Mock Draft: Drafting with the Ninth Overall Pick Based off Awesemo’s Projections

In this series, we’ll look at a mock draft conducted from each draft slot and break down the best choice and some alternatives at each selection. We’ll look at the individual player selection and how each player fits into the overall roster construction of the team, and then look at what selection Awesemo’s rankings would have made. The mock is for a three-receiver, two-back, half-PPR league. Here we look at winning your fantasy football draft with the ninth overall pick.


Awesemo Fantasy Football Draft Kit

Tired of the industry consensus and of the hot take machine? How about a data driven approach for a change? The world’s #1 daily fantasy player has put his projections talents to work, creating Awesemo’s first ever Fantasy Football Draft Kit. In it, users will receive access to:

All this for just $29.95 and that includes a $35 credit for new users at FFPC. Sign up HERE!


Fantasy Football Mock Draft from the Ninth Overall Pick

Mock Draft 1.09 Selection: Miles Sanders

Alternative: Lamar Jackson

Sanders getting used in all facets of the game as a rookie was a good sign.

His rookie season tees him up to be the next elite back. Getting him at the ninth spot isn’t baking in his upside enough. Jackson is ranked higher, but his ADP of 17.7 means he’s likely to be on the board when this team picks next. If he is there, Jackson will be the move.

Mock Draft 2.04 Selection: Josh Jacobs

Alternative: Travis Kelce

This is the first time Jacobs has made it onto an Awesemo roster but not due to the rankings not liking the Las Vegas back. As a rookie on a mediocre Raiders offense, Jacobs finished top 10 in yards per attempt (4.8) and evaded tackles per touch (30.9%), per PlayerProfiler. Reports from camp indicate he’ll take a step forward in the receiving game, turning him into a true, three-down back on top of his rushing prowess.

Jackson was surprisingly taken with the pick before this selection, but there are a handful of other passers that Awesemo likes in the middle and late rounds. His loss will be mourned but isn’t the downfall of this roster.

Mock Draft 3.09 Selection: Adam Thielen

Alternative: Calvin Ridley

With Stefon Diggs shipped off to Buffalo, Thielen is primed to dominate the targets in Minnesota. The last time this happened was the first 13 weeks of 2018 when Diggs was dealing with injuries. Thielen was first in targets (134), first in receptions (96) and second in receiving yards (1,163). Unless Justin Jefferson can directly replace one of the best route runners in the league as a rookie, Thielen is primed to function in the same role once again.

Awesemo’s rankings are down to take running backs for most of the first five rounds, but they have Thielen as a value here, and he hasn’t gotten much love in this mock draft series. For the sake of diversity and not getting left with a weak receiver room, Thielen makes the roster here.

Mock Draft 4.04 Selection: A.J. Brown

Alternative: James Conner, David Johnson

Brown doesn’t usually make it this far in drafts so he won’t end up on many rosters done by Awesemo subscribers. He finished sixth among receivers in yards after the catch (465) while only commanding the 47th-most targets (84). His YAC per target will drop, but he displayed the traits of an alpha receiver and should earn far more targets in his sophomore campaign, potentially outweighing the drop in efficiency.

Most of the teams in this mock draft series are double-tapping running back in the fourth and fifth rounds. High-usage backs like Johnson and Conner have second-round projections for the cost of a mid-round pick. With so many of these rosters already having those players, it is worth looking at what a sharp team fading mid-round backs would do. It would start with Brown slipping to this point in a draft.

Mock Draft 5.09 Selection: Terry McLaurin

Alternative: David Montgomery

McLaurin was also taken in this mock draft series by the 1.08 team, and needless to say, his 919 yards and seven scores as a rookie were impressive. He also has the upside of Dwayne Haskins potentially being good. Haskins threw for 4,831 yards and 50 scores as a sophomore at Ohio State then got drafted in the first round. If he takes a step toward becoming the player his college production showed, the Washington offense will boost McLaurin even higher this year.

Running backs in these rounds are values by Awesemo’s rankings, but they also bust at a higher rate than receivers. For that reason (and diversity’s sake), we keep hammering wideout here.


More Fantasy Football Mock Drafts


Mock Draft 6.04 Selection: David Montgomery

Alternative: None

Montgomery’s rookie season was ugly, but he did one thing that’s very crucial to scoring fantasy points: He earned touches. Montgomery finished 13th in carries (242) and eighth in goal-line attempts (11). With an upgrade in quarterback via Nick Foles, this offense should be competent enough to allow Montgomery to make use of the absurd number of carries he’ll see.

Montgomery is a great reason to fade running backs in the third through fifth rounds. They fail to hit as often as receivers, and cheap production can always be had later in drafts.

