Tuesday, August 10, 2021

2021 Fantasy Football 2-QB PPR Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 3rd Pick

The best way to become good at something is to practice. So, what should you do if you want to draft a better fantasy football team?

Practice, of course!

Leading up to the start of the 2021 NFL season, we will use the 2021 Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator (powered by FantasyPros) to complete fantasy football mock drafts.

We will use a variety of scoring formats -- PPR, half-PPR, standard scoring and even 2-QB leagues, league sizes and draft slots. The goal is to give you a good representation of the team that you may be able to construct given your league settings and the rationale of why we made the picks we did.

+ Our mocks will be tracked here: Fantasy Football Mock Drafts.

That said, nothing beats practicing yourself so (check out the simulator) and complete a mock in a matter of minutes.

2-QB PPR Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 3rd Pick

1.03 - Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings

Once again, Cook has missed multiple games, but he set career highs in touches (356), yards from scrimmage (1,918) and touchdowns (17) and scored the second-most PPR points among running backs. The clear lead back in one of the league's most run-heavy offenses, Cook averaged a career-high 5.0 YPC and has a minimum of 40 catches in each of the past three seasons.

2.10 - Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas Cowboys

From Weeks 2 to 4, Prescott threw for a minimum (yes, minimum) of 450 yards in three consecutive games with a total of 11 touchdowns (eight passing and three rushing). As noted in our Dak Prescott 2021 Fantasy Football Profile, Prescott (three) had more 450-yard passing games than the rest of the league combined (two) in 2020. During that three-game stretch before getting injured, Prescott performed as the weekly QB1, QB4 and QB1, respectively. With a talented trio of wide receivers, Prescott has tremendous upside if he can stay healthy.

3.03 - Calvin Ridley, WR, Atlanta Falcons

Ridley closed the season the same way he started it -- with 100-plus yards in four of five games. Along with Davante Adams (six) and Stefon Diggs (three), Ridley was one of three receivers to finish as a top-two weekly fantasy receiver at least three times in 2020. Ridley finished last season with 90 catches on 143 targets for 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns and is a top-four fantasy wide receiver in 2021 with Julio Jones in Tennessee.

More: Atlanta Falcons 2021 Fantasy Football Projections

4.10 - Robert Woods, WR, Los Angeles Rams

It was a relatively disappointing season for Woods and the Rams offense in general. Woods tied a career high in receptions (90), but his receiving yardage (936) and yards from scrimmage (1,091) were three-year lows. Replacing Jared Goff with Matthew Stafford generates some optimism for all of the skill-position players.

5.03 - Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals

Sustaining his season-ending knee injury in Week 11, the only quarterback to throw more pass attempts than Burrow (404, 40.4/G) through that point in the season was Tom Brady (433, 39.4/G). Burrow should rank near the top of the NFL in pass attempts in 2021. That volume makes last year's No. 1 overall pick a high-upside QB2 for this team.

6.10 - Darrell Henderson, RB, Los Angeles Rams

With Cam Akers (Achilles) injured, the Rams will turn to Henderson, by default, for large workloads. It's possible that they add a veteran free agent before the start of the season as Henderson has dealt with his own share of injuries over the past year. That said, he has massive upside in what should be a much-improved offense with Matthew Stafford under center.

More: 10 Undervalued Players in 2021 Fantasy Football Drafts

7.03 - Chase Claypool, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

Claypool scored 11 touchdowns -- nine receiving and two rushing -- in the regular season and added two more receiving scores in the team's playoff loss to Cleveland. Re-signing JuJu Smith-Schuster to a one-year deal puts a dent into Mapletron's upside in year two, but it wouldn't surprise me if he was the team's top-producing wideout in 2021.

8.10 - Javonte Williams, RB, Denver Broncos

Even though he was the third back off the board, some teams viewed Williams as "best back in the draft." With the Broncos moving up to get in front of the Dolphins to select Williams, it's likely that he emerges as the team's lead back sooner rather than later. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if the Broncos parted ways (via trade or release) before final roster cuts. The 20-year-old back is a tackle-breaking machine.

9.03 - Laviska Shenault, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars

Shenault Jr. played only 10 snaps in Week 9 and then missed the following two games. Outside of those three games, the rookie had a minimum of three receptions in every game. Over the final five games of the season, he had 25 catches (on 36 targets) for 246 yards and four touchdowns and added six carries for 31 yards and he was the WR16 (PPR) over that stretch.

More: Jacksonville Jaguars 2021 Fantasy Football Projections

10.10 - Michael Gallup, WR, Dallas Cowboys

It was a down year (59/843/5) for Gallup, who averaged 26.4 fewer yards per game than he did in 2019. Of course, the offense as a whole struggled without Dak Prescott and Gallup had 50-plus yards in four of five games with Prescott and in only three-of-11 games without him.

11.03 - Darnell Mooney, WR, Chicago Bears

A fifth-round pick out of Tulane, Mooney had a highly productive rookie campaign (61/631/4). Earlier this offseason, coach Matt Nagy talked up Mooney by saying that he "has a rare element of speed, combined with route-running, hands and passion. And commitment." With the Bears trading Anthony Miller to the Texans, it only further boosts Mooney's outlook for 2021.

12.10 - Logan Thomas, TE, Washington Football Team

Thomas was the only tight end in the league to have a minimum of four targets in every game last season. While he was consistent throughout the season, he was especially productive down the stretch.

From Weeks 6 to 17, Thomas scored the third-most fantasy points with 58 receptions (third-most), 564 yards (third-most) and five touchdowns (tied fifth-most) amongst tight ends. Last year's breakout tight end will enter 2021 as a viable top-10 option even with the team bolstering its receiving corps via the draft and free agency.

More: Washington Football Team 2022 NFL Mock Draft Roundup

13.03 - Elijah Moore, WR, New York Jets

Mostly aligning in the slot at Mississippi, Moore, the 34th-overall pick this year, broke A.J. Brown's single-season reception record last season. Moore has the talent to excel both inside and out and has generated plenty of buzz in camp.

14.10 - Irv Smith, TE, Minnesota Vikings

Smith missed three games last season, but the second-year tight end set career highs in YPG (28.1), Y/R (12.2) and touchdowns (five). With Kyle Rudolph no longer on the roster, the arrow is pointing up for the third-year tight end.

15.03 - Taysom Hill, QB, New Orleans Saints

Whenever/if he gets the opportunity to start, Hill will flirt with top-12 production. During his four starts last seasone, he performed as a top-12 fantasy quarterback every week.

16.10 - Patriots DST, New England Patriots

17.03 - Greg Zuerlein, K, Dallas Cowboys

- View Full Mock Draft Results

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