As the excitement for football season approaches, here is a 2020 Fantasy Football mock draft going five rounds with 10 teams is in order, the first in a series.

Fantasy football has become the biggest staple to football season outside of the game itself. As we approach the middle of July, it’s time for drafters to start thinking about their hopeful teams and who they want to have their eyes on in their upcoming drafts. While many should expect Christian McCaffrey to be drafted at number one overall in their respective drafts, it’s what follows afterward that creates some thought and possible nervousness as they don’t want to place last in their league — again.

Thankfully, for the second year as part of the FanSided family, I am here to hopefully help you draft a team worthy of championship glory. The first round may not be where you struggle, but it’s the third, fourth, and fifth that can make or break your team all year. In this mock draft, we draft 10 teams in a five-round setting, attempting to follow a specific plan for each so that they can all present a unique result.

Also, discussing why certain players should be appreciated more than average draft positions and experts have them, based on specific trends and their numbers in the years prior. There’s no guarantee this mock draft necessarily brings you to the promised land. A lot of changes through the season and moves during the season can help, but if you don’t draft from your position well, you can wish that hopeful success goodbye and be on the receiving end of your league’s punishment for last place.

Fantasy football is supposed to be fun. Well, winning is what makes it fun and that’s what the first edition of this mock draft hopes to deliver for you down the line. Here is the first round of the mock draft and so-on of the mock draft with the reasoning behind the selections!

The post Fantasy Football Mock Draft 2020: 5-Round PPR, 10-team, version 1.0 appeared first on Bet Sunday.

Will Josh Jacobs be a better receiving back for the Las Vegas Raiders?

Running back Josh Jacobs was one of the better rookies in the NFL last season. For the then-Oakland Raiders, Jacobs had 242 carries for 1,150 yards and seven touchdowns in only 13 games. While he showed us why he was worth the first-round pick coming out of the University of Alabama, Jacobs wasn’t much of a factor in the receiving game for the Silver and Black.

The Fantasy Footballers set the bar pretty high for Jacobs to cross an important receiving threshold of 35 catches out of the backfield. The reason that benchmark of 35 is so significant is it is incredibly difficult to be a top-10 running back in fantasy football if you can’t approach three dozen receptions out of the backfield. Does Jacobs have what it takes in their eyes?

Check out The Fantasy Footballers for all their advice

Jason Moore and Andy Holloway have Jacobs upwards of 40 catches out of the backfield for the Silver and Black in 2020. Mike Wright wants to get him to 35, but comes up one reception short at only 34. He recognizes how run-oriented the Raiders offense has been and will be under third-year head coach Jon Gruden. Jacobs hasn’t had more than 20 catches in a season since 2016.

Does Josh Jacobs assert himself as a top-10 fantasy running back in 2020?

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Having another year of familiar with the Raiders offense should be a plus for Jacobs as a receiver. So is starting quarterback Derek Carr’s proclivity for hitting the check down like his life depended on it. Not having longtime Raiders running back DeAndre Washington on the team any more also opens up more opportunities for Jacobs to improve as a receiving back.

Overall, the guys do view Jacobs as a top-10 running back in 2020. Holloway has him as his RB6 heading into this upcoming season. We know what Jacobs can do in the ground game, but has left a lot to be desired as a receiver. Though we should be skeptical of him breaking the 35-reception threshold, the best thing he’s got going for him is three extra games than he played in 2019.

Had Jacobs played in all 16 games last year for the Silver and Black, he would have had 24.6 receptions. Of course, that’s not anywhere closer to 35 from where it was at 20, but one more catch out of the backfield a game as a second-year pro should do the trick. Regardless, Jacob should be an RB10 anyway this fall no matter how much of a factor he is in the receiving game.

The post Will Josh Jacobs have 35 receptions out of Raiders backfield in 2020? appeared first on Bet Sunday.

Is Sony Michel a sneaky-good fantasy football value play in 2020?

The New England Patriots will have a different feel to them this fall. After 20 years in Foxborough, quarterback Tom Brady has taken his talents to the Florida Gulf Coast to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Replacing the living legend under center is former Auburn Tigers start Jarrett Stidham. He’ll have the likes of running back Sony Michel to lean on in his first year as the starter.

The Fantasy Footballers assessed what value Michel will have in his third season out of Georgia with the Patriots. He went No. 31 overall to New England in the 2018 NFL Draft. Though he has rushed for nearly 1,000 yards in both of his professional seasons, Michel has a lackluster average draft position in fantasy football leagues at RB35. Could he still be a value play for you, though?

