Fantasy Football 2020: Examining Expert Mock Drafts Ahead of Opening Week

There's just one week remaining before the 2020 NFL season kicks off.

Is your fantasy football big board set?

Obviously, time is of the essence, as most leagues that haven't drafted yet are likely doing so this weekend. So, to assist with your upcoming cram sessions, we'll examine how the experts have handled their latest mock drafts.

Expert Fantasy Football Mock Drafts

Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport (12-Team PPR, Drafting 4th)

Davenport has a clear, concise message for fantasy managers: Pound the running back position this season.

"At the rate the RB position is being decimated in 2020, I'm all about early investment at that spot," Davenport wrote.

He opened with Ezekiel Elliott in the first round, and after grabbing DeAndre Hopkins in the second (only because his running back targets were off the board), Davenport went back to the position with his third (Leonard Fournette), fourth (Devin Singletary) and fifth (Ronald Jones II) picks. For context, this draft went down before Fournette was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars and signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Davenport's strategy made sense, as the rest of the league effectively applied it, too. Through three rounds, 21 of the first 36 picks were running backs.

Davenport still formed a solid receiving core with Hopkins, T.Y. Hilton and Tyler Boyd (plus Jamison Crowder as a reliable WR4), while his 10th- and 13th-round picks set his quarterback spot with Matthew Stafford and Ben Roethlisberger, respectively.

ESPN's Tristan H. Cockcroft (12-Team PPR, Drafting 1st)

The overarching theme from ESPN's mock was no different than B/R's.

"The trend is clear," ESPN's Joe Kaiser wrote, "running backs are a higher priority in the first two rounds than ever."

Saying that, Cockcroft took a different approach to extract value elsewhere. After making the easy call to grab Christian McCaffrey at the top, Cockcroft went away from the running back spot for three of his next four picks. He doubled-down at wideout at the 2/3 turn with Kenny Golladay and Mike Evans, then after picking up Todd Gurley II in the fourth round, Cockcroft opened the fifth with T.Y. Hilton.

Cockcroft's early investments on non-running backs continued at other positions. He spent his seventh-round pick on Dak Prescott, making him the fourth quarterback selected (behind Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray). Cockcroft then took Noah Fant in the ninth round as the ninth tight end taken.

Cockcroft's running back group wound up featuring McCaffrey, Gurley, Mark Ingram II (sixth round), Duke Johnson (10th) and Justin Jackson (13th).

CBS Sports' Jamey Eisenberg (12-Team PPR, Drafting 6th)

Have we spent enough time stressing the high price tags on running backs yet? Probably not, actually.

This draft started with six straight running backs, including Eisenberg's selection of Dalvin Cook. After Michael Thomas went with the seventh pick, another stretch of six straight running back selections started.

The positions started to diversify from there, as six wide receivers, two tight ends and a quarterback (Mahomes) went in Round 2. Eisenberg was responsible for one of those tight end picks, as he took Travis Kelce 19th overall. Eisenberg's initial target for that slot was Aaron Jones, but after he came off the board at the 17th pick, Eisenberg saw Kelce as "an amazing consolation prize."

Eisenberg took the pass-catcher route in Rounds 3 and 4 with Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett, respectively.

"I drafted Ridley over Mike Evans, which could be a mistake, but I love the upside for Ridley in his third season," Eisenberg wrote.

Only three of Eisenberg's first nine picks were running backs: Cook, Melvin Gordon (fifth round) and Tarik Cohen (seventh). Five were receivers: Ridley, Lockett, Stefon Diggs (sixth), Preston Williams (eighth) and CeeDee Lamb (ninth). Eisenberg waited until Round 11 to find his quarterback, Matt Ryan.