Fantasy football 10-team non-PPR mock draft: Travis Kelce goes in first round

[Nort Spews]

2:02 PM ET

Training camps are underway, so now we really have something to get excited about. Universal optimism for NFL fan bases is probably never higher than it is this week, before preseason injuries and regular-season losses can put a damper on things.

Before turning the calendar to August, our ESPN Fantasy staff got together for our latest mock, a 10-team, non-PPR setup featuring the following participants (in order of draft position): Jim McCormick, Eric Karabell, Damian Dabrowski, Kyle Soppe, Mike Clay, Keith Lipscomb, Mike Triplett, Tristan H. Cockcroft, KC Joyner and Field Yates.




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While the first round was expectedly running back-heavy, the biggest surprise of Round 1 came when a tight end came off the board before a wide receiver did. Cockcroft selected Travis Kelce eighth overall, which was seven spots earlier than the Chiefs star went in each of our first two mocks, both of which were PPR setups.

"I didn't feel great about Todd Gurley at that spot -- I was really hoping either David Johnson or Melvin Gordon would slide," Cockcroft said. "But knowing this group, I was confident Gurley would make it back to my pick at 13 -- which he did -- anyway."

Cockcroft went on to explain his thoughts on having a later draft slot in this mock.

"The problem with a back-end pick in a non-PPR draft is that you're not going to get any of the premium running backs," he said, "meaning you'll need to maximize every other lineup spot you can, which also explains the Deshaun Watson pick later [third QB selected]. We project Kelce for roughly 40 points more than any other tight end in the format. That's huge."

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The first wideout (DeAndre Hopkins) didn't go until the final pick of the first round, and quarterbacks lasted a long time, like always in our staff mocks. Two of our drafters (Clay and Karabell) even waited until the final round to select one. Clay said he "drafted his kicker and defense before QB on principle" after seeing how many quality signal-callers were still available late.

That's the state of the position right now, and especially in a 10-team league, it's why many use the middle rounds to load up on backs and receivers instead of taking QBs and tight ends (once the top three are gone).

Here are the round-by-round results:

Round 1

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	1	McCormick	Saquon Barkley, NYG	RB1
2	2	Karabell	Christian McCaffrey, Car	RB2
3	3	Dabrowski	Ezekiel Elliott, Dal	RB3
4	4	Soppe	Alvin Kamara, NO	RB4
5	5	Clay	Le'Veon Bell, NYJ	RB5
6	6	Lipscomb	David Johnson, Ari	RB6
7	7	Triplett	Melvin Gordon, LAC	RB7
8	8	Cockcroft	Travis Kelce, KC	TE1
9	9	Joyner	James Conner, Pit	RB8
10	10	Yates	DeAndre Hopkins, Hou	WR1

Round 2

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	11	Yates	Davante Adams, GB	WR2
2	12	Joyner	Julio Jones, Atl	WR3
3	13	Cockcroft	Todd Gurley II, LAR	RB9
4	14	Triplett	Michael Thomas, NO	WR4
5	15	Lipscomb	Odell Beckham Jr., Cle	WR5
6	16	Clay	Antonio Brown, Oak	WR6
7	17	Soppe	Joe Mixon, Cin	RB10
8	18	Dabrowski	JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pit	WR7
9	19	Karabell	Dalvin Cook, Min	RB11
10	20	McCormick	Tyreek Hill, KC	WR8

Round 3

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	21	McCormick	Mike Evans, TB	WR9
2	22	Karabell	Keenan Allen, LAC	WR10
3	23	Dabrowski	George Kittle, SF	TE2
4	24	Soppe	T.Y. Hilton, Ind	WR11
5	25	Clay	Zach Ertz, Phi	TE3
6	26	Lipscomb	Nick Chubb, Cle	RB12
7	27	Triplett	Devonta Freeman, Atl	RB13
8	28	Cockcroft	Leonard Fournette, Jax	RB14
9	29	Joyner	Derrick Henry, Ten	RB15
10	30	Yates	Josh Jacobs, Oak	RB16

Round 4

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	31	Yates	A.J. Green, Cin	WR12
2	32	Joyner	Adam Thielen, Min	WR13
3	33	Cockcroft	Brandin Cooks, LAR	WR14
4	34	Triplett	Marlon Mack, Ind	RB17
5	35	Lipscomb	Damien Williams, KC	RB18
6	36	Clay	Amari Cooper, Dal	WR15
7	37	Soppe	Julian Edelman, NE	WR16
8	38	Dabrowski	Chris Carson, Sea	RB19
9	39	Karabell	Stefon Diggs, Min	WR17
10	40	McCormick	Aaron Jones, GB	RB20

Round 5

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	41	McCormick	Patrick Mahomes, KC	QB1
2	42	Karabell	Robert Woods, LAR	WR18
3	43	Dabrowski	Chris Godwin, TB	WR19
4	44	Soppe	Cooper Kupp, LAR	WR20
5	45	Clay	Kerryon Johnson, Det	RB21
6	46	Lipscomb	Kenny Golladay, Det	WR21
7	47	Triplett	Sony Michel, NE	RB22
8	48	Cockcroft	DJ Moore, Car	WR22
9	49	Joyner	Hunter Henry, LAC	TE4
10	50	Yates	Phillip Lindsay, Den	RB23

