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 2022 NFL season, we will use the 2022 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, 9th Pick
1.09 - Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
Mixon has eclipsed the 1,100-yard rushing mark in three of four seasons with his six-game 2020 campaign being the exception. While he has averaged 4.1 yards per carry (or less) in each of the past three seasons, the Bengals have upgraded their offensive line this offseason, which should help both Joe Burrow and Mixon. He set a career high in touchdowns (16) in 2021 and the Bengals should once again rank among the league's top-scoring offenses.
2.04 - CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys
In an uneven season, Lamb's year-over-year numbers improved to 79/1,102/6 in 2021 from his 74/935/5 rookie season. Lamb finished as a top-24 fantasy receiver in six of nine games through Week 10 and was tied with Tampa's Mike Evans for the sixth-most fantasy points (half-PPR scoring) during that stretch. (Michael Gallup missed Weeks 2-9.) Lamb was a top-30 receiver only once over his final seven games, however, and tied with Amari Cooper as fantasy's WR42 over that span. There should be no shortage of targets for Lamb with Cooper traded to Cleveland and Gallup's Week 1 status (ACL) in doubt.
3.09 - Cam Akers, RB, Los Angeles Rams
Closing his rookie 2020 campaign with 94 touches for 436 yards from scrimmage over his final four games, Akers was poised to enter 2021 as the team's featured back before an Achilles injury forced him to miss nearly all of last season. Provided his health cooperates, Akers has tremendous upside as the lead back in one of the league's most potent offenses.
4.04 - Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Commanders
In spite of Washington's mediocre quarterback play, McLaurin has averaged a 17-game pace of 82/1,142/6 through his first three NFL seasons. While Carson Wentz may not do wonders for Washington's passing attack, it is technically an upgrade over what McLaurin has had so far in his career.
5.09 - Breece Hall, RB, New York Jets
As the focal point of Iowa State's offense, Hall rushed for 3,044 yards and 41 touchdowns while adding 59 receptions for 482 yards and five touchdowns over the past two seasons. Hall is a patient runner with outstanding vision and contact balance and he's a reliable receiver out of the backfield. I'd be comfortable drafting him as my RB2, but I love the upside with him as my flex here.
6.04 - Darnell Mooney, WR, Chicago Bears
As the team's clear No. 1 wide receiver, Mooney is coming off an 81/1,055/4 season in 2021 despite Chicago's passing game struggles overall. Depending on how much improvement we see from Justin Fields in his second season, there is plenty of upside with Mooney.
7.09 - Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
The dual-threat quarterback has QB1 overall upside, when healthy. Even though he'll be without DeAndre Hopkins to start the season, the additions of Marquise Brown, his former Oklahoma teammate, and Trey McBride, the first tight end drafted in 2022, give Murray a talented group of pass catchers when the team's at full strength.
8.04 - Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys
Even though Elliott played a full 17-game slate in 2021, Pollard earned an expanded role with career highs in touches (169) and scrimmage yards (1,056). Pollard is one of my favorite backs to target in 2022, as he has enormous upside if Elliott misses any time, but he has stand-alone flex value even if Elliott doesn't.
9.09 - Tyler Boyd, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Boyd posted a 67/828/5 line on 94 targets to finish as a top-33 fantasy receiver in 2021, but he also set four-year lows in targets, receptions and yards. Boyd enters 2022 as a solid (but relatively low-upside) WR4.
10.04 - Skyy Moore, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
Moore led the Broncos in both receptions (51) and yards (802) as a true freshman in 2019. He had a 95/1,292/10 line in 2021 and PFF credited Moore with 26 broken tackles after the catch, which led FBS wide receivers last season. There is a path to Moore being the team's most productive wide receiver as a rookie, so at a minimum, he's worth a roll of the dice as my WR5.
11.09 - Darrell Henderson Jr., RB, Los Angeles Rams
Henderson has struggled to stay healthy himself, but he especially offers upside if Akers were to miss any time. Henderson averaged 14.8 touches and 72 scrimmage yards per game last season.
12.04 - Jamaal Williams, RB, Detroit Lions
Like D'Andre Swift, Williams missed four games in 2021 but set a career high in rushing yards (601) and tied a career high in rush attempts (153). While his targets per game (2.15) was near a career low, he set a career high in catch rate (92.9%) and finished with 2.0 receptions per game, his career average.
13.09 - Pat Freiermuth, TE, Pittsburgh Steelers
More productive than the typical rookie tight end, Freiermuth finished 2021 with 60 receptions for 497 yards and seven touchdowns on 79 targets. He's ranked as a top-10 fantasy tight end in our early 2022 rankings.
14.04 - Brian Robinson Jr., RB, Washington Commanders
Gibson rushed for 1,037 yards in 2021, but he also had six fumbles. Especially if those fumbling issues are not resolved, Robinson could be in store for a bigger workload than many anticipate. Like with Gibson, the Commanders have used a third-round pick on Robinson, who ran for 1,343 yards and 16 touchdowns for Alabama last season.
15.09 - Chargers DST, DST, Los Angeles Chargers
16.04 - Matt Gay, K, Los Angeles Rams
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