Mock, mock ‘til you drop!
It’s that time of the year when you’re going to see countless fantasy football mock drafts, including our latest at Sports Illustrated. We didn’t just get some of the best and brightest minds from the world of fantasy sports, either. This mock draft also included former athletes and actors who are quite skilled in their own fantasy drafting skills.
First, let’s get to the nuts and bolts of the draft. It included 12 teams and is based on a PPR (one point) scoring system. The starting lineup requires one quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, one tight end and four flex positions (RB/WR/TE). There were no kickers or defenses required, and there was no positional limitation on reserves.
The managers (in order of position) are Bob Harris from Football Guys, Nathan Jahnke from PFF, KC Joyner from Football Scientist, Howard Bender from Fantasy Alarm, myself, Lindsay Rhodes from the Bleav Fantasy Football Show, Jason Schandl from Sports Illustrated, Bill Enright from Data Skrive, former NBA Player Brendon Haywood, Jen Piacenti from Sports Illustrated, former NFL player Gary Barnidge and actor Thomas Everett Scott.
You can see the full results of the 15-round mock draft below (click on the image or click here for the full-sized view). Also, we’ve included a full roster list and a breakdown from each manager about their strategies, best and worst picks, and how they felt about their team when the draft was all said and done.
1. Bob Harris, Football Guys
QBs: Dak Prescott, Trevor Lawrence
RBs: Christian McCaffrey, Rhamondre Stevenson, Gus Edwards, D’Onta Foreman
WRs: Mike Evans, Amari Cooper, Christian Kirk, Brian Thomas Jr., Curtis Samuel, Jerry Jeudy, Dontayvion Wicks
TEs: Travis Kelce, Pat Freiermuth
Picking from the first spot overall always leaves me feeling like I'm running downhill the rest of the draft. This year, it feels like an even greater advantage, with players like Kelce falling to the 2-3 turn. My first three picks, McCaffrey, Evans, and Kelce, give me a foundation that allows for greater flexibility going forward. With that start established, my next step is to lean into wideout. Based on the anticipated volume, I'm higher on Cooper and Kirk than others. Despite waiting on running back, I still landed players with primary roles — Stevenson and Edwards — in Rounds 6 and 9. I landed another back with a potentially valuable role, Foreman, with my last pick. Landing Prescott, last year's QB3, as the QB7 in this draft is a win. My backup, Lawrence, is well-positioned to rebound.
2. Nathan Jahnke, PFF
QBs: Josh Allen
RBs: James Cook, Brian Robinson Jr., Ezekiel Elliott, Antonio Gibson, Khalil Herbert
WRs: CeeDee Lamb, Drake London, Hollywood Brown, Diontae Johnson, Jordan Addison, Tyler Lockett, Gabe Davis, Ja’Lynn Polk
TEs: Trey McBride
My strategy was to end up with a top quarterback and tight end on an otherwise balanced team. I was happy to add Allen at the top of the third but expected at least one or two quarterbacks to get picked in the fifth or sixth rounds, so he wasn't as much of a value as I hoped. If I don't get a top-six quarterback, I like doubling up at the position, so I was a fan of Michael Fabiano landing Jordan Love and Jayden Daniels with back-to-back picks. In my opinion adding McBride in the fifth round was the best value of all the tight ends.
The later-than-expected run on quarterbacks led to more running backs getting selected in Rounds 7 and 8, which didn’t leave me with great options for a second running back. I was happy with my mix of high upside players along with a few safer picks to maximize my team's potential. I didn't realize until after the fact that I'm relying on a lot of players who changed teams this offseason, particularly at the wide receiver position.
Looking at other teams, Jen Piacenti put together the best squad, adding a tight end before a big drop, a quarterback before the drop off, and blending together some young players with a lot of upside as well as older players who remain immensely talented. She had the best value pick at running back in Jaylen Warren at 7.10, too. I would have selected him over several other running backs who were picked in the seventh round.
3. KC Joyner, Football Scientist
QBs: Brock Purdy, Jared Goff
RBs: Derrick Henry, Alvin Kamara, D’Andre Swift, Chuba Hubbard, Ray Davis, Justice Hill
WRs: Justin Jefferson, Devonta Smith, Ladd McConkey, Rome Odunze
TEs: Sam LaPorta, Dallas Goedert, Dalton Schultz
For 2/2 WR/RB PPR leagues, my general draft advice is to go against whichever WR/RB trend is taking place early in the draft. This often leads to early RB picks, as many fantasy managers give too much value to receptions (they aren’t nearly as impactful as is typically thought) and thus will lean heavily on WRs. Use this approach for the first three rounds, but keep in mind that if a value WR or RB pick shows up (as it did with Jefferson and LaPorta in my draft), you can justify shifting your picks elsewhere.
