Fifth Pick: Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans

In PPR, Derrick Henry is outside of my top ten, but in standard, he is in the top five. He rushes the football like no one else and his lack of catching stats doesn’t hurt as much here. And boy, can he run the football, as he led the league last season in rushing. His regular-season numbers were of the monster variety. 303 rushes for 1,574 yards and an eye-popping 16 touchdowns. Impressive, no?

But that was just the warm-up. His postseason was off the charts. He combined for a mammoth 377 yards as the Titans beat the Patriots and Ravens, both on the road. Tennessee figures to be as run-heavy this season, so Henry’s numbers should again be elite. It might be unwise to expect 303 carries again, but saddle up and ride Henry for as far as he will go. It would certainly be wise to pay attention to Henry in your fantasy football standard mock and when draft day comes.

Sixth Pick: Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints

It is unusual to have two players on the same team this early in a draft, but given recent events with Dalvin Cook, Alvin Kamara takes his place until further notice. Kamara does have injury concerns coming into the preseason, having missed two games a year ago. Given that, it is not surprising that his stats came nowhere close to his 2018. No way does the injury bug bite him again, right?

I never recommend taking a chance on a player in the first round, so make sure he is healthy before drafting him. His ceiling is sky-high, as his production of 883 yards rushing and 709 receiving in 2018, indicates. The Saint offense looks to be full speed this season, so don’t miss out.

Seventh Pick: Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns

It seems that a lot of people, including myself, were not aware of just how good a season that Nick Chubb had for the Cleveland Browns last year. But it didn’t take much research to discover that Chubb is indeed a gem of a player. Take a look at this. 298 rushes for 1,494 yards and 8 TDs, The rushing yards were second in the league. His 5.0 yards per carry is elite.

All of this for a Browns team that didn’t nearly meet expectations in 2019. That might explain the lack of touchdowns, but everywhere else you look, the numbers scream off the page. Best of all, he has played in all 16 games of his two seasons in the league. One of these years the Browns figure to get off the mat, Make sure that you are along for the magical ride when they do.

Eighth Pick: Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings

As mentioned above, Dalvin Cook announced earlier this month that he intended to hold out until the Vikings renegotiate his contract. If that extends into and drags on throughout the preseason, then ignore this ranking. Hopefully, the contract is settled, because Cook is an outstanding running back that put it all together last season. No question, Cook was the Viking’s MVP in 2019.

He rushed the ball (1,135), caught the ball (519), and got into the end zone for13 touchdowns. He has had injury concerns throughout his career and if he is holding out, he cannot show that he is 100 percent healthy before the season starts. Just remember this recommendation is completely contingent on Cook being in camp. If he isn’t and you draft him anyway, you are on your own. This is exhibit A on why research is vital when conducting a fantasy football standard mock draft.