Drafting on FFPC is one of the most fun platforms out there. Their combination of PPR and tight end-premium scoring provides a format unlike others, and the small change in dynamics around one position impacts everything from roster construction to player evaluation. FFPC contests range from a $35 Superflex best ball tournament to their single-quarterback Main Event, which will set you back $2,000 per entry. For this fantasy football mock draft, we’ve used similar settings to FFPC’s mid-level $125 best ball contest. The Draft Wizard has randomly allotted us the 1.01 pick, and the main tweak to the settings we made is setting tight end value to very high.
FFPC Fantasy Football Mock Draft
Even with the TE-Premium scoring of an extra 0.5 points per reception, we don’t need to get cute here. Ja’Marr Chase is the consensus 1.01 in all non-Superflex formats and for good reason.
In 2024, Chase led all wide receivers in receptions (117), receiving yards (1,612) and touchdowns (16), along with scoring two more full PPR points per game than the next nearest contender (Justin Jefferson).
Sometimes the temptation to build a super team is just too great. In Chase and Lamar Jackson, we have the best wide receiver in football and one of the best three quarterbacks in the league, who is arguably the best for fantasy football purposes. Jackson averaged three more fantasy points per game than Josh Allen in 2024, along with being a top-six quarterback in 75% of his starts and having eight games over 25 points.
Pairing Jackson with both Chase and Tee Higgins allows us to get the vast benefits of the Bengals’ passing game, but also having a quarterback who can generate a higher floor thanks to his rushing output, with a minimum of 695 rushing yards in all but one season.
This team is turning into an AFC North powerhouse. Stacking Zay Flowers with Jackson makes too much sense. Yes, Flowers hasn’t been the most consistent player, but he’s had over 100 targets in back-to-back seasons, and his passer rating has been above 100 when targeted in each of those years.
Flowers could also be set for positive touchdown regression after seven end-zone targets last year, but only two end-zone touchdowns. Given we’re already betting on Jackson’s ceiling, it makes sense to bet on the receiver who had a 30% first-read target share, with nobody else on the offense reaching over 16%.
DK Metcalf is a boom/bust prospect with Aaron Rodgers and Arthur Smith as potential hindrances, but as our WR4, that feels like a risk we can mitigate.
At the end of the sixth round, it’s time to start adding running backs to this Zero RB team and making sure we lock in some production. David Montgomery had 15+ touches in seven games last year and finished as a top-24 running back in all but two games.
Meanwhile, D’Andre Swift is a more polarizing player but continues to look like he’ll have the first crack at the lead back duties in Chicago, with competition only coming from Roschon Johnson and Kyle Monangai. On a Zero RB team, those early-season touches can be very valuable, particularly given we’ll be leaning rookie-heavy at the position in this draft.
We can’t afford to push tight end too far in this format, as locking in production will matter. Mark Andrews adds another stacking partner to Jackson, with the pair combining for 11 touchdowns on 15 red-zone attempts last year, which might mean regression. However, it’s also fair to point out how much Jackson still trusts Andrews and will rely upon him in big moments.
Tucker Kraft, meanwhile, was a yards-after-the-catch (YAC) monster, leading all tight ends with 50+ targets at a whopping 9.38 YAC. No other tight end had more than seven. He gives us explosiveness while Andrews brings touchdown equity.
In redraft, this would be too soon to consider a second quarterback, but in best ball, locking in our second signal-caller makes sense here. Justin Fields had career bests last year in completion rate (65.8%) and interception rate (0.6%), but disappointed in the passing touchdown department; thankfully, he had multiple games with two rushing touchdowns. Fields is an ideal QB2 to Jackson.
Austin Ekeler stands to benefit from the Commanders failing to add serious competition at the running back position. For what it’s worth, he was fairly good for his cost in 2024, with the 12th-most receiving yards among backs (366), despite ranking 31st in routes run. Ekeler had the seventh-highest target share at the position (11.4%) and ranked fourth in yards per target (8.93).
It was a little annoying to see Dylan Sampson land in Cleveland and immediately be blocked by Quinshon Judkins, as he profiled like the type of running back we would want exposure to. Still, the fact remains that with highly questionable quarterbacks, the Browns could be a very run-heavy team. At this price, Sampson could give us enough weeks to pay off, particularly if Judkins’ legal issues bring about a suspension.
Rashod Bateman is coming off a career-high 756 yards, as well as a career-high eight touchdowns. He also boasted a higher catch rate than Flowers, despite his average depth of target (aDOT) being four yards further downfield. This stack is verging on being a little over the top, but we’re building a super team and leaning into what could make it great.
We take our second and third rookie running backs at this turn, further leaning into Zero RB principles of wanting breakout profiles.
DJ Giddens and Devin Neal were both explosive players in college who can contrubute both on the ground and through the air. While their offenses have question marks and they’re both blocked by established running backs, things can change quickly. Their ability to impact the game in an instant could work well for us in best ball.
Later-Rounds
We round out this team by adding our third tight end in Mike Gesicki, further bolstering our Bengals correlation. Even without Joe Burrow, this is a sensible bet to make, as we know the Bengals’ defense will be poor and their pass-catchers will be busy.
Brashard Smith becomes our fourth rookie running back, and then wide receiver depth is added with Mike Williams and Dyami Brown, before adding a third quarterback in Bryce Young. With Jackson and Fields, we didn’t need a third, but playoff best ball can reward finding those teams that can thread the needle and get to the final week; having a third quarterback can assist that.
Draft Wizard Analysis
The Mock Draft Wizard gave us an A- grade, which feels like a good result. According to the analysis, we drafted three players in the consensus sleeper rankings and also got substantial steals on both Justin Fields and Bryce Young.
This feels like a fun team with a very high amount of upside, but it will require our rookie running backs to find their way into contributing roles as the season progresses.
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