It's officially mock draft season so, here at Fantasy Six Pack, we've teamed up with some of the best writers in the industry like the Avengers to give you some insight into our draft strategies at each position. While of course there's no guarantee that our strategies will be applicable to your particular draft, I can guarantee you will learn something about the types of players you should be targeting and you can expect to be looking at.
For this exercise, I was given the 7th pick. While some might look at being in the middle of the pack as a burden, I'm not completely against it.
The 7th pick is a thinking man's pick. Since I pick in the middle of each round, I have little control over the shape of the draft.
For example, if you pick 10th and you take two RBs, it could push the rest of the RBs up the board. Therefore, at 7th, it's imperative for me to keep track and analyze how the draft is going. Is there a run of running backs? Do the people drafting before/after me need a wide receiver? How confident am I that this tight end will be here for me next round if I take another running back this round?
In addition, being 7th allows me to fall back on my draft rankings and consistently take the best player available. As you'll see, that's the primary theme of this mock draft. I consistently looked to my rankings and analyzed the draft board and simply continued to take the best player available.
With that being said, let's dive right into the analysis. You can find draft position analysis from the other writer's here at:
Draft Picking From: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
2018 Fantasy Football Drafting 7th
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My Picks
- 1.07 Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints
- 2.06 A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
- 3.07 Tyreek Hill, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
- 4.06 Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland Browns
- 5.07 Lamar Miller, RB, Houston Texans
- 6.06 Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
- 7.07 Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers
- 8.06 Andrew Luck, QB, Indianapolis Colts
- 9.07 Kerryon Johnson, RB, Detroit Lions
- 10.06 Jack Doyle, TE, Indianapolis Colts
- 11.07 Kenny Golladay, WR, Detroit Lions
- 12.06 Baltimore Ravens DST
Overall Thoughts
I won this draft easily, don't @ me (if you do, I'm @KevinMHuo). The famous Mike Tyson quote is especially applicable to fantasy football drafts. "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."
For fantasy, that plan would be looking at your empty roster spots and saying "Okay, I have two running backs so I really need a wide receiver here no matter what." In theory, that makes sense, but fantasy has a way of changing situations very quickly. By Week 2, your wide receivers corps could be a strength while you're weak at running back.
That's why I try to take the best player available. While I do believe in my drafting abilities, I also trust that I will be able to fill in the holes where I need to during the season through trades and pick-ups. That's why I want to just have the most valuable players on my team. By taking the best player available at almost every selection, I maximized upside while minimizing risk.
Rounds 1-3 (No-Brainers)
Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints
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The first pick of my draft is almost always based on my rankings. I have Alvin Kamara ranked as my 4th best player in PPR leagues, so he was an easy pick at number 7. I have him ahead of guys like Ezekiel Elliott and David Johnson because although Kamara comes with some risk, I have no qualms about his offense.
The Saints will be able to move the ball and score points and the defense will not be able to lock in on Kamara. Meanwhile, Elliott and Johnson are in questionable offenses and are the first guys the defense will be trying to stop.
However, if Kamara was gone, I would still be looking for a running back at this pick. I want to leave the first round with a concrete RB1 because -- especially in PPR leagues --Â I believe there is significant depth in the later rounds at wide receiver.
A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
With my second pick, there was some thought of taking Rob Gronkowski since he's such a difference-maker at tight end. However, I stuck with my big board and took A.J. Green.
The Bengals did a lot to improve their offensive line last year, bringing in Cordy Glenn and drafting Billy Price. Andy Dalton has been at his best behind a good line and will continue to target Green heavily.
This was 1.5 fewer games worth of plays than CIN has averaged over 14 years under Marvin Lewis. https://t.co/scaeZKg9Ox
— Rich Hribar (@LordReebs) August 9, 2018
In addition, the Bengals were playing at a much slower pace than usual in 2017. I expect that to bump back up and for Green to reap the benefits.
Tyreek Hill, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
I go back-to-back receivers with Tyreek Hill in the third. It was a tough debate in my rankings between him, T.Y. Hilton, and Amari Cooper. I could see the arguments for each, but I ultimately went with Hill because with Patrick Mahomes replacing Alex Smith, Andy Reid could finally unlock Hill's full potential.
Rounds 4-7 (Explain Yourself)
Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland Browns
I don't know what the f--- has been going on here, and I don't know why it's been going on here. But, if you're not hurting, if your hamstring isn't falling off the f---ing bone, your leg ain't broke, I don't know, you should be f---ing drafting Jarvis Landry. Like, straight up, that not drafting him s--- is weakness. And that s--- is contagious as f---. That s--- ain't gonna be in this room, bruh. That s--- been in here in the past and that's why the past has been like it is, bruh. That s--- is over with, bruh. If you're gonna f---ing draft, f---ing draft Jarvis Landry. If you ain't f---ing hurt, you gotta f---ing draft Jarvis Landry.