Mock Draft 7.09 Selection: Brandin Cooks

Alternative: Kareem Hunt

Cooks’ 2019 was a flop but he was shredding defenses as recently as 2018. He finished ninth in yards per target (10.4) and 11th in contested catch rate (50%) while dropping just two of his 116 targets. Cooks was a dynamic player before concussions sidetracked his 2019 campaign. Now he has upgraded from Jared Goff to Deshaun Watson. What’s not to like?

This was probably too early for Cooks based on his ADP. However, it forces this team out of drafting receivers with its final three picks in the first 10 rounds. Most drafts done with Awesemo’s rankings are doing that so this pick is both a value and creates an abnormal build versus most Awesemo mocks.

Mock Draft 8.04 Selection: Latavius Murray

Alternative: Hayden Hurst

Murray is one of the best handcuffs, per Awesemo’s projections. Murray scored 62.7 points in the two games he started while Alvin Kamara was injured. He did so on 62 total touches and is clearly an RB1 if Kamara goes down again. He also saw run in a handful of other games including 18, 12 and 11-touch games. The Saints won all three contest by at least 17 points.

Murray is a great backup running back because he is viable in two scenarios:

  • Kamara is out
  • The Saints are big favorites

Both of those are easy to see coming which makes it incredibly easy to know when to start or bench Murray.

Mock Draft 9.09 Selection: Carson Wentz

Alternative: Drew Brees

Injuries are often fluky. Matthew Stafford missed 19 games through two seasons and then went on to start in 136 consecutive contests. Talent is more stable, and Wentz has that. After his rookie season, Wentz has posted a 5.4% touchdown rate and has averaged 260.2 passing yards per game. Both marks would have been top-10 last year. If he’s healthy, start Wentz. If he’s not, get by with the waiver wire.

Awesemo’s rankings have Wentz as a fine pick here but not an extreme value. The real draw to drafting Wentz is knowing that Dallas Goedert is the best remaining tight end. Based on data from hundreds of real drafts, Goedert is available at the 9.09 in two-thirds of drafts so he’s likely to end up on this roster.

Mock Draft 10.04 Selection: Dallas Goedert

Alternative: None

Goedert is not getting the credit he deserves for his strong performance after a slow start. He suffered a calf strain in Week 3 that kept him from producing early in the year, but from Week 6 to Week 17, Goedert posted eight TE1 weeks. He was a weekly high-floor play and finished as the No. 10 tight end as his team’s second tight end. If Zach Ertz goes down, he’ll convert into a weekly top-five option.

Awesemo’s rankings also like taking Jalen Reagor a few picks ahead of his ADP. The Wentz-Goedert-Reagor combo is a great stack to leave drafts with.

Want some Fantasy Football vids? Check out our YouTube Channel!


Don’t forget to check out the loads of free content on our Fantasy Football home page, including more fantasy football breakouts, Sign up for just $29.95 (includes a $35 credit at FFPC for new users). Sign up HERE!

Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more great Awesemo content.

Author
If you like fantasy football and care about data, there's a 50/50 chance I've written for your favorite site. In a few short years I've covered, season-long, dynasty, best ball, and DFS for football. I used to be watching games and pretend to know what I was talking about but now I just spew numbers that forecast outcomes better than any scout. Come for the numbers, stay for the bad jokes and Zach Zenner references. RIP XFL.

Stokastic +

Premium Data and Tools
PREMIUM TOOLS
Lineup Generator
Stokastic Sims MLB
PREMIUM DATA
Projections
Top Stack %s
MLB Data Central
FREE DATA
SoRare MLB Rankings
DraftKings Night Owl
FANTASY CRUNCHER (ADD-ON)
MLB Lineup Study
COMMUNITY
MLB Discord Server
PREMIUM DATA
Projections
Ownership Projections
PREMIUM TOOLS
Fantasy Cruncher (ADD-ON)
NHL Lineup Study
COMMUNITY
NHL Discord Server
PREMIUM TOOLS
Lineup Generator
Stokastic Sims PGA
PREMIUM DATA
Ownership Projections
Top Golfers Tool
PGA Tournament Models
FANTASY CRUNCHER (ADD-ON)
PGA Lineup Study
COMMUNITY
PGA Discord Server
Ownership Projections
Top Drivers Tool
NASCAR Discord Server
NASCAR Fantasy Cruncher
USFL Projections
USFL Discord Server
Ownership Projections
Top Fighters Tool
MMA Discord Server
MMA Fantasy Cruncher
NFL Betting Tools
Stokastic Discord Server
Best Ball
Best Ball Rankings
Best Ball Stat Projections
Stokastic Discord Server
Season Long Fantasy (Coming Soon)

Premium Data

DFS Winners from the Stokastic Community

Subscribe to the Stokastic newsletter

DFS advice, exciting promos, and the best bets straight to your inbox

Stokastic.com - Daily Fantasy Sports and Sports Betting Data, Tools, & Analytics

Please play responsibly. Only customers 21 and over are permitted to play. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.