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.
Beyond our fantasy football content, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you prepare for your draft this season. From our free mock Draft Simulator – which allows you to mock draft against realistic opponents – to our Draft Assistant – that optimizes your picks with expert advice – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football draft season.
Mock Draft Picks: 10-Team, PPR, No. 2 Pick
Round 1, Pick 2: Jonathan Taylor (RB – IND)
Pairing Taylor’s elite red-zone usage with his ascending role as a receiver – 11th in routes run and sixth in route participation in 2021 – makes him worthy of the 1.01 pick across all fantasy formats. No quarterback targeted running backs more than new Colts quarterback Matt Ryan did in 2021 – 8.6 targets per game.
Round 2, Pick 9: Davante Adams (WR – LV)
Adams’ high level of play won’t stop in Las Vegas, but his fantasy stock does get slightly dented going from Rodgers to Derek Carr. It’s unlikely that Carr hyper-targets Adams to the length of a 28% target share as Rodgers has done for so many seasons. Incumbent Raiders pass-catchers Darren Waller and Hunter Renfrow represent more target competition than Adams has ever played with since becoming the alpha in Green Bay.
Round 3, Pick 2: Mark Andrews (TE – BAL)
Last year, Mark Andrews was the early-round tight end who drove rosters to fantasy championships. The Baltimore Ravens’ fourth-year TE led the position with a 25% target share, 28% air yards share, and 17.5 fantasy points per game. He ran a route on 84% of offensive dropbacks, which also ranked first. With Marquise Brown traded to the Cardinals, Andrews has solidified himself as clear TE1 with a still unproven second-year wideout as his main competition for targets.
Round 4, Pick 9: Josh Allen (QB – BUF)
The back-to-back reigning fantasy QB1 showed no signs of slowing down in 2021. Allen led the quarterback position averaging 24.6 fantasy points per game and a whopping 26.7 expected fantasy points – nearly three points more than the next closest signal-caller. The Bills quarterback’s dual-threat ability – third in rushing yards (763) and rushing attempts (122) – provides him a fantasy ceiling that only a few other quarterbacks can match. No quarterback had more top-3 finishes or top-8 weekly finishes than Allen did a season ago. That’s why he’s deserving of being the first quarterback drafted across all formats.
Round 5, Pick 2: Courtland Sutton (WR – DEN)
Sutton has a real chance to recapture his elite form another year removed from his ACL injury. It also helps substantially that he has received an ultra upgrade at the quarterback position with Denver’s trade for Russell Wilson. Wilson has always been an elite downfield passer – he had the sixth-highest passer rating on throws of 20-plus air yards last season – which plays heavily into Sutton’s strengths as a vertical threat.
Round 6, Pick 9: Cam Akers (RB – LAR)
Cam Akers wasn’t expected to return last year in time for the playoffs, but he pulled it off. He saw snap shares from 39% to as high as 81%. While he racked up the volume in the process with 18.7 touches per game, his efficiency numbers were middling at best. His 2.31 yards after contact per attempt was a far cry from the 2.96 he rattled off in his rookie season (per PFF). With a full offseason to hopefully recoup any lost juice and return to his first-year form, Akers has the upside to be a workhorse in one of the best offenses in the NFL.
Round 7, Pick 2: Rashod Bateman (WR – BAL)
The Baltimore Ravens traded Marquise Brown to the Arizona Cardinals this offseason, opening the WR1 role on offense. Bateman has the opportunity to step in and be the true No. 1 wide receiver for Lamar Jackson (QB – BAL) in 2022 and beyond. With Brown’s 23% target share departure, Bateman can seize a massive role for fantasy as a high-end WR2. 2022 is Shoddy B breakout SZN.
Round 8, Pick 9: Josh Jacobs (RB – LV)
The fact that Jacobs had his 5th-year option declined and saw 7 touches in the HOF Game says everything fantasy owners need to know about his outlook this year. He will be the lead back to start the year, but the Raiders will not hesitate to go with other options if Jacobs struggles or an option behind him plays well. Jacobs is a low-upside flex that will be on a new team in 2023.
Round 9, Pick 2: AJ Dillon (RB – GB)
A.J. Dillon started to emerge from his protege’s shadow with 187 rushing attempts, 803 rushing yards, and an RB29 fantasy points per game finish last year. Dillon isn’t the home run threat that Jones is (43rd in breakaway run rate), but he can still punish an opposing defense. He was 17th in yards created per touch in 14th in yards after contact per attempt (minimum 100 carries, per PFF), immediately behind Jones. Unless Jones succumbs to injury, Dillon is likely stuck in a 1B role with a healthy red-zone role.
Round 10, Pick 9: Russell Gage (WR – TB)
With the arrival of Julio Jones, the runway for Russell Gage isn’t as clear as it once was. Chris Godwin‘s health reports returning with positive marks also muddies the water even more. Gage is a talented player who has the talent to take on a major role in this offense, but it’s impossible to predict that now outside of Godwin missing time or a Julio Jones injury. Last year Gage was 17th in yards per route run (minimum 50 targets, per PFF) and 12th in route win rate (per Playerprofiler.com). With his target share in limbo, Gage has gone from a WR2/WR3 candidate to a WR4 with possibly huge upside.
Round 11, Pick 2: Dallas Goedert (TE – PHI)
Dallas Goedert was an efficiency monster last season. He ranked first in yards per route run, seventh in YAC per reception, second in fantasy points per route run, and third in fantasy points per target (minimum 20 targets, per PFF). The arrival of A.J. Brown does hurt his ceiling, but he’s still a locked-in top 12 option at his position.
Round 12, Pick 9: Nyheim Hines (RB – IND)
Nyheim Hines posted career lows across the receiving board in 2021, but there’s hope that with a new quarterback under center that he can bounce back in 2022. No passer targeted running backs more than new Colts quarterback Matt Ryan did in 2021 – 8.6 targets per game. Bodes well for Hines to provide more usable weeks as he did in 2020. That year, Hines finished as RB18 in PPR scoring.
Round 13, Pick 2: Alexander Mattison (RB – MIN)
Alexander Mattison has played out of his mind when given the opportunity with Dalvin Cook sidelined. In the four games since 2020 with 60% or higher snap counts, he’s averaged 23.5 rushing attempts with 148.2 total yards per game. In that quartet of games, he was the RB7, RB6, RB8, and RB4 in weekly scoring. Assuming Kevin O’Connell doesn’t upset the order of things or Ty Chandler or Kene Nwangwu don’t hop him on the depth chart, Mattison is primed to remain one of the top handcuff options in fantasy.
Round 14, Pick 9: Derek Carr (QB – LV)
Fully anticipate Carr throwing for 30-plus laser scores bare minimum with Davante Adams at his disposal. Every quarterback last season that threw for at least 30 touchdowns finished inside the top-10 in 2021.
Round 15, Pick 2: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Round 16, Pick 9: Matt Prater (K – ARI)
Despite Matt Prater’s inconsistent first year with the Cardinals, he still managed to finish as fantasy’s eight-ranked kicker. His 37 field goal attempts were career-high and ranked 5th in the NFL. Bodes well for him to be a draft-eligible kicker that can provide spike weeks in the Cardinals’ dome. Not to mention, we could see the Arizona RZ offense struggle to start the year with DeAndre Hopkins sidelined.
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If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to 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 by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.
