There's nothing better than getting Fantasy Life's best and brightest together for an early-offseason mock draft. The following 13-round, 12-team mock offers a glimpse of how our analysts are approaching the fantasy market ahead of 2024 NFL training camp.
It was insightful to see how different managers built their respective rosters as well as see where the rookies fit in among the veterans. With so many ways to build a successful redraft team, let's highlight some of the main takeaways.
League Notes
- League Size & Scoring: 12-team, 0.5 PPR
- Platform: Sleeper
- Starting Roster: 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex, 1 K, 1 DEF
0.5-PPR 12-Team Mock Draft
Click the draft board above to get a closer pick-by-pick look at all 12 rounds of the mock draft!
Mock Draft Recap
Round 1 felt pretty chalky across the board with Pete leading off with Christian McCaffrey. A perennial contender for Fantasy MVP, CMC turned 339 touches into 2,023 scrimmage yards and 21 total TDs last season. There's no reason he can't run it back in 2024.
The rest of the opening round consisted of three other RBs and eight WRs. It's awesome to see Puka Nucua going in the first round after his out-of-nowhere breakout campaign as a rookie. There's also hope that Garrett Wilson can bounce back with a healthy Aaron Rodgers.
Round 2 saw the first TE taken in Sam LaPorta. As a rookie, he posted a line of 86-889-10 on 120 targets. The resurgent Lions offense is legit and LaPorta should be in contention to be the first TE selected in both redraft and dynasty. I was surprised to see Nico Collins selected at 2.01, but if C.J. Stroud is the real deal the Houston passing attack will be exciting. Marvin Harrison Jr. went in Round 2, making him the first rookie to come off the board.
Rounds 3 and 4 are where things got interesting. Josh Allen, Stroud and Jalen Hurts came off board, as did Travis Kelce, Trey McBride and Mark Andrews. Those one-off positions are always tricky to navigate, and my favorite part of this mock draft was seeing how different people attacked both the QB and TE position.
In Rounds 5 and 6, it was much the same. Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Anthony Richardson joined Kyle Pitts, Dalton Kincaid and George Kittle as the singletons to come off the board.
Looking at the first half of the draft, one of the biggest surprises for me was the Tee Higgins (4.08) pick. Despite the offseason turmoil of a potential trade, it looks like Higgins will remain the WR2 for Joe Burrow. A fourth-round value on Higgins could be a steal. I was also surprised to see the full two-round difference between DJ Moore (2.06) and Keenan Allen (4.09). Both will be working with a new QB in Caleb Williams, and I think I prefer the discount on Allen vs the premium on Moore.
Also, QB5 feels weirdly disrespectful for Mahomes. I expect that Chiefs offense to bounce back from a down year by their lofty standards. Richardson going as the QB6 feels aggressive after he only appeared in four games as a rookie, but he's a fantasy cheat-code waiting to happen. In his four games, he had an 18% designed rush rate and he was a top-five QB twice.
By the end of Round 6, here are a few interesting notes:
- Four rookies were drafted
- Six teams had a QB
- Seven teams had a TE
I have to highlight Pete's and Dwain's team for a moment. Not only are they both prolific drafters and roster builders but they were randomly selected to draft right next to each other at 1.01 and 1.02, respectively.
Pete took his RB1 in the first round while Dwain waited until the fifth round. However, by the end of the ninth round, they each had three RBs, their QB and their TE. It's fascinating to follow how each of them, and the rest of the league, went after their one-off positions and RBs in particular. There's lots of wideouts out there, but the other positions can truly make or break your team.
Oct 21, 2023; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. (11) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against Army Black Knights defensive back Cameron Jones (10) during the first quarter at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports
Moving to Rounds 7 and 8, four rookie WRs came off the board in Brian Thomas, Ladd McConkey, Adonai Mitchell and Keon Coleman, along with our first two rookie RBs: Trey Benson and Jonathan Brooks. Aging veterans also started coming off the board in this range. This is the juncture of most drafts where fantasy managers have a decision to make.
Do you go with the proven commodities of veterans or do you take some chances on rookies in promising landing spots?
There's certainly more than one way to effectively build a roster, but it's worth noting the two teams that are leaning into the rookies — Pete and Dwain drafted a combined five rookies in Rounds 6-9.
The final few rounds saw managers snagging their QB and/or TE if they didn't have them already. It does feel like there's ample QB depth in single QB leagues with Jordan Love, Brock Purdy and rookie Jayden Daniels going as the QBs 10-12. Jake Ferguson is a TE pick I really like as well. He's the clear No. 2 pass-catcher in a Dallas offense that lost almost 150 targets from last year and has no legitimate run game.
One of the biggest steals of the draft came in Round 9 when Kyler Murray went as the QB9. Over the last four years, he has averaged almost 21 points per game. That's insane value, especially when you consider he'll be another year removed from his injury and he just landed the No. 1 wideout in our WR Rookie Model database.
Depending on how the offseason goes, Murray could very well be the biggest draft day bargain at QB in your redraft league this fall.
Mock drafts are always a good time, especially when you do them with people you know are capable of building strong rosters. Best of luck with your drafts this year.
Be sure to check out all the tools and resources Fantasy Life has to offer, including our Community Discord. It's a great place to hang out, ask questions and get help with those tough fantasy football decisions.
