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.
PPR Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 2nd Pick
1.02 - 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 fantasy pointsamong 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.
2.11 - Darren Waller, TE, Las Vegas Raiders
Waller set career highs across the board -- 107 receptions on 146 targets for 1,196 yards and nine touchdowns -- and was dominant down the stretch. Not only did Waller have a 13/200/2 game in Week 13, but he exceeded the 100-yard mark in four of his final five games of the season. Especially in full PPR formats (like this mock), Waller is my TE2 over George Kittle.
3.02 - Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
Allen missed a couple of games and was limited in others, but he finished with 100 catches for the third time in four seasons despite playing with a rookie quarterback. Although just shy of the 1,000-yard mark and averaging a career-low 9.92 Y/R, Allen tied his career high (set as a rookie in 2013) with eight touchdowns. Along with Davante Adams and Diontae Johnson, Allen was just one of three receivers to get double-digit targets in 10 games in 2020.
More: Los Angeles Chargers 2021 Fantasy Football Projections
4.11 - Adam Thielen, WR, Minnesota Vikings
Thielen averaged only 61.7 YPG, but he scored 14 touchdowns in 2020. Only three receivers were targeted more often in the red zone than Thielen (19). While Justin Jefferson has moved ahead of him in the wide receiver pecking order, Thielen remains a strong WR2.
5.02 - Tyler Lockett, WR, Seattle Seahawks
The full-season numbers (100/1,054/10, WR9 in half-PPR) look great and Lockett now has back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns and three consecutive seasons with at least eight touchdowns. That said, there were three spike games (9/100/3, 15/200/3 and 12/90/2) and mostly modest performances the rest of the season. There may be some week-to-week consistency, but he offers plenty of upside as my WR3.
6.11 - 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 should be Arizona's RB1 or 1(a) and has an opportunity to perform as a fantasy RB2 in 2021.
More: Chase Edmonds 2021 Fantasy Football Outlook
7.02 - 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.
8.11 - Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland Browns
Landry set career lows in targets (101) and receptions (72) last season and his yards from scrimmage (850) and total touchdowns (four) were either the lowest or second-lowest of his career. That said, Landry typically outperforms his draft position and while the upside in Cleveland's run-first offense isn't very high, he offers a solid floor as my WR4.
9.02 - Michael Carter, RB, New York Jets
The Jets will likely use a committee approach, but at this point of the offseason, Carter appears set to become the 1(a) to the team's other backs. Carter averaged 8.0 YPC as a senior and finished his collegiate career with 82 receptions.
10.11 - 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. Excluding his one start, Pollard averaged nine touches over his final 11 games in which he appeared in less than half of the team's offensive snaps. Assuming good health for Dak Prescott and the offensive line, 8-10 weekly touches in this offense could lead to stand-alone flex value for Pollard on a weekly basis.
More: Dak Prescott 2021 Fantasy Football Outlook
11.02 - 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).
12.11 - 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 is a high-end handcuff for this team if/when Cook misses any time.
13.02 - Tevin Coleman, RB, New York Jets
Injuries have limited Coleman during his two seasons with the 49ers as he has played only 36% and 6% of the offensive snaps in 2019 and 2020, respectively. That said, he brings with him knowledge of the system and familiarity with the coaches that Robert Saleh brought with him from San Francisco. With an ADP currently a couple of rounds behind Carter, Coleman is worthy dart throw in the 13th round (current ADP).
More: New York Jets 2022 NFL Mock Draft Roundup
14.11 - Washington Football Team DST
15.02 - Christian Kirk, WR, Arizona Cardinals
With DeAndre Hopkins dominating targets, Kirk's targets dropped from 108 (8.31/G) in 2019 to 79 (5.64/G) in 2020. The vast majority of his fantasy production including all of his touchdowns occurred during a five-game stretch from Weeks 4-9 (20/343/6, 17.15 Y/R, WR7). Kirk has missed multiple games in all three of his NFL seasons, but he offers some WR depth late and could be the first to drop if a waiver-wire add is made.
16.11 - Robbie Gould, K, San Francisco 49ers
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