It’s never too early to prepare for your 2022 fantasy football draft. What better way to do so than to mock draft against the top experts in the fantasy football industry! You can use our FREE mock draft simulator to do just that. Let’s take a look at our latest mock draft and player notes.
Mock Draft Picks: 12-Team, PPR, Early Pick
Round 1, Pick 2: Christian McCaffrey (RB – CAR)
We all know the deal with CMC. When healthy, he’s easily the best player in all of fantasy football. He played in four games in 2021 with at least a 50% snap share and his PPR fantasy finishes were RB1, RB3, RB4 and RB3. McCaffrey averaged 26 fantasy points per game. Considering the extent of CMC’s injuries have not resulted in major surgeries or completely torn ligaments, I like him bouncing back to form in 2022. I like that the Panthers are already putting him in preseason bubble wrap to make sure he’s full-go for Week 1. Four of the Panthers’ 5 wins last season came when CMC was active and playing.
Round 2, Pick 11: Aaron Jones (RB – GB)
Aaron Jones is an absolute target and receptions monster when Davante Adams has missed time in the past. Without Green Bay’s No. 1 WR, Jones has averaged close to 4.5 catches, 6 targets, 48.5 receiving yards and 23 PPR points per game. Hard to ignore the Packers RB1 as a dynamite selection in Round 2 with multiple top-5 finishes on his resume.
Round 3, Pick 2: Mike Evans (WR – TB)
Mike Evans’ consistency in fantasy football is astounding. Over the last eight seasons, he’s hit 1,000 or more every year. He’s finished as a top 20 wide receiver in weekly fantasy scoring in every season but one. Last season he ranked 11th in red-zone targets and second in total touchdowns at the receiver position. With Tom Brady back in the fold, Evans is a locked-in top 12 option at the receiver position that could crest the top five if Chris Godwin is slow out the gate or starts the season on the PUP.
Round 4, Pick 11: Brandin Cooks (WR – HOU)
Brandin Cooks has finished worse than the fantasy WR20 only once since 2015, and that was due to injury. He has eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards six times with four different teams during that span. At just 28 years old, Cooks shows little signs of slowing down. Last season, he was a target and air yards hog, finishing fourth in air yards share (36%) and ninth in target share (24%). And during the final four games of the season with Davis Mills at quarterback, Cooks was top-10 in fantasy points per game (15.0) to go along with a top-5 target rate per route run (33%).
Round 5, Pick 2: Amari Cooper (WR – CLE)
Amari Cooper finished last season 27th in half-PPR per game (11.2), which was in line with his career average. There is hope that he can provide a higher floor as the clear No. 1 wide receiver in Cleveland. And that floor will be accompanied by an extremely high ceiling with Deshaun Watson entrenched under center. The ex-Texans quarterback fueled top fantasy WR finishes for the likes of Brandin Cooks (WR16, 2020) and Will Fuller (WR8/game, 2020) the last time he played. And prior to that, he supplemented DeAndre Hopkins as the fantasy WR4 and WR10 from 2018-2019.
Round 6, Pick 11: Miles Sanders (RB – PHI)
Miles Sanders opened the year playing 60-83% of snaps in the first six games but only averaging 9.5 rushing attempts per game. He did see 3.8 targets per game. He then sustained an ankle injury that landed him on the injured reserve. When he returned from the ankle injury, he was the Eagles’ clear lead back (Weeks 11-15), averaging 16.8 carries per game, although his pass game usage dried up (1.8 targets per game). Despite seeing 23 touches inside the 20, he failed to get into the endzone in 2021. While Sanders will see touchdown regression this season, he will still have to deal with Jalen Hurts near the goal line and the looming specters of Boston Scott and Kenneth Gainwell. He could return RB2 production this season, but there’s the risk with his injury history and how high-value touches could be divided up in 2022.
Round 7, Pick 2: T.J. Hockenson (TE – DET)
T.J. Hockenson’s season cut short by injuries has left a bitter taste in fantasy football managers’ mouths. But the hate is unwarranted, as Hockenson was well on his way to a career year with the Lions. Through 13 weeks, the Detriot Lions tight end ranked sixth in points per game, fifth in targets per game (7), first in route participation (85%), third in target share (19%) and third in air yard share. Averaging over one more fantasy point from the year prior, Hockenson fits the mold as a post-hype sleeper after he failed to truly break out in 2021.
Round 8, Pick 11: Kareem Hunt (RB – CLE)
Kareem Hunt’s been rumored to be on the trade block this offseason. His contract expires in 2023, and the Browns have a mighty stable of backs behind Nick Chubb including D’Ernest Johnson, Jerome Ford and Demetric Felton. If no deal is reached by the time the season starts, it would be much less likely that Hunt stays in Cleveland, making him a primed trade target for any team that suffers an injury at running back through training camp/preseason.
