Way-To-Early 2020 Fantasy Mock Draft

Far too early, I'm already trying to get a glimpse of my 2020-2021 Fantasy Football team. Last season, I won it all, my first in 13 years playing with a highly-competitive group of guys. I'll be coming into 2020 without a 2nd round pick (for Derrick Henry last season) or a 4th round pick (for Evan Engram last season), thanks to a couple of trades that saw me win the whole deal. In the mock, I drafted my own rookie keeper Miles Sanders in the 2nd round to account for that pick I won't have, and Raheem Mostert in the 4th to account for the roster spot of my keeper (either Derrick Henry or Alvin Kamara). 

Round 1: Kenny Golladay, WR - Detroit Lions

Coming in with two running backs already, I needed to go WR with the first pick. Chris Godwin was available right before Golladay, but I felt better with Kenny this season. Godwin was a revelation for me in 2019, but the new look Bucs with an aging Tom Brady may limit his upside. Plus, Mike Evans still lurks at the other receiver position, and the addition of Gronk at tight end will limit Godwin's looks. Golladay feels like a safer bet altogether, as it's really just he, Marvin Jones Jr., and T.J. Hockenson in the Lions passing game.

Round 2: Miles Sanders, RB - Philadelphia Eagles

I reached for Miles in the 2019 draft. I knew he had to earn his keep in Philly and I held onto him all season. By the end, he was the guy in the Eagles backfield and helped propel me towards a title. This season, I think his ADP is far too high, but he is the lead back for the Eagles with only Boston Scott behind him. I ended up with three rookies on my roster at the end of last season, but Miles will undoubtedly be the guy I keep, seeing me strong at the RB position coming in. 

Round 3: Cam Akers, RB - Los Angeles Rams

I jumped from my round 3 draft position of 40 all the way up to 59 to grab Akers. I will do the same in my actual draft, as I don't want anyone else to get him. The Rams didn't waste their 2nd round pick to sit him, and he will gradually ease into the feature role with only Darrell Henderson and Malcolm Brown behind him on the depth chart. I played College Fantasy last year. Akers was a key member of my team, so I am fully aware of his three-down back skill set. He'll be my first rookie taken in the draft, and will likely be the one I keep going into next season. This is as much an investment pick as it is a 3rd rounder.  

Round 4: Raheem Mostert, RB - San Francisco 49ers

Mostert would be replaced in my regular line-up by Derrick Henry or Alvin Kamara, two much better options with even more upside. 

Round 5: Josh Allen, QB - Buffalo Bills

Round 5 is the earliest I've ever drafted a quarterback. I had to reach by a few picks to get Josh, but he was the best option at that point in the draft. He comes from my alma mater of Wyoming, so I have no qualms about taking this upstate NY hero on the rise. He has a gargantuan arm, he is highly mobile, and he is mentally tough with great leadership qualities. His teammates love him, and so do I. He may not put up Mahomes-type numbers at the position, but Allen will likely average a couple of passing TDs, a rushing TD, and at least 250 combined yards per contest in 2020.

Round 6: Tyler Higbee, TE - Los Angeles Rams

I picked up Rams tight end Gerald Everett at about the midway point of the season last year, and he had a few solid games for me. When he went down with injury, I picked up his backup, Tyler Higbee, who will no longer be his backup. For about four or five games toward the end of 2019, Higbee went off, and he was one of the reasons I finally brought home the gold. He's worth owning this season as well, and hopefully he can repeat some of the same magic that put his name up in lights.

Round 7: Darius Slayton, WR - New York Giants

I picked up Slayton toward the end of last season, as I try to stock up on rookies to sell for picks the following year's draft. As I'll be keeping Miles Sanders, I'd rather toss Slayton back into the pool to try and redraft him. If he's not considered so already, he'll soon be the number one guy in New York next to tight end Evan Engram. He is the best pick in the 7th round, adding depth, and probably flex appeal, to my team. 

