Fantasy Football 2018: Examining Expert Mock Drafts After Preseason Week 1

Much like the Beatles, we all need some help at times in life, and that's certainly true in NFL fantasy football. There's no such thing as too much research, so I'm going to seek out some fantasy experts from around the web, gleaning information from their mock drafts to help aid you in your draft preparation.

You can also find my own top-50 rankings and rookie recommendations here (which, it should be noted, were compiled before Derrius Guice's season-ending ACL tear). 

We'll start with Yahoo Sports, which didn't release a new mock draft after the first week of the preseason but did update its rankings on Aug. 12. Since rankings can operate as a de facto mock draft, considering they are a guide to where players should be valued, we'll use Yahoo's updated rankings to study any emerging trends or interesting outliers (keeping in mind Yahoo has moved to a 0.5 PPR format as its standard). 

Also of note is that Yahoo takes the composite of five fantasy analysts (Andy Behrens, Brad Evans, Scott Pianowski, Dalton Del Don and Liz Loza) to form its rankings.

There aren't many surprises atop the rankings, where Todd Gurley, Le'Veon Bell, David Johnson, Antonio Brown and Ezekiel Elliott round out the top five. Yahoo is high on the top tier of tight ends, with Rob Gronkowski at No. 18 and Travis Kelce at No. 20, though that isn't a major difference from other projections of those players.

Yahoo is less high on Leonard Fournette (No. 25), however, moving him into third-round territory. Even in a 0.5 PPR format, that's lower than you'll find Fournette in other scenarios. In ESPN's 10-team PPR mock draft on Aug. 10, for instance, Tristan H. Cockcroft selected Fournette at No. 17 overall. In my own non-PPR two-round mock, I had Fournette off the board at No. 8. 

Yes, Fournette has less value in PPR formats than the elite options at the position outside of Ezekiel Elliott. But he also wasn't a non-factor in Jacksonville's passing game, registering 36 receptions for 302 yards and a score. 

And on a per-game basis, Fournette was valuable last year, averaging 103.2 yards from scrimmage and 0.7 touchdowns. Over a full 16-game season, that's 1,651 yards from scrimmage and 11 scores. That comes out to 231 fantasy points, which in standard leagues would have put Fournette fifth among running backs. 

Even missing three games, he still finished eighth at the position in standard formats. And Fournette has come into the preseason this year 17 pounds lighter than he was last year, healthier and arguably even quicker, per Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com.

"I feel like he's faster, just from seeing him catching the ball and exploding," defensive end Yannick Ngakoue told DiRocco. "I've seen him a couple of times [when] he caught a couple of routes and just was hitting it down the sidelines. I can tell he's been working hard."

Nonetheless, Fournette clearly divides opinion among Yahoo's writers. Behrens has him at 22 overall, Evans at 23, Pianowski at 38, Del Don at 14 and Loza at 42. It's possible that Fournette will drop in your own mock draft, but if he's a player you're targeting, don't be afraid to take him early. He could be in line for a monster season.

Now that we've dissected one player extensively, let's take a look at two separate mock drafts from specific starting positions. First, Jacob Camenker of the Sporting News did a 12-team standard-scoring mock draft from the No. 8 position, stocking up on players based upon where they "mostly" fell "in the top-200 rankings for the first 10 rounds."

Here were his first 10 players selected:

• 1. Kareem Hunt, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
• 2. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints
• 3. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
• 4. Alshon Jeffery, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
• 5. Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints
• 6. Ronald Jones II, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• 7. Josh Doctson, WR, Washington
• 8. Chris Carson, RB, Seattle Seahakws
• 9. DeVante Parker, WR, Dolphins
• 10. George Kittle, TE, 49ers

The interesting pick here is Rodgers in the third round (No. 32 overall). From a value perspective, that's right around in the draft where I'd also consider Rodgers. Fantasy owners are going to face a philosophical question this year, though: With so much depth at quarterback, where do you pull the trigger on the position? 

If Rodgers is sitting on the board in the third or fourth rounds, it's solid value. And Camenker quickly supplements it by loading up on running backs in the middle rounds in Ingram, Jones and Carson. 

Read your draft board when pulling the trigger on quarterback. If there are a lot of middle-round running backs you like still available, it's fine to nab a Rodgers or Tom Brady in the third round. But if a bunch of running backs you wanted are already off the board and there's a player at the position you like, they should take precedent. There is simply more quality depth at quarterback than any other position this year, something you should always keep in mind.

Let's take a look at one more draft, this time from Eric Karabell in ESPN's 10-team PPR mock, who started from the No. 3 position:

• 1. Le'Veon Bell, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
• 2. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers
• 3. Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons
• 4. Golden Tate, WR, Detroit Lions
• 5. Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland Browns
• 6. Duke Johnson Jr., RB, Cleveland Browns
• 7. Emmanuel Sanders, WR, Denver Broncos
• 8. Pierre Garcon, WR, San Francisco 49ers
• 9. Robby Anderson, WR, New York Jets
• 10. Trey Burton, TE, Chicago Bears

I focused on Karabell's draft because of how much value he placed on running backs and wideouts likely to snag a high volume of receptions and targets. He doesn't take a quarterback until the 14th round, when he takes Matt Stafford. 

And it's a totally viable approach. By waiting so long on quarterback and tight end, Karabell took a bunch of cracks at running back and wide receiver, increasing his likelihood of getting value at those positions. Once you get past the elite crop of tight ends, there's far less value to be had and certainly less distinction between the players, so why not wait and take a gamble on a player like Burton?

And Stafford was seventh among quarterbacks last year in ESPN leagues. Getting him in the 14th round is incredible value. 

The point of sharing these two mocks drafts is to show different approaches to this year's draft. Camenker saw value in Rodgers and pounced on it, adjusting later in his draft. Karabell clearly prioritized addressing running back and wide receiver early, finding value at tight end and quarterback later in the draft. 

My plan for this year's draft will likely mirror Karabell's more closely, at least philosophically. But either way, make sure you've done the research and planning to nail the later rounds, supplementing those positions that you neglect earlier in your draft. That, as much as nailing your early picks, is key to putting together a strong team.