There is no better way to test out your fantasy football draft strategies each year than by entering some fantasy football mock drafts. You've built out your fantasy football player rankings and you have your fantasy football player projections in order but it's not until you are actually in a fantasy football draft do you get a true feel for where players are going to be taken and what type of team you are able to build. So far in the FREE Fantasy Alarm Draft Guide we've provided plenty of article content from draft strategies to dynamic tier rankings for each position as well as breaking down sleepers, busts and rookies. Our Fantasy Alarm Staff Mock Draft gives you a look at how we would go about drafting our rosters while applying the concepts and content from the draft guide.

Check out the draft board below as well as commentary from each team on their draft strategy, their favorite pick of the draft and least favorite pick of this 2022 fantasy football mock draft.

 

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Analysis

Pick: 1 - Matt Selz

For me, having the first pick meant locking in Jonathan Taylor. In terms of bell cow backs, he’s basically unchallenged in workload and doesn’t have injury concerns like some others do. After that it was just letting the draft fall to me. I went more upside with the wideouts knowing it’s a PPR format which makes me comfortable starting Deebo Samuel, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Chase Claypool on my roster. Round 7 is a bit early for me to normally take a TE but Dalton Schultz was the last of the top-six at the position still on the board so I had to snatch him up.

Favorite Pick: Mac Jones (Andrew Cooper Rd. 18)

Jones was the 16th highest-scoring QB last year and will improve this year to be sure. Getting a burgeoning QB1 in the third-to-last round is a steal, especially coming off the board after Jared Goff and Zach Wilson.

Least Favorite Pick: Breece Hall (Pete Cole Rd. 2)

Pete picked the oft-injured Christian McCaffrey in the first round at 1.2. Pairing an injury risk like CMC with a rookie without a clear role in the offense for the start of the running back spot is risky to say the least. Guys like J.K. Dobbins, David Montgomery, Miles Sanders, and Elijah Mitchell all came off the board after Hall.

Pick: 2 - Pete Cole

I mixed youth and age early- taking Breece Hall in the 2nd round to team up with Christian McCaffrey and then a 3rd round pick Tyreek Hill as a wild card. This is a boom or bust team. 

Favorite Pick: Josh Allen (Dan Servodidio Rd. 2)

My strategy going into this draft was to grab an elite QB early with Josh Allen as the target but unfortunately, Servo snagged him two picks before me.

Least Favorite Pick: Mike Evans (Justin Fensterman Rd. 2)

Sniped back-to-back picks. With Mike Evans expected to see tremendous volume in Tampa Bay with Godwin hurt and Gronk retired he was the next man on my board but he was taken the pick right before me. 

Pick: 3 - Justin Fensterman

Only having to start two wide receivers gave me the flexibility to go heavy on running backs early and I feel very safe with the RB group I ended up with. I was happy to be able to hook Mike Evans with Tom Brady and double down on the Evans pick even though it wasn't my intention to do so. 

Favorite Pick: Jaylen Waddle (Adam Ronis Rd. 4)

My favorite pick was Adam Ronis' fourth-round pick of Jaylen Waddle (please don't tell him I think this). Waddle was great value in this draft and it likely had to do with the default draft rankings as Waddle was way down the board which is unlike where he tends to be ranked on other platforms.  Smart move by Ronis to  “know the platform”. 

Least Favorite Pick: DK Metcalf (Dan Servodidio Rd.5)

Who is playing QB for the Seahawks this season? Poor QB play impacts the value of the receivers on the field and there is just too much risk for me given the situation in Seattle for me to invest in their receivers.

Pick: 4 - Dan Servodidio

Josh Allen in the second round might be a bit early, but I wanted to ensure I locked down a top-tier quarterback to trust week in and week out in a deep 14-team like this one. The same goes for the tight end position with George Kittle in the fourth. Those early picks may have hurt my RB and WR depth or overall talent, but I still like the upside/safety combo at those positions. I personally love the value I got with D.K. Metcalf in the 5th Round and then Tyler Boyd in the 10th. 

Favorite Pick: Cordarrelle Patterson ( Kevin Tompkins Rd. 7)

My favorite pick on another team is Cordarrelle Patterson by Kevin Tompkins. Although everyone expects Patterson to lose the job or fail to replicate last year’s numbers, he’s still the Falcons’ starting RB and could prove to be a steal in 7th Round.

Least Favorite Pick: Brandon Aiyuk (Dan Servodidio Rd. 8)

My least favorite pick on my own team would have to be Brandon Aiyuk, as there’s risk with the uncertainty of the 49ers’ QB situation and whether Trey Lance will look his way enough to trust in my own lineup. Plus, drafting Kittle and Aiyuk on the same squad could come back to bite me. 

Pick: 5 - Adam Ronis

The room overvalued the running back position early, even in a league with two starting wide receivers and one flex. Instead of going with the group in the first few rounds, I took three receivers in the first four rounds and landed a top running quarterback. It leaves me weak at RB2, but I will find a way to bolster it. Always be flexible in drafts and take the value that falls.

Favorite Pick: Rashod Bateman (Howard Bender Rd. 5)

He just fell too far at pick 59. He will get a 25 percent target share and went behind several receivers I have below him in my fantasy football player rankings for this season.

