Greetings, friends. It’s hard to believe that we are only a few weeks away from actual football games being played. It’s fantasy draft season, which means it’s also mock draft season. I like to do a ton of mock drafts so that I can experiment with different strategies and see what happens to the board, especially as I mix in different formats.
The FantasyPros Mock Draft Simulator makes it easy to create and complete mock drafts in a manner of minutes. You can mock against the rankings of actual experts, or you can actually draft against other people, live. The FantasyPros Discord server is great for this because there is a mock draft channel, and users (and experts) are constantly posting links to their mock drafts and filling them up. In fact, that is exactly what I did for this article. The results that you see below are from an actual 12-team Two QB mock draft that I posted in Discord, filled in just a few seconds, and completed in about 15 minutes.
Here are the settings we used:
- 12 teams
- Half-PPR format
- Starters: 2 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex, 1 D/ST, 1 K, 7 bench spots
- Snake draft
- I randomized the draft order and ended up with the second pick
Have questions or just want to talk football? Feel free to reach out on Twitter @mikeMaher with questions or feedback anytime.
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Two QB Mock Draft
Round 1: Christian McCaffrey (CAR – RB))
Patrick Mahomes went first overall, and McCaffrey was an easy choice for me. Quarterbacks are going to fly off the board quickly in this format, but so are running backs. And I’m much more comfortable grabbing quarterbacks in the next few rounds than running backs. Being able to lock in my RB1 as the RB1 was too good to pass up here.
Round 2: Najee Harris (PIT – RB)
Since I have the second pick, I had to wait a while for my pick at the tail end of the second round. Four quarterbacks went in the first round, and two more went before I picked here. I was deciding between Harris, Joe Mixon, and Aaron Rodgers. I went with Harris, knowing that the team picking after me took Patrick Mahomes first overall and was unlikely to take Rodgers at the turn.
Round 3: Jalen Hurts (PHI – QB)
Update: I was wrong about Rodgers getting through the turn and falling to me. That first team did draft Mahomes and Rodgers with its first two picks, and they also took Mixon with the first pick in the third round. I decided to go with Hurts because of his upside and high floor because of his running ability. I’m not entirely sure how good of a quarterback Hurts can be, but what I do know is he is going to put up some points for fantasy managers.
Round 4: Joe Burrow (CIN – QB)
I don’t love this pick, but quarterback was drying up fast. I decided to go with Burrow and his potential in that offense. With the benefit of hindsight, I would have gone in a different direction if I could do this draft over. That being said, Burrow has the highest ceiling of any of the remaining quarterbacks, and that is huge in this format.
Round 5: Miles Sanders (PHI – RB)
I have yet to take a wide receiver, but there are still some good ones available, and I couldn’t pass on Sanders in the fifth round. A lot of people are down on Sanders after a disappointing 2020 season in which he only played in 20 games, struggled with drops, and rushed for 867 yards and six touchdowns. That is driving his ADP down far enough to be right in my wheelhouse. He is the clear RB1 in Philadelphia, despite all of the rumors of a committee or Kenneth Gainwell stealing some third-down work. Sanders is going to be the guy there, as long as he stays healthy (which is, admittedly, not a given).
Round 6: Odell Beckham Jr. (CLE – WR)
This is where things kind of went off the rails in this mock. In the fifth round, four wide receivers went right before I took Sanders, which is why I decided to grab a third starting running back. Then, something unfortunate happened. 12 wide receivers were drafted between when I took Sanders in the fifth round and my pick in the sixth round. Those wide receivers were: Amari Cooper, Chris Godwin, Cooper Kupp, Julio Jones, D.J. Moore, Diontae Johnson, Tee Higgins, Tyler Lockett, Brandon Aiyuk, Adam Thielen, Kenny Golladay, and Ja’Marr Chase.
This, obviously, threw a wrench into my plans and really made my unintended “Zero WR” approach look…not great. I have some work to do to balance out this roster now, and I start by banking on a bounce-back year from OBJ.
Round 7: Courtland Sutton (DEN – WR)
Another bounce-back candidate, and another wideout with injury concerns. I’m taking some big swings here. Sutton looked like he was on his way to becoming a stud in 2019 before missing pretty much all of the 2020 season. The quarterback position in Denver isn’t great, but they have filled their offense with playmakers. If Sutton can come back (and stay) healthy, he can be a WR2 in this offense. I’m gambling here, but I’m looking for upside.
