After one of the most hectic offseasons in recent memory, football and the fantasy football season are finally right around the corner. The chaotic nature of this season means that it’s never been more important to nail your draft. Because of this, you’d be foolish to go into your fantasy football league without doing a mock draft or two beforehand.
Note that this draft was performed with the FantasyPros Mock Draft Simulator, and I held the 9th pick. Also note that this is a 12-team PPR with two running backs, two receivers, three flex spots, and no kickers or defense. Also, note that my picks are in bold.
Fantasy Football Mock Draft 3.0 (2020 NFL Season)
Round 1
1.01 – Christian McCaffrey
1.02 – Saquon Barkley
1.03 – Ezekiel Elliott
1.04 – Dalvin Cook
1.05 – Michael Thomas
1.06 – Alvin Kamara
1.07 – Derrick Henry
1.08 – Davante Adams
1.09 – Kenyan Drake
1.10 – Julio Jones
1.11 – Austin Ekeler
1.12 – Clyde Edwards-Helaire
Kenyan Drake is in the perfect situation to have a breakout year for fantasy football. The former Miami Dolphin is now playing in a fast-paced, high-scoring offense with complete control of his backfield. Chase Edmonds might be receiving some love from head coach Kliff Kingsbury, but it’s probably nothing more than just coach speak. Drake is a locked and loaded RB1 and should be an absolute star for fantasy.
Round 2
2.01 – Tyreek Hill
2.02 – Allen Robinson
2.03 – DeAndre Hopkins
2.04 – Miles Sanders
2.05 – Joe Mixon
2.06 – Leonard Fournette
2.07 – Josh Jacobs
2.08 – Chris Godwin
2.09 – Todd Gurley
2.10 – Patrick Mahomes
2.11 – Lamar Jackson
2.12 – Nick Chubb
If it weren’t for his training camp injury, Miles Sanders probably would’ve been my first-round pick. That injury makes him a little too risky to take in the first, but he’s well worth the gamble at this point in the draft. Head coach Doug Pederson typically uses a committee approach in the backfield, but that is set to change this year. The Eagles had plenty of opportunities to sign add a running back in the offseason, but they never did it. Additionally, just about everyone is saying that the three-down role is going to be Sanders’ job to lose. I started off this fantasy football mock draft with two RB1’s, so I’m free to target values throughout the rest of the draft.
Round 2
3.01 – Travis Kelce
3.02 – Chris Carson
3.03 – Aaron Jones
3.04 – D.J. Moore
3.05 – George Kittle
3.06 – Kenny Golladay
3.07 – Mike Evans
3.08 – Juju Smith-Schuster
3.09 – Adam Thielen
3.10 – Odell Beckham
3.11 – Zach Ertz
3.12 – David Johnson
Adam Thielen isn’t the most exciting player to draft, but he’s a fantastic position heading into 2020. The Minnesota Vikings traded Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills, leaving Thielen as the only proven commodity at wide receiver. Thielen and Kirk Cousins already proved that they can dominate together, and there isn’t going to be anyone else fighting for targets. It’s hard to find anyone in the league with a safer target share, and Thielen should easily outperform his late-third average draft position.
Round 4
4.01 – Cooper Kupp
4.02 – James Conner
4.03 – Amari Cooper
4.04 – Robert Woods
4.05 – Terry McLaurin
4.06 – Mark Andrews
4.07 – Calvin Ridley
4.08 – Le’Veon Bell
4.09 – DJ Chark
4.10 – Courtland Sutton
4.11 – DeVante Parker
4.12 – A.J. Brown
Speaking of players that outperform their draft capital, Robert Woods! Nobody knows for sure if Sean McVay will revert to using 11 personnel or continue his 12 personnel usage from the end of 2019. All we do know is that Robert Woods is going to be a major part of the offense. Woods proved he could be a top receiver in McVay’s 11 personnel scheme and was on pace for a staggering 120 receptions for 1,515 yards and five touchdowns when the Rams increased their 12 personnel usage. Throw in some positive touchdown regression and Woods should be a fantastic start for the duration of the season.
