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, 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. 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 -- Derrick Henry (14), Dalvin Cook (11) and Elliott (11).
2.06 - D.K. Metcalf, WR, Seattle Seahawks
The sky is the limit for Metcalf, who is coming off a breakout sophomore campaign (83/1,303/10). Through Week 9, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks passing offense were unstoppable and Metcalf had more than 90 yards in seven of his first eight games. Through Week 9, only Tyreek Hill had scored more fantasy points than Metcalf.
3.07 - Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Football Team
While the team's quarterback play hasn't done him many favors, McLaurin managed to set career highs with 87 catches and 1,118 yards in his second season. While his Y/R dipped to 12.9 from 15.8, he set career highs in YPG (74.5) and catch rate (64.9%). Even though WFT didn't draft a QB in April, signing Ryan Fitzpatrick in free agency boosts McLaurin's outlook and puts him squarely in the WR1 (top 12) mix even though he's a WR2 for this team.
4.06 - Amari Cooper, WR, Dallas Cowboys
Cooper finished 2020 with a career-high 92 receptions for 1,114 yards and five touchdowns. It was his third consecutive 1,000-yard season and Cooper has averaged 73.9 yards per game during his tenure with the Cowboys. This team's top trio of receivers (Metcalf, McLaurin and Cooper) are all ranked as technically ranked as WR1 (top 12) types in my non-PPR fantasy football wide receiver rankings.
More: Dallas Cowboys 2022 NFL Mock Draft Roundup
5.07 - Mike Davis, RB, Atlanta Falcons
Filling in for a mostly-injured Christian McCaffrey in 2020, Davis performed as fantasy's RB18 in standard-scoring formats last season. Limited competition for running back touches makes Davis a back-end RB2 in 2021 with Arthur Smith taking over as Atlanta's head coach.
6.06 - 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.
More: NFL Predictions 2021: AFC North
7.07 - Trey Sermon, RB, San Francisco 49ers
Not only does Sermon have the highest draft pedigree (third round) among the team's running backs, but the Niners traded up to draft him. Given his frame, balance and vision, the team could look to make him their featured back sooner than later (as much as Kyle Shanahan will feature an individual back, that is).
8.06 - James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Joining the Cardinals on a one-year deal, Conner will steal some early-down carries from Chase Edmonds and could potentially be in a fairly even split. If he can stay healthy and earn a larger role, there is plenty of upside for Conner as well (as Edmonds).
More: Chase Edmonds 2021 Fantasy Football Outlook
9.07 - 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 WR18 (non-PPR) over that stretch.
10.06 - Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys
Even though he played fewer than 50% of the team's offensive snaps in all but one game (Week 15, 90%), Pollard had at least eight touches in 10 of the team's final 12 games. 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 importantly, however, Pollard provides insurance if Elliott were to miss any time.
11.07 - Tom Brady, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
In his first season in Tampa, Brady scored the eighth-most fantasy points and only three quarterbacks had more top-five weekly finishes than the future Hall-of-Famer. Brady's 40 touchdowns thrown were the second-most of his career and his 4,633 passing yards were a five-year high. Brady will have all of the team's starters and top pass-catchers back as he enters his age-44 season.
12.06 - Tyler Higbee, TE, Los Angeles Rams
The fifth-year tight end saw a year-over-year dip in targets (60), receptions (44) and yards (521), but he did set a career high in touchdowns (five). With Gerald Everett signing with Seattle and the team trading for Matthew Stafford, there is optimism for improved numbers from Higbee.
More: 10 Undervalued Players in 2021 Fantasy Football Drafts
13.07 - 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.
14.06 - Ravens DST, Baltimore Ravens
15.07 - Justin Tucker, K, Baltimore Ravens
16.06 - Justin Fields, QB, Chicago Bears
While Chicago's passing attack will never be confused for Kansas City's, we've seen how productive dual-threat rookie quarterbacks can be in fantasy football. Once he takes over the starting gig, the former Buckeye will be in the weekly streaming mix, at minimum.
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