This one is for all those people who still play in standard leagues. Yes, that includes Familialogy, that league made up of my Familia and which inspired me to name a podcast after it. I’ve been trying to get them to change to any other format: PPR, .5 PPR, even adding FAAB.
Nope. Just keep it the way it is. Muchas gracias for trying.
So I figure there are other zealots — and I say that kindly — out there who prefer the way things have always been. They like to listen to records. They write things down in a notebook. They actually hang wall calendars. Maybe even prefer listening to a baseball game on the radio. I know, don’t tell them about fast food restaurants now delivering.
Special thanks go out to Cooter Doodle’s Long Con for inspiring that introduction. Now let’s get into the parameters of this mock draft. We’ll be using Yahoo standard scoring (obviously), with the starting positions being 1-QB, 2-RB, 3-WR, 1-TE, 1-FLX, and six bench spots for 14 rounds. Since the ESPN mock draft I wrote up went from the 1.06, let’s push it back a little further to the 1.09. The pick there is far from obvious like the top three, and there will be certain points where waiting six spots between picks could result in some sniping.
The Fantasy Life Draft Champion Mock Draft Simulator will provide immediate results on each round of picks, making it easy to react in the moment and plan for the next round. Make sure to use it as much as possible after subscribing to FantasyLife+.
My draft strategy will be set to a balanced approach, to counter those standard drafters who want to go Heavy RB. Look in the mirror, you know who you are. This being standard scoring, touchdowns gain importance, though it’s still vital to look for players who touch the ball as much as possible. Who will be this year’s Raheem Mostert, that player who comes out of nowhere to be among the TD leaders? We’ll have to see.
If you'd like to see more draft info from specific draft spots, our buen amigo Chris Allen did a wonderful series on drafting from slots 1.01 to 1.12.
OK, stage is set. Time to mock draft!
Round 1: Woah, Really?
After doing best ball drafts all summer, it’s pretty jarring to see Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley as the top RB choices here at 1.09. Five RBs and three WRs were gone before this pick, which is mind boggling. With next to no chance either will be there next round, it’s time to secure that Hero RB.
I’m going with Henry, as he should have most, if not all, red-zone rush attempts, while Barkley has to deal with losing touches to Jalen Hurts and the Brotherly Shove near the goal line. Henry is more cyborg than normal human, so even at age 30 he should excel when other RBs are in committees or retired. I simply hated passing on Justin Jefferson and A.J. Brown up here, but those are the breaks when swimming in standard waters.
Round 2: Wilson!
I keep hearing Dwain McFarland and Ian Hartitz on our Fantasy Life YouTube show talking about how De’Von Achane could break fantasy with a full healthy season. Then I look at those three WR slots and I openly wonder about filling them. Achane is tempting, but memories of Aaron Rodgers feeding Davante Adams over 10 targets per game their last four years together in Green Bay keep flowing in. Looking at the WR room where WR2 Mike Williams is recovering from a torn ACL, and the idea that Wilson could approach the 168 targets from last year — this time from Rodgers — tips the scale in Wilson’s favor. This could be a Hero RB approach.
Round 3: Let’s Go, Nico
Seven WRs, eight RBs, and Josh Allen went in these next 16 picks, making a Hero RB approach harder and harder to execute. Have these virtual drafters not seen “Receiver” on Netflix? No TE has gone, which has me thinking of waiting at that position, knowing a run is coming.
While QBs Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts are recommended by the Draft Champion, we can’t be chasing at the WR position. And of the three WRs that the Draft Assistant is pumping up, Nico Collins is the only one who has caught a pass from the QB he’s paired with this season. And when the man slinging footballs is C.J. Stroud, all the better. Hola, Nico.
Round 4: Waddle, Waddle
The run on TEs is coming, but I don’t want to kick it off. With only three QBs off the board, that position can wait. I set the Draft Assistant filter to just RB and WR. Jaylen Waddle is projected to have the fewest points, but he had YRR the past two seasons of 2.59 and 2.63, respectively. And he is just a season removed from 1,356 receiving yards and 8 TDs.
I had better have the best WR room in this draft with the start these three picks gave me.
Round 5: Shake Off This TE
Anthony Richardson is calling me to go back to back after the ESPN mock, but I’ll wait there. Only one TE (Sam LaPorta) went in the last 16 picks, so a run could happen in these next few picks.
