Fantasy football draft season is in full force as we prepare for the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday and a full slate of preseason action next week. As part of our continuing draft coverage, I recently took part in a PPR fantasy football mock draft. Participating in mock drafts is a very helpful exercise. You can gain experience and try out different strategies that can prepare you for the real thing. Our FREE fantasy football mock draft simulator is a great customizable tool that allows you to simulate draft conditions and league settings.
For this fantasy football mock draft, I had the 11th pick in a 12-team PPR league. The draft is 16 total rounds. Each team’s starting roster consists of 10 players. They include one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one Flex player, one kicker and one defense/special teams unit. I will document each pick and discuss my thought process for each selection. This should help you get a feel for my strategy when it comes to picking late in a PPR format.
- 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2024 Best Ball Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Free Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
Fantasy Football Mock Draft: PPR, Late-Round Pick
1.11: Puka Nacua (WR – LAR)
The first 10 picks off the board were not much of a surprise. They included four running backs and five wide receivers. I would prefer not to wait until the third round to draft my first running back. The good news is I have a few I like in this range. Since there is only one team and two picks between now and my next pick, I would rather grab my top wide receiver now and draft a running back in the next round.
I have Puka Nacua ranked higher than any other wide receiver remaining on the board. Nacua finished fourth in total PPR scoring and sixth in per-game scoring among wide receivers last year. And he did so without a ton of touchdown luck. Only Garrett Wilson and Michael Pittman scored fewer touchdowns among 10 wideouts who were targeted at least 150 times last year. Nacua has an incredibly high weekly floor and could match or even surpass last year’s results with a few more touchdowns.
2.02: Jahmyr Gibbs (RB – DET)
Team 12 drafted Garrett Wilson and Jonathan Taylor, which was more or less what I expected. Taylor would have been my pick here if he were available. I was tempted to take Travis Etienne but ultimately decided to go with Jahmyr Gibbs. Gibbs finished eighth among running backs in fantasy points per game last season. But I believe there is an added upside here. Gibbs was fourth in points per game from Week 7 through the end of the season. He also has a high weekly ceiling with five games of 24 points or more during that stretch. Gibbs should be more comfortable in his second NFL season and I am expecting a huge year.
3.11: Mike Evans (WR – TB)
I feel like a lot of people underestimate the contributions of Mike Evans in PPR leagues. Evans has been in the NFL for a decade. His lowest season-long finish in PPR leagues was 23rd back in 2015. He has five yearly top-12 finishes, including last season when he finished as the overall WR7. Evans is about as consistent as they come at the wide receiver position. He has played in 154 out of 163 regular season games since making his NFL debut. Evans is still only 30 years old (he will turn 31 in August), which means he still has plenty of fuel left in the tank. I am very happy drafting him as my WR2 in this spot.
4.02: Joe Mixon (RB – HOU)
Team 12 took Patrick Mahomes, which leaves Lamar Jackson as the other quarterback remaining in my top tier. Do I take Jackson and accept a drop-off at another position, or do I secure another skill player? Knowing there are another 20 picks between this pick and my next, I decide to go the running back route. I believe there is a bigger drop-off between this group of running backs and those who should be available at my next pick than there is at wide receiver. Also, as a side note, since Team 12 has their quarterback, I can strategize a bit. When it is time to select my quarterback, I can wait until the second pick of an even round as opposed to the 11th pick of an odd round. This may help me snipe a Flex player or two ahead of Team 12 going forward.
I have Joe Mixon, James Cook and Kenneth Walker III ranked very closely together. If you have a strong preference for one of the other two, I do not have any qualms with that. That also holds if Mixon’s hamstring injury continues to linger. But I am taking Mixon because I believe he has a very safe floor, which balances nicely with the upside of Gibbs. Mixon scored eight or more PPR points in every single game last season. Christian McCaffrey is the only other running back who can make that claim. He also could see a bit of a bump behind a better offensive line in Houston than he had in Cincinnati. Combine that with what should be a steady amount of goal-line work in a potent offense, and you have the makings of a solid fantasy RB2.
5.11: Tee Higgins (WR – CIN)
6.02: Joe Burrow (QB – CIN)
This is a complex decision for me for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that I have Chris Godwin as the highest remaining wide receiver on my board. However, I already have Mike Evans. Having two teammates at the same position feels less than ideal. If I had Godwin projected significantly higher than the other wide receivers remaining, I would probably go ahead and draft him anyway. But there is enough of a cluster here that I do not mind going a different route. One of the receivers I have grouped with Godwin is Tee Higgins. This brings me to the next reason why this is an interesting spot.
