Fantasy Football 2018: PPR Cheatsheet, Strategy and 4-Round Mock Draft

The college football season has begun, the calendar has turned to September and the NFL season is right around the corner. The last fantasy football drafts of the season will take place over the next few days in advance of the opener on Thursday between the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles.

If your league hasn't drafted yet, here's a look at a top-40 ranking for point-per-reception leagues, top-10 lists for quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end, and a look at a four-round mock draft. You can then find some general strategy advice, in addition to analysis on a mistake to avoid.

Top-40 Rankings (Point-Per-Reception Leagues)

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1. Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell

2. Arizona Cardinals RB David Johnson

3. Los Angeles Rams RB Todd Gurley

4. Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown

5. New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara

6. New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley

7. Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins

8. Dallas Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott

9. Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey

10. New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr.

11. Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones

12. New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas

13. Kansas City Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt

14. Jacksonville Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette

15. Los Angeles Chargers RB Melvin Gordon

16. New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski

17. Baltimore Ravens RB Alex Collins

18. Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook

19. Chicago Bears RB Jordan Howard

20. Indianapolis Colts WR T.Y. Hilton

21. Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen

22. Green Bay Packers WR Davante Adams

23. Minnesota Vikings WR Stefon Diggs

24. Cincinnati Bengals WR A.J. Green

25. Pittsburgh Steelers WR Juju Smith-Schuster

26. Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce

27. Los Angeles Rams WR Brandin Cooks

28. Atlanta Falcons RB Devonta Freeman

29. Kansas City Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill

30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans

31. Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald

32. Detroit Lions WR Marvin Jones Jr.

33. Philadelphia Eagles TE Zach Ertz

34. New England Patriots WR Chris Hogan

35. Denver Broncos RB Royce Freeman

36. New England Patriots RB Rex Burkhead

37. Minnesota Vikings WR Adam Thielen

38. Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson

39. New England Patriots QB Tom Brady

40. Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers

Quarterback

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1. Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson

2. New England Patriots QB Tom Brady

3. Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers

4. Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton

5. Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson

6. New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees

7. Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck

8. Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins

9. Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes

10. San Francisco 49ers QB Jimmy Garoppolo

Running Back

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1. Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell

2. Arizona Cardinals RB David Johnson

3. Los Angeles Rams RB Todd Gurley

4. New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara

5. New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley

6. Dallas Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott

7. Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey

8. Kansas City Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt

9. Jacksonville Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette

10. Los Angeles Chargers RB Melvin Gordon

Wide Receiver

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1. Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown

2. Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins

3. New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr.

4. Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones

5. New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas

6. Indianapolis Colts WR T.Y. Hilton

7. Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen

8. Green Bay Packers WR Davante Adams

9. Minnesota Vikings WR Stefon Diggs

10. Cincinnati Bengals WR A.J. Green

Tight End

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1. New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski

2. Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce

3. Philadelphia Eagles TE Zach Ertz

4. Green Bay Packers TE Jimmy Graham

5. New York Giants TE Evan Engram

6. Chicago Bears TE Trey Burton

7. Carolina Panthers TE Greg Olsen

8. Indianapolis Colts TE Jack Doyle

9. Tennessee Titans TE Delanie Walker

10. Washington Redskins TE Jordan Reed

4-Round Mock Draft

Round 1

1. Los Angeles Rams RB Todd Gurley

2. Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell

3. Dallas Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott

4. Arizona Cardinals RB David Johnson (writer pick)

5. New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley

6. Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown

7. New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara

8. Houston Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins

9. New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr.

10. Los Angeles Chargers RB Melvin Gordon

11. Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones

12. New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas

Round 2

1. Kansas City Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt

2. Jacksonville Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette

3. Los Angeles Chargers WR Keenan Allen

4. Green Bay Packers WR Davante Adams

5. Cincinnati Bengals WR A.J. Green

6. Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey

7. Minnesota Vikings RB Dalvin Cook

8. Cincinnati Bengals RB Joe Mixon

9. New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski (writer pick)

10. Miami Dolphins RB Kenyan Drake

11. Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce

12. Atlanta Falcons RB Devonta Freeman

Round 3

1. Chicago Bears RB Jordan Howard

2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans

3. Green Bay Packers TE Jimmy Graham

4. Indianapolis Colts WR T.Y. Hilton (writer pick)

5. Minnesota Vikings WR Stefon Diggs

6. Minnesota Vikings WR Adam Thielen

7. San Francisco 49ers RB Jerrick McKinnon

8. Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald

9. Philadelphia Eagles TE Zach Ertz

10. Kansas City Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill

11. Baltimore Ravens RB Alex Collins

12. Seattle Seahawks WR Doug Baldwin

Round 4

1. Oakland Raiders WR Amari Cooper

2. Pittsburgh Steelers WR Juju Smith-Schuster

3. Detroit Lions WR Golden Tate

4. Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers

5. Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton

6. Denver Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas

7. Miami Dolphins WR Jarvis Landry

8. Houston Texans QB Deshaun Watson

9. Los Angeles Rams WR Brandin Cooks (writer pick)

10. Cleveland Browns WR Jarvis Landry

11. Denver Broncos RB Royce Freeman

12. Cleveland Browns WR Josh Gordon

General Strategy

My strategy is simple: Take the best available player at running back, wide receiver or tight end through the first six rounds, pick a starting quarterback seventh, select running backs or wideouts in the next five rounds and round out the team with a backup signal caller, kicker and defense.

Ultimately, there's more depth at quarterback than the other positions. Unless you are in a two-quarterback league, your worst-case starting scenario is someone ranked around No. 12 (per FantasyPros), like Philip Rivers of the Los Angeles Chargers or Jimmy Garoppolo of the San Francisco 49ers. Rivers has averaged 30.6 touchdown passes per year over the past five seasons, and Garoppolo averaged 308.4 passing yards per game in his five starts last season. Both are solid options.

There isn't as much depth at the other positions, simply because most leagues require a minimum of two running backs and two wide receivers (plus a flex or third wideout spot) in starting lineups.

For example, if you wait to pick a second running back, you could be selecting a player in a timeshare, like Tevin Coleman of the Atlanta Falcons or either of the Tennessee Titans running backs (Dion Lewis or Derrick Henry), all of whom are ranked in the 20s at the position, per FantasyPros. All three are certainly capable of having big years in theory thanks to their individual skillsets, but their touches may be more limited than others ranked higher.

Therefore, it's best to load up on running back, wide receiver and starting tight end early and and hope you hit the jackpot somewhere during the draft.

A note that I'm not looking to fill a position in a particular round when it comes to the flex-eligible spots. If I think a tight end is the best available player in the second round, I'll take him, as I did with Rob Gronkowski of the New England Patriots.

The only goal is to make sure I fill the starter spots before moving to the bench. In other words, if I am in a three-wideout league, I won't draft a fourth wide receiver before taking a starting tight end.

Draft Mistake

I got too cute in the third round of the mock draft. I'm very high on Baltimore Ravens running back Alex Collins, who in my estimation was the best available player remaining when my turn came to pick.

But I thought there was a chance he would fall to me in the fourth round, as he's ranked 40th overall on Yahoo. It's not uncommon to see players base their picks heavily off the rankings of the draft site they are using, so I took a gamble and hoped he would slip.

Unfortunately, I didn't have the foresight to realize that I had the 45th overall pick, which is obviously five spots ahead of Collins' No. 40 spot. Even worse, Collins didn't even last until the end of the third round.

I'm definitely happy with Indianapolis Colts wideout T.Y. Hilton, as I think he's in for a bounce-back year with Andrew Luck calling signals again.

However, Collins was ranked third among running backs with at least 100 carries in defense-adjusted value over average, per Football Outsiders. Also, after splitting time at running back with others last year, he's the clear No. 1 rushing option on Baltimore this season.

The lesson here is to take the players you like best and avoid playing yourself, which is essentially what happened.