My favorite pick of the draft is Bijan Robinson, who Howard Bender landed with the fourth overall pick. The Falcons have made it clear Robinson will be a bell cow this year and Atlanta has arguably the most favorable rush defense schedule this year. This is why there is a strong case for Robinson to go first overall in this type of draft. I also like Lindsay Rhodes getting DJ Moore in the fifth round. He is one of only seven players to post 100+ receptions in each of the past seven seasons. He’ll now get to do that in a highly talented Chicago offense and thus could outplay his WR3 valuation.
4. Howard Bender, Fantasy Alarm
QBs: Anthony Richardson, Kirk Cousins
RBs: Bijan Robinson, Josh Jacobs, Nick Chubb, Tyler Allgeier, Keaton Mitchell
WRs: Zay Flowers, Chris Godwin, Calvin Ridley, Christian Watson, Jameson Williams, Josh Downs
TEs: Dalton Kincaid, Hunter Henry
It’s all about leaning into your format. With this being a 12-team PPR draft where we only need to start two wide receivers and have four flex spots to fill, I can enjoy the depth at receiver and wait. Grabbing two bell-cow running backs who will see the bulk of touches out of their respective backfields doesn’t just make me smile – I’m downright giddy. Then I got to add the No. 1 tight end in Dalton Kincaid (or at least he will be by season’s end) and a cheat-code quarterback in Anthony Richardson which puts me in a great spot to then relax and grab the wide receiver depth. Zay Flowers and Chris Godwin are expected to be PPR-monsters and from there it was just best flex guy available. Sure, I splashed in a sleeper tight end who I may even be able to flex every week and a back-up quarterback with a high floor, but I love the depth on my roster, including the upside of Keaton Mitchell and the handcuff to Bijan. This is definitely a team I would go to war with in 2024.
5. Michael Fabiano, Sports Illustrated
QBs: Jordan Love, Jayden Daniels
RBs: Rachaad White, Kenneth Walker, Zack Moss, Kimani Vidal, Bucky Irving
WRs: Tyrek Hill, Chris Olave, Brandon Aiyuk, Jayden Reed, Brandin Cooks, Marvin Mims Jr.
TEs: Brock Bowers, Luke Musgrave
I will often be starting my builds with three straight wide receivers, so getting Hill, Olave and Aiyuk was a great start. I then put my focus on runners, and was able to land White, Walker and then Moss in three of the next four rounds. I’ll go to battle with that backfield all year long. I also love getting Reed as my WR4, not to mention his quarterback in Round 8. As I’ll often do, I took back-to-back quarterbacks with Love and Daniels. I’m high on the rookie quarterback. I might have waited too long on a tight end, but I don’t mind the duo of Bowers and Musgrave. I’m hoping one of them posts top-10 totals. I wrapped up the draft with a couple of sleepers in Vidal and Mims Jr., while also getting Irving as a handcuff. Overall, I feel pretty good about this team being a championship contender.
6. Lindsay Rhodes, Bleav Fantasy Football
QBs: C.J. Stroud, Caleb Williams
RBs: De’Vone Achane, David Montgomery, Raheem Mostert, Jaylen Wright, Audric Estime
WRs: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Nico Collins, DJ Moore, Jakobi Meyers, Jahan Dotson, Xavier Legette
TEs: Jake Ferguson, T.J. Hockenson
My gut reaction after the draft was that I liked but didn’t love my team. But, after looking at the other builds, I’m pretty happy with it. (Though I like Bob Harris’s team out of the “one hole.”) I like my wideouts, who were all top-12 guys from last year that I think will be in that mix again this year. They’re also in offenses that I think will be high scoring. I prioritized stacking them with their quarterbacks in this draft, so I went with Stroud in the 4th. If I didn’t have Collins, I wouldn’t have drafted a QB that high. I also would have grabbed Tank Dell, if he’d fallen to me in the 6th, but he didn’t. (Damn you, Tom Everett Scott.)
It’s probably best that Dell didn’t fall to me, because Montgomery turned out to be a pretty big piece to my team-puzzle. Prior to me grabbing Estime in the 15th, he was my only non-Dolphins RB. See, what had happened was… I thought grabbing Mostert (who I like more than most this year) to pair with Achane was smart, because I’d be guaranteed to have a Dolphins RB, no matter what happened. And, I tripled down on that theory by taking Wright in the 12th round. Their running backs always seem to put up big fantasy totals.
