Round 1 Mock Draft 2.0

April is here and the 2018 NFL Draft is 27 days away. With every draft comes Fantasy Football implications thereafter. Moon Man’s 2.0 version will effect fantasy football leagues immediately. Do Fantasy Friends draft Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen, Baker Mayfield or Lamar Jackson and leave them on the bench? Using a roster spot and waiting for that fortunate injury in the fantasy world or average starter to be benched. There is certainly a fair amount of average starters in the NFL and the backups await their opportunity.

The 2017 Fantasy Football season saw much fantasy uncertainty at the quarterback position. Did you stash a backup in hopes of owning your league? Draft a rookie in hopes of glory? Pick up a career backup on waivers?

-Jared Goff reached stardom.

-Josh Mccown go on a 2 touchdown per game streak.

-Eli Manning get benched.

-Deshone Kizer go for broke.

-The Broncos quarterbacks stink all year.

-Mitchell Trubisky do nothing.

-Case Keenum stay hot.

-Blake Bortles be himself.

-Tyrod Taylor be undervalued again.

-Andy Dalton fall off.

-Jay Cutler play himself out of the league.

-Derek Carr underperform.

-Brent Hundley and Jacoby Brissett be inconsistently consistent.

-Carson Palmer retire. Drew Stanton and Blaine Gabbert have that one good game at low cost?

-Andrew Luck never see the field.

-Jimmy Garoppolo perform well.

-Nick Foles won the Super Bowl.

I’m sure there are a few examples I missed but the idea of value in Daily Fantasy Sports revolves around the quarterback often. Fantasy Friends can save more salary using a low costing QB than any other position. Especially in Draftkings. Week in and week out you can build a roster with a 5k quarterback and pay up in other positions.

In my second mock draft I have 5 quarterbacks going in round 1. With 4 of them having the potential to start and 1 needing an injury to occur the starter for his opportunity to arise. Seven defensive backs going off the board and zero trades for this version. Take a look and comment on the article with any feedback please. Cheers!

Round 1 Mock Draft: 2.0

1. Cleveland Browns will select USC’s Sam Darnold. Drafting Darnold seems imminent in moon man’s world. Darnold will have at least a full year to get accustomed to the NFL. Including preseason 2018 and preseason 2019. Cleveland should surpass 4 wins this year and compete. Tyrod Taylor will make the 2019 training camp competitive as he returns to the bench with despair. As for now, Brown’s fans should be excited and expect to get their money’s worth when attending games live. No more zero win parades in Cleveland.

2. New York Giants select defensive end Bradley Chubb. With the recent trade of Jason Pierre Paul, acquisitions of Alec Olgetree and Nate Solder. The Giant’s are in win now mode. Expect the Giants to select a running back in round 2 or round 3. The Giants have pick #34, #66 and #69 overall.

3. New York Jets moved up to draft their franchise quarterback in UCLA’s Josh Rosen. Expect Rosen to compete for the starting job this preseason. Josh McCown  slated as the starter with Teddy Bridgewater coming back from injury in the mix.

4. Cleveland Browns draft running back Saquon Barkley. This pushes Duke Johnson into the slot and potentially on the trading block. Carlos Hyde came in this off season but passing on Barkley would be non sense at this point. The Browns now have their franchise quarterback and franchise running back. It is common to roster two or three starting running backs. As evident in the Philadelphia Eagles 2017 Super Bowl run. Depth at this position can never be overlooked with the average running back career lasting around 4 years.

5. Denver Broncos draft quarterback Josh Allen of Wyoming. Case Keenum is in town and the Broncos will be fielding calls for pick five on draft day. Yet, John Elway stands firms and gets his quarterback of the future.

6. Indianapolis Colts draft the best offensive lineman in the draft. Guard Quenton Nelson falls to six and gives the Colts much needed protection with Andrew Luck hopefully returning to his 2015 form.

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers draft defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick and plug him in at Free Safety. Suring up their secondary. Cornerbacks Vernon Hargreaves and Brent Grimes on the outside. JPP, Gerald McCoy, Vinny Curry, Kwon Alexander and Lavonte David looking good on paper.

8. Chicago Bears need help everywhere on defense. Marcus Davenportof UTSA is intriguing with his ability to rush the passer and/or play from the two point stance. His versatility would fit in nicely here and lead to an immediate impact in a tough division.

9. San Francisco 49ers need help in the secondary. With the signing of Richard Sherman. Florida State’s Safety Derwin James makes sense. Although the polished Calvin Ridley would be advantageous in Kyle Shanahan’s offense. I went back and fourth with this one. Ultimately going with James with the thought that the 49ers could find another wr later on. Leaving the #1 spot still in Pierre Garcon’s hands.

