (SEA) 4.08, Kareem Hunt (CLE) 9.05, Peyton Barber (TB) 14.08, Ryquell Armstead (JAC) 15.05
Kamara was the chalk pick at five, but I couldn’t pass him up after two incredible seasons with the Saints already under his belt. Chris Carson had a sneaky good season in 2018 and should once again be in line for a heavy workload, playing on a Seahawks team that led the NFL in rush attempts per game in 2018. I’m targeting Kareem Hunt in the later rounds of a lot of mocks I’m doing because I love the potential upside for a player who will come back in Week 9 with fresh legs to a loaded offense. The former rushing champ can be had for a bargain right now.
I went receiver-heavy in the middle of this mock, so I needed to shore up my RB group with my final two picks. I grabbed a couple of guys with some upside in Barber and Armstead. Barber made some noise in a starting role for the Bucs last season, and he may get a similar opportunity this year. Armstead is a valuable handcuff to Leonard Fournette, as it seems almost inevitable the latter will get hurt and miss some time in 2019. Armstead should be next in line for carries if when that happens.
Wide Receiver
Mike Evans (TB) 2.08, Amari Cooper (DAL) 3.05, Mike Williams (LAC) 7.05, N’Keal Harry (NE) 8.08, Geronimo Allison (GB) 11.05, D.K. Metcalf (SEA) 13.05
Evans has five straight 1,000-yard seasons and 40 TDs to his name, though he’s only finished a season with 75+ receptions twice. He’s not a guy that will catch a ton of balls, but he’s a big-play threat and a scoring machine who I couldn’t pass up with my second pick. I went back-to-back WR by selecting Amari Cooper in the third round, and I established a core of talented pass catchers here. Coop went 53-725-6 in nine games with Dallas last season in a remarkable second half of the season. Those numbers work out to 94-1,288-10 over a 16-game schedule. I expect him to put up big numbers in 2019.
Mike Williams was my next receiver, and I love the upside he brings after scoring 10 TDs in 2018. He won’t catch a ton of passes playing opposite Keenan Allen, but he’s a red zone beast and won’t have any competition for the number two receiver role with the Chargers. I grabbed Geronimo Allison in the 11th round because of how productive he was in just a handful of games last season. Green Bay didn’t address the WR position in the draft, so Allison figures to start opposite Davante Adams in 2019.
I went for N’Keal Harry in Round 8, which may have been a reach, but the upside of the players available to me in that spot were unencouraging. I already had my starting lineup set, so I took a chance on a talented rookie who will be catching passes from Tom Brady. Getting Metcalf in the 13th felt like a lot of value, and I love his potential this season. Doug Baldwin may be done playing football for good, and Metcalf should be the ‘Hawks’ top wideout.
Tight End
Evan Engram (NYG) 6.08, Noah Fant (DEN) 12.08
I decided to take Engram in Round 6 because there are so many targets up for grabs now that Odell Beckham Jr. has been traded. Engram is a highly athletic TE who finished as a TE1 his rookie season in the wake of an OBJ injury. I took a flyer on Noah Fant in Round 12, and I think he has TE1 potential right away. Broncos QB Joe Flacco has historically targeted his TEs heavily, and with few other pass-catching options on the team, Fant should be heavily involved in the offense as a rookie.
Here are the results of my most recent mock, and while I received a ‘C’ grade, I believe my team is much better than that. The grade is based on projected points and performance against other teams, and some of the rookies I selected haven’t been accurately projected yet. I have confidence in N’Keal Harry and D.K. Metcalf, who should be featured prominently on their respective offenses, and Noah Fant should be a target monster for Joe Flacco in Denver.
For what it’s worth, rookie Raiders RB Josh Jacobs was selected near the end of Round 2 in this mock, which was a bit unbelievable. He’s not worth that amount of draft capital. That’s a perfect example of why mocking so early can help shape your knowledge and opinions of player values.
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Zachary Hanshew is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Zachary, check out his archive and follow him @zakthemonster.