7. Jason Schandl, Sports Illustrated
QBs: Patrick Mahomes
RBs: Joe Mixon, Aaron Jones, Naje Harris, Kendre Miller, MarShawn Lloyd, Roschon Johnson, Braelon Allen
WRs: Ja’Marr Chase, Marvin Harrison Jr., Deebo Samuel Sr., DeAndre Hopkins, Xavier Worthy, Mike Williams
TEs: David Njoku
In a draft with as many sharp fantasy football minds as this one you're not going to have the best roster by grabbing steals that nobody else knows about. I let value fall to me where I could get it, even when it meant drafting some players that I'm not especially high on this year (Harrison, Najee). My WR-heavy start wasn't necessarily intentional, but I don't love the first-round running backs not named Christian and Bijan, and Barkley, Etienne and Achane were all options that I didn't have at times I might have hoped too. I felt rewarded with solid mid-round running backs in Mixon, Jones and Harris, who I paired with some late-round lottery picks. I probably went overboard on how highly I drafted my wide receiver depth considering I went WR-WR-WR to start, but the flex-heavy format meant I was happy to grab them where I did. I also don't feel like I missed out on too much in those rounds. Missing Ferguson, for example, was fine because I don't have a huge gap between him and Njoku (especially considering some of the weaker tight ends that went off the board in the following 10 picks).
8. Bill Enright, Data Skrive
QBs: Jalen Hurts
RBs: Breece Hall, Kyren Williams, Austin Ekeler, Ty Chandler, Jaleel McLaughlin, Tyrone Tracy Jr., Dameon Pierce
WRs: DK Metcalf, Tee Higgins, Rashee Rice, Courtland Sutton, Keon Coleman, Wan’Dale Robinson
TEs: Cole Kmet
I loved starting my draft with two running backs I see finishing in the Top 5 in Hall and Williams. I typically don’t like taking a QB too early but felt the wide receiver pool was pretty deep at this point in the draft. Instead, I grabbed Hurts in the 3rd and followed it up with three straight receivers, which rounded out the core of my team pretty nicely. I'm not sure what to make of Ekeler’s role now that he’s playing on a new team but think that in the 7th round his minimal risk with major reward is well worth the investment. Sutton and Coleman can both be No. 1 receivers for their respective squads and would serve as quality starter replacements if Rice is suspended. I didn’t expect 16 tight ends to fly off the board, seven of which came in between my 10th and 11th round pick, before I snagged mine, but was still happy to get Kmet. The Bears may have a lot of weapons but I’ll bank on rookie QBs snuggling up to their tight end as a safety blanket every chance I get.
9. Brendan Haywood, Former NBA Player
QBs: Matthew Stafford, Deshaun Watson
RBs: Travis Etienne, Isaih Pacheco, Zamir White, Devin Singletary, Elijah Mitchell
WRs: A.J. Brown, George Pickens, Terry McLaurin, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Rashid Shaheed, Demario Douglas
TEs: Mark Andrews, Taysom Hill
My strategy in this draft was to push quarterback down the line and take advantage of the incredible values you can get this year at running back, wide receiver and tight end. My favorite pick was Andrews in the 4th, locking down a top-5 tight end in a top-tier offense. My least favorite pick was probably Pacheco. In hindsight, I probably should have taken a shot for more upside with a wide receiver like Jaylen Waddle or Cooper Kupp with that pick.
10. Jen Piacenti, Sports Illustrated
QBs: Kyler Murray, Justin Herbert
RBs: Jahmyr Gibbs, James Conner, Jaylen Warren, Trey Benson, Jerome Ford, J.K. Dobbins
WRs: Davante Adams, Jaylen Waddle, Malik Nabers, Khalil Shakir, Joshua Palmer, Michael Wilson
TEs: Kyle Pitts
Who knew I was such a fan of the Cardinals? Seriously, though, the Cardinals and the Chargers are presenting early value. I know they aren’t expected to win a lot of games, but that doesn’t mean the players won’t be fantasy relevant. I loved getting Kyler Murray in the 8th. Murray was the QB10 on a per game basis in 2023, and this year he adds an elite weapon in Marvin Harrison, Jr. The delta between he and Lamar Jackson last season was only 2.5 point per game, but I was able to get Murray five rounds after Jackson.
