I did 120 Mock Drafts So You Don’t Have To: Here’s What You Need To Know To Dominate Your Fantasy Drafts

Yes, you read that title right – I did 120 Fantasy Football Mock Drafts over the last week to help you win your leagues. The format was a 12-Man PPR league with a roster size of 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 2 Flex, 1 Kicker, 1 Defense, and 5 Bench Slots. As part of this exercise, I drafted 10 times from each draft position as if I were actually drafting a real team trying to compete in this league. I’ll be sharing all the data, the strategies, what you need to know, and then some of the actual draft results themselves – you don’t want to miss out on this! 

View All Draft Results

The Data:

128 Total Different Players Drafted in 120 Mock Drafts

5 Players Drafted at least once From Every Draft Position:

• George Pickens
• Jakobi Meyers
• Tyler Warren
• Jaydon Blue
• Chuba Hubbard

These are guys that I’m trying to target in all of my leagues and all provide great value. As part of my mock drafts, I was able to get these 5 at least once from each unique draft position. 

Pickens is going from a run-first offense to a pass-heavy offense for the first time in his career and should see huge uplift in volume. 

Jakobi Meyers is arguably the most underappreciated wide receiver in the league, not just from a fantasy perspective. His ceiling is low, but his consistency is where I love having him with a safe floor. 

Tyler Warren is one of my favorite rookies of this class and I see him turning into this year’s Brock Bowers. I love Warren and I expect him to finish as a top-10 tight end on the year. 

Jaydon Blue is a late-round flyer that doesn’t cost much, but can turn into a starter on a high-scoring offense if Dak remains healthy. 

Lastly, Chuba is a guy that I think finishes as a top-20 RB and just see him turning into a workhorse in an improved Carolina offense.

14 Players Drafted More than 25% of the Time

• Jaydon Blue – 62 (over 50% of drafts)
• George Pickens – 52
• Chase Brown – 48
• Stefon Diggs – 43
• Marvin Mims – 42
• Chuba Hubbard – 40
• Tet McMillan – 39
• Tyler Warren – 38
• De’Von Achane – 37
• Tony Pollard – 36
• Treyveon Henderson – 34
• Calvin Ridley – 33
• Luther Burden – 32
• Drake Maye – 30

Of the 120 mock drafts I did, these 14 players I was able to draft in more than 30 of the drafts, or equivalent of 25%. 

Jaydon Blue in the 12th/13th round I was able to land the most, for a total of 62 times. He should overtake Javonte Williams as the starter in Dallas.

 The other late round player that I am happy with as my starting quarterback is Drake Maye. I think he’s going to have a huge sophomore year with the additions at offensive line, the addition of Stefon Diggs, and an elite running back in TreVeyon Henderson, who also made this list.

 For early round players, I love Chase Brown the most. His ADP has him in mid-late round 3, but I’m comfortable taking him in the early 2nd depending on what other running backs / receivers are available. I love Chase Brown and the whole of the Bengals offense this year. With how bad their defense is, the Bengals are going to need to be in shootouts every match and I have their offense as a top-3 offense in the league. This is the year of Chase Brown and he’s going to dominate leagues, especially in PPR formats.

Most Popular Player Drafted Per Draft Spot:

• 1.01 = Ja’Marr Chase: 10 of 10 drafts
• 1.02 = Chase Brown: 9 of 10 drafts
• 1.03 = Chase Brown: 8 of 10 drafts
• 1.04 = Jaydon Blue: 7 of 10 drafts
• 1.05 = Marvin Mims & Jahmyr Gibbs: 6 of 10 drafts
• 1.06 = Jaydon Blue: 6 of 10 drafts
• 1.07 = Treyveon Henderson: 7 of 10 drafts
• 1.08 = Malik Nabers: 9 of 10 drafts
• 1.09 = Malik Nabers & Jaydon Blue: 8 of 10 drafts
• 1.10 = De’Von Achane, Malik Nabers, George Pickens, & Najee Harris: 8 of 10 drafts
• 1.11 = De’Von Achane & Nico Collins: 8 of 10 drafts
• 1.12 = De’Von Achane: 10 of 10 drafts

If you have the 1.01, don’t overthink it, Ja’Marr Chase is the one and only answer. If you’re in a later pick, you need to focus on who has the most boom potential on a week-to-week basis. This is what led to Jahmyr Gibbs, Malik Nabers, Nico Collins, & De’Von Achane making this list. 

Most Popular Player Drafted by Round:

• Round 1 = Malik Nabers – 28 times
• Round 2 = De’Von Achane – 38 times
• Round 3 = Chase Brown – 43 times
• Round 4 = Chuba Hubbard – 34 times
• Round 5 = George Pickens – 40 times
• Round 6 = TreVeyon Henderson – 24 times
• Round 7 = Tony Pollard – 26 times
• Round 8 = Stefon Diggs & Tyler Warren – 31 times
• Round 9 = Emeka Egbuka – 26 times
• Round 10 = Jayden Higgins & Tucker Kraft – 21 times
• Round 11 = Broncos Defense – 12 times
• Round 12 = Jaydon Blue – 39 times
• Round 13 = Marvin Mims & Luther Burden – 28 times
• Round 14 = Texans Defense – 23 times
• Round 15 = Cam Little – 50 times

My Draft Strategy: 

Early Rounds (1–5):

Try to secure at least two running backs and two wide receivers within your first five picks. These are the core players who will carry you week to week and keep you competitive.

• Malik Nabers: I’m willing to take him as early as pick 7, but he’s a steal if he slips to the back of round 1.

• De’Von Achane: I was very high on him, but his injury moves him down my board slightly.

• Chase Brown: Rising quickly for me—worth reaching for in the mid-second (2.04–2.07 range).

Round 4 RB targets: Chuba Hubbard, Kenneth Walker, Alvin Kamara, and James Conner all make great value picks here.

Rounds 5–7:

This is where I’m targeting upside wideouts and flex options.

• Favorites: George Pickens, TreVeyon Henderson, and Tet. All three have breakout potential and should rise throughout the season.

Rounds 8–10:

Focus on high-upside or overlooked veterans.

• Examples: Stefon Diggs (safe floor despite being overlooked) and Jakobi Meyers (consistent, reliable production).

Rounds 11–14:

Defense: If you don’t grab an elite defense in rounds 11–12, just wait until round 14.

Quarterback/Tight End: If you pass on the elite options early, don’t panic. I’d rather grab:

• QBs: Dak Prescott, Drake Maye, Brock Purdy
• TEs: Tucker Kraft, Tyler Warren, Dallas Goedert

These are solid options without paying the round 4–5 price tags for Patrick Mahomes or T.J. Hockenson.

Draft Consensus

Rounds 1–5: Lock in 2 RBs + 2 WRs.

Rounds 6–8: Target upside players like Pickens, Tet, Henderson.

Rounds 7–9: Mix in high-floor players like Tony Pollard or Diggs.

Rounds 10+: Grab QB/TE if you haven’t already.

Late Rounds: Fill depth with rookies or veterans who can pop.

This approach balances early stability with late-round upside, giving you both a strong weekly core and breakout potential.

Common Draft Strategies that I tried: 

• Early QB

I found that when I had an earlier draft position like 1.03-1.05, I found myself more likely to take an elite quarterback like Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson. I’d be okay taking them in round 3 if I had a good 1-2 start to the draft. I am a fan of taking a quarterback early, but this year, only if it’s Allen, Jackson, Daniels, or Hurts. They are going to get you a consistent 20+ points per game that you can rely on. They make you have a 5+ point differential over the other options, but after that, you would want to wait a little bit before taking one. 

• Zero RB

This year, I hate this strategy. I found myself having an elite WR room, but then my RB1 would be James Conner and I was not pleased with that outcome. This is not the year to do a zero running back strategy. 

• Triple RB

This is an unpopular approach, but I found myself doing this strategy more and more often in my mocks. Especially, when I had an earlier/middle pick getting Gibbs, Bijan, or Barkley, followed up by Bucky Irving, JT, or Jacobs, and then Chase Brown or Omarion Hampton in the 3rd. The depth at receiver is significant this year and I’d be okay having players like Terry McLaurin as my WR1. When I did this approach, I also would go deep at receiver and not draft another running back until round 9 or later. You can end up with a starting lineup with Bijan, Bucky, and Chase Brown as your RBs and then a WR core consisting of Terry McLaurin, Stefon Diggs, Tet McMillan, and Jakobi Meyers. I would be very pleased with this draft and walk away feeling confident for the year. 

