Fantasy Football 2018: Latest Mock Draft Strategy and Funny Team Names

The key in a crisis is to keep your head when everyone around you is losing theirs.

One of the keys in fantasy football is to stick with your game plan when everyone else is panicking.

Our philosophy is simple. We want to load up on running backs and receivers through the first eight rounds of the draft. It is only then we will consider taking a quarterback. 

The only possible exception is if we have a pick late in the first round and have a chance to select New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. The Patriots look quite limited at the wide receiver position this year, and that means Gronk could have a huge year with a dozen TD catches or more.

In this piece, we will look at the 16 selections our team made in a 12-team mock draft. Our picks are from the No. 5 position in a snake draft, meaning the No. 12 team picks last in the first round and first in the second round.

We ended up with five running backs, five wide receivers, two quarterbacks, two tight ends, one kicker and one defense in our standard league.

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1. RB Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys, Average Draft Position: 3.4

2. RB Dalvin Cook, Minnesota Vikings, Average Draft Position: 13.0

3. WR Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs, Average Draft Position: 29.2

4. WR Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders, Average Draft Position: 36.4

The first four rounds of the draft are about finding the core players on the team. Elliott should be an All-Pro player, perhaps not as good as Le'Veon Bell, but better than everyone else. Cook should be a dominant runner and receiver, as long as he can stay healthy. That's a gamble. Hill is basically impossible to cover if the Chiefs can block for strong-armed quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Cooper will be the go-to guy for Jon Gruden's Raiders.

5. RB Kerryon Johnson, Detroit Lions, Average Draft Position: 51.0

6. WR Sammy Watkins, Kansas City Chiefs, Average Draft Position: 79.7

7. RB Aaron Jones, Green Bay Packers, Average Draft Position: 87.7

8. WR Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams, Average Draft Position: 93.3

Johnson has a chance to key Detroit's ground game this year. Watkins has a world of ability, and Andy Reid is the head coach who can get the most out of him. Jones had a 5.5 yards-per-carry average as a rookie, and he should be a confident player this year. Our philosophy of taking running backs and receivers works perfectly here as Kupp is a potential game breaker even though he is an eighth-round selection.

9. QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints, Average Draft Position: 65.6

10. TE David Njoku, Cleveland Browns, Average Draft Position: 103.1

11. WR Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks, Average Draft Position: 139.4

12. RB Kalen Ballage, Miami Dolphins, Average Draft Position: Off the board

Waiting until the ninth round allowed the selection of Brees at quarterback. Who wants to argue? Njoku is an excellent weapon who led the Browns in TD receptions. Lockett is a burner for Seattle and while he is not consistent, he is capable of some big plays. Ballage may be an unknown now, but he won't be by the middle of October.

13. QB Kirk Cousins, Minnesota Vikings, Average Draft Position: 83.1

14. TE Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati Bengals, Average Draft Position: 146.2

15. PK Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots, Average Draft Position: 145.9

16. Los Angeles Chargers Defense, Average Draft Position: 124.4

Cousins gives our team a remarkable quarterback duo, and Eifert can be a productive tight end. Even though the wait was a long one, this team has arguably picked the best placekicker in the NFL. The Chargers have a dominant defender in Joey Bosa, and he will set a tone of aggressiveness for this team.

Humorous Team Names

The idea is to build the strongest team possible on draft day, but that's not enough. The best fantasy managers also have to make many personnel moves as the season moves along. Injuries will take their toll and players go into slumps. Adjustments have to be made quickly.

In addition to building a strong team, fantasy general managers want to come up with funny names. The one we chose (above) may not be worthy of a mention on the Tonight Show, but the purpose is clear. Lull our opponents to sleep by making them underestimate this unit.

Funny is good. Clever is good. These ideas are a mix of the two:

1. For Whom the Bell Tolls—Can't go wrong with Hemingway or Le'Veon.

2. Cool Brees—Future Hall of Famer.

3. Captain Kirk's New Crew—Cousins ready for a big year in Minnesota.

4. No Punt Intended—That's the goal of offense, in general, and our fantasy team, in particular.

5. A Manning By Any Other Name—Eli may not be Payton, but he has two Super Bowl rings.

6. Le'Veon a Prayer—It's a classic.

7. Elementary, Mr. Watson—DeShaun is on his way to becoming a superstar.

8. Hilton's Luxury Suite—We doubt T.Y. is paying for it in the hotel chain that bears his name.

9. Bend it Like Beckham—Odell has the paycheck, but David is an international star.

10. Start the Carr—The Raiders are depending on him.

11. Dr. Jekyll and Carlos Hyde—Cleveland is hoping their new running back is a star and not a scary monster.

12. Stairway to Evans—The Tampa Bay receiver should have a big year.

Average Draft Position (ADP) rankings courtesy of FantasyFootballCalculator.com.