Round 6

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	51	Yates	David Montgomery, Chi	RB24
2	52	Joyner	Matt Ryan, Atl	QB2
3	53	Cockcroft	Deshaun Watson, Hou	QB3
4	54	Triplett	Tyler Lockett, Sea	WR23
5	55	Lipscomb	Alshon Jeffery, Phi	WR24
6	56	Clay	Mark Ingram II, Bal	RB25
7	57	Soppe	Kenyan Drake, Mia	RB26
8	58	Dabrowski	Tyler Boyd, Cin	WR25
9	59	Karabell	Tarik Cohen, Chi	RB27
10	60	McCormick	James White, NE	RB28

Round 7

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	61	McCormick	O.J. Howard, TB	TE5
2	62	Karabell	Jarvis Landry, Cle	WR26
3	63	Dabrowski	Andrew Luck, Ind	QB4
4	64	Soppe	Robby Anderson, NYJ	WR27
5	65	Clay	Sammy Watkins, KC	WR28
6	66	Lipscomb	Tevin Coleman, SF	RB29
7	67	Triplett	Aaron Rodgers, GB	QB5
8	68	Cockcroft	Derrius Guice, Wsh	RB30
9	69	Joyner	Jared Cook, NO	TE6
10	70	Yates	Miles Sanders, Phi	RB31

Round 8

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	71	Yates	Evan Engram, NYG	TE7
2	72	Joyner	Rashaad Penny, Sea	RB32
3	73	Cockcroft	Calvin Ridley, Atl	WR29
4	74	Triplett	Eric Ebron, Ind	TE8
5	75	Lipscomb	Allen Robinson, Chi	WR30
6	76	Clay	Mike Williams, LAC	WR31
7	77	Soppe	Latavius Murray, NO	RB33
8	78	Dabrowski	Will Fuller V, Hou	WR32
9	79	Karabell	Darrell Henderson, LAR	RB34
10	80	McCormick	Dante Pettis, SF	WR33

Round 9

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	81	McCormick	Christian Kirk, Ari	WR34
2	82	Karabell	Sterling Shepard, NYG	WR35
3	83	Dabrowski	Austin Ekeler, LAC	RB35
4	84	Soppe	Lamar Miller, Hou	RB36
5	85	Clay	Dede Westbrook, Jax	WR36
6	86	Lipscomb	Carson Wentz, Phi	QB6
7	87	Triplett	Marvin Jones Jr., Det	WR37
8	88	Cockcroft	Ronald Jones, TB	RB37
9	89	Joyner	DeSean Jackson, Phi	WR38
10	90	Yates	Baker Mayfield, Cle	QB7

Round 10

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	91	Yates	N'Keal Harry, NE	WR39
2	92	Joyner	Jordan Howard, Phi	RB38
3	93	Cockcroft	Courtland Sutton, Den	WR40
4	94	Triplett	Emmanuel Sanders, Den	WR41
5	95	Lipscomb	Vance McDonald, Pit	TE9
6	96	Clay	LeSean McCoy, Buf	RB39
7	97	Soppe	Drew Brees, NO	QB8
8	98	Dabrowski	Peyton Barber, TB	RB40
9	99	Karabell	Royce Freeman, Den	RB41
10	100	McCormick	Corey Davis, Ten	WR42

Round 11

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	101	McCormick	Keke Coutee, Hou	WR43
2	102	Karabell	Damien Harris, NE	RB42
3	103	Dabrowski	Donte Moncrief, Pit	WR44
4	104	Soppe	Michael Gallup, Dal	WR45
5	105	Clay	Nyheim Hines, Ind	RB43
6	106	Lipscomb	Geronimo Allison, GB	WR46
7	107	Triplett	Kalen Ballage, Mia	RB44
8	108	Cockcroft	D'Onta Foreman, Hou	RB45
9	109	Joyner	Trey Burton, Chi	TE10
10	110	Yates	Kyler Murray, Ari	QB9

Round 12
Round 13

Pick	Overall	By	Player	Pos Rank
1	121	McCormick	James Washington, Pit	WR51
2	122	Karabell	Delanie Walker, Ten	TE12
3	123	Dabrowski	Marquez Valdes-Scantling, GB	WR52
4	124	Soppe	Austin Hooper, Atl	TE13
5	125	Clay	Golden Tate, NYG	WR53
6	126	Lipscomb	Cam Newton, Car	QB11
7	127	Triplett	Russell Wilson, Sea	QB12
8	128	Cockcroft	Jaylen Samuels, Pit	RB49
9	129	Joyner	Dion Lewis, Ten	RB50
10	130	Yates	Kareem Hunt, Cle	RB51

Round 14
Round 15
Round 16