Everyone loves a fantasy football mock draft, myself included. But if you want to make the most out of your mock drafts, don’t just fire them up and see where the wind takes you. In my eyes, the best use of mock drafts is to test out different approaches. There’s no better way to evaluate a draft strategy than to do a mock using it and see how your team turns out.
Luckily, the Mock Draft Wizard makes it incredibly easy to mock with exactly your league’s settings, against either expert rankings or ADP. Today, I’m doing a 12-team, half-PPR draft with 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 1 flex, and six bench slots; I was randomly assigned the ninth pick.
The strategy I will be testing out for this draft is drafting a late-round quarterback (or quarterbacks). I love the idea of waiting on QB this year. After the big four dual-threat QBs at the top, things get very flat at the position, so we might as well wait until the late rounds. Hopefully, this strategy lives up to my expectations, and we can build a stacked team while not falling too far behind at QB. Without further ado, click here to see the full draft board and read on for my breakdown of each individual pick.
- Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2025 Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football ADP
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Late-Round QB Strategy (2025)
1.09: Nico Collins (WR – HOU)
This pick was a coin flip between Collins and Puka Nacua. I think both of these young WRs are genuinely elite talents with the potential to finish as the overall WR1. With a gun to my head, I’d take Nacua, but I’ve ended up with a lot of him in these mock drafts recently, so I figured I might as well mix it up this time and draft Collins. I will always be happy to add a guy who ranked second in PFF Grade and third in yards per route run among qualified receivers in 2024.
2.04: Chase Brown (RB – CIN)
A week ago, I probably would have taken De’Von Achane in this spot. A week from now, if his calf injury clears up, I might take Achane again. But the margins between these elite players are razor-thin, and I don’t love Achane missing practices with the season just a couple of weeks away. Instead, I’ll take Brown, who just keeps rising up my ranks. Brown finished last season on an absolute tear, seeing nearly 100% of the backfield touches in the Bengals’ elite offense. Based on preseason usage, he should run it back as a workhorse, with Samaje Perine mixing in only in clear passing situations.
3.09: Omarion Hampton (RB – LAC)
When Hampton landed with the Chargers in the first round, there was only one problem. Rookie running backs with first-round draft capital have incredible hit rates, and Hampton has workhorse size, excellent athleticism and a solid pass-catching resume. The only issue was that LA had already signed Najee Harris, and it would be very on-brand for Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman to keep their dynamic rookie off the field for the plodding vet early in the season. But Harris is still not practicing thanks to an eye injury he sustained in a July fireworks incident. The runway is entirely clear for Hampton to dominate this backfield and be an excellent fantasy option right away.
4.04: Davante Adams (WR – LAR)
I guess taking Collins over Puka worked out, as I can grab a different Rams receiver in Davante Adams. Grabbing Sean McVay’s WRs is always a good idea because his offense targets receivers more than any other team in the league. Even having lost a step from his All-Pro days, Adams should be able to provide solid fantasy stats with a steady diet of targets from Matthew Stafford.
5.09: DeVonta Smith (WR – PHI)
Smith is simply a good football player. He has been above 1.91 yards per route run for each of the last three seasons, including a career-high 2.03 mark last season. He finished last season as the WR17 in Half-PPR points per game. That number is slightly inflated by a few games played without A.J. Brown, but that contingent upside is still intact this season. Smith will also be a huge beneficiary if and when the Eagles regress to a more normal pass rate, which would make his 25% target share from last season very valuable.
6.04: Travis Hunter (WR – JAC)
At this point, I have all my starting flex positions full. With that in mind, I’m very happy to swing for pure upside with Hunter. The Heisman winner is a generational talent, and the only reason he isn’t being drafted higher is that we still don’t know exactly how his usage will be split between offense and defense. But all indications are that he will play offense first. If he makes good on his potential, Hunter could easily be a playable fantasy option on less than a full snap share.
