Kevin Tompkins | Wed, Apr 8th 2026, 7:07am EDT

Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 12-Team, Early Pick (2026)

With just a couple of weeks away from the NFL Draft, it’s never too early to participate in a fantasy football mock draft and put forth all the practice now and at different points in the offseason.

Participating in mock drafts at different stages of the offseason gives us a good feel for positional value and how much players are moving up or sliding back in drafts. I had the 1.03 slot in this mock, which opened things up for players available from the second round on.

Fantasy Football Mock Draft

The lineup settings for this mock: 1-QB, 2-RB, 3-WR, 1-TE, 2-FLEX and 6 bench spots. See the results and full draft board here. Let’s dive in and see what kind of roster we can build in a PPR format at pick 1.03.

1.03: Bijan Robinson (RB – ATL)

Right now, there might not be a better volume play than Bijan Robinson in fantasy football, and that’s precisely why he’s one of the top picks. Robinson rushed for almost 1,500 yards and added 820 yards through the air on 79 receptions last season with 11 total touchdowns.

Clearly, he’s the focal point of the Falcons’ offense along with Drake London. Entering his age-24 season in 2026, we’re clearly in the prime production window for Robinson.

In his three seasons, Robinson hasn’t missed a single game. And, yes, we’re counting the one game where former head coach Arthur Smith weirdly played him during “Migraine-Gate” in 2023. Just draft Robinson and reap the benefits.

2.10: Chris Olave (WR – NO)

Entering his fourth season in 2025, we saw glimpses of Chris Olave’s potential: An analytical profile that saw Olave crest 2.05 yards per route run in all three seasons, as well as a targets per route run rate no worse than 23% in each season. His 2025 season put everything together to become one of the best receivers in football.

Olave earned 151 targets and parlayed them into 100 receptions, 1,163 yards and nine touchdowns as a true focal point of the Saints’ offense. Even better, there’s finally reason for optimism with Tyler Shough at quarterback to help support Olave with some consistency.

Everything analytically for Olave also followed in his fourth season: A very strong 25.7% targets per route run rate, a 2.00 yards per route run rate and a massive 32% first-read target rate. That’s a great profile to target at the end of the second round as your WR1 or WR2.

3.03: Tetairoa McMillan (WR – CAR)

4.10: Colston Loveland (TE – CHI)

5.03: DeVonta Smith (WR – PHI)

The two wide receivers we drafted each had at least 113 targets last season. We’re loading up here on good receivers as both Tetairoa McMillan and DeVonta Smith will be the WR2 and WR3 on this squad in most weeks. McMillan turned in a quality rookie campaign as the unquestioned top target for Bryce Young and the Panthers, and should only improve in his second season.

As it stands, DeVonta Smith is the No. 2 WR in Philadelphia, but if (or when) A.J. Brown is traded, it’s highly likely Smith assumes that top target status and runs with it. He’s always been a dependable fantasy receiver and could be much more than that if Brown is moved. If not, he’s still a clear second in the pecking order in a highly condensed Eagles passing game.

As for the tight end, Colston Loveland came on late in the regular season and playoffs to truly establish his arrival as a top playmaker for the Chicago Bears. The Bears’ passing-game pieces are on an upward trajectory as long as everything holds for 2026.

6.10: Jakobi Meyers (WR – JAX)

7.03: Bhayshul Tuten (RB – JAX)

8.10: Chuba Hubbard (RB – CAR)

These three picks will make or break this team. Jakobi Meyers established himself as a focal point of a much-improved Jaguars passing game following a midseason trade from Las Vegas. As a new favorite target of Trevor Lawrence, che an provide a strong target-earning presence on this team.

Tuten, Meyers’ real-life teammate in Jacksonville, has a leg up on his running back competition with Travis Etienne Jr. now in New Orleans. Sure, the team brought in Chris Rodriguez Jr., but Tuten should get the majority of the workload.

