Training camps are in full force, preseason games are (technically) underway, and the fantasy football community is doing mock draft after mock draft to prepare for the upcoming season. While anything can happen when your league’s official draft kicks off, it’s never too early to prepare for the season and see what kind of team different draft strategies can produce.
Note that this fantasy football mock draft is for one-quarterback leagues with PPR scoring and three starting receiver spots. This draft was performed on the Sleeper app.
First Round
1.01 – Ja’Marr Chase
1.02 – Bijan Robinson
1.03 – Saquon Barkley
1.04 – Justin Jefferson
1.05 – CeeDee Lamb
1.06 – Amon-Ra St. Brown
1.07 – Jahmyr Gibbs
1.08 – Ashton Jeanty
1.09 – Derrick Henry
1.10 – Puka Nacua
1.11 – Malik Nabers
1.12 – Brian Thomas
This fantasy football mock draft kicks off with one of the game’s safest picks in wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. While he’s not quite in the same unstoppable tier as Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson, he’s comfortably ahead of the next group of guys in Amon-Ra St. Brown, Puka Nacua, and Malik Nabers. Lamb is one of the game’s premier talents, has a proven connection with quarterback Dak Prescott, and should be a lock for another 30%+ target share. Possessing one of the game’s highest floors and ceilings, he’s an easy pick with the fifth-overall selection.
Second Round
2.01 – Christian McCaffrey
2.02 – Brock Bowers
2.03 – Nico Collins
2.04 – De’Von Achane
2.05 – Drake London
2.06 – A.J. Brown
2.07 – Bucky Irving
2.08 – Josh Jacobs
2.09 – Tyreek Hill
2.10 – Josh Allen
2.11 – Trey McBride
2.12 – Ladd McConkey
It feels like Josh Jacobs has been in the NFL since the dawn of time, but he’s only entering his age-27 season. After dominating during his first season with the Green Bay Packers, the former first-round pick enters the 2025 campaign with unquestioned control of this backfield. Assuming he can stay healthy, Jacobs should have another clear path to 300 touches and double-digit touchdowns.
Third Round
3.01 – Lamar Jackson
3.02 – Jonathan Taylor
3.03 – Jaxon Smith-Njigba
3.04 – Jayden Daniels
3.05 – Chase Brown
3.06 – Terry McLaurin
3.07 – James Cook
3.08 – Garrett Wilson
3.09 – Tee Higgins
3.10 – Marvin Harrison
3.11 – Joe Burrow
3.12 – Kyren Williams
Chase Brown proved himself last year, replacing longtime starter Joe Mixon and finishing the year as the RB10 in PPR scoring formats. With no notable investments in the backfield, combined with the release of veteran Zack Moss, Brown has the opportunity to replicate his RB1 finish. While the team’s offensive line leaves something to be desired, the Bengals should still have a great offense and terrible defense, which is an ideal combination for fantasy football.
Fourth Round
4.01 – Breece Hall
4.02 – Omarion Hampton
4.03 – Rashee Rice
4.04 – Kenneth Walker
4.05 – Jalen Hurts
4.06 – D.K. Metcalf
4.07 – Alvin Kamara
4.08 – Mike Evans
4.09 – George Kittle
4.10 – D.J. Moore
4.11 – Courtland Sutton
4.12 – Davante Adams
Mike Evans refuses to age, and the longtime veteran is a smart pick in the fourth round of this fantasy football mock draft. While he will turn 32 before Week 1, the future Hall of Famer remains remarkably productive and excels at finding the endzone. With Chris Godwin still rehabbing his season-ending injury, Evans should be Baker Mayfield’s favorite target for the upcoming season.
Fifth Round
5.01 – Chuba Hubbard
5.02 – James Conner
5.03 – Sam LaPorta
5.04 – David Montgomery
5.05 – Zay Flowers
5.06 – RJ Harvey
5.07 – Xavier Worthy
5.08 – Joe Mixon
5.09 – DeVonta Smith
5.10 – Tetairoa McMillan
5.11 – TreVeyon Henderson
5.12 – George Pickens
Zay Flowers doesn’t have the highest ceiling, but the reigning Pro Bowler provides a safe floor as this squad’s WR3. The Boston College product is a target machine and finished the 2024 season with a 25.7% target share, the 18th-best mark in the league. Now entering his third season, it stands to reason that the number could rise as he pushes borderline WR1 status. Even if he stays in the mid-20s, he’s a solid value at this point in the fantasy football mock draft.