Round 8: Marvin Jones Jr., WR - Detroit Lions

I know I'd already have Golladay as a Lion's pass catcher, but I believe Jones is the best WR2 in Fantasy Football. I owned Golladay last year too, and on those weeks that he struggled, Jones was a major beneficiary. He has major multi-touchdown appeal on my bench. 

Round 9: Latavius Murray, RB - New Orleans Saints

I know I'm trying to roster a lot of the same guys I had last season, and Murray is no exception. He stayed on my bench all year as Alvin Kamara's backup, and by the end, he was deemed the best and most important handcuff in all of Fantasy Football. He exploded for two or three games when Kamara sat, so I'll be looking for the same sort of production again this season if the number one RB in New Orleans has to miss any time.

Round 10: Ryan Tannehill, QB - Tennessee Titans

I owned Tannehill for a short time last season. He really came on for the Titans, which was why in the off-season, he saw a massive payday. Tannehill makes pass-catchers AJ Brown, Corey Davis, and Jonnu Smith, as well as Derrick Henry, Fantasy relevant, building the Titans early leads so Henry could ram the ball down their throat. 

Round 11: Duke Johnson, RB - Houston Texans

If Latavius Murray was the league's most valuable handcuff, Duke has to be the second. He's not a feature three-down back, but since the Browns traded him to the Texans last season, Duke has been solid. And better than that, he will be the immediate backup to David Johnson, who has proven to be nothing short of injury-prone.

Round 12: Philadelphia Eagles Defense

Key Players:

DE - Derek Barnett

DE - Brandon Graham

DT - Fletcher Cox

FS - Rodney McLeod

CB - Darius Slay

Round 13: Hunter Renfrow, WR - Las Vegas Raiders

There are worse players to grab in round 13 when I need depth at receiver. Renfrow could possibly be Derek Carr's WR1 this season, and the Raiders will likely throw a lot as defenses stack the box on Josh Jacobs. Renfrow was a rookie last year, and I found it very surprising that none of the guys in my league rostered him to be their rookie keeper. 

Round 14: AJ Dillon, RB - Green Bay Packers

On my College Fantasy team last year, I also owned AJ Dillon, who was an absolute three-down terror at Boston College. He had some massive games for the Eagles, which makes me confident in taking him with my second to last pick. Aaron Jones is in the starting role in Green Bay, but the Packers wouldn't have drafted Dillon just to sit him. He will get some run, and if Jones goes down to injury, the backfield will belong to AJ. 

Round 15: Jake Elliot, K - Philadelphia Eagles

Another scenario I'm facing is the very possible trade of Derrick Henry, who is as of right now my keeper. Some might think it foolish to trade him, but I've already weighed all my options. Keeping him would mean I come into 2020 with he and Miles Sanders as keeper running backs, meaning I'd go for a receiver in the 1st round (Golladay). The problem is, with no 2nd round pick, I miss out another top tier receiver. I have to go with RB Cam Akers in the 3rd or else I likely don't get him. I have no 4th round pick, and I likely don't get Josh Allen if I don't get him in the 5th. That leaves me to get my WR2 in the 6th or 7th round, which is a less than ideal scenario. 

If I trade Henry and keep Alvin Kamara, I get the first overall pick in the draft, as well as my regular number 1 pick at the end of the round. With everyone's keepers and rookie keepers figured, that would make Davante Adams my number 1 overall pick, and Golladay my other 1st round pick at the end of the round. That means I start out my draft with Adams and Golladay at receiver, and Kamara and Miles Sanders at running back. Just having those four players rostered that early in the draft puts me in just as good a position as anyone else in the league for the season - and I won it all last year and have the last pick in every round! The mock draft results will likely mirror real life, as I will aim for these same particular players. With the Adams pick, the one change would be that I wouldn't draft Dillon in round 14, that Hunter Renfrow would be my last skill player taken before my last pick kicker (it's a cardinal rule in Fantasy to not take a kicker until the very last round).