One of the best parts of fantasy football is drafting your team. This is the time of year when everyone has a chance to win and no one is out of the playoffs yet. Going into your fantasy football draft with the most education and practice possible will only help you when you’re on the clock. I highly suggest using the FREE FantasyPros Draft Simulator to do a mock draft for your specific league before your real draft.
For this mock, I’m going to draft 14 rounds of a 1-QB, PPR league. I’m required to start two RBs, two WRs, one TE and two Flex spots. I’m going to take an RB in the first and draft what’s known as a “Hero RB” team to see how it comes out from the third spot. Full draft results can be found here.
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- Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Hero RB Strategy
Early Picks
- 1.03 – RB Bijan Robinson (RB – ATL)
- 2.10 – QB Josh Allen (QB – BUF)
- 3.03 – WR Michael Pittman (WR – IND)
If I have the third pick in a 12-team league, I would usually start with Tyreek Hill, but since I’m trying the Hero RB approach I go with Bijan Robinson instead. Christian McCaffrey should go 1.01 in all 1-QB leagues, especially PPR formats. CeeDee Lamb going second isn’t that shocking to me, but I prefer Hill. A whopping 76% of the experts agree, but I go against the grain and reach a little to grab my second-ranked RB behind McCaffrey.
Coming back in the second I see two main options: QB Josh Allen or WR Jaylen Waddle. I don’t prefer grabbing a QB early and would much rather wait to get more receiving talent instead, but since this is a mock I want to see what happens if I wait for another round at WR. Josh Allen is the pick, for better or worse. Let’s see how it goes.
Looking at WR for sure in the third round and Michael Pittman is the best on the board. Waddle went at 3.02, so I was only one pick away from getting him, but Pittman is a great consolation prize. The experts agree, as 34% say to take him here. This isn’t a bad start, but we’re going to need to pound the WR position often in the coming rounds.
Middle Round Picks
- 4.10 – WR Stefon Diggs (WR – HOU)
- 5.03 – WR Amari Cooper (WR – CLE)
- 6.10 – WR Keenan Allen (WR – CHI)
- 7.03 – WR Calvin Ridley (WR – TEN)
- 8.10 – TE Evan Engram (TE – JAX)
- 9.03 – RB Brian Robinson (RB – WAS)
The experts want me to take RB Kenneth Walker but I’m sticking with my Hero RB plan and going with Stefon Diggs instead. I don’t know what to expect in Houston this year, but there’s a world where Diggs is the WR1 on his team. Having him as my WR2 after waiting to attack the position feels pretty good.
I saw Amari Cooper available when I took Diggs and almost considered him at 4.10. Now I’m debating between him and TE Trey McBride at the 5.03. There are more tight ends I like later on than receivers, so I’ll go for my third straight wideout here and select Cooper for my first Flex spot. Cooper could easily be a WR1 in PPR scoring if the Browns are the real deal. Having him as my first starting Flex spot feels solid.
My next two picks are Keenan Allen and Calvin Ridley. Both of these players changed teams but I like their upside in their new offenses. Much like Diggs, both Allen and Ridley could also be their team’s WR1. Having these kinds of players in full PPR formats just feels like a winning strategy. Given the results so far, waiting at WR is working out better than expected.
Ridley was my first bench player, but I still need to address a couple of starters. I grab Ridley’s former teammate in Evan Engram and feel very lucky to grab Brian Robinson as my RB2. Brian Robinson doesn’t have the same upside as Bijan Robinson, but at the 9.03, I’m ecstatic that waiting this long has paid off this well. This lineup could be very dominant.
Late-Round Picks
- 10.10 – RB Chuba Hubbard (RB – CAR)
- 11.03 – RB Blake Corum (RB – LAR)
- 12.10 – RB Braelon Allen (RB – NYJ)
- 13.03 – WR Khalil Shakir (WR – BUF)
- 14.10 – TE Isaiah Likely (TE – BAL)
Looking at my team feels good but I need to hit up a few more RBs for depth. Given who’s left, Chuba Hubbard seems like the best bet. He’s the top-ranked RB left, according to the experts and rankings, and should see plenty of carries with rookie Jonathon Brooks dinged up early in the year. If he stays healthy he could end up with the job all year.
Speaking of rookies, my next two picks are both rookies and perfect bench options for my team. I think both Blake Corum and Braelon Allen have their work cut out for them, but we see RB injuries happen all the time. All it takes is one injury and either of these players could be worth a start on my team.
My last two bench spots are taken by Khalil Shakir to pair with Allen and Isaiah Likely to back up Engram. I think both are great upside plays and at this stage in the draft, that’s all I’m looking for. Both are well outside the top 12 at their position but could surprise us this year.
Final Analysis
Overall I like this team. I love going with the Hero RB method if I’m in the middle or end of the snake draft order. Trying it out from the third pick had me a little worried, but after doing this mock and trying something new, I’m much more confident going into my drafts. I have some bye weeks to manage and will have to worry about finding a backup QB on waivers if Allen gets hurt. Otherwise, I love this team.
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Andrew Hall is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Andrew, check out his profile and follow him @AndrewHallFF.
