Fantasy football mock drafts are fun. Mock drafts with the FREE FantasyPros Draft Wizard are even better. But if you really want to take your fantasy football drafting game to the next level, it’s important to complete fantasy football mock drafts with a purpose. The best way to use a mock draft is to test different strategies to see how your roster shapes up with different approaches to the same draft. Because the Draft Wizard makes drafting with your league’s specific settings quick and easy, you can do multiple fantasy football mock drafts with every possible strategy.
Today, I’m going to be using the Draft Wizard to test out a streaming QB strategy by holding off on selecting my QB1 until the last possible round and seeing how stacked the rest of my roster becomes. This mock draft will be for a 12-team, half-PPR league. I randomly selected the seventh overall pick. The roster settings for this mock are 1-QB, 2-RB, 3-WR, 1-TE, 1-D/ST and 1-K, with six bench slots. I will break down my picks round by round below, but you can check out the full fantasy football mock draft here.
- 2024 Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2024 Fantasy Football Rankings
- 2024 Dynasty Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator
Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Streaming Quarterback Strategy
1.07: Bijan Robinson (RB – ATL)
I was happy to be randomly assigned the seventh pick in this draft, as I think there is a firm top tier of eight players available in drafts this year. By the time my pick came around, the two players available from that tier were Bijan Robinson and Justin Jefferson. In this case, I went with Robinson to lock up my RB1 spot, but drafting Jefferson (and then a running back in round two) is also a viable path.
2.06: Davante Adams (WR – LV)
Given I took a running back in round one, I was looking for a receiver in the second round. The choice came down to Davante Adams or Marvin Harrison Jr. Harrison Jr. is the more exciting, higher-upside pick, but I went with the veteran Adams. Adams may be getting up there in age, but he averaged over 10 targets a game in nine games with Antonio Pierce as the Raiders’ head coach. The 31-year-old has at least one more year of fantasy excellence left in the tank.
3.07: Jaylen Waddle (WR – MIA)
Jaylen Waddle was undeniably disappointing in 2023, struggling with injuries en route to a WR34 finish. But he is still the same player in the same situation as he was when he finished as the WR7 in 2022. He’ll likely land somewhere in between those two finishes this year but also has a huge upside if Tyreek Hill misses time. He’s a perfect WR2, both for the Dolphins and fantasy teams.
4.06: Mark Andrews (TE – BAL)
Given that the goal of this draft was to test out a streaming quarterback strategy, I knew I wanted to draft an elite tight end. Streaming one of the two one-off positions (quarterback and tight end) puts a strain on your bench slots and waiver budget, so it’s best to have a locked-in option at the other position. Even putting that aside, I love Mark Andrews in this spot. If we look just at games where he wasn’t affected by injury, he was the TE1 in points per game in 2023. As long as he’s going off the board as the TE4, I’m grabbing him in every league I can.
5.07: Malik Nabers (WR – NYG)
I passed on the exciting rookie receiver in the second round, but I couldn’t do it again in the fifth. Malik Nabers is a generational prospect in his own right and has been generating absurd amounts of hype with his performances in training camp. The rookie should get all the targets he can handle right away in a Giants offense desperate for playmakers. He may start slow, but Nabers has a real chance to overtake Waddle as this roster’s WR2 by the end of the season.
6.06: Rhamondre Stevenson (RB – NE)
Rhamondre Stevenson isn’t a player I love. But it’s important to remember you don’t always have to love every player on your roster — trying to make that happen will leave you reaching too far for your favorite sleepers. I knew I needed a running back here, and Stevenson was far and away the top running back left in the expert consensus rankings (ECR). I was happy to go with the flow and select Stevenson, who was also one of the few running backs remaining with a real chance to play all three downs for their team.
7.07: Diontae Johnson (WR – CAR)
I know I just talked about going with the flow, but Diontae Johnson is one of my favorite players heading into 2024, so I reached to make sure I landed him. Johnson, one of the league’s best separators, is set to rack up targets as Carolina’s undisputed top target. This is also where using a streaming QB strategy pays off: I’d be happy with Johnson as my WR3, but he’s going to start the season on the bench for this roster.
