RADIO
Welcome to the RotoBaller Mock Redraft, which we are doing way, way too early because we care way, way too much about fantasy football. But hey--you care too much too, because you're here with us on this adventure! We're one big, football family!
This slow draft has been going on for a little while, which has given us all a lot of chances to reflect on where we succeeded and failed. Let's look at rounds 4, 5, and 6 of this draft and think about where we all went right and where we went wrong.
There's also a dynasty version of this exercise on the site as well! And, of course, there are earlier pieces that look at the earlier rounds. Here's the first round and rounds 2 and 3.
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers won two writing awards and received 12 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. A big congrats to our very own Byron Lindeque (Golf) and Jordan McAbee (NASCAR) for both winning Writer Of The Year awards! Be sure to follow RotoBaller's analysis and advice all year long, and win more. Win More With RotoBaller!
Way Too Early Mock Results: Round 4
| Round 4 | ||
| Selection | Writer | Player |
| 4.01 | Jason Katz | T.Y. Hilton |
| 4.02 | Pierre Camus | Stefon Diggs |
| 4.03 | Brittany Smith | Alshon Jeffery |
| 4.04 | Steve Halupka | Amari Cooper |
| 4.05 | Frankie Soler | Jordy Nelson |
| 4.06 | Chris Zolli | Chris Thompson |
| 4.07 | Taylor Maxston | Derrick Henry |
| 4.08 | Steve Rebeiro | Aaron Rodgers |
| 4.09 | Chris Mangano | Golden Tate |
| 4.10 | Justin Carter | Joe Mixon |
| 4.11 | Cliff Clinton | Robert Woods |
| 4.12 | Dennis Clausen | Russell Wilson |
Way Too Early Mock Results: Round 5
| Round 5 | ||
| Selection | Writer | Player |
| 5.01 | Dennis Clausen | Dion Lewis |
| 5.02 | Cliff Clinton | JuJu Smith-Schuster |
| 5.03 | Justin Carter | Zach Ertz |
| 5.04 | Chris Mangano | Allen Robinson |
| 5.05 | Steve Rebeiro | Josh Gordon |
| 5.06 | Taylor Maxston | Tom Brady |
| 5.07 | Chris Zolli | Lamar Miller |
| 5.08 | Frankie Soler | Jay Ajayi |
| 5.09 | Steve Halupka | Alex Collins |
| 5.10 | Brittany Smith | DeMarco Murray |
| 5.11 | Pierre Camus | Michael Crabtree |
| 5.12 | Jason Katz | Julian Edelman |
Way Too Early Mock Results: Round 6
| Round 1 | ||
| Selection | Writer | Player |
| 6.01 | Jason Katz | Evan Engram |
| 6.02 | Pierre Camus | Jimmy Graham |
| 6.03 | Brittany Smith | Marshawn Lynch |
| 6.04 | Steve Halupka | Jamaal Williams |
| 6.05 | Frankie Soler | Marvin Jones |
| 6.06 | Chris Zolli | Robby Anderson |
| 6.07 | Taylor Maxston | Jerick McKinnon |
| 6.08 | Steve Rebeiro | Chris Carson |
| 6.09 | Chris Mangano | Duke Johnson |
| 6.10 | Justin Carter | Devin Funchess |
| 6.11 | Cliff Clinton | Corey Davis |
| 6.12 | Dennis Clausen | Isaiah Crowell |
How did each team do in these three rounds? Let's take a look:
Team Jason Katz
T.Y. Hilton (WR, IND), Julian Edelman (WR, NE), and Evan Engram (TE, NYG)
Jason grabbing T.Y. Hilton at the top of round four is a good pick if Andrew Luck is back and healthy in 2018. He's potentially one of the top fantasy receivers in the right situation--he's been in the top ten twice over the past four years. Of course, he fell down below 20th at his position this past season with Hilton out.
Edelman is another potentially good addition if he's able to return from the ACL tear that cost him the 2017 season. New England didn't really find a clear top guy next to Brandin Cooks, so a healthy Edelman should step back into the same role he had before. Will he still be the same guy, though?
Engram was the fourth tight end off the board. It's a bit of a risk, but he had a strong rookie season and should continue to improve. At a position where production can sometimes seem fleeting and impossible to capture, Engram has flashed enough to justify going off the board as a top five player at his position. With Odell Beckham Jr. back in the fold, Engram should find himself with more open space as well as defenses adjust to a more dynamic Giants passing attack.
