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. The best way to use mock drafts is to test out different approaches. There’s no better way to evaluate a draft strategy than to do a fantasy football mock draft using your intended strategy to see how your team turns out.
Luckily, our mock draft wizard makes it incredibly easy to mock with exactly your league’s settings, against either expert rankings or consensus average draft position (ADP). Today, I’m doing a 12-team, half-PPR draft with the following roster settings: 1-QB, 2-RB, 3-WR, 1-TE, 1-Flex and six bench slots. I’m drafting from the first-overall pick, which I promise was randomly assigned.
- Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2025 Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football ADP
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Mock Draft
The strategy I will be testing out for this draft is streaming quarterbacks. I love the idea of a late-round quarterback build this year. After the big four dual-threat quarterbacks at the top, things get very flat at the position. There are still high upside options that go undrafted in normal-sized leagues, let alone last 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 quarterback. Without further ado, click here to see the full draft board and read on for my breakdown of each pick.
1.01: Ja’Marr Chase (WR – CIN)
There’s not much to say about this one. After a historic 2024 season, Ja’Marr Chase is the consensus first-overall pick in all formats. He’s number one in my rankings, too, and I am always happy to draft him when given the opportunity.
2.12: Trey McBride (TE – ARI)
Normally, I might not have taken Trey McBride here. However, in drafts where I plan to punt one of the two one-off positions (quarterback/tight end), I like getting an elite option at the other one. I might have to spend two roster spots all year filling my quarterback position, but McBride provides peace of mind for my tight end slot.
3.01: Kyren Williams (RB – LAR)
This was my first real decision of the draft. Technically, my rankings have Ladd McConkey ahead of Kyren Williams. However, I knew that if I drafted McConkey here, I would feel forced to take two running backs at the next turn or fall behind at the position.
With the late-round quarterback approach still in the back of my mind, I didn’t want to have to stress about a second position. Especially given that he was just given a vote of confidence in the form of a new contract, I love Williams’ chances to run it back as an absolute workhorse and fantasy stud in this Rams offense.
4.12: James Conner (RB – ARI)
Speaking of workhorses and fantasy studs, we have James Conner. He doesn’t get the headlines, but Conner is genuinely one of the best backs in the NFL. He ranked sixth in Pro Football Focus rush grade last season.
Despite not having a reputation as a dual-threat running back, Conner also ranked seventh at the position in yards per route run. It’s a little concerning that his age now starts with a “3,” but he hasn’t shown signs of slowing down yet, so I’ll happily grab him as my RB2.
5.01: DK Metcalf (WR – PIT)
Once again, I found myself faced with a tough decision to finish off a turn. I like a lot of the receivers available in this range, from DeVonta Smith to Xavier Worthy to Tetairoa McMillan. But DK Metcalf has absolutely no competition to be Aaron Rodgers‘ top target this season. That honor isn’t as valuable as it once was, but it should still be enough for him to provide a solid season.
6.12: Jaylen Waddle (WR – MIA)
With that said, DK Metcalf still didn’t feel great as my second wide receiver. Waddle falling all the way around to the end of the sixth makes my wide receiver room a lot more comfortable.
Waddle’s 2204 was a massive disappointment, but the 26-year-old has been a hugely efficient receiver in every other year of his career. Especially with the vibes around Tyreek Hill getting worse every day, I love Waddle’s chances to bounce back as a quality fantasy contributor in this Mike McDaniel offense.
7.01: Tyrone Tracy Jr. (RB – NYG)
Tyrone Tracy keeps rising up my rankings as we get reports saying he is ahead of rookie Cam Skattebo in the Giants’ backfield. Of course, a lot can change between August and when fantasy football championships are won, and rookies tend to climb depth charts as the year progresses.
Tracy is only heading into his second season. Especially in a half-PPR format, I like his chances to fill one of this team’s Flex spots for the long haul.
8.12: Jauan Jennings (WR – SF)
I’m officially starting to get just the smallest bit worried about Jauan Jennings’ calf injury/contract situation. Not worried enough, though, to pass on him at the end of the eighth round. At the end of the day, I expect Jennings to be on the field wearing a 49ers jersey in Week 1.
