Fantasy Football 2018: 1st-Round Mock Draft and Winning Strategy

The dog days of summer are slowly fading away, which means that the NFL regular season is around the corner. Teams are now gearing up for Week 1 of the NFL preseason, which begins this Thursday.

Fantasy football drafts are also in full swing, and it's time to do research before making picks.

Here's a look at the first round of a mock draft conducted on Yahoo (standard scoring), followed by commentary and a draft strategy to consider.

1st-Round Mock Draft

1. Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell (writer pick)

2. Los Angeles Rams RB Todd Gurley

3. Arizona Cardinals RB David Johnson

4. Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown

5. Dallas Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott

6. New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr.

7. New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara

8. Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins

9. New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley

10. Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones

11. Kansas City Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt

12. Los Angeles Chargers RB Melvin Gordon

Mock Draft Commentary: Who Should Go No. 1?

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell is the safest bet at No. 1. He has been sensational during his five-year career and should perform well in 2018 despite his current holdout—per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Bell should be back for Week 1.

In particular, his last two seasons have been stellar thanks to 3,830 yards from scrimmage and 20 touchdowns. He's also on a Steelers offense that arguably has the best wideout in the game in Antonio Brown and a second-year pro in JuJu Smith-Schuster who hauled in a ridiculous 73.4 percent of his targets last year. 

Teams would be foolish to stack the box against Bell, so the former Michigan State star should still have room to roam.

There weren't many surprises for the remainder of the first round. The top four in many drafts will likely go Bell, Brown, Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley and Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson in some order.

You can make a case for any of those players at No. 1. Gurley had 2,093 yards from scrimmage and 19 touchdowns in 2017. Brown has caught at least 101 passes in each of the last five seasons. Johnson led the league in yards from scrimmage (2,118) and touchdowns (20) in 2016 before a wrist injury ended his 2017 campaign in Week 1.

Ultimately, Bell has a longer track record than Gurley and Johnson, and his skills as a running back/wide receiver hybrid arguably make him more valuable than Brown in fantasy. The pick here is Bell for No. 1, but it's close.

Mock Draft Strategy

Consider drafting your starting running backs, wide receivers and tight end before picking your quarterback. After you take the signal-caller, select the four best available players available from the running backs and wideouts pool before going for a backup quarterback and tight end. Team defense and kicker should go last.

It's crucial to obtain as much running back and wideout depth as possible within the first 10 or 11 selections. Doing so gives you the option of mixing and matching every week.

For example, let's say you have Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton. He's a great player due for a bounce-back season with quarterback Andrew Luck calling signals again, but on paper, Indianapolis may have significant trouble against some teams on its schedule.

Specifically, the Jacksonville Jaguars and their brick-wall pass defense loom twice. Of note, Hilton will likely be covered by cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who is arguably the best in football at his position.

Therefore, it might be best to sit Hilton when he plays the Jags. If you go forth with taking running backs and wideouts early and often, you can start a solid bench option with a better matchup than Hilton in the wide receiver or flex spots.

Picking those bench players at wideout and running back is ideal in the middle to late rounds. The worst mistake you can make in that span is picking a kicker and defense to round out your starting lineup. These positions are expendable and have low ceilings. Consider streaming kickers and defenses week to week based on matchups as opposed to getting a top-line option at either position.