I think many fantasy managers go overboard with stacking. For those unfamiliar, stacking is done by drafting a quarterback and a pass-catcher from the same NFL team. The logic stems from the idea you can get rewarded twice for one play. If a quarterback on your fantasy team completes a pass to a pass-catcher on your team, you get points from both the quarterback and the pass-catcher. With that said, I have Joe Burrow ranked as my overall QB5. If ever there was a spot to stack, it feels like this might be it. But that brings me to yet another point when it comes to trying to outthink and outguess your opponents.
While I rank Burrow fifth among quarterbacks, I also know most people rank him seventh or eighth. Anthony Richardson and C.J. Stroud are generally thought of more highly than Burrow is heading into 2024. Maybe that is because of Burrow’s injury history, or perhaps it is the Cody Rhodes haircut. Either way, I could easily draft Burrow here, since he is the highest quarterback on my board. Or I could play a game of draft chicken and select a player at a different position. If I go that route, I am hoping Burrow falls to me at the round 7-8 turn. Even if he doesn’t, the other quarterbacks available should provide a similar output to Burrow.
In the end, I decided to take Burrow at 6.02. But since this is a mock (and this is exactly the sort of experimentation mocks are for), I first wanted to see if Burrow would have fallen to me if I selected someone else at 6.02. In this experiment, I selected Tony Pollard. Burrow went 6.11. So, Burrow at 6.02 it is.
7.11: Jaylen Warren (RB – PIT)
8.02: Evan Engram (TE – JAX)
What was interesting here is I almost still got Pollard here, but he went 7.09. There was a bit of a tight end run in round six. Four tight ends came off the board, meaning seven tight ends have now been drafted overall. One of them (Mark Andrews) was selected by Team 12. Again, this helps me because I have Evan Engram in a tier above all other available tight ends. But instead of taking him at 7.11, I know I can wait until 8.02 because it is very unlikely Team 12 will take a second tight end this early. If I am wrong, so be it. These are the types of scenarios you should think about when drafting.
At the time of this pick, I have selected two running backs and three wide receivers. I need to bolster both of those positions for depth and potential weekly Flex options. So far, 27 running backs have been drafted compared to 39 wide receivers. In a PPR league, I am more concerned about finding quality running backs at this stage of a draft than wide receivers. You can draft a WR5 or WR6 who can end up being a top-30 or top-40 weekly option based on matchups. But finding a running back you can plug in is usually a bit trickier. Since I would like to draft Engram, I will draft a running back in round seven and address the wide receiver position at the round 9-10 turn.
Jaylen Warren is the embodiment of a PPR Flex. He scored at least 10 PPR points in 10 out of 17 games last year, with a low week of 6.5. He only had one game with more than 20 points, so the ceiling is not super high. However, he is a solid contributor in this format and can fill in for Gibbs or Mixon if need be.
The mock draft software wanted me to take Diontae Johnson or DeAndre Hopkins at 8.02. I think the drop-off between Engram and, say, Dallas Goedert is greater than the drop-off between Johnson and whatever wide receivers will be available at my next pick. I also have several wide receivers whom I like a lot that should be available in the next few rounds. Because of that, I am taking Engram. (Update: After selecting Engram, I got a notification that the pick was a slight reach. And in an alternate universe where I undid the Engram pick, he was indeed available at 9.11. Lots of quality running backs and wide receivers were drafted in rounds eight and nine, so perhaps there is something to be said for that strategy. I just did not think it was worth the risk of losing Engram.)
I kept it as is with Engram at 8.02, both for continuity purposes and because I do like Engram a lot. The hate for Engram seems strange. Engram scored the 31st-most PPR points last year among non-quarterbacks. Even on a per-game basis, he was 51st overall among Flex players. Engram is playing in the same system this year and should have a similar role. If anything, I could argue Engram might be even more involved in the passing game than he was a year ago. Jacksonville essentially replaced Calvin Ridley with a rookie in Brian Thomas Jr. and Zay Jones with Gabe Davis. Ridley and Jones combined for 200 targets in 26 games last year, while Davis had a 14% target share in Buffalo.
9.11: Gus Edwards (RB – LAC)
At this point, there have been 10 quarterbacks, 39 running backs, 49 wide receivers and eight tight ends selected. I have more or less drafted the players who are most likely to inhabit my weekly starting lineup. I have drafted one quarterback, three running backs, three wide receivers and one tight end. Burrow and Engram both have their bye weeks in Week 12, so I do not feel the need to force a backup at either position onto my roster. If it happens organically, that’s fine. For now, I want to focus on getting some more depth at running back and wide receiver.
