The key to any fantasy football season is preparation. Whether you have the first overall pick or the last of the first round, having a sense of who will be available in each round is key.
I’ll be doing mock drafts throughout the summer while offering scenarios and feedback for each position. The point of these mocks is to prepare for the unexpected.
The mock drafts will assume that 12 teams are in the league with the following roster construction: quarterback, two running backs, two wide receivers, tight end, a flex (running back, wide receiver or tight end) defense, kicker and seven bench spots. It is a 16-round snake draft in a half-point-per-reception (half-PPR) league.
If you read my draft guide, you know I’m not a fan of drafting kickers and defense if it’s not necessary. I’d rather add a few running backs who could end up being a starter in the event of an injury. However, for the sake of this exercise, I’ll round out each draft by doing so. Remember, do not draft either before your final two picks!
Most important of all, be creative with your mock drafts. Don’t take the same players in every mock. Your favorite sleeper is probably someone else’s too. I’m guilty of this myself — see Rashod Bateman — but I will try to go with different approaches in many of these mock drafts.
The draft is just the start of the season. If you are drafting early, work the waiver wire to your advantage if any major injuries arise. If you’re a fantasy nerd like me, turn on notifications from your favorite NFL insider for breaking news around the league. But the draft is where you build the foundation of your roster, and the goal is to have as deep a roster as possible.
This is scenario No. 6, in which we move onto the No. 5 pick. (See also: No. 1 pick – 3 RBs, No. 1 pick – 2 RBs/1 WR, No. 2 pick, No. 3 pick, No. 4 pick) We’ll mix in 10- and 16-team drafts at some point as well as a Superflex, non-PPR draft and auction.
Let’s get started with the latest mock draft of the 2022 season.
Here is my roster:
Round 1, Pick 5: Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings
Round 2, Pick 8: Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants
Round 3, Pick 5: Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Indianapolis Colts
Round 4, Pick 8: Mike Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
Round 5, Pick 5: AJ Dillon, RB, Green Bay Packers
Round 6, Pick 8: Darnell Mooney, WR, Chicago Bears
Round 7, Pick 5: Devin Singletary, RB, Buffalo Bills
Round 8, Pick 8: Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots
Round 9, Pick 5: Dalton Schultz, TE, Dallas Cowboys
Round 10, Pick 8: Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys
Round 11, Pick 5: Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
Round 12, Pick 8: Tyler Allgeier, RB, Atlanta Falcons
Round 13, Pick 5: Corey Davis, WR, New York Jets
Round 14, Pick 8: Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints
Round 15, Pick 5: Los Angeles Rams DST
Round 16, Pick 8: Matt Prater, K, Arizona Cardinals
Observations:
The top four picks were Christian McCaffrey, Jonathan Taylor, Austin Ekeler and Derrick Henry, so this is another draft where I land Dalvin Cook in the first round. I have Cook as my fourth overall player, just ahead of Henry, because he contributes in the passing game as well. The Vikings are likely to air it out more this season with a new coaching regime, but Cook will get the bulk of the rushing attempts and likely an uptick in targets as well.
If you’ve followed along through the first five mock drafts, you are aware that I am higher on Saquon Barkley than most. He has let fantasy owners down the last two seasons, but he should be closer to full health after another year removed from an ACL injury. I have him ranked No. 10 in my draft rankings, so landing him with the 20th selection overall is great value.
My top 15 running backs were all off the board in the third round, so it was a relatively easy decision to go wide receiver in this spot. Michael Pittman Jr. was targeted on 24 percent of the Colts’ pass attempts last year. Plus, there’s no question that Matt Ryan is an upgrade at quarterback from what the Colts have had the last two seasons. Pittman is my WR12 but has the potential to finish top five at the position.
Mike Williams was arguably the No. 1 receiver in fantasy the first five weeks of the 2021 season, as he saw a whopping 24.5 percent of the targets. Then, a knee injury clearly hampered him for the rest of the campaign. He played in all but one game, but there’s no question he was limited for much of the year. Williams could have gone elsewhere this summer but decided to stay in Los Angeles with prized quarterback Justin Herbert. Keenan Allen is going a round or two earlier, but I like the value of landing Williams in the fourth.
AJ Dillon is another player I’ve been targeting often in these mock drafts. Aaron Jones is going in the top 25 of most fantasy drafts, but it was Dillon who saw more touches per game as the season progressed. He’s an absolute force near the goal line, and while he’ll never be an elite pass-catcher, he showed flashes that he can contribute in that department as well. I love his upside this year.
Speaking of upside, the next three picks had me salivating with potential. Darnell Mooney will get the majority of the targets in Chicago. Devin Singletary is being drafted way too low after taking over as the Bills lead back down the stretch. Rhamondre Stevenson is shooting up my draft board, as reports coming out of New England say he could be the lead running back for the Patriots.
I didn’t plan to go back-to-back picks being Dallas Cowboys, but Dalton Schultz and Dak Prescott were bargains where selected. Schultz figures to see a ton of looks from Prescott with Amari Cooper no longer with the team. Injuries to Michael Gallup and James Washington have left the Cowboys thin at receiver.
Kenneth Gainwell is someone to keep an eye on as training camp progresses. Reports out of Philadelphia have indicated that presumptive starter Miles Sanders has been working with the second team in practice. Tyler Allgeier, Corey Davis and Mark Ingram are three players I’ve targeted in many of these mock drafts. Allgeier is the best pure running back on the Falcons’ roster. Davis was a target monster when healthy a year ago. Ingram could see extended time as the Saints starter if Alvin Kamara were to be suspended.
This team has loads of potential, but I’m admittedly putting a lot of faith in Prescott to remain a top-10 quarterback with not nearly the same weapons from a year ago. I can’t complain about the running back depth, and I’m a big fan of Davis in the late round as my fourth receiver. If Gainwell or Ingram doesn’t see extended playing time, adding another quarterback such as Trey Lance, Jameis Winston or Justin Fields in the event the Cowboys struggle would be a smart play.
What do you think of this roster? Let’s discuss on Twitter @JoeSerp.
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Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox