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. 7, in which we move onto the No. 6 pick. (See also: No. 1 pick – 3 RBs, No. 1 pick – 2 RBs/1 WR, No. 2 pick, No. 3 pick, No. 4 pick, No. 5 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 6: Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Round 2, Pick 7: D’Andre Swift, RB, Detroit Lions
Round 3, Pick 6: A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
Round 4, Pick 7: Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets
Round 5, Pick 6: Brandin Cooks, WR, Houston Texans
Round 6, Pick 7: Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
Round 7, Pick 6: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Round 8, Pick 7: Drake London, WR, Atlanta Falcons
Round 9, Pick 6: Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
Round 10, Pick 7: Alexander Mattison, RB, Minnesota Vikings
Round 11, Pick 6: Jamaal Williams, RB, Detroit Lions
Round 12, Pick 7: Corey Davis, WR, New York Jets
Round 13, Pick 6: Derek Carr, QB, Las Vegas Raiders
Round 14, Pick 7: Kenyan Drake, RB, Las Vegas Raiders
Round 15, Pick 6: Justin Tucker, K, Baltimore Ravens
Round 16, Pick 7: Los Angeles Chargers DST
Observations:
Christian McCaffrey and Jonathan Taylor are in a tier of their own, but there are many in the fantasy football industry that think Najee Harris could enter that discussion a year from now. He led the NFL with 381 touches last season and that number could be on the rise with a dicey quarterback situation in Pittsburgh. The only concern for me is whether the Steelers will get many scoring chances, but the talent and opportunity is certainly there.
D’Andre Swift is another player who will have a massive workload this season. Prior to a knee injury suffered in Week 12, the former Georgia running back had the most targets and receptions at the position, while still averaging 4.1 yards per carry. Swift finished with just seven touchdowns last year, but double-digit scores isn’t out the realm in his third season as a pro.
Some people are shying away from A.J. Brown after his trade to the Eagles. As you can see here, and a few picks later, I am not one of them. The Titans ran their offense through Derrick Henry, and Brown still received 28 percent of the targets while battling injuries in Tennessee. He likely won’t see the same target share with DeVonta Smith opposite him, but he is a force in the red zone. It also doesn’t hurt that he is best friends with his new quarterback.
Breece Hall has all the physical tools to be an elite back who could finish as a top-10 player. I had him intentionally ranked significantly lower than the fantasy consensus, but he’s been growing on me as draft season has progressed as all the indications out of New Jersey — see what I did there? — are that the rookie will be the bell-cow for the Jets. The presence of Michael Carter does concern me a bit, but you don’t take a running back 36th overall and not feed him the ball. If he can repeat the number of touches that Harris received in his rookie campaign, he will be a steal in the fourth round.
Brandin Cooks is so underrated. He’s finished as a top-20 receiver in six of the last seven seasons, and an injury in 2019 is the only reason it’s not seven straight. He’s coming off a year with a career-high in targets and receptions, and that was with a turnstile at quarterback for the Texans in 2021. David Mills looked Cooks’ way often, and I am targeting him on all my fantasy teams.
Here is where things went differently compared to previous mock drafts. I typically like to continue loading up on skill position players in Rounds 6-8, but Jalen Hurts has the makings to be a fantasy star. He’s got two terrific wide receivers, one of the top tight ends in football, a strong running game and a relatively weak schedule in what could be a make-or-break year for the Eagles quarterback. You can’t argue with a quarterback who finished in the top-12 in 11 of 15 starts, and the slightest improvement as a passer makes him an elite fantasy player.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire was the talk of the fantasy world when the Chiefs drafted him in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, and he exploded for 138 yards and a touchdown in his first game as a professional. He has eclipsed the 100-yard mark just three times since, while missing 10 games in his first two seasons. So why am I taking him here? He’s a lottery ticket if he finally lives up to his potential.
Drake London was the top receiver selected in the 2022 draft, and his size and speed is going to be a problem for NFL corners. He’s the unquestioned top wide receiver in a Falcons offense that lacks playmakers outside of Kyle Pitts. We’ve seen over the last few seasons that rookie receivers can make a fantasy impact early, and I fully expect that to be the case with London.
Dallas Goedert is one of my favorite targets at tight end, but I’ve got to admit, I’m not overly thrilled with having three players from one team. Alexander Mattison and Jamaal Williams are two handcuffs, and Williams is more valuable in this scenario with Swift on the roster. I swear Corey Davis won’t be in every mock I do this summer, but I am extremely high on him.
Taking a second quarterback is something I’ve yet to do in these mock drafts. But I cannot deny that I think Derek Carr is one of the signal callers going outside the top 12 who I think is in line for a monster season. With the addition of his Fresno State teammate Davante Adams — and Hunter Renfrow and Darren Waller still in the fold — he has all the weapons to be a fantasy sleeper. Carr threw for a career-high 4,804 yards last season but finished with just 23 touchdowns. By operating in Josh McDaniels’ scheme with a slew of talent around him, Carr will easily flirt with 30-plus touchdowns and could lead the NFL in passing.
Speaking of weapons in Las Vegas, Kenyan Drake is someone to keep an eye on during training camp. He’s expected to handle a bigger role after battling injuries for much of last season. McDaniels values pass-catching running backs and while Josh Jacobs had a career year as a receiver, this coaching regime has no loyalty to him. It wouldn’t surprise me if Drake was seeing the bulk of the touches by midseason.
Another solid draft overall, but as I noted above, I try to steer clear of having too many players from one offense. All three Eagles players will be terrific fantasy assets, but I likely should have gone with another tight end instead. Otherwise, I love the makeup of this squad with plenty of running back talent, some of my favorite players at receiver and two quarterbacks I feel could finish top five this year.
What do you think of this roster? Let’s discuss on Twitter @JoeSerp.
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Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox