Fantasy Football 2018: Mock Draft Strategy, Cheatsheet Entering Preseason Week 1

It's important to gather as much information as possible prior to taking part in a fantasy football draft. For example, if your draft is during Labor Day weekend, don't get all of your research in now, as you can grab news and notes from preseason games and beat reports.

Therefore, the rankings below are a bit fluid, as things can happen between now and early September.

Still, we can create a solid idea on where everything stands based on past performances and future projections, so here's a look at a top-10 cheatsheet for each position, as well as a look at a squad picked via a 12-team mock draft on Yahoo. Standard scoring applied, and strategy discussion based on that team is below.

Top 10 Overall

1. Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell

2. Los Angeles Rams RB Todd Gurley

3. Arizona Cardinals RB David Johnson

4. Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown

5. Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins

6. New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara

7. Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones

8. New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley

9. Dallas Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott

10. New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell is the No. 1 choice by a nose over the second through fourth selections on this list. Bell has been a dominant force in the league for nearly the entirety of his five-year career, and it's hard to ignore his consistency as well as his pass-catching ability for a fantastic offensive team.

Look out for Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, though. With Watson back healthy after suffering a torn ACL last season, the duo could become the most electrifying combo in the league. Even without Watson for most of the 2017 campaign, Hopkins still accumulated 96 catches, 1,378 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Quarterback

1. Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson

2. Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers

3. New England Patriots QB Tom Brady

4. Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson

5. Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton

6. New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees

7. Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins

8. Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck

9. Philadelphia Eagles QB Carson Wentz

10. Detroit Lions QB Matt Stafford

The edge in the top five goes to quarterbacks with rushing abilities, which is a great bonus in fantasy. Watson is the leader overall, as it's hard to ignore his stats from last season in just six-and-a-half games played (19 passing touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns). He also averaged 294.4 passing yards per game in his last five outings, per Pro Football Reference, and added 269 total rushing yards.

In the bottom half of the top 10, Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck could be ready for a bounce-back year provided he's healthy for the 2018 campaign. He's established excellent rapports with wideout T.Y. Hilton and tight end Jack Doyle, and the trio could help Indianapolis become a top-10 offense again.

Running Back

1. Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell

2. Los Angeles Rams RB Todd Gurley

3. Arizona Cardinals RB David Johnson

4. New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara

5. New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley

6. Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook

7. Kansas City Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt

8. Dallas Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott

9. Atlanta Falcons RB Devonta Freeman

10. Baltimore Ravens RB Alex Collins

Keep an eye on Baltimore Ravens running back Alex Collins, who Football Outsiders ranked as one of the top backs in the league last season (sixth in defense-adjusted yards per replacement).

Collins gained 1,160 yards from scrimmage in addition to six touchdowns last year. He also showcased pass-catching abilities (23 receptions), which could be a boost for point-per-reception leagues.

The third-year pro split time in the backfield last year with others, but he's the clear No. 1 running back going into this season and should see more touches.

Wide Receiver

1. Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown

2. Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins

3. Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones

4. New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr.

5. New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas

6. Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen

7. Minnesota Vikings WR Stefon Diggs

8. Cincinnati Bengals WR A.J. Green

9. Green Bay Packers WR Davante Adams

10. Indianapolis Colts WR T.Y. Hilton

Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus offered this statistical praise of Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs:

The former University of Maryland star also has a fan in Adam Rank of NFL Network:

Diggs' numbers didn't pop off the page last year (64 catches, 849 yards, eight touchdowns), but he had an impressive 67.4 percent catch rate. That followed a 75 percent catch rate from 2016.

It's also important to note that Diggs is just 24 years old and could be due for a monstrous career leap. If he gets more targets, look for that to happen.

Elsewhere, touchdown machine Davante Adams of the Green Bay Packers, who has scored 22 times in the past two years, will re-establish his rapport with Aaron Rodgers. The Packers legend missed part of last season with a broken collarbone, but he's healthy and ready to go for 2018. Adams could be in line for a top--10 fantasy season at wideout.

Tight End

1. New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski

2. Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce

3. Philadelphia Eagles TE Zach Ertz

4. New York Giants TE Evan Engram

5. Green Bay Packers TE Jimmy Graham

6. Carolina Panthers TE Greg Olsen

7. Indianapolis Colts TE Jack Doyle

8. Tennessee Titans TE Delanie Walker

9. Chicago Bears TE Trey Burton

10. Minnesota Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph

The top three on this list is set in stone. New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski leads the way thanks to his excellent individual accolades, but if Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II has a breakout year, keep an eye on tight end Travis Kelce for the No. 1 spot.

