The NFL’s opt-out deadline has passed, and we are about a month away from the season’s start. It’s time to get ready for draft day, and there’s no better place to start than with the first round.
Working through a standard scoring lens, we will be analyzing a first-round mock draft for a 12-team league and subsequently assessing how those selections may affect your cheat sheet moving forward.
We will be using FantasyPros’ consensus rankings for current ADP information but my mock for the first round. In the spirit of transparency, my 2019 rankings missed in their demotions of Ezekiel Elliott and Nick Chubb from ADP. But to inspire some courage, the rankings projected players like Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Devin Singletary and Darren Waller to vastly outperform their ADP while correctly foreshadowing Melvin Gordon, Joe Mixon and Tyreek Hill’s disappointing outings.
1st-Round Standard Mock Draft
1. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers
2. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
3. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys
4. Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints
5. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans
6. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints
7. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings
8. Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
9. Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers
10. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns
11. Kenyan Drake, RB, Arizona Cardinals
12. Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons
The biggest deviations from ADP here are Clyde Edwards-Helaire’s inclusion at the expense of Joe Mixon and the replacement of Tyreek Hill (No. 9 per ADP) with Kenyan Drake (No. 23).
Edwards-Helaire is ranked at No. 22 by FantasyPros’ ADP, while Mixon is ranked at No. 10. One has to imagine that the former’s spot will rise shortly, as Damien Williams has opted out for the season. With Williams and LeSean McCoy both gone, the Kansas City Chiefs’ first-round pick is likely to get the majority of touches on one of the league’s most potent offenses. And as an electric dual-threat, he was rightfully the first running back drafted this year.
Washington RB released after he turned himself in today on domestic violence charges
Giants CB charged with four counts of robbery with a firearm; Seahawks CB Quinton Dunbar not facing charges