Check out The Fantasy Footballers for all their advice

The guys have Michel as a guy who will be slightly better than his ADP of 35 at somewhere in the mid-to-low 20s. Essentially, Michel would be nothing more than a depth piece on your fantasy team. You’d be banking on the long-term volume play for him in the New England offense. Maybe he gets a few more touches in 2020 to help bring Stidham along in his first year as the starter?

What value can Sony Michel bring to your fantasy football team in 2020?

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While New England may have the blandest offense in the league next season, there is reason to believe Michel can break the 1,000-yard threshold for the first time next season. The Patriots should have a good defense on the other side of the ball, so that might help keep New England in more games than we should expect, even if Brady now plays for a different NFL franchise.

If you’re in a half-point PPR league, you might be better served with taking Michel over his teammate James White, as Michel is more often used as a runner than his receiving back teammate. However, if it is a full-point PPR league, go with White over Michel because it levels the playing field in terms of overall fantasy value.

In short, if you’re playing Michel a ton next fall in fantasy, your team probably isn’t the least bit good. While Michel would be a good spot starter in the flex or at RB2 if you’ve got several key players of yours on a bye, him overachieving his ADP by a few slots is truly only negligible. Thus far, Michel hasn’t shown he can be anything close to a consistent RB2 in a fantasy league.

The post What is Sony Michel’s fantasy football value for 2020? appeared first on Bet Sunday.

Chris Smith #50 of the Cleveland Browns ns at FirstEnergy Stadium on November 14, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

As we wait to see exactly what the NFL Season will look like, we start to do our research and see which players are poised to have breakout seasons in 2020. These are the players that will carry you to your fantasy football championship.

I found one breakout player from each team that is poised for big things in 2020. Some of the players I found are well known, but still being slept on in Fantasy Football Drafts and Rankings. When I search for a breakout candidate, I look for players that are being drafted later in your fantasy drafts. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell you to draft Christian McCaffrey or Patrick Mahomes.

Today, we focus on the AFC North.

Home to the Bengals, Browns, Ravens and Steelers. Each team feels to be in a different stage of ‘life’ if you will. The Bengals just drafted Joe Burrow and are in full rebuild mode hoping he can lead the team back to the playoffs. The Browns have Baker Mayfield, who they hope to have a bounce back year and push for the playoffs. The Ravens are Super Bowl contenders with one of the most electric QB’s out there in Lamar Jackson. And then you have the Steelers. With the return of Big Ben, the Steelers hope to return to prominence and be in the playoff hunt. This could very well be the last year before they are forced to draft a QB  because Mason Rudolph or Duck Hodges is not the move.

Up first, a sleeper on the Cincinnati Bengals.

The post Breakout Fantasy Football players in 2020: AFC North appeared first on Bet Sunday.

Can Mark Andrews break the 1,000-receiving yard threshold in 2020?

We know who the top-three tight ends in the NFL are. It’s been established with it being Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs, George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers and Zach Ertz of the Philadelphia Eagles in some order. But after that, there are plenty of great players who make up this second-tier, including Mark Andrews of the Baltimore Ravens.

The Fantasy Footballers look at what could be in store for Andrews’ third season out of Oklahoma in this Baltimore offense. They wonder if he will eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving threshold in his third year in the league. As a second-year pro, Andrews had 64 catches for 852 yards and 10 touchdowns in 15 games for the Ravens.

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Jason Moore has Andrews just getting over that 1,000-yard threshold. He believes much of this has to do with former Ravens tight end Hayden Hurst now a member of the Atlanta Falcons. Hurst wast traded for a second-round pick this offseason, as he goes to Atlanta to replace Austin Hooper, who now plays for the Ravens’ AFC North rival Cleveland Browns.

Will Mark Andrews hit four figures as a receiving tight end in 2020?

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Andy Holloway and Mike Wright feel similar on this issue. While they both project a slight uptick in receiving yardage production out of Andrews, they have him more in the 900-yard range as opposed to going over four figures for the first time in his NFL career. They believe Baltimore will remain a run-first offense with Lamar Jackson as the face of the franchise at quarterback.

Though it’s clear the guys view Andrews as a fantasy football monster, they don’t necessarily view him as a volume receiver at tight end. Andrews’ value comes from making the big play and coming up with grabs in the red zone for touchdowns. While he’s a no-doubt, TE1 in any league this year, it’s probably not advantageous to bank on him having 1,000 yards just yet in 2020.

