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Other fantasy football mock drafts:
- 12-team, 1QB, standard, late pick
- 12-team, 1QB, full-PPR, late pick
- Analyst half-PPR mock draft
- 12-team, 1QB, full-PPR, early pick
- Andrew Erickson’s Live PPR Mock Draft
- 12-team, 1QB, full-PPR
- Analyst full-PPR mock draft
- Andrew Erickson’s Live Keeper League Mock Draft
As NFL teams start camp this week to prepare for the season, we fantasy players will do our own form of camp to prepare for the fantasy season — mock drafting. It’s the mock draft season, and I will be using the FantasyPros Mock Draft Simulator a million times between now and my drafts at the end of the month. The following was my first crack at it, and there are definitely some things I would have done differently, but overall, despite my C+ grade from the simulator, I’d be happy with this team going into the season.
When Jonathan Taylor went 1.01, my pick was the easiest pick I’d have to make for the entire draft. Josh Allen is the consensus No. 1 overall quarterback in SuperFlex leagues, and I was ecstatic to get him here. His rushing floor, combined with a high-volume passing offense, makes him a no-brainer.
2.11 Javonte Williams (RB – DET)
After grabbing my quarterback in Round 1, I knew I’d be going with a running back in Round 2. It came down to Nick Chubb or Williams. With both running backs expected to be in a time-share, the deciding factor was the lack of a PPR floor Chubb offers (25 targets in 2021) compared to Williams (53 targets).
Stefon Diggs was also a tempting pick so that I could stack him with Josh Allen, but running backs are still king in fantasy, and I didn’t want to miss out on getting one here.
3.02 Tom Brady (QB – TB)
I couldn’t pass up Tom Brady here in the third round of a SuperFlex league. I missed getting my Diggs/Allen stack by one pick as he went 3.01, one pick before me. Tom Brady’s 719 passes in 2021 were the second highest attempts in a single season in NFL history (Matthew Stafford had 727 in 2012), and there is no reason to think he won’t throw 650-plus times in 2022.
Now that I’ve locked up my quarterback position with two “set it and forget it” quarterbacks, I can spend the rest of my draft racking up wide receivers and running backs.
4.11 Travis Etienne (RB – JAX)
My RB2 comes from the same draft class as my RB1, as both running backs are entering their second year. Unfortunately for Etienne, he didn’t get to play in his rookie season, but all signs point to Etienne being 100 percent healthy as we head into camps. He has tremendous PPR upside, especially with his college quarterback Trevor Lawrence under center. I thought about taking Elijah Mitchell here, but I thought he might make it back to me in Round 5.
5.02 Elijah Mitchell (RB – SF)
Rounding out my trifecta of second-year running backs is Elijah Mitchell. You won’t find many people higher on Mitchell than me. I was screaming his name from the rooftops last offseason and even went as far as to say he’d be the 49ers highest scoring running back when the season was over. I don’t understand why he isn’t talked about more. He averaged nearly 20 touches per game last season, with Deebo Samuel still getting his fair share of touches. Injuries were an issue last season for Mitchell, but ultimately he is the primary running back in a run-heavy offense that will score points.
6.11 Allen Robinson (WR – LAR)
I was torn here between Robinson and Darnell Mooney for my WR1. In the end, I felt Mooney had the best chance to still be on the board two picks later in Round 7, so I went with Robinson, whose change of scenery this year gives him the best QB he has ever played with in the best offense he has ever played in, with the best coach he has ever played for — and, thanks to Cooper Kupp, he won’t draw the opposing team’s No. 1 cornerback. Yes, please.
7.02 Darnell Mooney (WR – CHI)
My gamble paid off, and Mooney was available here in the seventh round. As the de facto No. 1 WR in Chicago, Mooney can build off his mini-breakout season in 2021 by having an entire camp with Justin Fields as the top QB. Last offseason, if you remember, Andy Dalton was the starter, and Mooney had a slow start to the season. Mooney should draw a ton of targets in 2022 with Allen Robinson now in L.A. Hopefully, this offense isn’t as bad as we think, and he can rack up double-digit touchdowns too.
Getting Gage here in Round 8 gives me a nice stack with my QB2, Brady. Gage is expected to be the No. 2 option in the passing game to start the season, with TE Rob Gronkowski retiring and WR Chris Godwin expected to miss the first part of the season. If he can get off to a hot start, even when Godwin comes back, he should still be able to offer WR3-type numbers in this high-volume passing offense.
Filling out my second flex position, Hunt has high-end RB2 potential. In fact, before getting injured in Week 6 last season, Hunt was the RB9 in PPR after finishing the 2020 season as the RB10. The offense may take a step back with Jacoby Brissett likely under center — at least for the first half of the season — but he gives me the PPR upside that his backfield mate, Chubb, did not.
10.11 Ken Walker III (RB – SEA)
Tight end is the last starting position I have yet to fill, but I know I can wait for a few more rounds to get someone I’ve been targeting in all my drafts and mock drafts. I’m going with the upside of rookie running back Ken Walker with my first bench pick. He may not begin the season as the starter, but I don’t see injury-prone Rashaad Penny holding up with a heavy workload. The Seahawks will either limit Penny’s touches by mixing in Walker, or they will overuse Penny and get him hurt — leaving Walker to take over an every-down role. Either way, Walker is worth a 10th-round pick.
11.02 Jakobi Meyers (WR – NE)
Meyers had 126 targets last season, more than CeeDee Lamb, more than Mike Evans, and more than Deebo Samuel. The only thing holding back his fantasy value is his lack of touchdowns. I don’t expect Meyers to suddenly become a double-digit touchdown player, but 6-to-7 TDs in a season is not out of the question. Meyers is one of only two players since 2016 to have at least 120 targets, but only two or fewer touchdowns — Robert Woods was the other one. Woods had 139 targets in 2019 and only scored twice. In other words, the odds are in Meyers’ favor to increase his touchdown total in 2022.
12.11 Cole Kmet (TE – CHI)
The wait paid off in the 12th round as I landed the tight end I was targetting. Kmet was ninth in targets among tight ends in 2021, and a lot like Jakobi Meyers, he just could not find the end zone. He had a zero in the touchdown department. If Kmet can catch 6-to-7 TDs and maybe add to his yardage total, he can be a top 12 tight end, and the value in the 12th round would be well worth it.
13.02 Khalil Herbert (RB – CHI)
At this point in the draft, I’m throwing darts, and Herbert is a great dart throw. I wrote Herbert up in my last article as a running back I was targeting late in drafts. I think he has some stand-alone value as the only viable running back behind starter David Montgomery. Herbert can be a low-end RB1/high-end RB2 most weeks if Montgomery were to get hurt.
14.11 Marcus Mariota (QB – ATL)
Mariota makes for a decent QB3 in a SuperFlex league. Ideally, I’m only starting him when Allen or Brady are on their bye weeks, and he offers a solid floor because of his rushing upside.
15.02 Marquez Valdes-Scantling (WR – KC)
We have no idea how this Kansas City wide receiver corps will pan out. We all assume JuJu Smith-Schuster will be the No. 1 wide receiver, but we don’t know that. Even if MVS ends up the No. 2 wide receiver, he still has tremendous value, and in the 15th Round, he’s worth the shot. Worst case, he is a big play threat that I can plug into my lineup during the bye weeks and hope he hits on a big play or two.
16.11 Van Jefferson (WR – LAR)
My final dart throw is Jefferson. As the No. 3 wide receiver in a high-powered offense, he will have a game or three this season when he has a few big plays; if I’m lucky, he’s in my lineup those weeks.
If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant, which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
