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.
Half-PPR Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 7th Pick
1.07 - Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys
The offense went off the tracks when Dak Prescott sustained his season-ending injury and the offensive line injuries further impacted Elliott's production. From Weeks 6 to 17, Zeke finished as a top-12 fantasy running only twice in 10 games after doing so three times in the team's first five games. While Tony Pollard may have earned 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 -- Derrick Henry (14), Dalvin Cook (11) and Elliott (11).
More: Dak Prescott 2021 Fantasy Football Profile
2.06 - Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
Missing a significant chunk of time due to injury and playing at less than 100 percent when returning to the field, Ekeler averaged 5.5 yards per touch and scored only three touchdowns, both of which were career lows. Especially given his immense upside as a receiver, however, Ekeler is a top-12 running back across all formats when healthy.
More: Los Angeles Chargers 2022 NFL Mock Draft Roundup
3.07 - Allen Robinson, WR, Chicago Bears
Preventing Robinson from reaching free agency, the Bears used their franchise tag on Robinson. While disappointing for fantasy managers that had hoped for an upgraded situation for the 27-year-old receiver, Robinson has a total of 200 receptions and a minimum of 1,147 yards over his past two seasons in Chicago with less-than-stellar quarterback play.
More: Chicago Bears 2021 NFL Power Rankings Roundup
4.06 - Julio Jones, WR, Tennessee Titans
Jones missed nearly half of the season, but he finished with at least 94 yards in five of his nine games played in 2020. Averaging 85.7 YPG last year, Jones was still on a full-season pace of 1,371 yards. Before last season, he had a minimum of 1,394 yards in six consecutive seasons. As Jones transitions to Tennessee's run-first, Derrick Henry-centric offense, his per-game numbers is certain to drop. That said, he's still a high-end WR2.
More: Tennessee Titans 2021 Fantasy Football Projections
5.07 - Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills
One of the league's best young dual-threat quarterbacks, Allen has exactly 300 rush attempts in his three NFL seasons and has racked up 1,562 yards and 25 touchdowns on the ground. Remarkably, he has rushed for at least eight touchdowns in all three of his NFL seasons.
Continuing to make major strides as a passer, Allen shattered previous career bests across the board in 2020. In his third season, Allen threw for 4,544 yards (284.0/G, 7.9/A) and 37 touchdowns (6.5 TD%) with only 10 interceptions (1.7%). Despite last year's unusual offseason, the trade for Stefon Diggs paid immediate dividends as the duo's instant rapport allowed Diggs to post career highs across the board as well.
More: Buffalo Bills 2021 NFL Power Rankings Roundup
6.06 - JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
After averaging 65.5 and 89.1 yards per game, respectively, in his first two seasons with the Steelers, Smith-Schuster has averaged 46.0 and 51.9 per game in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The Steelers re-signed Smith-Schuster to a one-year contract and he is a WR3 (both in fantasy and on his own team).
More: Pittsburgh Steelers 2022 NFL Mock Draft Roundup
7.07 - 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. Meanwhile, coach Kliff Kingsbury has said that Edmonds has "played at a starting running back level" when given the opportunity. With Kenyan Drake out and James Conner in, Edmonds has an opportunity to perform as a back-end RB2 in 2021.
8.06 - Damien Harris, RB, New England Patriots
Harris is a non-factor as a receiver (five receptions in 2020) and that likely won't change much with James White returning to Foxboro. Mac Jones beating out Cam Newton would benefit Harris as Jones is much less likely to vulture touchdowns than Newton.
More: New England Patriots 53-Man Roster Projections
9.07 - James Robinson, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
As lead back of a one-win team, the UDFA was fourth in half-PPR fantasy points, fourth in YFS and third in touches through Week 13. Even though Robinson has shown that he can be highly effective as the featured back, the addition of a first-round running back takes the sails out of Robinson's 2021 outlook. Even so, he offers plenty of profit potential in Round 9 as my RB5. (Etienne went in Round 5.)
More: 2022 NFL Mock Draft
10.06 - Dallas Goedert, TE, Philadelphia Eagles
Goedert missed five games including Week 17 last season, but he was a consistent producer following the team's Week 9 bye through Week 16. Over that stretch, Goedert scored the sixth-most fantasy points among tight ends and ranked top five in both receptions (32) and yards (371).
11.07 - T.Y. Hilton, WR, Indianapolis Colts
Over the past two seasons, Hilton averaged 50.8 (2020) and 50.1 (2019) YPG, which are the two lowest of his NFL career. Hilton had a minimum of 60 yards and/or a touchdown in the final six games of the 2020 season.
More: Indianapolis Colts 2021 NFL Power Rankings Roundup
12.06 - Robert Tonyan, TE, Green Bay Packers
Entering 2020 with 14 career receptions, Tonyan scored nearly as many touchdowns (12 counting the playoffs) as he had career receptions prior to last season. While teammate Davante Adams led the NFL with 18 touchdown receptions, Tonyan's 11 regular-season scores tied a position high with Travis Kelce. The biggest threat to Tonyan's 2021 outlook remains the offseason drama between the Packers and Aaron Rodgers.
More: Green Bay Packers 2022 NFL Mock Draft Roundup
13.07 - Alexander Mattison, RB, Minnesota Vikings
Dalvin Cook has never played a full season and has actually missed multiple games in all four seasons. Given Cook's durabilty history and the team's offensive philosophy, Mattison it would be reasonable to expect Mattison to start a game or two.
14.06 - Colts DST, Indianapolis Colts
15.07 - Harrison Butker, K, Kansas City Chiefs
16.06 - Jakobi Meyers, WR, New England Patriots
Meyers led the Patriots with 81 targets, 59 receptions and 729 yards in 2020. While the team added Nelson Agholor and Kendall Bourne in free agency, there's a good chance that the Meyers leads the position group in receiving once again.
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