This is it, folks - we have LESS than a week until the NFL season kicks off next Wednesday with a New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl rematch. This weekend is a three-day weekend here in the United States, making it the biggest fantasy football draft weekend of the year. And, to get you guys ready for that, we did one final mock draft with the Fantasy Alarm family to make sure everyone got a good look at the current state of affairs.

This is a pretty traditional PPR league with the following roster spots:

  • 1 QB
  • 2 RB
  • 3 WR
  • 1 TE
  • 1 FLEX
  • 1 DST
  • 1 K
  • 6 Bench

If you’d like to see the full video with my thoughts covering strategy, some of the sleeper picks, and the draft itself, it is embedded below or can be viewed at this link. A bigger version of the draft board can also be found here. 

In this article, I’ll break down which teams did which type of roster construction builds and how well they executed. I’ll also list some of the sleepers, rookies, and generally hyped players at the bottom and where they went so you can be prepared to reach for those guys this weekend if you want them!

 

Balanced Builds

AFREED23, Pick 2 

It’s not always easy to create a “balanced” team when you take a tight end in round two, but the two-spot pulled it off pretty well here. Their eight core starting spots were all accounted for within the first eight rounds. I usually don’t take a defense that early, and it can hurt that no other DST went for almost four rounds' worth of picks, but if I’m taking the first D, it’s the Rams. This team may need to focus on RB on the wire early, as Alvin Kamara is set to miss time and Chuba Hubbard has some uncertainty. 

MileHighStello, Pick 5 

Your own risk tolerance will dictate whether or not you believe this team is “balanced” or not. I’m willing to make the leap on MarShan Lloyd sight unseen, but others might not be able to stomach him as their RB2. The drafter did circle back for Chris Rodriguez, who should offer some floor, but they could really benefit from one of their upside-stab RBs hitting on the bench. With a guy like Lloyd, if you want him, you may need to start considering him in rounds 5-6 as he went here. The upside is there, as we’ll discuss below. 

Bcrich3. Pick 6 

If the Pick 5 team is thin at RB, this one is cutting it close at WR. The build is generally balanced, but they opted for Alec Pierce and Jordyn Tyson as their WR3 and WR4. Tyson is expected to miss up to two months, while Pierce just returned from missing virtually the entire offseason. I think it was really smart of this drafter to grab Khalil Shakir as their WR5, who might not be the sexiest pick, but it balances out their WR group. 

AndrewCooper, Pick 7 

This was my team, and I ended up doing a rare balanced build - usually I lean into or away from particular positions to create leverage. I took an early TE, which I rarely do, as well as a fairly safe QB in Dak Prescott (I later swung back for some upside with Kyler Murray). I did wait on running back but got Bucky Irving as a safe-ish play, then tried to balance upside and risk with the risky TreVeyon Henderson vs. the more conservative Rico Dowdle or Aaron Jones picks. My draft was the closest to a Zero RB draft we got, which is odd for a 12-team league. 

JonyMaine37, Pick 10 

Another good illustration of how easy it can be to draft a balanced team. This one kind of flirted with Hero RB, but Jadarian Price and Jaylen Warren are both starting back in theory. It really makes life easy if you are okay taking a quarterback in the QB7-12 range, as getting Jalen Hurts in the eighth round covered a need fairly late with an every-week starter. 

Trusso76, Pick 12 

This team made some pretty smart roster construction moves here. They started RB-RB, which I like at the 12 spot. Then they took the shot on Emeka Egubka, who is dealing with a toe injury. What happens next always determines whether I’ll like the team or not. With this team, they took another upside stab on Carnell Tate but then came back with two very safe plays in Josh Downs and Michael Pittman. They really just need ONE of Egbuka or Tate to hit now, and they have their 3 WRs and, if they both hit, the upside is big. Many teams will neglect to grab enough safety and just go pure upside, but not this one.

 

 

 

Robust RB Builds

Iceethruu, Pick 9 

This team shows why so many folks are going Robust RB this year. The drafter took three RBs in the first four rounds yet still got CeeDee Lamb, Rome Odunze, and Brian Thomas as their WRs. And they also ended up with a top 5-7 QB in Caleb Williams and Harold Fannin. They may have sacrificed some upside RB and WR picks to get the QB and TE, but they turned a strategy that is usually unbalanced into a fairly balanced one. 

Hero RB Builds

War319, Pick 3

The three-spot let the draft fall to them, taking the best available player for the first six rounds, which happened to include five wide receivers. They managed to grab one of the better “handcuff plus” players in Kenny Gainwell while also grabbing the presumed starter for Denver in JK Dobbins. Allegeier could be startable early, and Keaton Mitchell, while nicked up now, has big handcuff upside. I like that they laid off WRs after their start and focused on the rest of their roster, including double-tapping QB.