Getting Travis Kelce at pick 57 when he’s No. 46.2 by our Fantasy Life rankers is a steal. All this talk of “load management” is just that. Patrick Mahomes will fire plenty of passes his way, and getting the player I have as my TE1 here is the call. Swiftie Nation endorses this pick, too.
Round 6: Be My Nabers
Richardson is staring at me, but the goal here is to wait at QB as long as possible. Filling the flex spot with a target-earning WR before the RB2 would be a real Hero-RB move. Let’s do that here. We’ve seen the preseason highlights. Dwain’s WR Super Model told us the story months before.
Malik Nabers is one of the elite WR prospects to come out in an age when many amazing wideouts have entered the league. Take a chance on talent. Nabers is the call.
Round 7: Going off the Board
The Draft Champion offered up options that would be more attractive if Jaylen Warren weren’t set to miss a game or two (or more) with a hamstring injury. Gus Edwards and that revamped Chargers’ running game is a possibility. Javonte Williams could be available later, but there’s a need to take an RB here, and following it up with the QB who has been the darling of the fantasy analyst community (more on him in the next round).
And since the three teams following my pick already have QBs, that position can wait. So we’re going off the board with Williams, in his second year coming off surgery to repair a torn ACL. He has the best chance to be a bell cow among the running backs in this group, and if he can get back to the player who had 63 missed tackles forced and 694 yards after contact in his 2021 rookie season pre-injury, I’ll take my chances here at my RB2.
Round 8: Speaking of Talent
Jayden Daniels is the target here. Only Team 4 does not have a QB, and if I pass on Daniels, that team has two chances to grab him within the next 16 picks. Of the five QBs recommended by the Draft Champion, Daniels is projected to score 24 more fantasy points than the next player in this group, Caleb Williams.
Dwain has Daniels projected to rush for 734 yards, second most behind Lamar Jackson. Like the Nabers pick, I’m going for upside with the rookie with the high ceiling. Daniels.
Round 9: Don’t Follow Your Heart
My brain is telling me to go to the WR well, but the Draft Champion is saying that I can wait six more picks. So that might be the way to go.
This round, it comes down to a pair of committee backs with very different stories. Chase Brown was a big-play artist late last season for the Cincinnati Bengals. J.K. Dobbins has the second-round pedigree from 2020 and is just 25, though he has ACL and Achilles repairs in his injury history.
Brown is on a team that will pass the ball heavily, while Dobbins is playing in a Greg Roman offense that’s regularly among the top running teams in the NFL. Let’s go Dobbins and see what WR is waiting next round.
Round 10: Super Freak
Brian Thomas Jr. is just the type of lottery ticket to take at this point in the draft, where filling reserve spots is the goal. He’s a super-freak athlete with a 9.84 Relative Athletic Score (RAS) and is already making jaw-dropping plays in preseason action that show the talent may bear fruit at the NFL level sooner rather than later. The Draft Champion put some compelling players in this grouping, but Thomas is head and shoulders above the rest.
Round 11-14: Fill It Up
In Round 11, MarShawn Lloyd was the pick, primarily because of HC Matt LaFleur’s penchant for going with multiple running backs. The next round Tua Tagovailoa was under consideration, but Khalil Shakir won out because the Buffalo Bills have over 250 vacated targets from last year. Shakir could double the 45 targets he had last season. Maybe more.
In Round 13, I saw a need for further RB depth, and the glowing camp reports of the growth of Tank Bigsby gave him the slight nod over rookie Bucky Irving. And to close out the draft, seeking some insurance for Daniels, I was reminded that Trevor Lawrence has thrown for over 4,000 yards in consecutive seasons. It’s easy to forget that after how injured he was at the end of last season. Oh, yeah, he can be stacked with Thomas.
Final Grade: B+
I don’t mind that grade. The team is ranked third at WR and second at TE, and both are to be expected after going heavy at the wideouts and drafting Kelce early. But 11th at RB is not a surprise after ignoring the position following the opening pick with Henry.
The thirst for RBs is real in standard scoring, and waiting until the seventh round to hit RB2 gave my grade its hit. Getting a No. 9 grade at QB will be low should Daniels be more than a darkhorse candidate for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
OK, my amigos and amigas who swear by standard scoring, you’ve proven again that RBs and touchdowns are preeminent in this format. Are you happy? If not, I can help you find some touchdown-only leagues that are drafting in caves, warming themselves by a fire.