Mahomes was an exciting college player at Texas Tech with a penchant for big moments, and his dynamic play could be a boon for the entire Chiefs offense.

The sleeper here is Chicago Bears tight end Trey Burton, who will be the starter after backing up Zach Ertz in Philadelphia for the first portion of his career. Burton may be the Bears' No. 2 pass-catching option behind Allen Robinson and could have 50-plus receptions.

Kicker

1. Atlanta Falcons K Matt Bryant

2. New Orleans Saints K Wil Lutz

3. Detroit Lions K Matt Prater

4. Los Angeles Rams K Greg Zuerlein

5. New England Patriots K Stephen Gostkowski

6. Baltimore Ravens K Justin Tucker

7. Pittsburgh Steelers K Chris Boswell

8. Kansas City Chiefs K Harrison Butker

9. Green Bay Packers K Mason Crosby

10. Dallas Cowboys K Dan Bailey

All of the kickers on this list have one of three traits: monster legs, placement on a solid offensive team or a home indoor stadium. The top three players on this list arguably have all three under their belts, with the Atlanta Falcons' Matt Bryant leading the way.

The important thing to note on kickers, however, is that it's a highly variant fantasy position. Kickers don't control part of their destiny: If their team is having a bad offensive day, chances are they won't be involved in nearly as many scoring opportunities. They also have a limited offensive ceiling, so it's best to take any kicker last in a draft.

Defense

1. Jacksonville Jaguars

2. Minnesota Vikings

3. Los Angeles Rams

4. Baltimore Ravens

5. Philadelphia Eagles

6. Denver Broncos

7. Los Angeles Chargers

8. New Orleans Saints

9. Carolina Panthers

10. New York Giants     

The Jaguars are the easy pick at No. 1 after their phenomenal 2017 season, but the issue for them is that the AFC South's offenses look tough on paper.

Watson and Luck are back, instantly making those two teams much better. The Tennessee Titans picked up running back Dion Lewis to join Derrick Henry and form a tough backfield, and second-year wideout Corey Davis is a candidate for a breakout year.

The Jags have to play those teams a combined six times in addition to other tough contests against the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers, but still, Jacksonville was second in sacks and interceptions last year, and it's hard to look past those figures.

12-Team Mock Draft (Standard League, 10th Pick in 1st Round)

QB: Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson (third round)

RB: Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook (second round), Tennessee Titans RB Dion Lewis (sixth round)

WR: Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones (first round), Pittsburgh Steelers WR Juju Smith-Schuster (fourth round), Los Angeles Rams WR Brandin Cooks (fifth round)

TE: Indianapolis Colts TE Eric Ebron (13th round)

K: Green Bay Packers K Mason Crosby (15th round)

D/ST: New Orleans Saints (14th round)

Bench: Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck (10th round), Cleveland Browns RB Carlos Hyde (ninth round), Philadelphia Eagles RB Corey Clement (11th round), Carolina Panthers WR Devin Funchess (seventh round), San Francisco 49ers WR Marquise Goodwin (eighth round), Chicago Bears WR Anthony Miller (12th round)

Strategy

My typical strategy is to pick as many running backs and wideouts as possible until the middle of the draft, when I'll start looking for a quarterback. The rationale is simple: It's far easier to find a starter for one slot than it is to find starters for two or three slots in the case of running backs and wideouts. 

It's a numbers game: There are 32 starting quarterbacks, and even if you wait until the middle of the draft, you can still get a top-10 option at the position.

But I had to throw that strategy out the window.

I got an awkward spot to start (10th overall), which put me out of position to draft any of the four players I believe can make cases for going No. 1 (the top four overall you see above). I took the best player available (Falcons wideout Julio Jones) before picking Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook, who could be in line for a monster season in a dynamite offense.

However, when the third-round pick rolled along, I had the quarterbacks rated far higher than anyone else available. In the end, I chose to go with value over strategy and took the No. 1 signal-caller in my estimation (Watson).

I went back to that aforementioned strategy for picks four through nine, largely emphasizing players rated highly in 2017 by Football Outsiders (like Steelers wideout Juju Smith-Schuster and Tennessee Titans running back Dion Lewis) or others who were clear No. 1 options in the run or pass games for their teams (like 49ers wideout Marquis Goodwin).

I took a chance that Luck bounces back and has a healthy season: If so, he's a steal in the 10th round. I also took a gamble on his new teammate (tight end Eric Ebron) in the 13th round. The hope there is that the former top-10 draft pick experiences a career bounce-back in a new home and forms an excellent two-tight end duo with Jack Doyle. If Luck does well, then Ebron could be a beneficiary.

As for the other picks, I grabbed the best "flex" positions players available in rounds 11 and 12 before rounding out the draft with a defense and kicker.