8.06: Tyjae Spears (RB – TEN)
I love drafting both Tennessee running backs. The Titans’ coaches have made it clear they see this duo as interchangeable, but true 50/50 committees are rare. Chances are, either Tyjae Spears or Tony Pollard will emerge as the 1A in this backfield and see at least 60% of touches. If that happens (or one of them gets hurt), the lead back will immediately be set up to outperform their draft position. If I had to back one, I’d back Pollard, but I’m more than happy to take shots on either, in this case, Spears, as a bench piece in the middle rounds.
9.07: Ladd McConkey (WR – LAC)
Speaking of throwing darts at players in ambiguous situations, someone from this Chargers receiving room is going to outperform their average draft position (ADP). Fantasy managers are scared of the run-heavy nature of Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman’s past teams, but even they can only rely so much on Gus Edwards and J.K. Dobbins with Justin Herbert on their team. Although he often played a part-time role in college, Ladd McConkey posted some elite peripheral numbers for an SEC receiver, including a 3.26 yards per route run mark that ranked fourth in the entire 2024 draft class. It may take him part of the season to adjust to the NFL, but I have time to wait with him as my WR5 and his massive upside.
10.06: Rico Dowdle (RB – DAL)
I considered going for a more high-upside/low-floor pick in this spot, especially Jaleel McLaughlin. But given that my current running back room outside of Bijan Robinson has a few question marks, I decided to go with Rico Dowdle. He’s not a special talent, but he is a potential Week 1 starter available in the 10th round, and that’s nothing to scoff at.
11.07: Joshua Palmer (WR – LAC)
Like I said with McConkey, it’s worth throwing darts at this Chargers WR room in hopes of landing Justin Herbert’s WR1. Drafting both Joshua Palmer and McConkey does lower this team’s ceiling, but I’m more willing to make a move like that later in the draft. After all, I’d happily trade both my ninth and 11th-round picks for a WR3, and this duo gives me a good shot to do just that.
12.06: Braelon Allen (RB – NYJ)
A fourth-round pick in this year’s draft, Braelon Allen has reportedly locked up the Jets’ RB2 job. He also stood out in their first preseason game and is getting buzz as a potential three-down player. That makes him one of the more valuable handcuffs in the league. He’s worth drafting and stashing in case Breece Hall misses time.
13.07: Justin Herbert (QB – LAC)
This was the moment of truth for this draft, and I couldn’t be any happier with how it played out. After loading up with skill-position talent and an elite tight end, I was still able to select Justin Herbert with my last real pick of the draft (kickers and defenses don’t count, sorry). Even in a down year last year, Herbert averaged 19.8 fantasy points in games he didn’t leave early due to injury — that would have ranked him as the QB6 on the year.
His recent foot injury did give me some pause before making this pick, but the good thing about streaming quarterbacks is I have very little invested in Herbert. If he disappoints, I will happily cut him for someone else. Players like Matthew Stafford, Geno Smith, Baker Mayfield and Kirk Cousins all went undrafted in this mock. I’m sure some combination of them will be able to provide back-end QB1 numbers.
14.06: Cleveland Browns D/ST
The Browns were an elite defense in 2023 and figure to be at least solid again in 2024. I don’t love that their Week 1 matchup is against the Cowboys, but at least they play at home. After Week 1, their next four matchups (Jaguars, Giants, Raiders, Commanders) are all nothing scary. Getting a defense you can hopefully trust for at least a third of the season is all you can ask for.
15.07: Younghoe Koo (ATL – K)
I needed a kicker, and Younghoe Koo is a kicker. The Falcons’ offense should improve with Kirk Cousins in town. Koo has a cool name and has ranked seventh in the league in field goal percentage since 2020. I cannot stress enough how little it matters which kicker you select in the draft.
Final Thoughts
Overall, this was a very promising draft for the streaming QB strategy. Not every draft will shake out like this, as only five of the other teams selected backup quarterbacks, but I was able to have my cake and eat it too. With how deep the QB position is, planning to stream quarterbacks should be a viable strategy in most leagues — although make sure to use the Draft Wizard to check how it might work with your league’s settings.
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