The last time we saw him on the field, Jennings averaged 11.5 half-PPR points, the 28th-most of any wideouts. That was with either Deebo Samuel or Brandon Aiyuk (or both) present for all of those games, both of whom will be absent to start San Francisco’s season. I will happily grab Jennings as my WR4 and final starting Flex player.
9.01: Matthew Golden (WR – GB)
Now that I’ve got my starting lineup filled, it’s time to swing for upside (not that you shouldn’t be swinging for upside from the moment the draft starts). And nobody left on the board has more upside than Matthew Golden.
The speedy junior out of Texas wasn’t necessarily expected to go in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. But he did, and all he has done since then is earn absolute rave reviews out of Green Bay’s camp. At this rate, he might start the season as the Packers’ No. 1 WR. He will at least get a chance to claim that job by the time the season starts..
10.12: Tyler Allgeier (RB – ATL)
Normally, when I land a certain player in essentially every single mock draft, I take it as a sign that I should move them down my ranks. But I’m happy to end up with Tyler Allgeier just about every single time.
Allgeier doesn’t have standalone value while Bijan Robinson is healthy, but I shouldn’t need that on this team. Instead, I love that Allgeier is one of the best handcuff running backs in the league. He has starter-level talent and will have no competition if Robinson is sidelined.
11.01: Bhayshul Tuten (RB – JAX)
If we’re being honest, I probably would have chickened out and taken a quarterback (or two) at this turn if this were a real draft. But the whole point of this exercise is to try extreme strategies and see how they work out.
With that in mind, it’s time for another upside swing with Jacksonville’s rookie running back Bhayshul Tuten. Time and again, targeting players from ambiguous backfields has proven to be a profitable fantasy strategy, especially when those players are young and explosive. There are plenty of scenarios where Tuten remains buried behind Travis Etienne and/or Tank Bigsby, but there are also realistic scenarios where he is a league-winner.
12.12: Justin Fields (QB – NYJ)
Well, now I’m glad that I held my nerve and waited another round on quarterbacks. I wanted to land at least one of Fields or Brock Purdy. Purdy unfortunately went just one pick before this, but Fields was actually my preference between the two, so I am not going to complain.
At the end of the day, we know that rushing quarterbacks are a fantasy football cheat code. And we know that Fields is going to run. Even in his training wheels stint as the Steelers’ starter last season, he averaged a very solid 19.1 points per game. He is my absolute favorite target when waiting on quarterback this year.
13.01: Dak Prescott (QB – DAL)
With that said, Justin Fields does come with some risk. I was tempted to double down on high-risk, high-reward quarterbacks with Drake Maye, but I decided to instead do the sensible thing and select Dak Prescott to pair with Fields.
Prescott also has some sneaky upside himself. The last time Brian Schottenheimer was calling plays for the Cowboys, Prescott finished as the QB3 overall with 20+ points per game. As long as he can return to his pre-injury form, it’s not at all absurd to imagine him having another big season throwing the ball to CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
14.12: DJ Giddens (RB – IND)
In a real draft, I probably would have taken Jacory Croskey-Merritt here. But the ADP I was drafting against probably hasn’t sufficiently accounted for the momentum Croskey-Merrit’s hype train has gained recently; I doubt he would be available here in a real draft.
Instead, I drafted DJ Giddens. At worst, Giddens is an explosive rookie with an inside track to being Jonathan Taylor‘s handcuff. At best, he could have fringe standalone Flex value in what should be a run-heavy offense.
Final Thoughts
Honestly, this is about as good as a late-round quarterback approach can go. I grabbed an elite tight end and filled my starting flex spots with solid options early. That allowed me to stuff my bench with upside gambles, and I was still able to grab a very solid quarterback tandem in Fields and Prescott.
Teams like this are why, if you don’t land a top-four passer early on, I recommend waiting to be one of the last managers in your league to select a quarterback.
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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.