Round 5
5.01 – Keenan Allen
5.02 – D.K. Metcalf
5.03 – Tyler Lockett
5.04 – Devin Singletary
5.05 – Melvin Gordon
5.06 – Stefon Diggs
5.07 – T.Y. Hilton
5.08 – Jonathan Taylor
5.09 – David Montgomery
5.10 – Darren Waller
5.11 – Tyler Boyd
5.12 – Michael Gallup
With my top two receivers and running backs locked in, I decided to chase volume. David Montgomery is not going to be the most efficient running back in the league, but there is nobody in Chicago to challenge for his carries. The Bears selected him to be a three-down back, and he should be a lock for at least 250-275 touches. It’s hard to find a running back with that type of workload at this point in the draft, and Nick Foles’ high checkdown rate means that Montgomery offers some pass-catching upside.
Round 6
6.01 – Dak Prescott
6.02 – Kyler Murray
6.03 – Tarik Cohen
6.04 – Marquise Brown
6.05 – Jarvis Landry
6.06 – Russell Wilson
6.07 – A.J. Green
6.08 – Julian Edelman
6.09 – Hunter Henry
6.10 – Deebo Samuel
6.11 – Cam Akers
6.12 – Deshaun Watson
Marquise Brown is one of my favorite breakout candidates for 2020. The second-year pro can stretch the field deep and has a good chance to lead his team in targets. The Ravens should have a great offense and the natural regression of Baltimore’s rushing attack means that they’ll have to throw the ball more. His best-case scenario is a top-12 finish and I rarely leave a draft without grabbing him in the sixth.
Round 7
7.01 – Will Fuller
7.02 – Brandin Cooks
7.03 – Marvin Jones
7.04 – Mark Ingram
7.05 – Christian Kirk
7.06 – Diontae Johnson
7.07 – John Brown
7.08 – Evan Engram
7.09 – Ronald Jones
7.10 – Raheem Mostert
7.11 – Kareem Hunt
7.12 – Emmanuel Sanders
Ronald Jones had a terrible start to his NFL career, and fantasy football owners are letting that sour taste ruin his 2020 outlook. The fact of the matter is that Jones is set to be the early-down guy in one of the best offenses in football. Ke’Shawn Vaughn has not impressed in training camp, and the only other back of note is the corpse of LeSean McCoy. Jones might not see that much passing work, but he should receive all the goal line carries and rack up rushing yardage at the end of games. He’s a no-brainer selection in the seventh.
Round 8
8.01 – Josh Allen
8.02 – Sterling Shepard
8.03 – Hayden Hurst
8.04 – Jamison Crowder
8.05 – D’Andre Swift
8.06 – Mike Williams
8.07 – Tyler Higbee
8.08 – Darius Slayton
8.09 – Phillip Lindsay
8.10 – Henry Ruggs
8.11 – CeeDee Lamb
8.12 – Justin Jefferson
This is admittedly a bit of a reach, but it’s one I feel comfortable making. Jamison Crowder isn’t the most talented player in the world, but he’s in the perfect situation to succeed in PPR formats. The New York Jets should have an abysmal defense, which means they’re going to throw the ball early and often. Crowder is the only receiver on the roster with an established rapport with Sam Darnold, and his target share is even safer with Denzel Mims battling a hamstring injury. He’s not going to lead the league in touchdowns or yardage, but he’s a safe volume play is more than capable of putting up solid flex numbers.
Round 9
9.01 – Jerry Jeudy
9.02 – Preston Williams
9.03 – Kerryon Johnson
9.04 – Matt Ryan
9.05 – Drew Brees
9.06 – Tom Brady
9.07 – James White
9.08 – Carson Wentz
9.09 – Matt Breida
9.10 – Aaron Rodgers
9.11 – Antonio Gibson
9.12 – Anthony Miller
Matt Breida is a solid running back that can be absolutely lethal in space. While he probably won’t steal the early-down role from Jordan Howard, he should be a major part of the passing attack. The Dolphins don’t have too many reliable targets, and they’re probably going to trail in a lot of games. Breida could be a bye week flex play in PPR leagues and could easily outperform that if Jordan Howard suffers an injury.