Last year Hunt was limited to just eight games due to a calf injury – but he maintained his effectiveness when healthy through the first six weeks of the season. He was a top-10 running back in PPR averaging 17 fantasy points per game averaging just south of 15 touches per game. Hunt’s true upside will always be capped in a backfield as the Robin to Chubb’s Batman. But should an injury occur to Chubb or another star running back, Hunt would easily flirt with league-winning upside if he is awarded the requisite volume to do so.
His 6th-ranked yards after contact per attempt (3.54), 6th-ranked yards per route run (1.81) and 26% target rate suggest he’s not slowing down entering his age-27 season. All he needs is a change of scenery to recapture his rookie year accolades when he led the NFL in rushing yards.
Round 9, Pick 2: Russell Wilson (QB – DEN)
Russell Wilson’s weapons/supporting cast overall are pretty even going from Seattle to Denver, but Nathaniel Hackett calling the shots is an upgrade over Pete Carroll. Hackett’s obviously had success with Aaron Rodgers that has translated into fantasy, so a top-five fantasy quarterback outcome is firmly in play with Wilson in 2022. After all, Wilson’s long track record of efficient fantasy play is undeniable – he has finished among the top-six fantasy QBs five times since 2014.
I like his chances of making it seven in 2022. Because Wilson is still among the league’s elite passers when healthy. Before the finger derailed his season, Russ led the NFL in yards per attempt (10.4), passer rating (133.6) and passer rating from a clean pocket (130.9) before Week 5. Wilson also finished the season on a high note, averaging over 24 fantasy points per game in his last three contests.
All in all, 2021 was a typical season for Wilson: peaks and valleys. He averaged 23 fantasy points per game from Weeks 1-4 and Weeks 16-18. In his six games post-injury, Wilson averaged an abysmal 13 fantasy points per game. Buy the inevitable 2022 dip on the future Hall of Fame quarterback in a new situation. That combined with a plethora of weapons in Denver, makes it very plausible he sees similar immediate success that other quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Matthew Stafford have had since changing teams late into their careers.
Round 10, Pick 11: Jakobi Meyers (WR – NE)
Jakobi Meyers is easily the most slept-on wide receiver in fantasy football. The former undrafted free agent has been the Patriots’ target leader for the past two seasons, with his most recent accomplishment finishing top-12 in target share (23%) in 2021. The high-end target share also aligned with Meyer’s deployment in the Patriots’ passing attack, where Meyers was running a route on 92% of team dropbacks — the sixth-highest mark in the league. New England’s No. 1 receiver just needs to cash in on more touchdowns to unlock his fantasy ceiling. He has been extremely underused in that category; his 866 receiving yards resulting in two touchdowns were the lowest of any WR in 2021.
Round 11, Pick 2: Skyy Moore (WR – KC)
Western Michigan WR Skyy Moore is being undervalued versus other Round 1 rookie WRs because he was a second-round pick as the 13th wide receiver selected in the draft. But Moore has a chance to hit the ground running in the post-Tyreek Hill era, competing for targets with fellow newcomers Juju Smith Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. His impressive YAC ability – tied for first with 26 forced missed tackles in 2021 – and ability to play both inside/outside helps him stand out from the other Chiefs’ WRs. With Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback, Moore could smash his current ECR into the stratosphere. It’s not that outlandish to think a second-rounder can make an immediate impact considering six of the 12 highest-scoring Round 1 & 2 rookie WRs selected since 2017 were second-rounders.
Round 12, Pick 11: Jameson Williams (WR – DET)
Jameson Williams’ early-season status is still up in the air, but one thing that’s for certain is that once he hits the NFL field, he’s a big play waiting to happen. Williams’ electrifying speed helped him finish 13th in yards per route run (minimum 50 targets, per PFF) with the fifth-most deep receiving yards in the nation last year. Outside of his health, Williams’ biggest obstacle to a monster rookie season is Jared Goff, who was ninth in catchable pass rate but sadly 24th in deep accuracy.
Round 13, Pick 2: Cole Kmet (TE – CHI)
Cole Kmet ranked inside the top 12 amongst tight ends in targets (93, eighth), target share (17.7%, 11th), receiving yards (612, 12th), and air yard share (17.6%, 11th). With the depth chart devoid of receiving talent outside of Darnell Mooney, Kmet should see a similar share of the passing offense (if not more) in 2022. With touchdown regression poised to strike his box scores, Kmet is a high floor and ceiling option in fantasy.
Round 14, Pick 11: Robbie Anderson (WR – CAR)
Baker Mayfield‘s addition also provides hope that Robbie Anderson can bounce back after a horrible 2021 campaign. Anderson finished ninth in route participation (91%), 28th in targets (105) and 46th in expected fantasy points per game (10.6).
With his role likely unchanged from a season ago, Anderson should be auto pick as your last pick in formats that require a plethora of starting WRs. He’s one year removed from a top-20 finish and is still just 29 years old.
Mock Draft Results and Analysis
FantasyPros Staff Consensus 2022 Redraft Fantasy Football Rankings
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