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The 2017 NFL campaign is less than two weeks away, with the season opener between the Kansas City Chiefs and the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots set for September 7.
Fantasy football drafts are in full swing this week and next, so here are a few items to get you ready.
First, take a look at the first round of a recent mock conducted on Yahoo to see what some people might be thinking leading into their fantasy drafts.
Then, if you're struggling with finding a team name this year, a few suggestions are below.
Finally, we'll discuss a few running back and wide receiver sleepers to consider.
Mock Draft (Round 1)
1. RB David Johnson (Arizona Cardinals)
2. RB Le'Veon Bell (Pittsburgh Steelers)
3. WR Antonio Brown (Pittsburgh Steelers)
4. WR Julio Jones (Atlanta Falcons)
5. RB Melvin Gordon (Los Angeles Chargers)
6. RB Ezekiel Elliott (Dallas Cowboys)
7. RB LeSean McCoy (Buffalo Bills)
8. WR Odell Beckham Jr. (New York Giants)
9. RB Devonta Freeman (Atlanta Falcons)
10. RB Jordan Howard (Chicago Bears)
11. RB DeMarco Murray (Tennessee Titans)
12. WR Mike Evans (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Is there a fantasy football draft out there that hasn't seen running backs David Johnson and Le'Veon Bell go one-two?
It's clear why that's the case, as they will each receive north of 300-plus touches on the ground and through the air, in addition to a bevy of scoring opportunities in the red zone. They are clearly the NFL's two best backs.
Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, who was going third in many drafts earlier this preseason, has been suspended for the first six games of the year, so his draft position has dropped.
Now, elite wideouts are going earlier than expected, with Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Antonio Brown leading a solid superstar tier at his position.
It will be interesting to see where the second tier of running backs (e.g. the Buffalo Bills' LeSean McCoy, the Los Angeles Chargers' Melvin Gordon, among others) land within the first round.
I've been part of a few different mocks this week, and each time there has been a different result. In one draft, McCoy went fourth overall. In another, four wideouts went third through sixth, with McCoy going seventh.
The end of the first round has seen a run at running backs each time as players grab some proven stars at the position, such as the Atlanta Falcons' Devonta Freeman, before the running back pool gets riskier.
Team Names
1. Hilton Rewards (Sporting News)
2. More Than A. Thielen (Sporting News)
3. Bilal the Way Up (Sporting News)
4. Deshaun of the Dead (Athlon Sports)
5. Le'Veon on a Prayer (Athlon Sports)
6. Highway to Bell (Athlon Sports)
7. Abdullah Oblongata (Athlon Sports)
8. Little Red Fournette (USA Today)
9. Hooked on a Thielen (USA Today)
10. Doyle Rules (USA Today)
If you pick Pittsburgh Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell or Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen in fantasy, then you open yourself up to a whole host of naming options, as it looks pretty easy to create a team name based off them.
Adam Sandler fans will love Doyle Rules, a homage to a line from Billy Madison, and Prince fans should be partial to Little Red Fournette, which is based off the hit "Little Red Corvette."
Sleepers
Carolina Panthers WR Kelvin Benjamin
After missing the 2015 season with a torn ACL and a disappointing 2016 campaign in which he accumulated a pedestrian 63 catches and 941 yards, Benjamin may be on track to return with a vengeance in 2017.
Ultimately, his 2016 disappointment can be largely attributed to missing the entire 2015 season. He may have just needed a year back in the mix to get in a groove again after a devastating injury.
Now that the rust is shaken off, Benjamin could be set for a 2017 campaign in line with what he did in his rookie season in 2014, when he accrued 73 catches for 1,008 yards and nine scores.
Benjamin is just 26 years old and still the Panthers' No. 1 wideout. He's not the type of receiver who will accumulate yards after catch, but he should get plenty of red-zone scoring opportunities and will rack up receptions in bunches.
In particular, keep an eye on red-zone slants to the end zone, like this one against Jacksonville in the preseason:
The 6'5", 240-pound Benjamin is a touch cover due to his size. He should have a nice comeback season.
New York Jets RB Bilal Powell
Yes, the New York Jets offense looks like it may have a dismal season. However, the Jets aren't going scoreless all year. They're going to move the ball (sometimes). It's just a matter of how.
Running back Bilal Powell figures to get a ton of touches this year through the air. Expect a lot of checkdowns for chunks of yardage to the back, especially considering that it looks like New York is going to have great difficulty connecting on deep passes.
Sometimes, those chunks may be quite large, as Powell has game-breaking ability out of the backfield. Here he is with an 85-yard touchdown reception against the New York Giants on Saturday:
That means Powell can be especially valuable in point-per-reception leagues. It might be common this year to see the Jets playing from behind and forced to pass more often than not, so the running backs could be featured quite a bit. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Powell rack up four to five catches per game.
Last year, Powell had 58 receptions for 388 yards. He only touched the ball 189 times overall last year, but he still managed 1,110 yards from scrimmage and five scores. Expect a similar (or better) showing through the air this year.
Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com
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