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2020 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Updated 4-Round Selections and Strategy
David Grunfeld/Associated PressThere’s just over a week left to prepare for the 2020 fantasy football season. If you haven’t been paying close attention to some of the top training camp storylines, you probably have some cramming ahead of you.Fortunately, mock drafts can aid you in your fantasy cram session. They won’t tell you who is…
David Grunfeld/Associated Press
There's just over a week left to prepare for the 2020 fantasy football season. If you haven't been paying close attention to some of the top training camp storylines, you probably have some cramming ahead of you.
Fortunately, mock drafts can aid you in your fantasy cram session. They won't tell you who is going to perform well in 2020 or even who to draft, but they can give you a good idea of how players are being valued ahead of your actual draft.
Do you have your eye on a particular running back who continuously gets mocked in the top five? Guess what, he's probably not going to last until the late second round.
Here, we'll examine the first four rounds of a mock draft run with FantasyPros' Mock Draft Simulator. We'll examine some of the more interesting selections from the mock and dig into some strategies for approaching the early rounds.
2020 Fantasy Mock Draft, PPR
Round 1
1. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers
2. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
3. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys
4. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints
5. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans
6. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings
7. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
8. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints
9. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns
10. Miles Sanders, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
11. DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Arizona Cardinals
12. Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
Round 2
1. Josh Jacobs, RB, Las Vegas Raiders
2. Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
3. Kenyan Drake, RB, Arizona Cardinals
4. Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers
5. Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons
6. Tyreek Hill, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
7. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Cheifs
8. Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers
9. Chris Godwin, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
10. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
11. Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens
12. George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
Round 3
1. Allen Robinson, WR, Chicago Bears
2. Chris Carson, RB, Seattle Seahawks
3. James Conner, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
4. Kenny Golladay, WR, Detroit Lions
5. Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings
6. DJ Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers
7. JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
8. Todd Gurley, RB, Atlanta Falcons
9. Calvin Ridley, WR, Atlanta Falcons
10. Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens
11. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
12. Amari Cooper, WR, Dallas Cowboys
Round 4
1. Zach Ertz, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
2. Odell Beckham Jr., WR, Cleveland Browns
3. Robert Woods, WR, Los Angeles Rams
4. Melvin Gordon III, RB, Denver Broncos
5. Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
6. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts
7. A.J. Brown, WR, Tennessee Titans
8. Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks
9. DJ Chark Jr., WR, Jacksonville Jaguars
10. Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington football Team
11. Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos
12. Le'Veon Bell, RB, New York Jets
Chris Carlson/Associated Press
The first thing you'll probably notice about this mock is that there is a pretty heavy run on running backs at the top. This is a common occurrence in real life drafts—even in point-per-reception leagues—because of the depth at wide receiver.
It's important to grab your RB1 within the first three rounds, and ideally, you'll want one in the first two. There aren't many. However, there are many receivers likely to approach WR1 territory for the average team—25 wideouts topped the 1,000-yard mark in 2019.
That said, it's never wise to pass on truly elite receivers like Julio Jones or Davante Adams if the draft is entering the second tier of running backs. For example, Team 8 in this mock kicked off its draft with the duo of Michael Thomas and Julio Jones. There's simply too much high-end PPR value in that duo to pass on it—even if it means banking on a question mark like Todd Gurley as an RB1.
You'll also notice that Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson comes off the board in the late second round. That's not surprising given the year he had in 2019. However, that's too early to pull the trigger on a quarterback—especially since Jackson may not be quite the running machine he was a year ago.
“Obviously, Lamar's skill set and dynamic athletic ability—that's something we can have available every week and do a little bit more of it this week and a little bit less of it the next week,” offensive coordinator Greg Roman said, per ESPN's Jamison Hensley.
Jackson will obviously still be a running threat. However, there are likely to be weeks in which he is primarily a pocket passer. This doesn't mean he won't be a fantasy stud, of course, but it does mean that he might not tower over quarterbacks like Matt Ryan or Dak Prescott, who could be available several rounds later.
Now, taking Patrick Mahomes near the end of Round 3? That's more reasonable. Team 11 already has its WR1 and RB1 set in DeAndre Hopkins and Austin Ekeler. Grabbing arguably the most dependable fantasy quarterback after that isn't a major reach.
You'll also notice that only four tight ends went in the first four rounds here. If you're not grabbing one of the four drafted here—or Las Vegas Raiders tight end Darren Waller—it's best to wait until the middle of the draft for a tight end.
These guys serve as de facto No. 1 receivers in their respective offenses. Most tight ends do not.
The most important thing to keep in mind during your draft is to stay flexible.
If a run is draining value from a certain position, don't be afraid to pivot away from that position. A good practice is to set your own tiers at each position—for example, your first tier of running backs might consist of Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, Ezekiel Elliott and Alvin Kamara. If a position has entered a lower tier, it might be smart to turn elsewhere.
If the draft is in your third tier of running backs and there's a first-tier receiver on the board, taking that receiver is probably the right call.
However, you don't want to wait too long to address your starting positions. Drafting four top receivers when you can only start three doesn't make sense when it leaves you starting two middle-tier running backs. Of course, the whole challenge of a fantasy draft is finding the right balance between value and need.
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