Late TE Builds

Jhdoubleu2, Pick 1

I liked what they did at the start of their draft here, getting their core roster spots locked down (including QB). After taking a “safe” pick in Pollard, they did a good job of looking for upside with RJ Harvey and two handcuffs in Bijan Robinson and Malik Davis. The one thing I would have liked to see them do is take a high-risk, high-reward tight end instead of one of Cooper Kupp, Kimani Vidal, and Travis Hunter. Those guys have a pretty uphill battle for playing time themselves, let alone cracking a roster. Jake Ferguson is a bit too “safe but boring” as a standalone tight end for me. 

Majstanley, Pick 8

I really like how this team came together even if they took a couple RBs I don’t usually take: Jeremiyah Love and Travis Etienne (though the Josh Jacobs pick I believe was an auto-draft). They were able to get great WRs, RBs with upside, and a top-5 QB in Joe Burrow. They then did a little Yin & Yang TE with Dalton Kincaid as a floor play and Isiah Likely as a bit of a riskier upside play. The fact that you can wait that long and pull that off is why I don’t usually take tight end early.  

 

 

 

Late QB Builds

Obiwanoutlaw, Pick 11

This team looks a LOT like one I would draft - with one exception. I love starting RB-RB. They did a great job of loading up at WR (including Chris Godwin, who I have a lot of). And, despite waiting, they got a rock-solid QB in Trevor Lawrence. The one thing I would do differently is I would have taken another upside shot at tight end on the bench to go along with Travis Kelce. Kelce is not only more of a possession receiver these days, but he also has the first bye week of any team in Week Five, so you’re going to need another TE anyway. 

Hamburgler23, Pick 4 

This team is a good example of why I wait on QB. Don’t let a bunch of QBs flying off the board pressure you, as there are some gems to be had later on. Pick 4 opted to load up on the other positions, including a high-end tight end, then still got Jaxson Dart, whose mobility offers both floor and ceiling. These are the types of builds I often feel best about. 

Where Did The Hype/Sleeper/Rookie Picks Go?

Luther Burden, WR, CHI, Pick 4.8 

This is probably the first of the unknown hype guys to come off the board, though, with DJ Moore gone, he probably does have a better floor than folks give him credit for. You need to draft him as a starter most likely if you want him.

MarShawn Lloyd, RB, GB, Pick 5.5 

This pick is both simultaneously shocking and not shocking given the Josh Jacobs news. I’d much rather have him in my flex or, ideally, as an upside bench play, but that might not be an option, as you saw here.

Bhayshul Tuten, RB, JAX, Pick 6.1 

Tuten is the more exciting, explosive player. But Chris Rodriguez knows Liam Coen from their time at Kentucky and could edge Tuten out for meaningful work. If you want access to the upside of Tuten, you need to use a meaningful pick on him. 

Jonathon Brooks, RB, CAR, Pick 7.11 

High risk/high reward pick: Jadarian Price has gone around this range all summer, but steam for Brooks has gained to the point where you need to take him ahead of Chuba Hubbard in the 6-8 round range if you want him - possibly earlier.

KC Concepcion, WR, CLE, Pick 8.5 

The drumbeat has steadily grown for two rookie WRs in the middle rounds. KC Concepcion is one. I’d still rather have him as my WR4 or WR5, but he’s getting close to WR3 territory in drafts. 

De'Zhaun Stribling, WR, SF, Pick 9.4 

This is the other hyped mid-range rookie. He’s even more dangerous because this team uses a fullback and multiple tight ends, so it’s basically Stribling vs. Deebo Samuel to be the guy opposite Mike Evans. The odd man out will be in a tough spot. 

Mike Washington, RB, LV, Pick 10.1 

With the Ashton Jeanty ankle issues, the super speedy Washington went from a last-round handcuff to a mid-round dart throw, hoping he can carve out a role. 

Malik Willis, QB, MIA, Pick 11.5 

Malik Willis has mobile upside, which makes him a guy who really can go anywhere after the first abc of QBs. In this draft, he actually went AHEAD of guys like Trevor Lawrence, Jaxson Dart, and Kyler Murray, which you don’t see that often.

Ja'Kobi Lane, WR, BAL, Pick 12.1 

One of my favorite picks, as usually both Rashod Bateman and Elijah Sarratt go undrafted. So I take a stab at Lane then; based on what happens in Week One, we may pivot to whoever gets more work. 

Terrance Ferguson, TE, LAR, Pick 13.5 

Probably more of a “handcuff plus” play waiting for a WR injury; Ferguson has a ton of contingent upside if either Davante Adams or Puka Nacua goes down. We will find out quickly how much standalone value he has. 

Caleb Douglas/Chris Bell, WR, MIA, Round 13 

I’ll lump these guys together because the bet is the same - who will actually catch passes on this team? You can throw Malik Washington and Greg Dulcich in there too after they moved on from most of the veterans they brought in, like Tutu Atwell and Terrace Marshall. 

George Holani 

I love this pick very late, especially if you have settings where you can drop guys from your bench if they already played, since Holani plays the very first game. I’ve got leagues where I picked Holani instead of a kicker so I can see if he can split this backfield in Week One. If he does, great; if not, we drop him.