Many years ago, I invited a girl over to my apartment for a dinner date. I advertised that we were going to eat lasagna, which I had never made before. Suffice to say that was the last night I dated that girl or tried (and failed) to cook lasagna.
Heading into your draft without preparing with a few mocks is the start of a losing plan. Luckily, Yahoo has you covered, with fantasy football mock drafts starting every few minutes. And the Yahoo staff is leading the way, recapping our own mocks in a wide variety of league formats.
Our final mock of the draft season covered the default Yahoo setup — a 10-team league with 0.5 PPR scoring and starting lineups consisting of 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex, 1 K and 1 D. We brought in some heavy hitters for this one. Here is the full list of participants, in order of draft slot:
1. Pranav Rajaram, Yahoo Fantasy contributor
2. Jason Klabacha, head of Yahoo Fantasy content
3. Katie Braun, Yahoo Fantasy social editor
4. Andy Behrens, Yahoo Fantasy analyst
5. Dalton Del Don, Yahoo Fantasy analyst
6. Kate Magdziuk, Yahoo Fantasy editor
7. Tera Roberts, Yahoo Fantasy contributor
8. Mo Castillo, Yahoo Fantasy senior editor
9. Dan Titus, Yahoo Fantasy analyst
10. Fred Zinkie, Yahoo Fantasy contributor
The round-by-round draft board
Here are some key takeaways from this draft, with the full team-by-team results at the bottom.
Rushers are creeping back into the initial rounds
Wise drafters are learning that at all points in the draft, wide receivers will be the most appealing options. For example, stars such as Brandon Aiyuk and DeVonta Smith were selected in Round 5 and potential 1,000-yard men Chris Godwin and Calvin Ridley were still available in Round 8. To save some lineup space for mid-round receivers, this talented set of drafters selected 10 running backs in the initial two rounds.
Sure, I could argue that I would rather have Nico Collins or Chris Olave (Round 3 picks) than Round 2 rushers such as De’Von Achane or Isiah Pacheco, but I could make that same argument at all points in the draft. Unless your league allows you to start more than three receivers, you’ll need to draft at least one early RB.
Who needs training camp?
Even with little time remaining until Week 1, this group was unfazed by the messy contract situations involving CeeDee Lamb, Ja’Marr Chase and Brandon Aiyuk at the time of the mock draft. Lamb and Chase were both top-five picks, and Aiyuk went off the board 41st overall. Lamb got a monster extension Monday and that was followed by Aiyuk finally getting a deal done Thursday, removing any concerns about their Week 1 availability. Meanwhile Chase went from returning to practice to skipping again, suggesting his contract dispute with the Bengals still looms. It will be interesting to see if Chase's ADP starts to slide if he remains unsigned into Labor Day weekend.
Injury discounts at WR
Jordan Addison, DeAndre Hopkins and Hollywood Brown are each dealing with injuries that have put Week 1 in jeopardy. Their possible absence early in the season was reflected in their draft price, as they were each selected between picks 110-115. Managers should be lining up to buy this dip in 10-team leagues, as they were unlikely to need the services of these men until they encounter bye weeks in October and beyond. They are less appealing in deeper formats, such as 12-team leagues that allow managers to start four WRs.
The QB run starts in Round 4
Yours truly led off Round 4 with Josh Allen before Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson were selected in the subsequent seven picks. By the end of Round 5, 70% of the teams had chosen their starting quarterback. Looking back, I don’t regret being the first manager to dive into the passer pool. Allen should give me an advantage on my competition, and in a shallow league I still have Najee Harris, Chris Godwin, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Devin Singletary competing for my flex spot.
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Tight end is deep in shallow leagues
Although the group of appealing tight ends eventually runs out in leagues of 12 teams or more, there are plenty of options to go around in 10-team formats. Travis Kelce was selected by Tera Roberts at pick 27, and I followed her lead by grabbing Sam LaPorta at pick 30. In hindsight, I could have waited.
Dalton Kincaid, who could lead the Bills in catches, almost lasted until the end of Round 6. Kyle Pitts and Jake Ferguson, who are terrific options, were drafted in Round 8. Other managers waited even longer and grabbed Evan Engram and David Njoku in Round 9.
Catching up on split backfields
It’s worth our time to evaluate the latest opinions on the league’s unsettled backfields.
In the eyes of fantasy managers, Chase Brown (Round 7) is pulling away from Zack Moss (Round 10). I’m not sure if Brown has done enough to earn this separation, and Moss might be a late August value pick in the same way Brown was one month ago.
The two Titans, Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears, have created no separation. Both players were selected in Round 9.
Jaylen Warren’s hamstring injury created two rounds of separation between himself and Najee Harris. The Steelers don’t expect Warren to miss much time, which makes him the more appealing at-cost option, especially if these players are starting the season on your bench anyway.
No one knows what to make of Nick Chubb, who is giving off positive vibes but will miss at least the initial four games of the regular season after reportedly being placed on the PUP list on Monday. He and sidekick Jerome Ford both fell to Round 11 — with the PUP list news coming after the mock draft took place. Both players should be valuable at different points in the season, as the Browns should have a good running game. Drafters who have deployed a Zero RB or Hero RB strategy will prefer Ford, who be considered for starting lineups right away. Meanwhile, those who are set at RB for September would rather draft Chubb, who could make an impact by the time they need a replacement for bye weeks.
The Cowboys led the NFL in scoring last year, but all of their running backs were still on the board when Round 11 started. Rico Dowdle was selected a few picks ahead of Ezekiel Elliott, and similar to the situation in Cleveland, there is a scenario here where some managers get great value out of a late pick.
Brian Robinson Jr. was selected two rounds ahead of teammate Austin Ekeler. I can see the rationale for an even larger separation between the two Commanders, as Robinson is much younger and was more effective last season. Additionally, Ekeler’s value is largely dependent on speedy QB Jayden Daniels passing up on rushing opportunities to instead check down to his safety values.
The Chargers backfield was undervalued by this group. Despite a common perception that Los Angeles will rely heavily on the running game, Gus Edwards stayed on the board until Round 11 while J.K. Dobbins and Kimani Vidal were not drafted at all. In hindsight, this backfield deserved greater attention.
Getting ahead with kickers and defenses
Drafting kickers and defenses in the middle rounds is justifiably frowned upon in fantasy circles, but there are reasons to avoid waiting until the final two rounds to make these selections. Whether we like it or not, a kicker and a defense are in our starting lineup each week, while many of the players we select in the late rounds spend the majority of the season on the bench or waiver wire.
Andy Behrens jumped the gun by two rounds and grabbed his preferred options (Brandon Aubrey, Jets defense) in Rounds 12-13. There is little to differentiate between the RBs and WRs selected in the final four rounds, and Andy arguably didn’t lose any value at other positions by selecting a kicker and defense early. Dalton Del Don, who is effective at thinking outside the box, was the first manager to draft a defense (49ers), and Jason Klabacha is likely happy that he grabbed Justin Tucker in Round 14 rather than waiting for someone like Matt Gay, who was selected in the final round.