Team Pierre Camus
Stefon Diggs (WR, MIN), Michael Crabtree (WR, OAK), and Jimmy Graham (TE, SEA)
I'm not sure I love what Pierre did here. Diggs is a great, great talent when healthy and I'm fine taking the risk here, but the only receiver that Pierre had before this pick was Jarvis Landry, who is a top PPR player but is also now a Cleveland Brown (though I know...we didn't know that when this long, strange draft journey began). So you follow that up with Diggs, another guy with a lot of upside but also notable downside.
Michael Crabtree is a fine pick, but I'm pretty sure that when Pierre picked him we were still back in those uncertain February days where the Raiders were thinking of cutting Crabtree. What's Crabtree's value if he'd have gone elsewhere? Who knows.
Jimmy Graham is the fifth tight end off the board, but we don't know where he'll play at in 2018 since the Seahawks are moving on. This could be a great pick if he ends up back in New Orleans or a bad pick depending on where he winds up.
Team Brittany Smith
Alshon Jeffery (WR, PHI), DeMarco Murray (RB, TEN), and Marshawn Lynch (RB, OAK)
There are things to like here, especially with Jeffery. He's got a chance to be a top 10 fantasy receiver if Carson Wentz comes back strong from his knee injury.
Murray? He won't be back in Tennessee and his age makes it unclear if he'll get a chance to be a starting back anywhere. There are teams that can use him, but we'll have to see where he ends up going and what role he'll fill.
Lynch is an intriguing pick. If he comes back to Oakland for another season, I like the risk that Brittany took here. He clearly wasn't Beast Mode in 2017, but he's still got a chance to put up some good numbers. The Raiders are rumored to be interested in Doug Martin, though, which does hurt Lynch's value some.
Team Steve Halupka
Amari Coooper (WR, OAK), Alex Collins (RB, BAL), and Jamaal Williams (RB, GB)
I like these picks. Cooper in the fourth is a risk if he ends up looking like the 2017 version of Amari Cooper, but he's such a talented player who should bounce back this upcoming season.
Collins is a good back and his only real competition for playing time will be Kenneth Dixon. Dixon is talented, but I think Collins will still see the bulk of the carries for Baltimore, who should be running the ball a lot with Joe Flacco as their quarterback.
Williams is a good value. His versatility gives him a slight edge over Aaron Jones, especially on a pass-first team like the Packers. Ty Montgomery might still be a factor, but I'm pretty sure I remember there being rumors he would move back to wide receiver.
Team Frankie Soler
Jordy Nelson (WR, GB), Jay Ajayi (RB, PHI), and Marvin Jones (WR, DET)
Chris Mangano tweeted this chart about Nelson's play out of the slot, so I'm going to just assume that the Packers will use him there and that can justify this pick. Maybe I'm just jumping the gun, but if Nelson is expected to keep playing on the outside at this point in his career then he is 100 percent on my DO NOT DRAFT HIM list, especially with the emergence of Davante Adams. Nelson is done as a top-level fantasy receiver.
Ajayi should be a fine player for the Eagles with a full offseason, but I LOVE the Marvin Jones pick in round seven. There were some consistency issues in 2017, but he's capable of putting up big numbers for a Lions team that can pass the ball very well.
Team Chris Zolli
Chris Thompson (RB, WAS), Lamar Miller (RB, HOU), and Robby Anderson (NYJ)
Okay, I have to be not so nice about someone's draft. I have questions about all three of these guys, though two of them have tremendous upside,
A healthy Thompson being used exactly as he was in 2017 is a fine pick and Alex Smith should dump the ball off to him plenty, but there are still questions about his ability to sustain his play with an increase in touches. If Washington brings in another running back and still has Samaje Perine taking carries, the backfield situation could get a little confusing.
Lamar Miller has been an okay player for the Texans, but he's got D'Onta Foreman in his mirror. An Achilles injury that ended Foreman's season is probably the only reason Houston is still sticking by Miller, but there's a chance that Foreman overtakes him--or that it becomes a committee situation.
Robby Anderson? Well, he's got some legal issues to deal with and that could throw a wrench into his 2018 plans (possible suspension?). Also, the Jets get Quincy Enunwa back, who I might be overrating a little bit when I say that he is a good player and will take some targets away from Anderson. There's also the quarterback issue.
Team Taylor Maxston
Derrick Henry (RB, TEN), Tom Brady (QB, NE), and Jerick McKinnon (RB, MIN)
Henry's a really good pick here now that DeMarco Murray won't be back in Tennessee. Henry should see the bulk of the carries for the Titans this year. He's flashed his skills at various points over his brief career and he's also had complete duds as well, but in round four he's a great pick. He won't be available that late when the real draft season gets here.
