2018 Fantasy Football Mock, RDs 5-6: Watson, Rodgers finally off board
It may be early, but with the NFL Draft now in the rearview mirror, it’s time for some fantasy football drafting. We recently held a 10-team, 0.5 PPR mock to get things started. The 2018 fantasy football season is officially underway.
SEE ROUNDS 1-2 HERE
SEE ROUNDS 3-4 HERE
SEE ROUNDS 7-8 HERE
ROUND 5
Pick 41: Tevin Coleman, Atl, RB21 – The good news is that Coleman stayed healthy in 2017. The bad news is that he wasn’t able to overtake Devonta Freeman. Still, his floor is 8 scores. Entering the final year of his rookie deal, maybe he earns a more featured role. (Liz Loza 2)
Pick 42: Alex Collins, Bal, RB22 – Ronald Jones is a better pick, but I went with Collins because he’s the best of the bunch. After evading more than 5 tackles per game in 2017, he deserves some respect. (Loza 1)
Pick 43: Alshon Jeffery, Phi, WR18 – Jeffery played through a torn rotator cuff all of last season, but he’s expected to enter 2018 fully healthy. Durability is a concern, but he’s the clear No. 1 WR on an offense that just won the Super Bowl that should score a bunch of points. (Dalton Del Don 2)
Pick 44: Rashaad Penny, Sea, RB23 – Seattle will likely immediately treat its first round pick as a workhorse, and while the team struggles run blocking, Russell Wilson’s mobility should help, and it’s not like it’s a poor offensive system. Penny has real talent (he led college football in broken tackles last year) and looks like a downright steal at this point in the draft. (Del Don 1)
Pick 45: Ronald Jones, TB, RB24 – It’s hard not to like Jones’ landing spot. Before you tell me this is too early for a first-year RB, I’ll remind you that three rookies finished among the top-eight fantasy backs last season. (Andy Behrens 2)
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Pick 46: Brandin Cooks, LAR, WR19 – Sure, he might be a boom-or-bust player, but that describes nearly every receiver outside the top tier or two. Cooks won’t be relegated to the supporting role that Sammy Watkins fell into last season. He and Goff have been working together for over a month. (Behrens 1)
Pick 47: Allen Robinson, Chi, WR20 – One of the most treasured offseason acquisitions, the former Jag is fully expected to slide into a lead role for the revamped Bears. It’s completely reasonable Robinson attracts 130-plus targets this season. If Mitch Trubisky’s game makes significant strides … 75-1050-7. (Brad Evans 2)
Pick 48: Royce Freeman, Den, RB25 – With only Devontae Booker and De’Angelo Henderson to stave off, the rookie has sound odds of becoming Vance Joseph’s workhorse. He has the size (5-foot-11, 234 pounds), versatility, power and shiftiness (No. 11 in elusive rating among FBS RBs in ’17) to stake his claim as the second-best first-year contributor behind Saquon Barkley. (Evans 1)
Pick 49: T.Y. Hilton, Ind, WR21 – This pick’s upside is tied to Andrew Luck’s health, far from a sure thing. But Hilton was still WR24 in standard scoring last year, so he’ll get his no matter who plays. (Scott Pianowski 2)
Pick 50: Golden Tate, Det, WR22 – Obviously a PPR force, with 90-plus catches in four straight years. (Pianow 1)
ROUND 6
Pick 51: Devin Funchess, Car, WR23 – Cam Newton is generally not a kingmaker for his receivers, but Funchess is in line to be the WR1 here, and has the profile of a touchdown scorer. (Pianow 1)
Pick 52: Marvin Jones, Det, WR24 – The king of the contested catch, a downfield monster as well — averages 17.5 YPC since joining the Lions. Quietly scored nine times last year; tied to a plus quarterback in Matthew Stafford. (Pianow 2)
Pick 53: Deshaun Watson, Hou, QB1 – Before felled by a knee injury his production over a seven-game stretch reached galactic proportions. Due largely to his duality, he averaged 28.6 fantasy points per game, nearly three full points per game ahead of No. 2 Russell Wilson. Similar to Michael Vick and other multidimensional assets before him, Watson could be the Thanos of passers. (Evans 1)
Pick 54: Aaron Rodgers, GB, QB2 – Since 2008, the decorated QB has finished No. 1 or No. 2 at his position in total fantasy points seven times. He’s undoubtedly a true consistency king slated to again challenge for the passer crown. No thrower possesses a higher floor. (Evans 2)
Pick 55: Hunter Henry, LAC, TE4 – Henry has found the end-zone 12 times in 25 career games. Antonio Gates is no longer in the team picture, so Henry’s outlook improves in a big way. (Behrens 1)
Pick 56: Jimmy Graham, GB, TE5 – This guy goes from Brees to Wilson to Rodgers. Must be nice. It’s clear that vintage Graham ain’t coming back, but he could easily catch another 8-12 TD passes in Green Bay. (Behrens 2)
Pick 57: Jay Ajayi, Phi, RB26 – This is admittedly a bit of a risk, but it sure appears the path to be Philly’s main back is cleared for Ajayi, and I want more pieces of this offense. He led the NFL in YPC (6.1) against light fronts last season. (Del Don 1)
Pick 58: Evan Engram, NYG, TE6 – He managed 722 yards and six touchdowns in just 15 games as a rookie in a dismal offense. Engram is clearly a monster in the making and could explode as a sophomore, although Eli Manning limits his upside somewhat. (Del Don 2)
Pick 59: Robert Woods, LAR, WR25 – Despite missing four games due to injury, Woods proved to be an ultra-reliable fantasy asset in 2017. When he was on the field from weeks three through sixteen, the former Bill produced top-thirty fantasy numbers on all but three occasions. His ceiling may not be as high as Brandn Cooks’, but his floor is decidedly more firm. (Loza 1)
Pick 60: Tarik Cohen, Chi, RB27 – You saw what Nagy did with Tyreek Hill last year, right? Well I expect the human joystick to get his Q*Bert on under the Bears’ new regime. (Loza 2)
Follow the Yahoo fantasy football crew on Twitter: Brad Evans, Liz Loza, Andy Behrens, Scott Pianowski and Dalton Del Don
