Fantasy Football 2018: Examining Preseason Mock Draft and Cheatsheet

Fantasy football enthusiasts have spent the entire offseason examining the player pool and drafting until their eyes turn red. Yet plenty more players wait until the NFL preseason to start preparing, and that's perfectly fine as well.

Nearly four weeks remain until NFL's 2018 kickoff on September 6. Those serious about winning will spend some of those days poring over data, formulating their rankings and testing those valuations through mock drafts. After taking a few practice spins, they will get a sense of when to best land a quarterback (late) and when the running-back market dwindles (early). 

On Monday, I conducted a mock draft using FantasyPros' Draft Wizard simulation. I picked against 11 automated teams using expert rankings and composite average draft position (ADP) data, conducting the draft using the half-point-per-reception (PPR) scoring system.

The random generator initially assigned me the second pick, but taking whoever is left between Todd Gurley and Le'Veon Bell is too easy. Another click yielded the seventh selection. That's a more challenging spot presenting multiple different paths.

Before observing the mock draft results, here are my early 2018 rankings. But of course you're going to make your own, right?

Cheat Sheet:

Mock Draft Results:

QB: Philip Rivers, LAC (RD10, Pick 114)

RB: Devonta Freeman, ATL (RD2, Pick 18)

RB: Derrius Guice, WAS (RD5, Pick 55)

WR: DeAndre Hopkins, HOU (RD1, Pick 7)

WR: Stefon Diggs, MIN (RD3, Pick 31)

WR: Demaryius Thomas, DEN (RD4, Pick 42)

TE: Delanie Walker, TEN (RD7, Pick 79)

FLEX: Dion Lewis, TEN (RD6, Pick 66)

DST: Houston Texans (RD15, Pick 175)

K: Jake Elliott, PHI (RD16, Pick 186)

BN: Rex Burkhead, NE (RD8, Pick 90)

BN: Kenny Stills, MIA (RD9, Pick 103)

BN: Chris Carson, SEA (RD11, Pick 127)

BN: D.J. Moore, CAR (RD12, Pick 138)

BN: Jimmy Garoppolo, SF (RD13, Pick 151)

BN: Geronimo Allison, GB (RD14, Pick 162)

Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

There are drafts when the competition repeatedly dashes your dreams and ruins your plans at the last possible moment. Then there are times like this mock where the stars keep aligning.

DeAndre Hopkins, who drew an NFL-high 176 targets last season, recorded 551 yards and six touchdowns in six games started by Deshaun Watson. He's precisely the guy I wanted when drawing the seventh selection.

This could be the last time Stefon Diggs is ever available as late as the third round. Before injuring his groin before Week 5, the Minnesota Vikings wideout began a breakout expedition with a pair of two-touchdown outings. Following an uneven return, he again caught fire by finding pay dirt in his final three regular-season contests.

That was before accruing 207 yards and an iconic touchdown on 22 targets in a pair of postseason tilts. Look for the 24-year-old to usurp Adam Thielen as Minnesota's premier receiver.

Demaryius Thomas in the fourth? Please and thank you. Although he snapped a five-year streak of 90 catches and 1,000 receiving yards, he still finished 21st among wideouts in half-PPR scoring. At this cost, I'm paying for his steady floor while anticipating improvement with better quarterback play from Case Keenum.

All three receivers have a Week 10 bye, but that's a foolish reason to leave value on the board. There's plenty of time to find temporary replacements on the waiver wire. Give me the dominant trio for 14 or 15 (depending on when the fantasy playoffs end) other weeks.

Most of my favorite picks would not have been possible against human competition. After loading up on receivers, I was ecstatic to see Derrius Guice waiting in the fifth. The Washington rookie has the talent and job opening to finish as a top-10 contributor, so preseason buzz should firmly entrench him into the third- and fourth-round territory. 

By the time you read this, it will also be too late to steal Rex Burkhead in the eighth round. His August helium has expanded in light of Sony Michel having fluid drained from his knees.

The rookie is not guaranteed to be ready for Week 1:

Burkhead was the 30th running back taken in this mock. Fantasy players, meanwhile, are now split on his status as a top-20 back:

Chris Carson's stock is also trending upward at the expense of a first-round pick. According to Gregg Bell of the News Tribune, the 2017 seventh-round pick is "clearly ahead" of Rashaad Penny. Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll continued to hype the 23-year-old running back, whom he called "remarkably fit" in his return from a broken leg.

"Remember, we've always talked about Chris as a very well-rounded player," Carroll said, "He can run, he can catch the football, he can run good routes in and out of the backfield, and he is a very equipped blocker. He's a very, very special guy for special teams, too. He does everything right, so he's an exciting part of our team."

Carson will soar up draft boards if Carroll doesn't soon change his tune. Get him in the double-digit rounds while you can.

This practice run also validated an approach everyone will all grow tired of hearing this month: Wait on quarterback. Philip Rivers, who has played every game since replacing Drew Brees in 2006, has exceeded 4,000 passing yards in nine of the last 10 years. He has averaged 29.8 touchdowns per season during that durable decade.

Not bad for a 10th-round price tag. Although I'm not driving the Jimmy Garoppolo bandwagon, he happened to fall in this simulation. If he hadn't, I would have instead paired the Los Angeles Chargers veteran with Matt Ryan, Alex Smith or Marcus Mariota, all of whom went in the 13th or 14th round.

FantasyPros graded this draft a 92 out of 100. Perhaps snagging Tom Brady or Cam Newton in the sixth round would have turned that A-minus into an A-plus, but I'd love to leave a real draft with this squad.