TOM BRADY IS GOING TO FINALLY LOOK OLD AND WASHED UP. THIS IS THE YEAR OKAY?????? IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN (spoiler: it won't)
I don't love the McKinnon pick. He's likely out in Minnesota and I'm not sure he's got a solid enough track record to suggest he'll easily find a job where he'll get quality snaps. 2017 could easily have been McKinnon's last run as a viable fantasy option. (I hope I'm wrong. I need to continue the yearly tradition of somehow ending up with McKinnon starting for me through the bye weeks.)
Team Steve Rebeiro
Aaron Rodgers (QB, GB), Josh Gordon (WR, CLE), and Chris Carson (RB, SEA)
Maybe the easiest bet to make in 2018 is the "will Aaron Rodgers return to the top of the quarterback field," because the answer is obviously yes. Rodgers was the second quarterback off the board after Chris Zolli took Deshaun Watson in round three.
Josh Gordon with Tyrod Taylor at quarterback and Jarvis Landry in the slot is interesting. I'm not sure we saw enough of Gordon last season to know for sure if this is a good pick, but Gordon does have all the talent in the world and this could work out well.
I like Chris Carson as a player, but I'm not sure I like Chris Carson here. Is he going to be the starter? Will Mike Davis still play a role in Seattle? Will they bring in a new running back? Was Carson a great pick when Duke Johnson was still on the board?
Team Chris Mangano
Golden Tate (WR, DET), Allen Robinson (WR, JAX), and Duke Johnson (CLE)
No qualms at all about the Golden Tate pick. He's got a high floor and is a great player.
I have no qualms about Allen Robinson from a talent perspective, but I do wonder two things: will he be fully healthy and will he play in a good situation. More than talent, situation matters in fantasy football. Robinson in round five is either a huge steal or a calculated risk depending on where he ends up. Either way, this is around the place where you have to take that risk.
Duke Johnson is a great PPR player and is going to be fun to watch in the new Browns offense, although there's always the whole issue of Cleveland picking a certain top running back with one of their two picks at the beginning of the draft.
Team Justin Carter
Joe Mixon (RB, CIN), Zach Ertz (TE, PHI), and Devin Funchess (WR, CAR)
I'm going to be a narcissist here and say that I really like these moves. I took Mixon as my RB2 after taking Kenyan Drake in the third round, but I think Mixon has a lot more upside than Drake does. (I really wanted Dalvin Cook, but Cliff took him one pick before I could.) The Bengals should give Mixon the full reins of the running game this year.
I never take a tight end early, but it was hard to resist grabbing Ertz with my fifth pick. He's a top talent, although he's got some injury concerns.
Funchess fell to the sixth round and I was very happy to grab him. He's the top receiver in Carolina and played really well in 2017. I see him having a strong 2018 campaign. Just moments after I typed this, the Panthers traded for Torrey Smith. My extremely raw take on this: okay! Smith isn't a number one receiver, so I'm thinking this move solidifies Funchess at the top of the pecking order. I'd doubt the Panthers make any other big moves at the receiver position.
Team Cliff Clinton
Robert Woods (WR, LAR), JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR, PIT), and Corey Davis (WR, TEN)
After going running back with his first three picks, Cliff picked Robert Woods, who was unexpectedly productive last season with the Rams. With the team reportedly moving on from Sammy Watkins, Woods will be the unquestioned main man in the Rams passing game.
JuJu is a good, young receiver, but I have concerns about his fantasy upside playing on this Steelers club. Roethlisberger hasn't supported two startable fantasy receivers very often in his career.
Corey Davis could be a great pick if Marcus Mariota's development gets back on track. Will it happen? Yeah, maybe!
Team Dennis Clausen
Russell Wilson (QB, SEA), Dion Lewis (RB, NE), and Isaiah Crowell (RB, CLE)
Russell Wilson seems like a steal as the third quarterback off the board.
Dion Lewis? Hmm. He's a free agent and isn't expected to be back in New England. To me, Lewis feels like the ultimate "fit over talent" guy--he's going to need to end up in the perfect situation for me to take a risk on him.
And then there's Isaiah Crowell, who burned everyone last year when they took him in the third round. Is he a good value in the sixth round? Possibly, but if Cleveland drafts a running back then Crowell will likely be playing elsewhere.
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