Fantasy Football 2018: 10-Round Mock Draft, Team Names and More

Luckily, fantasy football leagues aren't won based solely on the draft, but if fantasy managers don't stockpile the right talent on their initial rosters right out of the gate, it can be a long season.

Draft day normally lands somewhere between the last two weeks of the preseason and the days leading up to the regular season kickoff, so until then, fantasy football enthusiasts are scrambling to gather any and all information to help them build useful strategies in selecting winning teams.

The long, arduous fantasy season will require owners to make adjustments due to injuries and performances, but no amount of tinkering can overcome an underwhelming draft.

For those looking to secure end-of-the-season bragging rights, mock drafts are a great way to get in some practice before the big day.

Below is a 10-round mock draft to help owners avoid getting stuck with overvalued players and zeroing in on potential sleeper picks and players who will net quality production this year.

In each of the 10 rounds, we'll pick one quarterback, one tight end, one place-kicker, one team defense/special teams, three wide receivers, two running backs and one reserve player (either a wide receiver, tight end or running back).

For the ninth and 10th round, we'll select kickers and defense/special teams, respectively.

Each round will feature 10 players. We'll pick fifth in the odd-numbered rounds and sixth in the even-numbered rounds.

Round 1

RB Le'Veon Bell, Pittsburgh
RB Todd Gurley, Los Angeles Rams
RB David Johnson, Arizona
WR Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh
WR DeAndre Hopkins, Houston
RB Ezekiel Elliot, Dallas
WR Julio Jones, Atlanta
RB Saquon Barkley, Giants
RB Alvin Kamara, New Orleans
RB Kareem Hunt, Kansas City

No. 5 selection: WR DeAndre Hopkins

Le'Veon Bell, Todd Gurley and David Johnson are easy choices for the first three picks. They are the kind of every-down running backs that will net fantasy football success.

Antonio Brown is a no-brainer for the fourth pick because he's paced the league's receiving corps in fantasy points for the last four years straight.

With a healthy Deshaun Watson back in the fold under center, DeAndre Hopkins should see a lot of targets this season, keeping him at the top of the class as far as volume, making him a safe bet at the fifth pick.

Round 2

WR Odell Beckham Jr., Giants
RB Leonard Fournette, Jacksonville
RB Melvin Gordon, Los Angeles Chargers
WR A.J. Green, Cincinnati
WR Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers
WR Davante Adams, Green Bay
WR Michael Thomas, New Orleans
WR Mike Evans, Tampa Bay
RB Christian McCaffrey, Carolina
RB Dalvin Cook, Minnesota

No. 6 selection: WR Davante Adams

Odell Beckham Jr. and A.J. Green won't be on the board when this pick comes up, so Davante Adams is a great talent in this spot, especially considering that he ended the season as a top-12 wideout even though Aaron Rodgers' backup Brett Hundley started seven games.

This year, Adams will be Rodgers' No. 1 target and they will build on their chemistry as the season unfolds. This will no doubt lead to his first 1,000-yard season and, hopefully, a third straight year with double-digit touchdowns.

Tim Warner/Getty Images

Round 3

TE Rob Gronkowski, Green Bay
RB Devonta Freeman, Atlanta
RB Jerick McKinnon, San Francisco
WR Mike Evans, Tampa Bay
TE Travis Kelce, Kansas City
RB Joe Mixon, Cincinnati
RB Doug Baldwin, Seattle
WR T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis
TE Zach Ertz, Philadelphia
WR Stephon Diggs, Minnesota

No. 5 selection: RB Joe Mixon

Joe Mixon got off to a slow start last season until Jeremy Hill was sidelined. From Week 8 to Week 12, the former Sooner went on to average 17.6 touches per game before suffering a concussion in Week 13 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Mixon was on pace to be the 13th ranked back before his injury, signalling that this year, if the Bengals can improve on the offensive side of the ball, he'll be a steal in the third round and rack up those fantasy points.

Round 4

RB LeSean McCoy, Buffalo
WR Adam Thielen, Minnesota
WR Tyreke Hill, Kansas City
RB Derrick Henry, Tennessee
QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay
WR Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders
RB Kenyan Drake, Miami
RB Jay Ajayi, Philadelphia
WR Golden Tate, Detroit
WR Josh Gordon, Cleveland

No. 6 selection: WR Amari Cooper

Amari Cooper's ankle injury, coupled with Derek Carr's bad back, made last season one to forget for the former Alabama wideout. Cooper logged two straight 1,000-yard seasons before last year's dud, so he'll likely bounce back, especially considering the Raiders cut bait with Michael Crabtree.

Jordy Nelson and Martavis Bryant will be new targets for Carr, but it's Cooper who has chemistry with the Raiders' quarterback, meaning he's got a good shot at taking home WR2 status.

