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, 10th Pick
1.10 - 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 while repeating that total could be difficult, the Bengals should once again rank among the league's top-scoring offenses.
2.03 - 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.
3.10 - Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Indianapolis Colts
Pittman took a big step forward in his second season with a 25.7% target share and finished with 88 catches, 1,082 yards and six touchdowns. Finishing as a top-17 fantasy receiver across all scoring formats, Pittman has a chance to take another step forward in 2022.
4.03 - D.J. Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers
Moore set career highs in both targets (163) and receptions (93) in 2021. While he's been limited to a degree by poor quarterback play, he has exceeded the 1,100-yard mark in three consecutive seasons and I have him projected to finish above that mark in 2022 as well.
5.10 - Jerry Jeudy, WR, Denver Broncos
It's an understatement to say that Jeudy's fantasy trajectory is pointing upward following Denver's trade for Russell Wilson. The former first-round pick entered the NFL as a polished route-runner, but he produced two seasons of modest production in part due to the team's poor quarterback play. Entering his age-23 season, Jeudy is poised for a breakout season, barring injury.
6.03 - Miles Sanders, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
Sanders has missed at least four games in back-to-back seasons, but he's averaged 5.4 yards per carry on the 301 rush attempts he's handled over that span. While I'd typically prefer to get my second running back before this point, Sanders offers plenty of upside in the sixth round.
7.10 - Dallas Goedert, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
Zach Ertz was traded in October, and Goedert had back-to-back 100-yard games in December. If it weren't for the addition of A.J. Brown, who I project to lead the team in receiving, Goedert would be poised for another big leap forward. Even so, he's fairly valued here and gives me a mid-tier TE1 as my starter.
8.03 - Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys
Even though Ezekiel 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.
9.10 - James Cook, RB, Buffalo Bills
While Cook doesn't have his brother's frame and won't be utilized as a featured back, he's a talented receiver that could be moved around the formation. GM Brandon Beane has drawn comparisons of Cook's skill set to that of J.D. McKissic.
10.03 - Darrell Henderson, RB, Los Angeles Rams
With Cam Akers missing most of 2021, Henderson set career highs in touches (178, 14.8/G). Henderson missed five games last season as well and has his own durability concerns, but he would handle double-digit touches per game if Akers were to miss any time again. In fact, Sean McVay recently said that he views Akers and Henderson as a situation where "we’ve got two starting backs."
11.10 - Tom Brady, QB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Brady retired, then unretired, after leading the NFL in pass attempts (719), passing yards (5,316) and touchdowns (43) in his age-44 season. Not only did he throw for a career-high 5,316 yards in the NFL's first 17-game season, but his per-game average (312.7 yards) was the second best of his NFL career. Even though his rushing production is minimal in this era of dual-threat quarterbacks, his prolific passing stats propelled him to fantasy's QB3 in 2021 and he remains a viable QB1 at 45 years old.
12.03 - 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.
13.10 - 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. The former Nittany Lion enters his second season as a top-10 option at the position.
14.03 - 49ers DST, San Francisco 49ers
15.10 - Matt Gay, K, Los Angeles Rams
16.03 - Tyrion Davis-Price, RB, San Francisco 49ers
Given that a different player has led the 49ers in rushing in each of Kyle Shanahan's five seasons as head coach, it's never a bad idea to throw a late-round dart at the team's expected RB2.
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