Sixth Round
6.01 – Jameson Williams
6.02 – Isiah Pacheco
6.03 – T.J. Hockenson
6.04 – Chris Olave
6.05 – Travis Hunter
6.06 – Quinshon Judkins
6.07 – Patrick Mahomes
6.08 – Jaylen Waddle
6.09 – Jerry Jeudy
6.10 – Jordan Addison
6.11 – Aaron Jones
6.12 – Travis Kelce
With the wide receiver room solidified, it’s time to take a medium-risk, high-reward shot in the sixth round. Jaylen Waddle and the Miami Dolphins offense as a whole underperformed last year as a series of injuries sunk the passing attack for long stretches at a time. However, with Tua Tagovailoa healthy and Tyreek Hill another year older, Waddle could become the top option in this passing attack. Last year left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, but the Dolphins wideout has recorded at least 1,000 receiving yards in his other three seasons, including a career-best 1,356 in 2022.
Seventh Round
7.01 – Jakobi Meyers
7.02 – Baker Mayfield
7.03 – Khalil Shakir
7.04 – Chris Godwin
7.05 – Calvin Ridley
7.06 – Tony Pollard
7.07 – D’Andre Swift
7.08 – Brian Robinson
7.09 – Rome Odunze
7.10 – Bo Nix
7.11 – Kaleb Johnson
7.12 – Mark Andrews
Calvin Ridley is one of the biggest values in fantasy football and is an easy selection in the seventh round of this mock draft. First-overall pick Cam Ward will be an upgrade on second-round bust Will Levis, and Ridley should be his unquestioned go-to option for the duration of the 2025 campaign. Van Jefferson is an unremarkable veteran, and Tyler Lockett is well past his prime. Ridley recorded 1,000 yards with Levis and Mason Rudolph under center and he could easily exceed that with an improved quarterback situation.
Eighth Round
8.01 – Deebo Samuel
8.02 – Tyrone Tracy
8.03 – Jaylen Warren
8.04 – Evan Engram
8.05 – David Njoku
8.06 – Jonnu Smith
8.07 – Jauan Jennings
8.08 – Stefon Diggs
8.09 – Cam Skattebo
8.10 – Cooper Kupp
8.11 – Travis Etienne
8.12 – Matthew Golden
Full disclosure: I was hoping to draft either Evan Engram or David Njoku with this selection. However, since both players went off the board earlier in the eighth, I pivoted to another wide receiver. Stefon Diggs comes with more than his fair share of risks, but nobody else offers this type of upside at this point in the draft. Quarterback Drake Maye looked like the real deal last year, and Diggs was on fire before his season-ending injury. There is a very real chance he doesn’t recapture that form in 2025, but the upside easily justifies an investment at this stage.
Ninth Round
9.01 – Najee Harris
9.02 – Jayden Reed
9.03 – Javonte Williams
9.04 – Tyler Warren
9.05 – Jordan Mason
9.06 – Brock Purdy
9.07 – Jared Goff
9.08 – Kyler Murray
9.09 – Justin Herbert
9.10 – Josh Downs
9.11 – Brandon Aiyuk
9.12 – Caleb Williams
With the wide receiver room fully addressed and no worthy tight ends left on the board, it’s time to return to the running backs. Jordan Mason played well in relief of Christian McCaffrey last year, and the Minnesota Vikings went out of their way to acquire him a few months ago. Early camp reports indicate he and Aaron Jones will split work in 2025, which gives him some decent standalone value. However, if Jones goes down, Mason will receive a massive workload for what could be one of the game’s best offenses.
10th Round
10.01 – Ricky Pearsall
10.02 – Darnell Mooney
10.03 – Michael Pittman
10.04 – Colston Loveland
10.05 – Zach Charbonnet
10.06 – Tyjae Spears
10.07 – Rhamondre Stevenson
10.08 – Dak Prescott
10.09 – C.J. Stroud
10.10 – Emeka Egbuka
10.11 – Tucker Kraft
10.12 – Dalton Kincaid
This is why you wait on drafting quarterbacks in one-quarterback leagues. Dak Prescott may not have the same rushing upside as guys like Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, but nobody should be surprised if he puts up a top-five finish in 2025. Prescott only has one season where he started every game for the Cowboys and finished outside the top 10 at the position, and that was back in 2017. He’s a week-in, week-out set-and-forget starter in the quarterback position, and stacking him with CeeDee Lamb is an added bonus in this fantasy football mock draft.
