Happy Tuesday my Fantasy Guru fam! It’s that time of the week where we find ourselves in a draft with a decision to make. Remember, each week I will walk you through a scenario you may be faced with on draft day and present multiple options, then choosing the way I would go about it. There will also be weeks where I just talk about one player, in a specific format and round, and elaborate on why that player will likely make my roster at that time.
This week we are picking up right where we left of last week in our draft. After three rounds of drafting we have two receivers and a running back heading into the fourth round. There are some interesting options at hand to choose from with this pick and based on my rankings below, these are the top players I am deciding between.
The format remains the same, a 12-team PPR league and the roster consists of 1-QB, 2-RB, 3-WR, 1-TE, 1-Flex, 1-Defense, and 1-Kicker. Here is the draft board.
| PICK | PLAYER | POS | PICK | PLAYER | POS | PICK | PLAYER | POS | PICK | PLAYER | POS |
| 1.01 | Saquon Barkley | RB | 2.12 | T.Y. Hilton | WR | 3.01 | Zach Ertz | TE | 4.12 | ||
| 1.02 | Alvin Kamara | RB | 2.11 | Adam Thielen | WR | 3.02 | Keenan Allen | WR | 4.11 | ||
| 1.03 | Christian McCaffrey | RB | 2.1 | Damien Williams | RB | 3.03 | Patrick Mahomes | QB | 4.10 | ||
| 1.04 | Ezekiel Elliott | RB | 2.09 | Mike Evans | WR | 3.04 | Leonard Fournette | RB | 4.09 | ||
| 1.05 | DeAndre Hopkins | WR | 2.08 | Dalvin Cook | RB | 3.05 | Devonta Freeman | RB | 4.08 | ||
| 1.06 | Melvin Gordon | RB | 2.07 | Antonio Brown | WR | 3.06 | Marlon Mack | RB | 4.07 | ||
| 1.07 | Davante Adams | WR | 2.06 | Travis Kelce | TE | 3.07 | Aaron Jones | RB | 4.06 | ||
| 1.08 | Julio Jones | WR | 2.05 | Nick Chubb | RB | 3.08 | A.J Green | WR | 4.05 | ON THE CLOCK | |
| 1.09 | David Johnson | RB | 2.04 | Todd Gurley | RB | 3.09 | Amari Cooper | WR | 4.04 | Julian Edelman | WR |
| 1.10 | LeVeon Bell | RB | 2.03 | JuJu Smith-Schuster | WR | 3.10 | Georger Kittle | TE | 4.03 | Josh Jacobs | RB |
| 1.11 | Michael Thomas | WR | 2.02 | Joe Mixon | RB | 3.11 | Derrick Henry | RB | 4.02 | Kenny Golladay | WR |
| 1.12 | James Conner | RB | 2.01 | Odell Beckham Jr | WR | 3.12 | Steffon Diggs | WR | 4.01 | Kerryon Johnson | RB |
YOU’RE ON THE CLOCK!
WR Cooper Kupp, Rams – An argument can be made for any of the Rams receivers at this pick without a doubt, being that both Robert Woods and Brandin Cooks are certainly both viable options in this spot. Woods had a strong 2018 season, finishing 10th in fantasy points at his positon. He led the team in receptions (86) and receiving yards (1,219), while tying Kupp in receiving touchdowns with six. Cooks on the other hand, finished 15 yards and six receptions shy of Woods’ team highs, while ending the season as WR13 in fantasy points. As you can see, these two wide outs had great seasons and are certainly strong options here. That said, Kupp is my top receiver on the Rams. I was extremely high on him last year and was heavily invested in him. It looked like it was going to pay off until he went down with an ACL injury that ended his season. It was a tough loss for the Rams as Kupp was on pace for 80 receptions, 1,132 receiving yards, and twelve touchdowns, as well as top 10 in fantasy points among receivers. Despite playing half of the season, Kupp still managed to tie Robert Woods with a team high six touchdown catches. Without a doubt, Kupp is Jared Goff’s go-to receiver, so these two should link up often this season so long as he is healthy.