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

Round 5

WR Demaryius Thomas, Denver
WR Allen Robinson, Chicago
WR Juju Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh
WR Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona
RB Alex Collins, Baltimore
WR Alshon Jeffrey, Philadelphia
RB Royce Freeman, Denver
RB Rashaad Penny, Seattle
QB Tom Brady, New England
RB Derrius Guice, Washington

No. 5 selection: RB Alex Collins

Alex Collins is a bargain here with this pick considering that he's No. 38 on average draft position (ADP).

Last year, Collins was just shy of rushing for his first 1,000-yard season. With Kenneth Dixon out with a soft tissue injury, he'll likely get his chance to be the workhorse back and build on the 973 yards and six touchdowns he ended with last year.

Round 6

WR Jarvis Landry, Cleveland
TE Greg Olsen, Carolina
WR Brandin Cooks, Los Angeles Rams
RB Mark Ingram, New Orleans
RB Ronald Jones II, Tampa Bay
QB Cam Newton, Carolina
RB Sony Michel, New England
WR Pierre Garcon, San Francisco
WR Robert Woods, Los Angeles Rams
WR Michael Crabtree, Baltimore

No. 6 selection: QB Cam Newton

The fact that Kelvin Benjamin called out his abilities as a quarterback will be all the fuel Cam Newton needs to have a stellar year.

Last season, Newton had a QB rating of 80.7 but made up for it with his feet, rushing for a career-high 754 yards on top of six touchdowns. He's got some weapons around him now with wideouts like Devin Funchess, so he'll most likely return to form as a top-five QB.

Round 7

RB Marshawn Lynch, Oakland Raiders
QB Deshaun Watson, Houston
WR Emmanual Sanders, Denver
WR Sammy Watkins, Kansas City
TE Jimmy Graham, Green Bay
WR Julian Edelman, New England
RB Dion Lewis, Tennessee
RB Lamar Miller, Houston
WR Marvin Jones Jr., Detroit
WR Will Fuller V, Houston

No. 5 selection: TE Jimmy Graham

Jordy Nelson, Aaron Rodgers' favorite target in red zone, is gone to the Oakland Raiders so that opens things up big time for Jimmy Graham, who can slide into that besties spot if he wants it.

The worry is that at 32 years old, there's signs that he might be on decline, especially considering that he didn't have any breakout games last year on yardage with an elite quarterback. Rodgers is a step up from Russell Wilson and he's got a knack for finding the end zone, so Graham will have a chance to make a resurgence and have a huge impact if he can rack up touchdowns.

Round 8

RB Chris Thompson, Washington
RB Duke Johnson Jr., Cleveland
WR Jamison Crowder, Washington 
WR Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
WR Devin Funchess, Carolina
RB Tarik Cohen, Chicago
QB Drew Brees, New Orleans
TE Evan Engram, New York Giants
WR Corey Davis, Tennessee
QB Russell Wilson, Seattle 

No. 6 selection: RB Tarik Cohen

Tarik Cohen should have a great year because the Chicago Bears didn't add any running backs in the draft, leaving the workload up to him and Jordan Howard. 

Cohan had a solid rookie year in the rushing game, racking up 370 yards as a change-of-pace back, but it was his work in the passing game that truly stood out. He netted 353 yards on 53 receptions and new head coach Matt Nagy is expected to expand on those skills by moving Cohen around in his innovative offense.

Round 9

PK Justin Tucker, Baltimore
PK Stephen Gostkowski, New England
PK Will Lutz, New Orleans
PK Matt Bryant, Atlanta
PK Jake Elliott, Philadelphia
PK Greg Zuerlein, Los Angeles Rams
PK Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh
PK Jake Butt, Denver
PK Harrison Butker, Kansas City
PK Dan Bailey, Dallas

No. 5 selection: PK Jake Elliott

Consistency wasn't Jake Elliott's best trait last season, but he did close things out with stellar production, making 83.9 percent of his field goals and 92.9 percent of points after touchdowns. Last season, he exceeded projected fantasy points 10 weeks out of 16.

Round 10

Def Jacksonville
Def Minnesota
Def Philadelphia
Def Houston
Def Baltimore
Def Los Angeles Rams
Def Denver
Def Los Angeles Chargers
Def New England
Def Carolina

No. 6 selection: Los Angeles Rams

With six new starters on defense, the Los Angeles Rams are primed to be a fantasy force. The addition of Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters and Ndamukong Suh will help make this defensive group just as impressive as the offensive side of the ball.

Team names

Let's face it, team names are the best part of fantasy football, yet they're the hardest to settle on.

We'll help spark the creative process for team names with 10 that will certainly turn heads when people hear them.

All the Boys and Gurleys
Le'Veon it to Beaver
JuJu's on the Beat
The Day after Kamara
The Brady Bunch
Requiem for Kareem
Rebel Without a Gronk
One Flew Over the Beckham's Nest
Get Ur Zeke On