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.
Non-PPR Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 4th Pick
1.04 - Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys
Across scoring formats, I'd take Christian McCaffrey, Dalvin Cook and Derrick Henry with the first three picks. While I'd take Alvin Kamara fourth in half-PPR and (full) PPR formats, it's close for me at No. 4 in non-PPR formats if one of those top-three backs doesn't fall to fourth and there is a case to be made for Elliott at this spot.
The offense went off the tracks when Dak Prescott sustained his season-ending injury and the offensive line injuries further impacted Elliott's production. Elliott looked sluggish, but he heads into 2021 lighter and in better shape. Even if Tony Pollard earns a few more touches in 2021, Elliott should rank near the top of the league in workload. In fact, only three backs had more than six games last season with at least 20 touches -- Henry (14), Cook (11) and Elliott (11).
2.09 - Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
Mixon appeared in only six games in 2020 and he has now missed multiple games in three of his four NFL seasons. That said, Mixon had a minimum of 19 touches in the six games in which he appeared in 2020. Through Week 6, Mixon had more carries (119) than all running backs not named Derrick Henry (123) and was top 10 among running backs in targets (26). With Giovani Bernard now in Tampa, Mixon should be even more involved as a receiver.
More: Joe Mixon 2021 Fantasy Football Outlook
3.04 - Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings
Jefferson exceeded all expectations in his inaugural season with 88 catches for a rookie-record 1,400 yards and seven touchdowns. Not only did the former LSU Tiger have seven 100-yard games, but he had double-digit targets in five of his final six games after doing so in only two of his first 10 games. Going forward, Jefferson should be the 1(a) to Adam Thielen's 1(b) in Minnesota's passing offense.
4.09 - 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.
More: 10 Undervalued Players in 2021 Fantasy Football Drafts
5.04 - Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
While Kupp averaged a career-high 6.1 receptions per game, he set career lows with 10.6 Y/R and only three touchdowns. As noted above with Woods, the upgrade at quarterback should provide a boost to Kupp, Woods and the offense overall.
6.09 - Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks
It was a tale of two seasons for Wilson. In his first eight games, Wilson averaged 29.52 fantasy points per game and scored no fewer than 21.9. In his final eight games, he averaged only 17.08 and scored more than 21.9 only once during that span.
Despite Pete Carroll's prioritization to establish the run, Wilson has never finished worse than the QB11 (2016) and has finished as a top-six fantasy quarterback in five of the past seven seasons.
7.04 - Chase Edmonds, RB, Arizona Cardinals
The former fourth-round pick has averaged 4.4 yards per carry and 7.2 yards per reception over his first three NFL seasons. With Kenyan Drake out and James Conner in, Edmonds could be Arizona's RB1 (a term he hates). While both backs will form a committee when healthy, Conner has struggled with durability.
More: Chase Edmonds 2021 Fantasy Football Outlook
8.09 - Deebo Samuel, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Foot and hamstring injuries (plus the COVID-19 list) limited Samuel to only seven games in 2020. Samuel played only one snap (his final snap of 2020) against WFT in Week 14, but he had 65-plus yards in each of the final four games in which he appeared before that. Due to his physical playing style, he's always a threat to miss time, but he's a viable WR3 in the weeks that he's on the field.
9.04 - Zack Moss, RB, Buffalo Bills
While I prefer Moss over Devin Singletary, a concern for both is that Josh Allen has 25 rushing touchdowns over the past three seasons. Not only has Allen led the team in that category in each of the past three years, he has 56.8% (25 of 44) of the team's rushing touchdowns over that stretch. Either way, he offers some upside in Round 9 as my RB4.
10.09 - Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys
Despite playing fewer than 50% of the team's offensive snaps every week except for the game Ezekiel Elliott missed (Week 15, 90%), Pollard had at least eight touches in 10 of the team's final 12 games. With or without Zeke on my roster, I'd be comfortable drafting Pollard in Round 10, but there is enormous upside if Elliott misses any time.
11.04 - Noah Fant, TE, Denver Broncos
Playing at less than 100% in 2020, Fant averaged only 10.9 Y/R after averaging 14.1 in 2019. Fant's ADOT (7.6 to 6.7) and YAC/R (8.3 to 6.1) both declined year over year, but he also set career highs in receptions (62) and yards (673).
More: Denver Broncos 2022 NFL Mock Draft Roundup
12.09 - Jalen Reagor, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
Selected one pick before Justin Jefferson (88/1,400/7) in the 2020 NFL Draft, Reagor's disappointing 2020 campaign (31/391/1) becomes even more pronounced. Durability (five missed games) and sub-par quarterback play didn't help, but Reagor's breakout potential makes him a high-upside pick in the double-digit rounds.
13.04 - Mike Gesicki, TE, Miami Dolphins
The third-year tight end posted career highs across the board with 53 receptions, 703 yards and six touchdowns. The additions of Will Fuller, Jaylen Waddle and Hunter Long put a damper on Gesicki's 2021 outlook, but he's still a back-end TE1.
14.09 - Colts DST, Indianapolis Colts
15.04 - Harrison Butker, K, Kansas City Chiefs
16.09 - Rondale Moore, WR, Arizona Cardinals
The Cards will look to manufacture touches for their dynamic rookie. Playing only seven games over the past two collegiate seasons, Moore was uber-productive as a true freshman in 2018 (114/1258/12 receiving and 21/213/2 rushing).
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