Round 10
10.01 – Mecole Hardman
10.02 – Curtis Samuel
10.03 – Latavius Murray
10.04 – Jalen Reagor
10.05 – Jordan Howard
10.06 – Ke’Shawn Vaughn
10.07 – J.K. Dobbins
10.08 – Sony Michel
10.09 – Robby Anderson
10.10 – Rob Gronkowski
10.11 – Breshad Perriman
10.12 – Marlon Mack
I felt really good about my team up to this point, so I took a shot on a young talent. Jalen Reagor was one of my favorite receivers in the 2020 NFL Draft, and he had the perfect landing spot. Carson Wentz is a great quarterback, but he’ll need somebody to actually catch the ball. Alshon Jeffery is on the PUP, DeSean Jackson is constantly injured and isn’t a high-volume guy, and Marquise Goodwin opted out. There is a huge opportunity available for Reagor, and he’s reportedly impressed in training camp.
Round 11
11.01 – Tevin Coleman
11.02 – N’Keal Harry
11.03 – Darrell Henderson
11.04 – Brandon Aiyuk
11.05 – Duke Johnson
11.06 – Alexander Mattison
11.07 – Golden Tate
11.08 – Adrian Peterson
11.09 – Zack Moss
11.10 – Tony Pollard
11.11 – Michael Pittman
11.12 – Austin Hooper
Anyone who follows my writing knows that I am not in on Devin Singletary. Singletary and Moss will split work in 2020, but Moss is going to receive the valuable touches. The rookie should be the primary goal line back and passing down guy, which is far more valuable than taking carries between the 20’s. While he lacks elite upside, he’s great depth to add this late in the draft.
Round 12
12.01 – Boston Scott
12.02 – Nyheim Hines
12.03 – Lamar Miller
12.04 – Chris Herndon
12.05 – Mike Gesicki
12.06 – Derrius Guice
12.07 – Jared Cook
12.08 – Chase Edmonds
12.09 – Alshon Jeffery
12.10 – Noah Fant
12.11 – Blake Jarwin
12.12 – Justin Jackson
This year features several great late-round tight ends and in this fantasy football mock draft, I took my shot with Chris Herndon. As mentioned before, the Jets are going to be trailing a lot and throwing at a high rate. After missing essentially the entire 2019 season, Herndon is finally healthy and ready to be a major part of this passing attack. If he can pick up where he left off last year, then he should be a locked-and-loaded TE1.
Round 13
13.01 – A.J. Dillon
13.02 – Damien Harris
13.03 – LeSean McCoy
13.04 – Tyler Eifert
13.05 – Jamaal Williams
13.06 – Deandre Washington
13.07 – Dede Westbrook
13.08 – Darrynton Evans
13.09 – Matthew Stafford
13.10 – Anthony McFarland
13.11 – Brian Hill
13.12 – T.J. Hockenson
I can’t believe Matthew Stafford was still on the board in the 13th round. While Stafford’s back is an issue, he’s an unquestioned QB1 when on the field. Kenny Golladay and Marvin Jones form one of the best receiver duos in the league, and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevel finally allowed Stafford to play aggressively last year.
Round 14
14.01 – Giovani Bernard
14.02 – James Washington
14.03 – Joe Burrow
14.04 – Chris Thompson
14.05 – Joshua Kelley
14.06 – Dallas Goedert
14.07 – Daniel Jones
14.08 – Baker Mayfield
14.09 – Cam Newton
14.10 – Jerick McKinnon
14.11 – Jack Doyle
14.12 – Sammy Watkins
Leonard Fournette was literally the only man in town last year, which led to an absurd amount of inefficient targets in the passing game. Chris Thompson is no Christian McCaffrey, but he’s a better receiver than Fournette. He should receive most of the third down work, and Jacksonville’s atrocious defense means that the Jaguars will probably have to abandon the run a lot, which means more snaps for Thompson.
Round 15
15.01 – Ben Roethlisberger
15.02 – Carlos Hyde
15.03 – DeSean Jackson
15.04 – Tyrell Williams
15.05 – Rashaad Penny
15.06 – Devonta Freeman
15.07 – Ryquell Armstead
15.08 – Jared Goff
15.09 – Randall Cobb
15.10 – Jalen Richard
15.11 – Ryan Tannehill
15.12 – Ito Smith
I close out my fantasy football mock draft with Randall Cobb. The former Packer isn’t going to be the top receiver in Houston, but he might be the safest. Will Fuller, Brandin Cooks, and Kenny Stills are all cut from the same cloth in that their speedsters with a decent injury history. While he comes with his own injury risk, Cobb is the only one with a different skill set and should be locked into his slot role. He’s a great final pick in PPR leagues.
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