11th Round
11.01 – Jordan Love
11.02 – Jayden Higgins
11.03 – Jake Ferguson
11.04 – Keon Coleman
11.05 – J.K. Dobbins
11.06 – Dallas Goedert
11.07 – Tre Harris
11.08 – Kyle Pitts
11.09 – Marvin Mims
11.10 – Justin Fields
11.11 – Rashid Shaheed
11.12 – Rachaad White
RJ Harvey is the running back of the future for the Denver Broncos, but J.K. Dobbins could be the running back of the present. Generally speaking, the fantasy football community falls in love with the hot new commodity and overlooks the proven veteran, and it’s happening again with Harvey and Dobbins. A late second-round pick like Harvey won’t earn the Week 1 starting job, so Dobbins will probably be the more valuable player early in the year. If he can stay healthy, he could put up a 2021 Melvin Gordon-esque season while playing behind a great offensive line and a coach who knows how to get the best out of his running backs.
12th Round
12.01 – J.J. McCarthy
12.02 – Jaydon Blue
12.03 – Luther Burden
12.04 – Drake Maye
12.05 – Bhayshul Tuten
12.06 – Tank Bigsby
12.07 – Kyle Williams
12.08 – Isaac Guerendo
12.09 – Christian Kirk
12.10 – Austin Ekeler
12.11 – Jack Bech
12.12 – Rico Dowdle
With Jordan Mason in Minnesota, Isaac Guerendo is now the top handcuff in the San Francisco 49ers backfield. Say what you will about Kyle Shanahan as a head coach, but his starting running back is always a fantasy football superstar. While Christian McCaffrey is the unquestioned starter when healthy, he has an extensive injury history and enters his age-29 season after missing most of 2024 with an Achilles injury. Guerendo made the most of his limited opportunities last year and is arguably the handcuff with the highest upside in this fantasy football mock draft.
13th Round
13.01 – Nick Chubb
13.02 – Cam Ward
13.03 – Trevor Lawrence
13.04 – Trey Benson
13.05 – Hunter Henry
13.06 – Isaiah Likely
13.07 – Zach Ertz
13.08 – Hollywood Brown
13.09 – Rashod Bateman
13.10 – Ray Davis
13.11 – Adam Thielen
13.12 – Dylan Sampson
Hunter Henry is one of the most underrated late-round tight ends available in this fantasy football mock draft. While he certainly won’t post a top-three finish, he’s as reliable as anyone left on the board. He may have lost a step, but he’s a good enough tactician to get by like Jason Witten did in his later years.
14th Round
14.01 – Breton Strange
14.02 – Michael Penix
14.03 – Tyler Allgeier
14.04 – Jaylen Wright
14.05 – Jalen McMillan
14.06 – Jerome Ford
14.07 – Cedric Tillman
14.08 – Braelon Allen
14.09 – Roschon Johnson
14.10 – Kareem Hunt
14.11 – Wan’Dale Robinson
14.12 – Xavier Legette
Breece Hall has the raw talent to be one of the league’s best three-down backs, but everything from head coach Anthony Lynn suggests this will be a running back by committee. Hall is the superior talent and pass-catcher, so he deserves the higher average draft position, but Braelon Allen will have a role in this offense. Finding running backs with guaranteed touches in the 14th round isn’t easy, so he’s a logical choice with the penultimate pick.
15th Round
15.01 – Blake Corum
15.02 – Quentin Johnston
15.03 – Justice Hill
15.04 – Jarquez Hunter
15.05 – Miles Sanders
15.06 – Dont’e Thornton
15.07 – Matthew Stafford
15.08 – DeAndre Hopkins
15.09 – DJ Giddens
15.10 – Mike Gesicki
15.11 – Pat Freiermuth
15.12 – Will Shipley
This fantasy football mock draft wraps up with Miles Sanders. Sanders, Javonte Williams, and fifth-round pick Jaydon Blue are all fighting for the starting job, and none of them are all too inspiring. Sanders is the cheapest option and will likely see some touches throughout the season.
Main Photo: Kirby Lee – Imagn Images
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