While the Ravens may pass slightly more in Jackson’s third season out of Louisville, look for second-year pro Marquise “Hollywood” Brown to get more involved in the receiving game. Andrews can still be a stellar player in Greg Roman’s offense, but we’re still a year away from him getting to Ertz, Kelce and Kittle levels of overall tight end dominance.

The post Will Mark Andrews have 1,000 receiving yards in 2020? appeared first on Bet Sunday.

Is Aaron Jones bound to be a regression candidate in 2020 fantasy football?

2019 was the year the Green Bay Packers decided it was a great idea to give running back Aaron Jones the ball. Under previous head coach Mike McCarthy, it was all about running antiquated routes for Aaron Rodgers to check out of. With new head coach Matt LaFleur, Green Bay embraced the ground game unlike it has in years. But could Jones regress in fantasy football?

The Fantasy Footballers recognize there is no way Jones will rush for as many touchdowns again in 2020 as he did last year. But despite the Packers using a second-round pick on AJ Dillon out of Boston College, they still believe Jones will be a top-10 fantasy running back this season. He may regress a bit, but he’s still worthy of being your RB1 in pretty much any fantasy league.

Check out The Fantasy Footballers for all their advice

Will Jones lose a few carries with Dillon’s addition to the Green Bay backfield? Yes, but the guys expect the bulk of the rookie’s carries to come from Jamaal Williams’ workload from the season prior. He’s the one to worry about from a fantasy perspective, not so much Jones, who the guys are still very high on.

Can Aaron Jones sustain his fantasy football success again in 2020?

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Even if Jones loses roughly two dozen carries this season off last year’s total, he has proven himself to be an adept pass-catcher out of the backfield. So his production as a receiving back should be able to offset that to some degree in many PPR leagues. Though the volume won’t change all that much, his regression is more likely to come from not having as many touchdowns.

Depending on how LaFleur goes about calling plays from goal-line situations, Jones could still be in great shape to score well over 10 touchdowns on the ground again in 2020. If Green Bay does lead in a bunch of games as it did a season ago, there may be as many opportunities for Jones to have carries and help milk the clock for the Packers en route to victory.

So will Jones regress in fantasy this year? Possibly, but don’t count on it. He’s not a one-year wonder and he plays the right position in the right offense on the right team to have continued success. Jones may not be one of the first four running backs taken in your upcoming fantasy draft, but he’s sure to be someone’s RB1 this year. His regression is a bit overstated.

The post Is Aaron Jones a fantasy football regression candidate for 2020? appeared first on Bet Sunday.

Will Daniel Jones be a fantasy football superstar in the 2020 NFL season?

The New York Giants did not have a great football season last year. New York finished with the third-worst record in the NFC and ended up with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. The Giants drafted an All-American left tackle out of Georgia in Andrew Thomas. Will his arrival in New York help second-year quarterback Daniel Jones have a breakout 2020 fantasy football season?

Mike Wright of The Fantasy Footballers is very high on Jones having a breakout season in fantasy as a second-year player out of Duke University. His colleagues Andy Holloway and Jason Moore aren’t nearly as big of fans of Jones as Wright is, but they are willing to hear him out and see if he’s onto something with the Giants’ starting quarterback.

Check out The Fantasy Footballers for all their advice.

Had Jones started all 16 games for the Giants, he could have thrown for 32 passing touchdowns. This would have been a rookie record in the NFL, as no rookie quarterback has ever thrown for 30 in a given season. Despite his issues with fumbling the football, Jones still ended up with a top-10 fantasy season all-time for a rookie quarterback. Not bad for the former Duke Blue Devil.

Is Daniel Jones ready to be a star player in your fantasy football league?

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Wright also feels Jones’ legs are a huge fantasy asset. While he’s not going to run around as much or as effectively as Lamar Jackson does for the Baltimore Ravens, Wright believes Jones’ 20 rushing yards a game are enough to essentially offset one mistake he makes in a game from a fantasy perspective. He likens his mobility to what Alex Smith was for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Though he will have a first-time head coach in Joe Judge and a new offensive coordinator in Jason Garrett this year, Wright believes a healthy supporting cast around him will be key in Jones’ fantasy football assertion. If he has a healthy Saquon Barkley to hand the ball off to, things will change positively in his favor. The same thing applies to having a healthy receiving corps.