For my first three picks, I wanted to come away with two solid WR and a RB. I ended up grabbing youth with Gibbs at RB. I took a bit of a gamble on Nabers, but the fact is I just don’t see who else will get the targets in New York. Davante Adams is just too talented to fade, and Gardner Minshew should be a bit of an upgrade from last season.
I think there is some value in James Conner in round six (more Cardinals!), and I picked up his young handcuff in Trey Benson a few rounds later. I also sniped (I hope) Jerome Ford from Bender who took Chubb, and drafted Kyle Pitts to have a piece of what should be an improved Falcons offense with Kirk Cousins.
To complete my apparent Cardinals/Chargers love, I also added Michael Wilson, Jr., Joshua Palmer and Justin Herbert in the very last round. And of course, to remain on brand, I took a shot at JK Dobbins in the 14th. If you haven’t read our On the Mend series in the draft guide, be sure to check it out. All in all, I think this is a solid, but not exceptional, draft. It feels like a winning team if it is well managed with some smart waiver adds in-season.
11. Gary Barnidge, Former NFL Player
QBs: Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa
RBs: Jonathan Taylor, Saquon Barkley, Tony Pollard, Blake Corum, Alexander Mattison
WRs: Stefon Diggs, Cooper Kupp, Keenan Allen, Romeo Doubs, Adonai Mitchell, Darnell Mooney
TEs: George Kittle, Cade Otton
With the 11th overall pick, my strategy was to take a running back or wideout. I was leaning toward Gibbs, because I think he is going to build on what he did last year and become an elite RB this season. He went just ahead of me though, so I took Taylor. He’s healthy and ready to be the workhorse the Colts need to take some pressure off Anthony Richardson this season. I wanted an elite wideout next and was hoping to get Garrett Wlson, but he went to Thomas Everett Scott. So, I went with Barkley. Now with the Eagles, I think he has the potential to be a top-five fantasy running back in a great offense.
With back-to-back RBs, I knew it was time to go for some WR help and I was able to pick up some great value picks in Diggs, Kupp, and Allen. With two of those being on new teams, I can see people fading them, but all three have been elite. Wide receiver is a deep position, which is the reason I was still able to get good players in Rounds 3-5.
All in all, I think my two-RB start really worked out well with the WRs that fell to me in the next few rounds. In fact, Kupp in the 4th is probably my favorite pick. This is a guy who has been taken in the top 5-7 of the 1st round the last two seasons. I know he has been banged up, but he's healthy now and everyone is sleeping on him and hopping on the Puka train. That is warranted after last season, but I think having a healthy Kupp back and Puka showing what he can do is only going to benefit Kupp and his production, because defenses can't just focus on taking Kupp away. I think he finishes with a better season than Puka, who has been going in the 1st or very early 2nd.
12. Thomas Everett Scott, Actor
QBs: Lamar Jackson
RBs: Javonte Williams, Jonnathon Brooks, Tyjae Spears, Chase Brown, Zach Charbonnet, Rico Dowdle
WRs: Puka Nacua, Garrett Wilson, Michael Pittman Jr., Tank Dell, Ricky Pearsall, Quentin Johnston
TEs: Evan Engram, Isaiah Likely
Thanks for inviting me to this PPR mock draft full of awesome fantasy football peeps and for the chance to get a warmup for the upcoming season. This was my first draft of the year so I needed to have a good plan.
Here’s what I did: Since you gave us the choice, I picked the 12th spot knowing I’d be feeling a bit rusty. I hoped it’d give me time to do research and think while getting a look at the shape of the draft as it unfolded. Then I could make back to back picks and use the long wait to make adjustments each round. I went with a zero-RB strategy (I like to do that in PPR). I took WRs with my first three picks (Puka, Garrett Wilson and Pittman) while keeping an eye on the top tier of QBs. I picked Lamar (3rd QB off the board) and was immediately doubting that pick until I saw a QB run happen in the 4th round. I nabbed Tank Dell (who I love) with my 5th then Engram with the 6th because after him and Kittle I saw what looked like a big tier break happening before the next tier of tight ends. I felt lucky to get Javonte Williams at the end of the 7th round. He could crush in PPR catching dump offs from a rookie QB. After that I started scooping a blast of late RBs (Brooks, Spears, Chase Brown, Charbs and Dowdle) hoping a couple of those guys get great opportunities. I took two more WRs (rookie Pearsall and Quentin Johnson) and Isaiah Likely as a backup TE to finish it out. Who knows, maybe it’s a championship squad.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Fantasy Football Mock Draft: McCaffrey Goes No. 1 in 12-Team PPR Draft With Industry Experts.