Round 8: Will Fuller V (MIA – WR)
See the trend yet? I am compensating for my inadvertent “Zero WR” strategy by taking big WR swings. He is going to miss Week 1, and health is always a concern with Fuller, but I need to continue to fix my WR situation. Fuller has legit WR2 upside if he can stay healthy. Will he stay healthy? Probably not. But even if I can get 12 weeks of WR2 production from him, I’ll consider that a win.
Round 9: Michael Thomas (NO – WR)
You may remember me as the analyst who was “anti-Michael Thomas” in this Great Debate article from back in July. All of those things are still true, but Round 9 is good value in this format. He is going to miss the start of the season, but he has WR1 upside when he comes back. Even if I get WR2 or WR3 production from him, that’s a good value at this point in the draft.
Round 10: Laviska Shenault Jr. (JAC – WR)
Yes, after not taking any wide receivers, I drafted five in a row. Safety in numbers, or something. I liked Shenault coming out of college last year, and I like him as a weapon in this new offense.
Round 11: Tyler Higbee (LAR – TE)
Gerald Everett is gone. Matthew Stafford is in town. The passing game should be significantly better, and they may lean on it a bit more with Cam Akers out for the season. I like Higbee as a high-upside tight end who is on the cheaper end in most drafts right now.
Round 12: Devin Singletary (BUF – RB)
I feel good about my three starting running backs, but I needed to add at least a depth piece here. Singletary has, I think, a pretty clear ceiling, but I’m banking on a regular role as a receiving back in this half-PPR format.
Round 13: Jameis Winston (NO – QB)
After taking Hurts and Burrow in rounds three and four, I waited until now to target another quarterback. I was hoping to get Carson Wentz here, but he went off the board in Round 12. So, with the options thinning here, I decided to go with Jameis Winston. I’m definitely not the biggest believer in Winston, and there is some worry that even if he does win the job, that Taysom Hill could see some red zone/goalline work, but I’m gambling on the upside in this offense here.
Round 14: Christian Kirk (ARI – WR)
Yup, another wide receiver. And this is one with some playing time/targets concerns. Kirk is being pushed for the WR3/slot role in Arizona by Rondale Moore, who looks like he is going to be the recipient of some manufactured touches. The Cardinals also brought in A.J. Green this offseason, but Green hasn’t been good and healthy since 2017. Kirk played on the outside in Arizona’s first preseason game, and I think we could see him moved around the offense a bit this season. This is a late-round buy-low on a wideout I still believe in.
Round 15: Drew Lock (DEN – QB)
I do not love Drew Lock. I don’t even necessarily like Drew Lock (as a fantasy quarterback, that is. I’m sure he’s a fine person). But in Round 15 of a 12-team, 2QB league, grabbing another starting (he’s winning that job, like it or not) quarterback seemed like a good depth move. I also rolled the dice on Jameis Winston winning the job in New Orleans, so this pick is some added insurance.
Note: We were supposed to do two more rounds, but the draft unexpectedly ended on us. But most of those picks were going to be kickers, defenses, and late-round gambles or depth, so we got most of the important picks out of the way.
Conclusion
I got an 83/100 for this draft and am projected to finish in the middle of the pack. This is largely due to my wide receiver situation, though I do think that I took enough volume there to make it work (or to at least warrant a position ranking better than dead last). I love my running back and flex situation situations, and this team is only a break or two (remember all of those gambles?) to be a real contender in this league. All in all, this wasn’t my best mock draft, but that’s exactly why you do mocks: to try out different strategies and learn from your mistakes along the way. In this particular draft, I waited too long at wide receiver, and the talented fantasy managers from the FantasyPros Discord made me pay for it.
Results
View the complete draft results, summary, draft board, and expert opinions here.
Thanks to everyone in Discord who drafted live with me. I’m looking forward to doing it more in the coming weeks, and maybe we’ll even post a few more mock draft articles along the way. And as you can see from the results, these fantasy managers in the FantasyPros Discord know what they’re doing, and it’s great practice to draft against them.
Want to keep the conversation going or just have a question? Feel free to reach out on Twitter @mikeMaher with questions or feedback anytime.
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Mike Maher is an editor and featured writer at FantasyPros and BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive, follow him on Twitter @MikeMaher, and visit his Philadelphia Eagles blog, The Birds Blitz.