My Tips To Win Your Fantasy League:

Mid-Round League Winners

Rounds 6-10 hold some amazing value and multiple players that I think will win you your league. These players have high upside, are very undervalued, and should see significant opportunities in their respective offenses. These guys are Tony Pollard, Calvin Ridley, Stefon Diggs, Tyler Warren, Emeka Egbuka, Ricky Pearsall, and Matthew Golden. I love each one of these guys and they all have ADPs at rounds 6 or later. Each one of them is #1 at their position on their team with the exception of Egbuka. They all have huge opportunities to get touches and lots of them. Pollard’s offensive line got better, Ridley is the only target in Tennessee, Warren’s looked good in preseason, Egbuka & Pearsall get more playing time with injuries, and Golden was drafted in the 1st round. All signs are pointing to breakout years from these guys and I’d be willing to reach a round and a half plus on some of them to get them. 

Running Backs Early

Get your running backs early. It’s a known strategy, but the drop-off after the first few rounds feels much more significant this year than in years’ past. I’m trying to walk away after the first 5 rounds with both my starting running backs in place and ideally a 3rd at the flex. There’s some amazing value in round 2-3 with running backs like Jonathan Taylor, Josh Jacobs, Bucky Irving, Chase Brown, & Alvin Kamara that are high targets for me. These are all guys I’d be happy having as either my RB1 or RB2 on my team and trying to get one of the 5 on my team. As you can see from my tip above, the wide receivers are plentiful all the way through round 10/11 and you need to invest in running backs early. You do not want to end up with someone like Aaron Jones or D’Andre Swift as your RB1, yet alone RB2. 

Late Round Flyers

These are the guys that are worth spending late round draft capital for. The ones that can potentially have big seasons, but aren’t big names, not getting much recognition, but if the stars align, they can see action in your starting lineup. These are all guys that are only one injury away from being the starters and seeing significant playing time on their teams. The 2 types of flyers that I’m targeting are young receivers and backup running backs to injury-risk players. The receiving options include Brenton Strange, Jayden Higgins, Kyle Williams, Cedric Tillman, and Wan’Dale Robinson. All are in situations with uncertain play at quarterbacks, but can see them turning into the #2 receiving options on their team and potentially carving out bigger roles for themselves in the future. For the running backs, there’s guys like Ollie Gordon, Jaydon Blue, & Isaac Guerendo who are an injury away from their injury-prone starters going down to take on as the lead back. The guys they back up for have all missed time in recent years and at least one should miss time this season. I’d be happy with any of them on my team, but Brenton Strange & Jaydon Blue are my two favorite players in this group. Strange can be drafted in the last round in most drafts and I expect him to finish as a top-15 tight end on the year with Evan Engram out of the picture. For Blue, the Cowboys added Javonte Williams to be the starter, but Williams was phased out of Denver, an atrocious running back committee. I don’t expect for it to be long before Blue takes over as the starter this year. I don’t see Blue as a long-term option, so avoid him in dynasty formats, but in redraft leagues, I think Blue will be the starter by the second half of the year and can be a 2nd flex option for you in the playoffs.

Avoid Injuries & Player Missing Time

It seems obvious, but don’t go chasing players who are entering the season with an injury. There are always going to be players in their range who are not hurt, that can provide even better value for the year. Think players like Aaron Jones, Joe Mixon, and Chris Godwin who are all going to miss time. Also, you have players like Quinshon Judkins, Rashee Rice & Jordan Addison facing suspensions this year. Unless you can get them well below their ADPs, why take them. If someone is not playing, you are not getting points from them. Don’t go in thinking “Oh I’ll have them for the fantasy playoffs” and just start the year slow. You need to actually make the playoffs first for that to happen. Think the Cincinnati Bengals in recent years – they always start the year slow and then try to play catch up towards the end of the year and it doesn’t always work out in their favor. This year, to combat that, we’ve seen them playing all of their starters longer in preseason to start out the season fast and I’m expecting just that. Why try to do the same with fantasy and try to scramble for a playoff spot when you can feel more secure all season long.