Last season, Jones only had four games where all three of his top-three wide receivers healthy for a ball game. Add in that most NFL players experience an up in play from the rookie year to their second year in the league and Jones could be an underrated fantasy football superstar in your league. He may not be your QB1, but he might be a good stash to have for your QB2.

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Will Baker Mayfield have his best season yet with the Cleveland Browns?

Baker Mayfield‘s third season out of Oklahoma is the most important year of his football life. If the Cleveland Browns quarterback plays well, he will have the fifth-year option extended to him. Should he struggle like he did last year, Cleveland may need to look for its next face of the franchise in the next NFL Draft or two.

The Fantasy Footballers answered the tough question of if Mayfield will throw for 27 or more touchdown passes in 2020. The reason this number is significant is it represents the number of touchdowns he threw for as a rookie in 2018. Mayfield played very well during his rookie season but regressed considerably during his sophomore campaign in the league. Does he hit it, though?

Check out The Fantasy Footballers for all their advice

Jason Moore is a firm believer in Mayfield and tight end David Njoku. He thinks the Browns have arguably the best receiving corps in the NFL, and he wouldn’t be wrong in that assessment. Mayfield has players like Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry and newcomer tight end Austin Hooper to throw the ball to, as well as the deep fantasy sleeper that is Njoku.

Will Baker Mayfield throw for more than 27 touchdown passes in 2020?

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Andy Holloway could not be more out on Mayfield as the Browns quarterback. He argues that Mayfield had an incredible receiving corps last year, which he did, and still massively underwhelmed. However, the biggest reason Mayfield doesn’t get to 27 touchdown passes this year is the run-first offense being established by new head coach Kevin Stefanski.

Mike Wright won’t rule out Mayfield throwing for around 30 touchdowns this season. He has him just slightly under the 27-touchdown benchmark at 26 but does believe very much in Cleveland’s revamped offensive line. The Browns massively upgraded both tackle spots, as they signed Jack Conklin in free agency and used their first-round pick on Jedrick Wills Jr. out of Alabama.

So which of the guys should we believe the most here? Let’s side with Wright on this one, as Mayfield could throw for over 27 touchdowns, but he’s going to come up a tad short on account of Stefanski’s insistence to pound the rock with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt to set the tone for the Cleveland offense. Mayfield doesn’t set a career-high but plays considerably better in year three.

The post Will Baker Mayfield set a career-high in touchdown passes in 2020? appeared first on Bet Sunday.

Is Marquise Brown the sleeper pick you are looking for in fantasy?

2019 was a big season for the Baltimore Ravens, but not so much for first-round wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. While Baltimore went 14-2 last year, much of that had to do with quarterback Lamar Jackson winning NFL MVP running Greg Roman’s plus-one offense. That’s not to say Brown was bad, but he wasn’t talked about like other rookie wide receivers in 2019.

The Fantasy Footballers address the question of which young players could be sleepers in your upcoming fantasy football draft. Though Andy Holloway and Mike Wright had their picks, Jason Moore was very high on Brown having a breakout fantasy season from a value standpoint this year. He believes you can get great value for him behind his other draft classmates.

Check out The Fantasy Footballers for all their advice

The idea is your fantasy football friends are more likely to draft A.J. Brown of the Tennessee Titans, D.K. Metcalf of the Seattle Seahawks or Terry McLaurin of the Washington Redskins ahead of Brown in snake drafts this fall. Are those players better than Brown? At this point of their NFL careers, yes, but for the value, you might be able to benefit from Brown on the come-up in 2020.

Can you get great value on Marquise Brown in fantasy football this year?

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The reason to be optimistic on Brown having a good year is we saw him put up gaudy stats at Oklahoma with Kyler Murray throwing him the football. 2020 will be the second year Brown will be in the NFL, as well as his second year in Roman’s one-of-a-kind Ravens offense. He may have a greater rapport with Jackson as a second-year player, so he could get more targets this fall.

The other big thing to keep in mind here is Brown’s older cousin is former All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown. Though they are different players and people, pedigree is usually something to not overlook in NFL circles. The Ravens are one of the better-run organizations in the NFL and they drafted Brown in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft for a reason, to be Jackson’s No. 1 receiver.

So should you draft Brown as your WR1? Absolutely not. What about your WR2? Only if you have an elite TE1 and you doubled-down on elite running back talent early in your snake draft. But for a flex player, yes, you should be safe going with a guy with a ton of upside like Brown entering your 2020 fantasy football season. He’s worth the risk as a fringe starter for you for sure.

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