As for Chuba Hubbard, Rico Dowdle is in Pittsburgh, and Hubbard’s only remaining competition (for now) is Jonathon Brooks, whose knee has been shredded more than barbacoa at your favorite Mexican restaurant following two ACL tears in his right knee since 2023.

I like Hubbard’s chances at retaining the starting gig in Carolina as long as the Panthers don’t invest more running back capital in the first two days of the NFL Draft in a couple of weeks.

9.03: Caleb Williams (QB – CHI)

Caleb Williams, or “Iceman,” in the ninth round is an outright steal. Williams gives me an ascending quarterback at a value with solid rushing upside. He checks all of those boxes, having averaged over 400 yards rushing in his first two seasons, plus leveling up immensely with a 27:7 touchdown-to-interception ratio in a Ben Johnson-led offense.

The ninth round for Williams is a fantastic price, and he’s on a trajectory to be a top-five fantasy quarterback for years to come. The value can’t be any better for the offensive environment you get access to with Williams, so ride the wave. I’m saying it right now: The first Chicago Bears quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards is Williams in 2026.

10.10: Xavier Worthy (WR – KC)

11.03: Jordan Mason (RB – MIN)

While we want to write off Xavier Worthy as “another Mecole Hardman Jr.-like bust”, Worthy is entering his third season and still has the touchdown equity from being on the Chiefs and in an offense tied to Patrick Mahomes when he returns from his knee injury. I’ll take a shot on Worthy to be a bounce-back candidate at a price that’s plenty reasonable in the 10th round.

As for Jordan Mason, the Vikings brought back Aaron Jones instead of trading him, so we could have the same 1-2 punch from last season. However, with Jones another season older and further into his 30s, Mason could take hold of a bit more work.

If so, Mason will do just that in an offense that brought in Kyler Murray to compete with J.J. McCarthy for the starting quarterback gig. That should at least boost the offensive environment a bit for the Vikings and raise the touchdown equity. Mason is going to be a worthwhile Zero RB target in the mid-to-late rounds in fantasy throughout the spring and summer.

12.10: Mike Washington Jr. (RB – Arkansas)

Mike Washington Jr. crushed the Senior Bowl and then did the same at the NFL Scouting Combine, which raised his stock tremendously in that second group of rookie running backs. Which is pretty much every running back not named Jeremiyah Love.

Washington has an excellent chance to earn meaningful draft capital. Derek Brown’s dynasty rookie primer does much more justice in talking about Washington’s particular strengths.

13.03: Rashid Shaheed (WR – SEA)

14.10: Jaylin Noel (WR – HOU)

15.03: Omar Cooper Jr. (WR – Indiana)

Rashid Shaheed wasn’t too involved in the Seahawks’ offense once he was acquired from the New Orleans Saints. Shaheed’s involvement saw him used as a gadget player, with rushing attempts and line-of-scrimmage touches mixed in with downfield looks. With just a 12% targets per route run rate in his nine games as a Seahawk, he’s going to have to earn targets at a much higher clip than he did.

With Cooper Kupp another year older and now a sizable contract given to Shaheed to keep him in Seattle, it looks like the Seahawks want to use Shaheed much more. I’m willing to buy into Shaheed at a low price because somebody is going to have to get the ball outside of Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Rounding out our receiver depth is Jaylin Noel, who flashed in a limited role at times with the Texans in his rookie season. Omar Cooper Jr. should be a Day 1 or, at worst, an early Day 2 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Cooper’s draft day price will shoot up several rounds once we know his NFL landing spot.

Draft Wizard Insights

The Draft Wizard gave us an A- grade (92/100 score), projecting us as the second-highest scoring team overall. It’s a bit of a different mock than I usually like to do, but taking an anchor running back gives us that league-winning upside while still maintaining strong starters and depth elsewhere.

Pinpointing some offenses outside of the top-end options with reasonable draft capital (Carolina, Jacksonville, Chicago) lets us gain some offensive environmental advantages that, if they all hit, will supercharge this roster.

Kevin Tompkins is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Kevin, check out his profile and follow him on Bluesky @ktompkinsii.bsky.social

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