While the 2024 NFL season is still months away, that doesn’t matter to dynasty fantasy football players. Now is the perfect time for a dynasty startup draft, with the NFL Draft almost here. There’s no better way to complete a FREE fantasy football mock draft than via our mock draft simulator.
I am picking sixth in this 12-team, 1QB, and half-point PPR-scoring dynasty mock draft. The lineup for this mock draft is one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, three flex, and six bench spots.
Let’s see how it turned out.
Dynasty Startup Mock Draft: 1QB, Half-PPR
The concern with Hall last season was his health. Thankfully, he got taken off a pitch count in Week 5, totaling 177 rushing yards and 26.9 fantasy points in an impressive performance against the Denver Broncos. Hall ended the year on fire, averaging 22.6 fantasy points per game over the final five weeks, totaling 22+ points in all but one contest. He should be the second running back picked in startup dynasty drafts behind Bijan Robinson.
While the 2024 NFL season is still months away, that doesn’t matter to dynasty fantasy football players. Now is the perfect time for a dynasty startup draft, with the NFL Draft almost here. There’s no better way to complete a FREE fantasy football mock draft than via our mock draft simulator.
I am picking sixth in this 12-team, 1QB, and half-point PPR-scoring dynasty mock draft. The lineup for this mock draft is one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end, three flex, and six bench spots.
Let’s see how it turned out.
Dynasty Startup Mock Draft: 1QB, Half-PPR
The concern with Hall last season was his health. Thankfully, he got taken off a pitch count in Week 5, totaling 177 rushing yards and 26.9 fantasy points in an impressive performance against the Denver Broncos. Hall ended the year on fire, averaging 22.6 fantasy points per game over the final five weeks, totaling 22+ points in all but one contest. He should be the second running back picked in startup dynasty drafts behind Bijan Robinson.
Williams came out of nowhere last year, totaling two rushing touchdowns and 17.4 fantasy points in the 2023 season opener. He finished the year as the RB6, averaging 19.9 fantasy points per game despite missing five games. Christian McCaffrey was the only running back to average more fantasy points per game than Williams last season. Unless the Rams take a running back on Day 2 of the NFL Draft he will have a featured role again in 2024.
No one expected Collins to be the WR9 last season, averaging 14.7 points per game. He was a go-to target for C.J. Stroud. Collins led the team in target share (21.1%), target per route run rate (28%), receiving yards market share (32.5%), yards per route run (3.37), end zone targets (10) and first-read target share (27%), per Fantasy Points Data. The one-year rental of an aging Stefon Diggs doesn’t matter to me. Collins is the team’s No. 1 receiver.
Speaking of Stroud, let’s stack an up-and-coming Houston passing attack. Taking a quarterback this early in a 1-QB draft might seem wasteful. Yet, Stroud should only get better after a historical rookie season. The former Ohio State star joined Tom Brady and Joe Montana to lead the NFL in passing yards per game and touchdown-to-interception ratio. However, Stroud is the only one to do it as a rookie, and the Texans added Stefon Diggs to his receiving core.
Kincaid was the TE11, averaging 7.1 fantasy points per game as a rookie. Unfortunately, he was inconsistent for fantasy players, as the tight end struggled to see consistent targets. However, the former Utah star was outstanding when Dawson Knox or Gabe Davis missed time, averaging 12.8 fantasy points per game from Week 7 through Week 10 with Knox out of the lineup. With Stefon Diggs in Houston and Davis signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kincaid could have a Trey McBride sophomore-year breakout.
Unfortunately, Pickens has been one of the more frustrating players to roster in fantasy football. Yet, he could be a fantasy star after the Steelers traded away Diontae Johnson. Pickens was the WR13, averaging 14.5 fantasy points per game during the four weeks Johnson was hurt last season. Unless Pittsburgh uses their first-round pick in the NFL Draft on a wide receiver, I’m buying Pickens having a breakout year in 2024.
While the Raiders could select a running back on Day 2 of the NFL Draft, crushing White’s fantasy value, I will take a chance on him at this point of the mock draft. Alexander Mattison isn’t a threat to White having a featured role next year. The second-year running back was the RB8, averaging 14.1 fantasy points per game during the four weeks as the starter in 2023. Head coach Antonio Pierce wants to run the ball, making White a potential fantasy stud next season.
Some will say Johnson’s fantasy value took a hit after getting traded to Carolina because of Bryce Young. However, that isn’t the case. Young struggled because the Panthers lacked a reliable weapon who could consistently separate. Meanwhile, Johnson was the WR42 in 2023 despite missing four games and catching passes from Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph on a Matt Canada-led offense. The veteran will command a heavy target share from Young, making him a value this late in the mock draft.
The knock against Conner is his injury history, having missed four games in back-to-back seasons. However, the veteran is one of my favorite running backs to draft despite turning 29 in May. Arizona could pick a running back on Day 2 of the NFL Draft but didn’t do it last year when they had the backfield. More importantly, Conner has finished as a top-10 running back on a points-per-game basis in back-to-back years.
Many doubted Love heading into his first season as the starter. He began the year on fire, averaging three passing touchdowns and 21.7 fantasy points per game over the first two weeks. After hitting a slump, the former Utah State star proved he is a franchise-caliber quarterback. Love was the QB2 over the final seven contests of the fantasy season, averaging 2.3 passing touchdowns and 21.6 fantasy points per game. He is one of my favorite quarterbacks to draft in dynasty, given the discount in cost.
Cincinnati signed Zack Moss this offseason and traded Joe Mixon to the Texans. While the veteran was productive filling in for Jonathan Taylor last year, fantasy players should target the other Bengals running back during their dynasty drafts. Brown is the better runner. According to Fantasy Points Data, he had a higher explosive run rate (9.1% vs. 3.1%) and yards after contact per attempt (3.09 vs. 2.29) than Moss during his stretch as the starting running back in 2023.
This pick is somewhat of a gamble. While the offense should be better under new head coach Brian Callahan, the Titans signed Calvin Ridley to a massive contract, pushing Hopkins down to the No. 2 wide receiver role. However, the veteran could get traded during the NFL Draft if Tennessee uses an early pick on a wide receiver. He is heading into the final year of his contract and could request a trade to a contending team like the Buffalo Bills.
While he is coming off the worst season of his career, I believe in Freiermuth. Pittsburgh’s offense should be significantly better after upgrading their quarterback room. Arthur Smith taking over as the team’s offensive coordinator is excellent news for Freiermuth. Last year, Atlanta Falcons tight ends averaged a 31.7% overall target share and a 29.3% red zone target share. With Diontae Johnson in Carolina, Freiermuth could have a breakout season in the final year of his rookie contract.
Many have given up on Johnston after one year in the NFL. While the former TCU star struggled in 2023, he had the second-most snaps among the team’s wide receivers. However, Johnston could be Justin Herbert‘s top receiving threat after the Chargers moved on from Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Austin Ekeler this offseason. He averaged 3.05 yards per route run in his final season at TCU, per Pro Football Focus (PFF), 0.51 higher than Tank Dell. Things can quickly change in the NFL, so don’t give up on Johnston yet.
Speaking of the former Los Angeles star, Williams signed a one-year deal with the Jets last month. Reportedly, the veteran should be ready for Week 1 after tearing his ACL early in the 2023 season. While he won’t be Aaron Rodgers‘ go-to weapon, the veteran quarterback has produced multiple WR1s in the same year before. More importantly, Williams was the WR12 on a points-per-game basis last season, averaging 13.6 per contest. Yet, fantasy players don’t need that kind of production to make Williams worthy of this pick.
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Mike Fanelli is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @Mike_NFL2.
