Fantasy football mock draft review: 12-team, PPR, 1st pick

The 2022 NFL season is inching closer and that means it’s time to get to work on your mock drafts! You can do all the research in the world, but practicing your draft is going to help get you ready for live action.

For this draft I used FantasyPros draft simulator and went with a 12 team snake draft mock, 1 pt. PPR scoring and a roster with 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE, DST, K, 8 Bench. I also chose the No. 1 slot to mock from because I never like drafting first overall and it’s good to go against your comfort levels. The simulator also lets you choose what rankings or ADP to draft against. For this one I chose the ADP averaged across multiple sites.

Strategy

I went into this mock knowing I’d take Jonathan Taylor with the No. 1 pick and then likely be ready to grab a couple wide receivers at the turn 23 picks later. The No. 1 pick is between Taylor and Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey has more upside and I will likely draft him at some point as the No. 1 pick, but I hope not to be saddled with the first choice that often.

As usual, I planned on waiting for a quarterback and tight end while I stacked wide receivers and running backs, but I changed things up by grabbing Darren Waller earlier than I planned.

Best picks

I didn’t love this draft. Maybe I just have a mental block with the first pick, but I do not feel great about waiting so long between the first and second pick. The wait left me behind the 8-ball for the second pick, but I did feel okay grabbing Mike Evans and Tyreek Hill at the turn. Hill is a little scary away from Patrick Mahomes, but his play-making ability on a team that has upgraded this offseason should still pay off.

Tom Brady/Mike Evans combo should also pay off. Evans won’t have Chris Godwin to compete with early on and Rob Gronkowski is retired for the time being. I also tend to lean toward teams I know will put up a winning season as long as I can.

Melvin Gordon isn’t going to be a great fantasy player with Javonte Williams there, but he isn’t going to fade away either. Add in Russell Wilson, which should boost the overall offense, and I’m happy to get Gordon in the ninth round.

Worst picks

Darren Waller is still high on my list of stud tight ends, even with Davante Adams added to the receiving group. But, I probably should have taken the discount on another wide receiver like D.K. Metcalf. I’m happy to have a solid tight end, but I also would have felt fine taking a combo of Robert Tonyan and Irv Smith Jr. later.

It’s hard to dislike picks of player you like at a discount like Tim Patrick, Raheem Mostert, Sony Michel, and Gus Edwards, but there are a lot of players on here that could end up as duds. I leaned into players I like on teams I like with a bit of a scattershot approach. Mike McDaniel and Kyle Shanahan can get fantasy points out of any running back, but they seem to feel the same way and will throw a bunch of backs out there to see who will stick. I took a similar approach, which could backfire.

My team

1.1 Jonathan Taylor (IND)
2.12 Mike Evans (TB)
3.1 Tyreek Hill (MIA)
4.12 Darren Waller (LV)
5.1 Mike Williams (LAC)
6.12 Elijah Mitchell (SF)
7.1 JuJu Smith-Schuster (KC)
8.12 Tom Brady (TB)
9.1 Melvin Gordon III (DEN)
10.12 Tim Patrick (DEN)
11.1 Mecole Hardman (KC)
12.12 Raheem Mostert (MIA)
13.1 Gus Edwards (BAL)
14.12 Sony Michel (MIA)
15.1 Jamison Crowder (BUF)
16.12 Robert Tonyan (GB)
17.1 D’Ernest Johnson (CLE)

Full mock draft results