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, 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 third-most fantasy points (non-PPR) 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.
2.11 - DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Arizona Cardinals
In his first season in Arizona, Hopkins tied a career high in receptions (115) and his 1,407 receiving yards were the third most of his career. Meanwhile, Stefon Diggs (166) was the only receiver with more targets than Hopkins (160). While his six touchdowns were a four-year low, Hopkins' target share gives him one of the highest floors (and ceilings) at the position.
More: Arizona Cardinals 2021 Fantasy Football Projections
3.02 - 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.
4.11 - 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
5.02 - Myles Gaskin, RB, Miami Dolphins
Gaskin was off to a strong start through Week 8, but he only appeared in three games (Weeks 13, 16 and 17) after that point. Even though he missed six games, he ranked 15th among running backs in receptions (41). In addition, only three running backs had more receptions in the 10 weeks that Gaskin played.
The former seventh-round pick out of Washington has shown the ability to be highly productive and the Dolphins were unable to draft one of the top three backs in the 2021 NFL Draft. While I currently project a first-round running back to the Dolphins in my early 2022 NFL Mock Draft, Gaskin is a viable RB2 with the potential to vastly exceed his current ADP with good health.
6.11 - 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.
7.02 - 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, I believe Edmonds will operate as Arizona's RB1 (a term he hates).
More: Chase Edmonds 2021 Fantasy Football Outlook
8.11 - Brandin Cooks, WR, Houston Texans
Averaging a career-high 76.7 YPG, Cooks finished his first season in Houston with 81 catches for 1,150 yards and six touchdowns. From Week 5 on, Cooks had at least 59 yards in 10 of 11 games. During that 11-game span, he averaged 6.5 catches and 92 yards per game.
Deshaun Watson's uncertain status is obvious reason for concern when projecting Cooks' production, but he should be the recipient of as many targets as he can handle.
9.02 - Gus Edwards, RB, Baltimore Ravens
Best in standard (non-PPR) formats like this, Edwards performed as fantasy's RB28 in non-PPR in 2020. Edwards has a minimum of 133 carries, 711 yards and 5.0 YPC in all three of his NFL seasons. While J.K. Dobbins will handle the bulk of touches, Edwards should approach double-digit touches per game and has stand-alone flex value.
10.11 - Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins
Reunited with his former college quarterback, Waddle (as does Fuller) provides Tagovailoa with more speed on the outside. The sixth overall pick in the draft, Waddle is electric with the ball in his hands.
More: Miami Dolphins 2021 Fantasy Football Projections
11.02 - Rashaad Penny, RB, Seattle Seahawks
A surprise first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Penny has failed to live up to his draft pedigree. On relatively limited touches, however, Penny has been efficient -- 5.1 YPC and 9.3 Y/R -- and Carson's violent running style could lead to a missed game (or several). While it's become a cliche, Penny enters 2021 in the best shape of his life.
12.11 - Noah Fant, TE, Denver Broncos
I have Tyler Higbee ranked one spot higher than Fant, but the simulator's pick predictor feature showed a 70% probability of Fant being gone before the next pick compared to Higbee's 41%. By selecting Fant first, it increased my chances of being able to draft both Higbee and Fant. Because TE tends to be somewhat of a crapshoot, I often double-dip in the double-digit rounds to give myself an extra chance to hit on the position.
More: Denver Broncos 2022 NFL Mock Draft Roundup
13.02 - Tyler Higbee, TE, Los Angeles Rams
With Gerald Everett signing with Seattle and the team trading for Matthew Stafford, there is optimism for improved numbers from Higbee. Higbee's breakout month (Dec. 2019) coincided with Everett missing all but four offensive snaps during that five-game stretch (43/522/2 on 56 targets).
More: Los Angeles Rams 2021 Fantasy Football Projections
14.11 - 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.
15.02 - 49ers DST, San Francisco 49ers
16.11 - Robbie Gould, K, San Francisco 49ers
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