_edited.jpg)
When I look at the list of the top fantasy players heading into 2019, the amount of talent immediately jumps off the page at me. I remember the days when Arian Foster and Chris Johnson were above and beyond basically every other player. This year we have guys like David Johnson who you can get at the 5th or 6th spot in the first round. DJ is a guy who is capable of a 1000 rushing yards and 1000 receiving yards in a single season and almost accomplished the feat back in 2016 when he finished as the top non-QB fantasy player with 1239 rushing yards and 879 receiving yards. The running back position is absolutely loaded with talent this year. But it not just the running back position. Basically every other fantasy position is deep with plenty of talent. Even the tight end position is making a comeback with guys like Travis Kelce and George Kittle who are able to produce at a WR1 level. So let's dig into the how you should approach your draft in 2019.
I'm going to approach this by going round by round in a 10 team standard scoring snake mock draft on FantasyPros.com. I'll include an analysis of each pick at the end of each round.
Round 1
First off, these are bots that are making the other picks so some of their picks can be very questionable. I decided to go with Le'Veon Bell at the 8 spot. Yes he is on the the Jets, but i'm excited to see what Adam Gase and Sam Darnold have in store for us in 2019. Bell will be a 'bellcow' running back which is the type of player you want leading your team to a championship. Bell is still easily a top 5 running back from a pure talent standpoint even after taking a year off in my opinion. This is why he was the only real option for me at the back end of the 1st round.
Round 2
Now I would usually want to go with another RB in the second round to secure myself a high end RB2. Mixon would've been that guy for me. However, I rolled the dice in hope that at least one of my other RBs that i'm high on will still be there in the 3rd round. Julio was the clear choice here. You know exactly what you're getting with Julio year after year. Julio is a veteran and has had 1 quarterback his entire career by the name of Matt Ryan which is why their chemistry and timing are impeccable. The only problem with Julio the past couple of years has been the lack of touchdowns. TDs are a fickle beast and we started to see hope in the latter half of last season where Julio caught 8 TDs in the last 9 games of the season.
Round 3
The two running backs that I am high on this year and hoping would still be available when it came to my turn in the 3rd round were Marlon Mack and Aaron Jones. I have Mack and Jones ranked 13th and 14th respectively. They are both RB2s with the potential to put up RB1 type points in 2019. Finding this type of value is key in the 3rd round where you want to find that perfect breakout player. Mack fits this role perfectly in a Colts offense that is ready to explode come September.
Round 4
With Aaron Jones still available and the opportunity to plug him into my flex, selecting Jones was a no-brainer. Jones is immensely talented and it was the right move to go running back again in the 4th round. The reason I say this is because after the 4th and 5th rounds, you will start to see a significant drop off of start-able running backs while the wide receiver position is much more deeper with more start-able players that can be drafted later.
Round 5
The 5th round feels like the perfect place to draft A.J. Green. A.J.'s health is a serious concern which is why this a risky pick. But it is a gamble that could pay off in dividends if Green only happens to miss 2-3 games which is what the timetable is looking like for him as of now. Being able to pair up A.J. with Julio after I've already taken 3 running backs was too tempting to resist. Besides, there a still so many wideouts available to fill in for A.J. while he misses some time so it's worth the risk.
Round 6
I had to back up my love for Tevin Coleman by snatching him up in the 6th round. My other option that I was heavily debating was drafting either O.J. Howard and Chris Godwin. A massive reason with why I was set on taking Tevin at this point was the news that broke out today on Jerick McKinnon's knee. His recovering knee is experiencing soreness and is not at full strength which it was expected it to be. If McKinnon's knee problems continue to linger into the regular season there may not be much of a role left for him in the Niners offense. Also, there are still too many wideouts available that i'm excited about this season while potential starting running backs are now very slim after Coleman.
Round 7
D.J. Moore, Calvin Ridley, and Tyler Boyd were all interesting picks for me at this point of the draft. I needed a wideout and if I had to boil it down to one reason why I chose Moore, it's because I have him projected to receive the most targets and consequently have the most opportunity and the biggest role out of these 3 wideouts. Boyd and Ridley have no chance to be the number 1 wideout on their team for the whole season because of Julio and A.J. But Moore doesn't have that issue on the Panthers. I have already noted my concerns about Ridley in an earlier article which you should really check out if you know what's good for you. I really like Boyd and on the surface and it seemed very logical for me to take Boyd to fill in for the injured A.J. However, I always prefer to maximize my team's talent by not concentrating on one team's offense which is why I went with D.J..
Round 8
This round was interesting because there wasn't one player that really jumped off the screen at me as a must-take. Mike Williams is a guy who is very intriguing heading into 2019. His athleticism and catch radius is as good as any receiver in the league which always makes him a red-zone threat. We already saw the red-zone threat come to fruition last year. If the yards and targets increase this year as they should, Williams could be an excellent breakout candidate that won't cost you much.
Round 9
This pick was another risky gamble that I loved to take. If Gordon does indeed holdout into the season, Ekeler could be an absolute steal. The beauty of this pick is the fact that even if Gordon does play week 1, I only spent a 9th round pick on Ekeler and he is still a valuable piece to have as Gordon has been injury prone in the past. I'll admit Ekeler is a more ideal pick in a ppr league, but he still has tremendous value in standard in the 9th round.
Round 10
I would've loved to take Kirk in this round but he was taken one spot ahead of me. Alas, I settled for Royce Freeman. At this point of the draft I am still waiting on selecting a Tight End and a Quarterback so Freeman was the best available option for me. I am honestly not too excited about Freeman this year but he still has a chance to be a decent flex play during bye weeks. The Broncos want to play defense and run the football so Freeman will get some opportunity along side his running mate Lindsey. Also, you can get Freeman much more later in the draft than Lindsey making him a better value play.
Round 11
Geronimo Allison is a sneaky peak since he has started to solidify himself as the secondary receiver across from Davante Adams. Rodgers and Allison have developed more and more chemistry over the past couple seasons which should make 2019 a career year for Allison.
Round 12
I decided to go Tight End this round since the Quarterback position is still so plentiful. Eric Ebron was my highest ranked TE out of the guys available. I understand that there will be regression in the TD column for Ebron in 2019, but that doesn't scare me away from him at all in the 12th round. He is still a freak athlete and the Colts best red-zone threat.
Round 13
Jameis is my dark horse at the QB position heading into 2019. I love Bruce Arians as a head coach and I believe Arians is exactly what Jameis needs to finally live up to his potential. The Bucs offense will be booming in 2019. You can take that to the bank.
Round 14 and 15
This last two rounds would normally be reserved for my defense and kicker but i've already cut the kicker from my main league with defense up next .