10. Oakland Raiders select Ohio State’s Denzel Ward with John Gruden’s first draft pick. Ward will start opposite last year’s first round pick. Fellow buckeye Gareon Conley.

11. Miami Dolphins draft linebacker Roquan Smith. Smith will start at strong side linebacker.

12. Buffalo Bills draft wide receiver Calvin Ridley. Kelvin Benjamin and Ridley on the outside make for excellent targets for new Franchise quarterback A.J. McCarron. Without a doubt the most polished wr in the draft, day one starter and fantasy football sleeper for the 2018 season.

13. Washington Redskins draft defensive tackle/nose tackle Vita Vea for their 3-4 defense. Ziggy hood and Vea make for a good rotation at the nose position.

14. Green Bay Packers draft hybrid outside linebacker Tremaine Edmunds. Edmundswill add a spark on defense and a potent pass rusher that is needed in Green Bay. He will play edge rusher and stand up in the Packer’s 3-4/4-3 rotational scheme.

15. Arizona Cardinals draft wide receiver Courtland Sutton. His size and speed combination scream mutant wide receiver. With Larry Fitzgerald in his last year, John and Jaron Brown gone. The Cardinals need another wide receiver and who better than this beast?

16. Baltimore Ravens draft defensive lineman Da’Ron Payne from Alabama. The Ravens defense was one of the best in the league last year and one of the worst depending on the week. The Ravens had 3 shutouts in 2017 and Payne adds to their defensive lineman rotation.

17. Los Angeles Chargers draft cornerback Joshua Jackson of Iowa.

18. Seattle Seahawks draft cornerback Mike Hughes from UCF. Mike Hughes will start opposite stud cornerback Shaquill Griffin.

19. Dallas Cowboys select defensive tackle Taven Bryan from Florida. The Cowboys can’t go wrong with a defensive lineman, linebacker or defensive back. Expect Dallas to draft defensive with their first round pick.

20. Detroit Lions draft linebacker/edge rusher Harold Landry from Boston College.

21. Cincinnati Bengals draft guard Isaiah Wynn from Georgia.

22. Buffalo Bills draft inside linebacker Leighton Vander Esch from Boise State.

23. Los Angeles Rams draft center James Daniels of Iowa. Billy Price partially tearing a pectoral muscle during the combine puts Daniels ahead of him at this point. Billy Price had successful surgery and hopefully doesn’t fall too far because he is a talented 10 year starter in the NFL.

24. Carolina Panthers draft cornerback Jaire Alexander from Lousiville.

25. Tennessee Titans draft linebacker Rashaan Evans from Alabama.

26. Atlanta Falcons draft offensive lineman Mike McGlinchey of Notre Dame.

27. New Orleans Saints draft quarterback Lamar Jackson from Louisville. Two years behind Drew Brees and Sean Payton will certainly be up to the task of adjusting the offense to exploit Jackson’s abilities.

28. Pittsburgh Steelers draft running back Derrius Guice from LSU. With Le’Veon Bell holding out and no resolution in site. James Connor is the number one back which isn’t cutting it. Adding Derrius Guice to the mix may send a message to Bell and help the Steeler’s offense succeed without Bell come week 1.

29. Jacksonville Jaguars draft edge rusher Arden Key from LSU. Adding this talented pass rusher to the mix will ensure the Jaguars repeat as Sacksonville in 2018.

30. Minnesota Vikings draft offensive tackle Kotlon Miller from UCLA. Adding depth to the offensive line with the acquisition of franchise quarterback Kirk Cousins makes sense. The Vikings have Delvin Cook returning and will be the pre season favorites to advance from the NFC.

31. New England Patriots draft wide receiver Christian Kirk from Texas A & M. Could he be the next Julian Eldeman? Probably not since Tom Brady is retiring soon. However, adding another potent slot receiver would give a boost to the Patriot’s offense. With the loss of Danny Amendola and Dion Lewis. The Pats have James White, Eldeman returning from injury and Burkehead as their top three slot options. The acquisition of Cordarrelle Patterson should be a positive boost to the special teams. Yet his outlook for the slot is tbt.

32. Philadelphia Eagles draft cornerback Isaiah Oliver from Colorado.

As Always,

(Teams Going Off + Thoughts Flexed In) = Combination Lineups

May the Fantasy Force Be With You.

Follow Moon Man on Twitter @FFPmoonman

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