We were honored to be among a group of podcasters asked to participate in a twelve team mock draft. Mock drafting is a great tool to help you prepare for your own draft and when you get twelve of the best in the business to come along for the ride AND provide commentary for the first couple of rounds, that is a winning situation. So without further ado,we picked sixth, here is the breakdown of our picks including who went the pick before and who is on the clock. Links provided so you can just jump page to page and a link to the main page. Enjoy!
Previous pick: Saquon Barkley RB
by @thekaceykasem
Link to analysis
Pick 1.06 Alvin Kamara
When they announced this draft, I had already planned out that I wanted a top 5 pick to guarantee me a RB in the first round. My biggest fear was that I’d end up in the six-eight spot and that if a RB run opened the draft, I’d have a difficult choice to make.
We got the six spot. Which is fine as long as someone recognizes that Antonio Brown should go in the top five. He didn’t, so I was left with a difficult decision: The highest ranked Wide Receiver or the sixth best Running Back. I went RB.
Bottom line is that there is way better depth at WR than RB. In every mock where I have gone WR first, I’ve ended up suffering at RB and I was not going to take that chance here. My podcast partner, Craig, has been very vocal about avoiding the Steelers in general this year and he panics over injuries, making a move to Brown treacherous at best. On the other hand, he loves Alvin Kamara, and with good reason.
Kamara caught 81 balls last year for 826 yards, making him golden in a PPR. He only rushed for 728 yards, but will be featured more prominently this year in the Saints offensive attack. Finally consider that he had 13 touchdowns last year on a total of 201 touches. That is a score every 15 times he touches the ball. Other than injury, there is no reason that number should not go up. I’m projecting him to have at least 5 touchdowns in the four games Ingram is unavailable.
A pass catcher who averages over 6 yards a carry and 10 yards a reception who has just become the feature back? Sign me up over Antonio Brown.
Next up: DHH
Find out who he takes right here
Previous pick: Devonta Freeman RB
by DHH
Read his pick analysis here
Pick 2.07 Leonard Fournette
I was shocked when I saw him fall all the way to overall #19. He is the seventh RB on my board and McCaffery and Gordon both went ahead of him. I was so surprised that I actually did a quick internet search to see if he had been injured in the last few days and I had missed it!
The durability is a concern for certain, but if he can stay on the field, he can be amazing. He didnt look really great the other night in his preseason debut, but Fournette is a volume back. Consider this, every game last year where he averaged at least 4 yard per carry, he had at least 20 touches. So I would expect as much in a game with single game touches in August. With depth at RB a major concern in this draft, and most drafts, I could not pass on him. By the time they got back to me, I’d be getting far lesser value.
Next up: @thekaceykasem
Who will they take? Find out here
Previous pick: Travis Kelce TE
by @thekaceykasem
Link to analysis
Pick 3.06 Adam Thielen
I had two players in mind as we approached the turn, Tyreek HIll and Travis Kelce. They both went right ahead of my pick. Now theres a bunch of guys right here and I could justify or deny them all: T.Y. Hilton is coming off a down year and has already missed practice time due to injury (he returned to practice today), Adam Thielen who is dealing with a QB change and a surge in Diggs attention or Jerrick McKinnon where I already have two RBs and the injury bug is clearly present. I went with Thielen.
I went with Thielen because of Kirk Cousins. Even if he decides he wants to target Diggs more frequently, Cousins was not exactly an architect of the deep ball last year. Do you know how many 50+ yard passing plays the Redskins had in 2017? One. Uno. Less than two. As a matter of fact, Doctson was their leading receiver and 46% of his yards were after the catch. So Diggs can streak all he wants, the likelihood is that Cousins will still look to Thielen a lot. So I went there for my number one, he has the potential to be a WR1 and I’m banking on it.
Next up: DHH
Find out who he takes right here
Previous Pick: Allen Robinson WR
by DHH
Check out the analysis here
Pick 4.07 Zach Ertz
There is no thinner position in my opinion than TE. So the decision had to be made with this pick whether I was going to chase one of the top three or wait until the later rounds (like 10+) for my tight end. Ultimately, I took a look around at the others and saw the impact player was Ertz.
I use the analogy of “cliffs” in drafting. You never want to fall off a cliff in real life or when assessing talent for fantasy. In the TE ranks, the top of the cliff are Gronk and Kelce, but if you slip there is a ledge about ten feet down called Zach Ertz. After that ledge, its a loooonnngggg way down and I was not comfortable with that drop.
There were a number of good WRs still available but ultimately, I still think there is a lot of value there and if Ertz can maintain the production from last year, he is a solid pick.
Newt up :by @thekaceykasem
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