Gus Edwards is not a sexy pick by any means. However, he is likely the last back remaining who should get the bulk of his team’s carries. Recently, former Chargers back Austin Ekeler stated the primary reason he is no longer a member of the team was that they expressed their desire to find a running back that could handle 300 carries a year. That may be a bit too high of an expectation, but Edwards should have a solid role as the early-down back in this offense. J.K. Dobbins is coming off an Achilles tear and Kimani Vidal is a sixth-round draft pick. Last year, Edwards finished as the overall RB25 in PPR scoring and RB34 in points per game. I am very comfortable with Edwards as my fourth running back in a 12-team league.
10.02: Brandin Cooks (WR – DAL)
Brandin Cooks was a non-factor early in the 2023 season in his first year as a Dallas Cowboy. Through five weeks (four games), he amassed just 16.9 total PPR points. However, from Week 6 on, Cooks was 24th among wide receivers in total scoring and 30th in points per game. Dallas has one of the most potent passing attacks in the league. They led the NFL in passing touchdowns and had the third-most passing yards. The Cowboys did not add a proven commodity to an already thin depth chart behind Cooks and CeeDee Lamb. That means Cooks’ role and involvement in the passing game should remain secure. I love the value here for Cooks. He will fit into my Flex mix quite nicely.
11.11: Rashid Shaheed (WR – NO)
12.02: Khalil Shakir (WR – BUF)
It would have been nice to be able to handcuff Edwards, but Dobbins was drafted at the 11.10 spot. To be honest, though, I still may have passed because I love drafting Rashid Shaheed and Khalil Shakir this late. Perhaps it is overkill to draft six wide receivers through 12 rounds. However, this value is too much for me to pass up. We’ll start with Shaheed.
Shaheed has had 10 career games in which he has had a route participation of 80% or higher. He is averaging 12.1 PPR points per game in those 10 games. The Saints are now without Michael Thomas, so Shaheed should be on the field most of the time. New Orleans also now has Klint Kubiak calling plays. This should help diversify the offense a bit compared to what we saw last season. Last year, the Saints ran the fewest percentage of play-action passes as well as plays with pre-snap motion. Implementing these concepts should help Shaheed find more consistency than he has been able to provide in previous years. I expect him to be more than just a deep threat this season.
As for Shakir, he is part of what is now a wide-open receiver room in Buffalo. He is the most tenured Bills receiver, entering his third season. Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis are out of town, which vacates 241 targets. Shakir is sure to soak some of those up in addition to the 45 he earned last year. Those 45 targets resulted in ridiculous efficiency. Shakir caught 39 passes for 611 yards. An expected uptick in volume should more than make up for any potential downturn in efficiency. I also like Keon Coleman and Curtis Samuel depending on their draft slot. They went at 9.02 and 11.02, respectively, in this draft, which I think is fine.
Another thing to like about both Shaheed and Shakir is their potential in the return game. With the new NFL kickoff rules, we could see both of these players see some added touches on special teams. Most fantasy football leagues do not reward yardage accrued on special teams, but they do count touchdowns. Even in a league where special teams touchdowns are not included, I believe Shaheed and Shakir are screaming values this late in drafts.
13.11: Khalil Herbert (RB – CHI)
Starting running backs are long gone by this point in the draft, so we are looking for players with upside and those we can play in a pinch. Khalil Herbert has always performed well when provided with the opportunity. He has averaged 13.5 PPR points in 18 career games in which he has 10+ touches. Keep in mind Chicago’s passing offense was virtually non-existent for most of these games. With Caleb Williams, DJ Moore and Rome Odunze in the fold, Chicago should field a more balanced and explosive attack. Herbert is currently behind D’Andre Swift on the depth chart. But he can thrive in certain matchups as a change-of-pace. And he has huge upside if Swift were to miss any time.
14.02: Dameon Pierce (RB – HOU)
I do not mind taking a D/ST here if there is one you feel particularly strongly about. At this point, four D/STs (SF, NYJ, CLE, BAL) are off the board. I have several other D/ST units projected within half a point of each other, so I would prefer to wait on that position. I have Ray Davis as the highest-ranked running back available overall. However, I would rather handcuff one of my top running backs instead. That is especially true since one of them (Joe Mixon) is dealing with an injury.
15.11: Philadelphia Eagles D/ST
I think the Eagles are a borderline top-five fantasy defense this year, making this an easy selection. I also like Cincinnati more than most and would have been comfortable taking them as well.
16.02: Jake Moody (K – SF)
Brandon Aubrey and Justin Tucker are off the board as my final pick approaches. I have Jake Moody just ahead of Harrison Butker, who is just ahead of Evan McPherson, who is just ahead of… well, you get the idea. For the record, I do think that kickers matter and want them to remain a part of a fantasy football lineup. But I have about 15 kickers projected within a half-point of each other, so it is just about personal preference for me.
Final Results & Draft Board
The mock draft simulator gave us a B+ score and projected our team to be the fourth-highest scoring out of 12 teams.
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