Straight up, man, that s--- is f---ing real bruh. That s--- ain't happening here. I'm just letting y'all f---ing know, that s--- is not f---ing happening here. I'm hurting, I'm tired, just like every f---ing body in this m-----rf---ing room. But I ain't taking no m----rf---ing other receivers, because I can't f---ing live that way. It's gotta be the attitude and the mentality all the f---ing time. All that other b--- s---, it don't live here no more. That s--- don't exist. It's contagious bruh. Like, it's really f---ing contagious. It's contagious.
Jarvis Landry going off on the Recievers group 😯 #HardKnocks pic.twitter.com/bn65kRzOrW
— Telbo (@telbreezy305) August 8, 2018
Lamar Miller, RB, Houston Texans
After taking three wide receivers in a row, I'm looking to come back around and solidify my lineup with a second RB. Jay Ajayi would've been the preferred pick here, but he went one pick ahead of me.
So rather than take a risk with a guy like Dion Lewis or Ronald Jones III, I'm going to take a super-solid player in Lamar Miller. A lot is being made of him finishing with a career-low 3.7 YPC in 2017, but that was largely without Deshaun Watson.
Miller still had the volume to propel him to a RB16 finish in PPR leagues. He should receive that same volume in 2018 and will increase that YPC while also step into many more scoring opportunities with Watson under center.
Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
Kupp is probably my biggest reach so far, but I had to have him on my team and looking at how the draft was going, I didn't think he would make it to my next pick.
Finished the year with 6/64, 8/116, 5/68, 5/118/1, 2/21, 4/65/1 and 8/69/1 in the wild card. Had 94 targets, including 27 redzone targets - 4th in the league behind Gronk, Graham + Julio. I could see some of Gurley's 19 touchdowns (6 receiving) going his way. High on him in 2018
— Kevin Huo (@KevinMHuo) June 28, 2018
Kupp and Goff have a good chemistry on the field and as dynamic as that offense is, there will be tons of opportunities to score. Even though the Rams brought in Brandin Cooks, they still don't have a stellar tight end, meaning that middle of the field and short stuff is all going to Kupp. He could catch 80 balls and score 10 touchdowns this season.
Rounds 8-12 (The Coin Flips)
Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts
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Luck is my QB6 if he's healthy and he's looking good so far. When he's been healthy he's finished as a top-4 fantasy quarterback 3 out of 5 years and 10th in his rookie season.
Luck is someone I'm willing to gamble on - especially in pro's leagues - because I know most teams aren't taking two quarterbacks. If things go badly with his health in the preseason, I can easily drop him for someone who wasn't drafted like Marcus Mariota or Dak Prescott.
Aaron Jones/Kerryon Johnson, Green Bay Packers/Detroit Lions
The word committee gets thrown around a lot in the NFL, but I still think most teams would prefer to have one main back. That's the case with these two NFC North teams - the Packers and the Lions. The Packers have a three-headed monster of Jones, Jamaal Williams, and Ty Montgomery while the Lions intend to play Johnson, LeGarrette Blount, Theo Riddick, and maybe even Ameer Abdullah.
However, based on last year's performance, I think Jones is the most dynamic back of that bunch. With Aaron Rodgers back, the Packers don't need a grinder like Williams or a chess piece like Montgomery. They need an impact player like Jones, someone who can be a big-play threat every time he touches the ball.
Meanwhile, the Lions have two specialists in Blount and Riddick. That bodes well for Johnson, who is the most well-rounded back on the roster. Johnson will handle the majority of the load while Blount and Riddick handle specific situations that suit their skill sets.
Jack Doyle, Indianapolis Colts
Doyle has finished as the No.7 tight end in PPR last year - and that was with Jacoby Brissett throwing him the ball. Now he gets Andrew Luck back who has always targeted his tight ends heavily.
Eric Ebron joins the mix as well, but he was disappointing in Detroit and is more of a complement to Doyle than a threat.
Kenny Golladay, Detroit Lions
#Babytron (shout out @LateRoundQB) has been tearing up camp this year to rave reviews. The talent is obviously there, the only questions are will the opportunities and the production be? I'm willing to bet yes.
The aforementioned Eric Ebron has left the team with no real replacement. That leaves 80+ targets to be soaked up and I imagine the Lions won't be hesitant to go with three wide receiver sets with Golladay and Marvin Jones on the outside and Golden Tate running the slot.
Visit the F6P Fantasy Football Draft Kit Page for more advice to prepare for the 2018 season.
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