Fantasy Football 2020: Latest Mock Draft Strategy and Funny Team Names

If you're lucky enough, then you haven't drafted just yet. Most seasons reward those who take precautions and draft as late as possible, but this year feels particularly unpredictable. Case in point, the Jacksonville Jaguars released Leonard Fournette with about a week-and-a-half before the season's start, throwing multiple running back rooms into disarray.

Further, the Washington Football Team's Antonio Gibson should shoot up draft boards, as the team cut Adrian Peterson Friday with less than a week to go before Week 1.

More than ever, fantasy managers need to rely on earlier game tape and, unfortunately, cling to the tiniest bit of information pressed out of training camps—whether that be quotes from players, coaches and beat writers or...bite-sized camp clips posted by teams on social media.

To help you get situated, we're looking at an updated, standard-league mock draft of the first round, followed by some tips to keep in mind on especially nebulous draft days. Finally, allowing you to shift from managerial duties to your team's marketing and branding department, we'll throw down some of the funnier team names in 2020. 

2020 Mock Draft, Round 1 

1. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers

2. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

3. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys

4. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings

5. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints

6. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

7. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints

8. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans

9. Josh Jacobs, RB, Oakland Raiders

10. Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

11. Kenyan Drake, RB, Arizona Cardinals

12. Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers

Consider Contracts

Whether it's holdouts, signings or releases, you need to be up to date on every bit of signing information possible. You don't want to have to scramble on draft day and research a player's situation. So, in advance, you should be searching intriguing players' names on Twitter, in particular, to stay up to speed.

Joe Mixon got his contract sorted with the Cincinnati Bengals and immediately jumped in value, while Alvin Kamara and Dalvin Cook are still negotiating—lending additional hesitation to their ADP. They're still too valuable to drop, but their contract situations, coupled with injury history, could make the third back in their tier, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, more appealing.

Conversely, Fournette's release by the Jaguars and subsequent signing by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has complicated both backfields. Being aware of contractual shakeups like his should allow you to research Ryquell Armstead and Devine Ozigbo accordingly for the Jacksonville lead back role, while downgrading Ronald Jones and Fournette in Tampa Bay. As a similar, albeit lower-profile example, Mohamed Sanu's release from the New England Patriots can turn N'Keal Harry into a more appealing sleeper.

Be aware of contract situations, whether they're player holdouts or teams that are unwilling to pay up for their players. Talent and fit outweigh the murmurings of financial dispute, but all risk factors should be researched, especially toward the fringes of your positional tiers.

Re-Evaluate Rosters

Like adjusting your expectations based on a player holding out, being released or getting signed, you similarly need to keep up with roster adjustments due to factors outside of budgetary concerns, including trades, draft picks, projected improvements and health.

DeAndre Hopkins has more target competition following his trade to the Arizona Cardinals. Joe Mixon has a better offensive line and should face fewer stacked boxes now that 2019 first-rounder, offensive tackle Jonah Williams and star wide receiver AJ Green are healthy (not to mention the drafting of a magnetic outside force in the 6'4" Tee Higgins).

Josh Jacobs, meanwhile, has more experience under his belt on a continually coalescing team that has added a tandem of dynamic rookie receivers to open the game up through the air. Stats and tape don't tell the whole story, it's best to take a step back and re-examine each roster's potential, rounding out the details that don't stick out as bluntly as contractual changes.  

Know Your Kittle and Kelce Strategy

Every season, tight ends present an interesting fantasy conundrum. But the strategy with which you approach them can typically be applied to other positions as well: predict your depth. 

George Kittle and Travis Kelce are the NFL's two best tight ends and, fittingly, fantasy's as well. Kelce led all tight ends with 157.3 points in 2019, 14.1 more than Kittle, 32.8 more than the TE6 and 80.4 than the TE12. That's a wide gulf and exciting value, but he was outscored by 19 running backs and 11 wide receivers. Most leagues only have to start one tight end and, even if you have the league's best, you're still likely to be outscored by teams who are starting multiple high-end backs and receivers.

Those positions are obvious draft priorities, but you should have contingency plans in place that allow you to come away with Kelce or Kittle (or even the next tier of guys in the middle rounds: Mark Andrews, Zach Ertz and Darren Waller). That strategy is dictated by your positional tiers and awareness of the draft's progression.

Since Kelce and Kittle go in the second or third rounds, you can't obtain perfect balance at running back or receiver before picking one up. But every draft is different and, should enough of a certain caliber of back or receiver drop, you can go ahead and grab that advantage at tight end. If your tiers allow you to wait on a player who is falling into the next round, then you can prioritize elsewhere. But this is, of course, a gamble, so you need to know exactly who you're content taking in subsequent rounds once you've sacrificed overall team scoring for an advantage at tight end.

2020 Fantasy Team Names

DaBrady

JoeJoe's Bizarre Adventure

Rum Ham Newton

The Tagovailorian

Too Prescott to Handle

Chevrolet Kamara

CinnaMontgomery Toast Crunch

Clyde Your Kids, Clyde Your Wife

Henrything Is Possible

TGS: The Gurley Show

Classy, Jeudy, Ratchet

Keenan: Masters of the Universe

SpongeBoyd RareHands