WR Chris Godwin, Buccaneers – Godwin is entering his third season in the league and this tends to be the year the receivers breakout. All signs are pointing that way after a strong sophomore campaign, the fact that the Bucs let go of both DeSean Jackson and Adam Humphries, and in what should be, a pass happy offense under new head coach Bruce Arians. Last season, Godwin caught 59 of 95 targets for 842 yards and seven touchdowns. He topped 100 receiving yards in three games last year, while averaging 5.9 receptions and 52.6 receiving yards per game. Keep in mind, all of this occurred with Humphries and Jackson on this offense, who accounted for 175 targets. Something that really stood out to me is that Godwin led the team in red zone targets with 16, which was good for 18.2 of the team’s target share inside the 20-yard line. He is coming into the season as one of my breakout candidates and someone I think could have a big year, building off of last season where he finished WR26.
RB David Montgomery, Bears – Drafting rookies is not something I love to do, but I really think Montgomery could find success in his first year in the NFL and be a candidate for rookie of the year. He is expected to come in and immediately step into Jordan Howard’s role, which was a high-volume one. In fact, Howard carried the ball 250 times last season and despite his struggles he managed to finish the year as RB20. He also received over 55 percent of the red zone carries. Montgomery is arguably a more talented back with better hands. In college he displayed the ability to manage a heavy workload, receiving 250+ carries in 2017 and 2018. He averaged 4.4 yards per carry those seasons and scored 24 rushing touchdowns. The Bears offensive line is very solid, which should help the young back quite a bit. Considering the role Montgomery is expected to have as an early down back and potentially in the red zone, there is a ton to like about him this season.
RB Mark Ingram, Ravens – Ingram is no longer with the Saints and is now expected to carry the majority of the workload in Baltimore. This is good news for him, as the Ravens are a run-heavy offense, finishing top 11 in rush attempts per game in three of the last five years, including No. 1 overall in that department. Granted, a lot of that last year had to do with Lamar Jackson, but this remains a run first offense. Ingram has averaged well over four yards per carry each season since 2013 and the last two times he received 200+ carries, he rushed for over 1,000 yards. The Ravens have a strong offensive line so there should not be concerns in that department for him. The one thing that is somewhat concerning is the fact that the Ravens drafted speedster Justice Hill in this year’s draft and they could utilize him as their pass catcher in a change of pace role. That said, Ingram should still lead this backfield in rush attempts and most rushing categories. He has shown us that he is a very capable back and can be productive in this league.
MY CHOICE
I contemplated this for a while because I really like most of these players quite a bit this season. Truth be told, the one I am least excited about is Ingram, but he is a solid value here and in a very good situation.
This is the point in the draft where you have to look ahead at some of the other teams, see their needs, and think about what could potentially land to you in the next round. I am also considering the fact that I will not be on the clock again for another 14 picks, making my decision a bit tougher due to roster construction.
After giving it some thought, I decided to go with Cooper Kupp here. I know that if you are looking at rankings and ADP, he might have been the last player most would have chosen. However, I toss that out the window during my draft and get the guys I like. Listen, this young man proved last season that when he is healthy, he is an efficient receiver with a nice floor and plenty of upside. He is my No. 3 receiver in a PPR format and adding him to this group of receivers really gives me everything I look for when I am building my receiving corps in a fantasy football team. I have three wide outs that all have high floors with nice upside. Considering some of the running backs still left on the board and looking ahead at some of the other teams’ needs, I feel pretty good about my chances of landing a running back I am comfortable with in the next round. Four of the seven teams ahead of me have just one receiver on their roster, so by taking another receiver I could be forcing their hand a bit in taking a wide out.
We have built a strong foundation thus far with a potential start running back, an elite receiver, and two other wide outs that have the upside to produce top 12 numbers at their position. Building off of this is what it is all about now.
Now that our pick is made we can sit back, relax, and see what lands to us in the next round. See ya next week!