7.09: Chris Olave (WR – NO)
Four straight WRs may feel like a lot, but you can rarely have too many good receivers in fantasy football. Olave is another talented player who would be drafted much higher if not for his situation. Downgrading Olave for his situation is totally reasonable, as it’s possible the Saints’ offense is a complete fantasy wasteland this season. But even truly terrible teams usually have at least one viable fantasy option, and I like Olave’s chances to be that for Kellen Moore and New Orleans.
8.04: Jordan Mason (RB – MIN)
Honestly, Mason isn’t someone I’ve been taking a lot of this draft season. He’s not a pass-catcher, and a healthy Aaron Jones is still the best rusher in this Vikings backfield. Of course, Jones is 30 years old and has dealt with injuries, but Mason is being drafted far above the range of pure handcuffs. With that said, this team desperately needs a third running back, and the other options available weren’t inspiring. I’ll take Mason here, even if I’m not too excited about it.
9.09: Travis Kelce (TE – KC)
Normally, I want to take an elite tight end when I plan to use a late-round QB strategy. But there are only three truly elite TEs this season, and the board didn’t line up for me to draft any of Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, or George Kittle. Instead, I’ll take a shot on a formerly elite tight end in Travis Kelce. I don’t necessarily buy the narrative that the 35-year-old is in better shape this year than he has been recently, but he did finish last year as the Half-PPR TE6 despite having clearly lost a step. Especially with Rashee Rice headed for a potentially lengthy mid-season suspension, hopefully Kelce can plod his way to another TE1 finish.
10.04: Austin Ekeler (RB – WAS)
As of this morning, Brian Robinson is officially no longer a Commander. This will push the hype for Jacory Croskey-Merritt to unprecedented heights, but it also represents at least a boost for Austin Ekeler. In three games with Robinson sidelined last season, the veteran pass-catcher averaged 14.1 Half-PPR points on an increased workload. Even if he is still mostly a passing-down specialist this season, Ekeler is a solid fill-in starter for any RB room, something this team definitely needs.
11.09: Cooper Kupp (WR – SEA)
I’m only now realizing this, but I have accidentally built a team full of former fantasy studs with Adams, Kelce, Ekeler, and now Kupp. Kupp may actually be the most washed member of this group (no small feat), but he still posted a very impressive 29% target per route run rate in 2024. I don’t expect him to keep that up in his new home in Seattle, and Sam Darnold is a downgrade from Stafford. But maybe Kupp can bring just enough of his old target-dominant self to be a usable option this season … although in hindsight, this pick probably should have been another RB.
12.04: Brock Purdy (QB – SF)
As this draft continued, I started to hope that I could have my cake and eat it too with Kyler Murray or Justin Fields as my late-round quarterbacks. Both of those guys have excellent dual-threat upside, and they were both available when I selected Ekeler in the 10th. Unfortunately, they were both gone by the time I was up in Round 11, with Fields in particular going just one pick too early. However, if I’m going to be the last team to select a QB in the second-to-last round of the draft, ending up with Purdy is a very solid consolation prize. Purdy finished as the QB6 in 2023, then managed a QB1 season in points per game last season despite the 49ers dealing with an absurd rash of injuries. He might not have truly elite upside, but he should hold down my QB1 spot comfortably.
13.09: Drake Maye (QB – NE)
Maye brings the upside Purdy lacks, having trailed only fellow rookie Jayden Daniels with a 10.8% scramble rate in 2024. He was also shockingly consistent in his fantasy performances, albeit consistently mediocre. Maye’s situation has greatly improved with the arrivals of Stefon Diggs, TreVeyon Henderson, and Josh McDaniels. Hopefully, he takes a step forward and eventually makes Purdy unnecessary for this late-round QB team.
Final Thoughts
Honestly, I don’t love this team. However, I don’t think the late-round QB approach is to blame. Purdy and Maye are a solid pairing, and it only took my final two picks to land them. It’s the rest of the roster that lets this team down. I do love my high-end talent, but my running back room is very underwhelming for a team without a high-end QB or a high-end TE. In a real league, I would probably be looking to swap a receiver or two for depth at other positions after just a week or two. Thankfully, this is just a mock, so I can chalk it up as a learning experience and move on.
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Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasyPros.com. Find him on Twitter and Bluesky @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.