Least Favorite Pick: Ezekiel Elliott (Britt Flinn Rd. 2)

Ezekiel Elliott should not go at 19. Even if last season was attributed mainly to injuries, there were so many receivers that are safer. Several running backs were overdrafted in round two.

Pick: 6 - Ryan Hallam

I used a draft strategy that I often try to use in one-quarterback leagues, which is grab two running backs early, and then go to wide receivers. There are so few settled running back situations in the NFL these days that I want to start my draft with two guys that I can count on, unless an elite-level wide receiver were to fall in my lap. With Derrick Henry and Cam Akers I got two guys I feel like I can trust. For a full-point PPR league, I think I did very well with three wide receivers who get a ton of volume in Keenan Allen, Diontae Johnson, and Amon-Ra St. Brown. With Matthew Stafford at the helm at quarterback, I feel like this team should easily compete. 

Favorite Pick: James Cook (James Cook Rd. 8)

My favorite pick, which I feel should be a mid to late pick, is going to be James Cook by Babyface James Grande. Buffalo has a great offense, but they don't have a running back you can trust in my opinion. Devin Singletary was better last year, but I think Cook has a chance to carve out a real role for himself early in the year. 

Least Favorite Pick: Michael Thomas (James Grande Rd. 5)

My least favorite pick, which I feel should be an early pick, is gonna be Michael Thomas by Grande again. I know there's an Instagram video that shows him running some, but I am out on this guy. How he isn't just ready to play after nearly two years on the sidelines is beyond me. There's a lot of uncertainty with the Saints this season, and Thomas in the fifth was a bit too early for me with the big injury concerns. 

Pick: 7 - Jon Impemba

This was the first time in any draft that I have been part of that I was drafting from the middle so my strategy coming in was a little bit of an unknown. What I did know was that I wanted to grab running backs early because in a 14-team draft the depth goes quick. Being able to grab Dalvin Cook at pick 7 felt like a nice value.  This is a player that had been routinely going among the top 4 picks over the past few years and still finds himself in an offense that will give him plenty of usage and touchdown potential. I followed the pick of Cook by selecting James Conner. Conner had a monster year when it comes to red zone scoring as he rushed for 15 touchdowns. Now, I don't know if he matches the 15 scores this season but knowing he is the lead back in Arizona this year should bode well for his yardage potential even if the touchdowns regress a bit. After those two picks my draft board is really full of “my guys”. I've been very high on Jalen Hurts coming into this season after the Eagles acquired AJ Brown so  I drafted both of them. I've also been Team Jerry Jeudy over Team Courtland Sutton in drafts as Jeudy tends to go a bit after and I think is the more talented player. 

Favorite Pick: Jalen Tolbert (Adam Ronis Rd. 11)

Michael Gallup may not be ready to start the season and Tolbert has been running with the first team offense during training camp. The Cowboys traded away Amari Cooper and lost Cedrik Wilson in free agency. The door is wide open for the rookie third-rounder to get his feet wet in an offense that should produce plenty of points and yards through the air and you are getting him for a nice value here in this 14-team draft.

Least Favorite Pick: Marquez Callaway (Matt Selz Rd. 12)

I'm just not sure the role Callaway is going to be playing on this Saints team this season. They are expecting Michael Thomas back. They signed Jarvis Landry. They used a first-round pick on Chris Olave.  Where does Callaway fit in that equation? Just not a guy that is on my draft board.

Pick: 8 - Andrew Cooper

This isn’t a typical team I would draft but, then again, a 14-team league with some of the sharpest fantasy gamers out there isn’t a typical league. I took the best player available to start with Joe Mixon and got a steal on the way back in Davante Adams. Since it’s a four-point passing league, I decided to get QB out of the way early and lean into my strengths by waiting on tight end. The biggest regret was not taking Rashod Bateman to stack with Lamar Jackson - I love Adam Thielen but Bateman should be going before him. My favorite play was pairing Cole Kmet with Evan Engram at tight end. With that move, I was able to wait on tight end and still get two upside plays that both have a chance to be top two targets on their team which is one of the most important qualifiers for elite tight ends.

 Favorite Pick: CeeDee Lamb (Adam Ronis Rd. 2)

Sometimes things just work out perfectly. In this case, noted Cowboys fan Adam Ronis miraculously got CeeDee Lamb at pick 2.10. This is an important lesson in knowing your platform because the ADP for Lamb was buried on this site but it didn’t get by Ronis. In his first two years, Lamb would play slot but come out of the games at times in favor of Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup for two wide receiver sets, capping his upside. Now Amari is gone and Gallup could start the season on the PUP list. The Cowboys have been a top five passing offense two years in a row now so Lamb is in the conversation for WR1 overall. And he went here with pick 22.

Least Favorite Pick: Alvin Kamara (Howard Bender Rd. 2)

The problem with picking Alvin Kamara right now is we are almost positive that he’s going to get suspended but we have no idea for how long. The assumption is that he’ll get at least six games given the current climate. Calvin Ridley is suspended for the whole season for playing Draft Kings. I know Kamara is capable of being the best running back at any given moment but a guy like DeAndre Hopkins is capable of being the best wide receiver at any given moment and he didn’t go until the seventh round. I think once we get an official number for his suspension, he will officially move a lot farther down in where he’s being drafted than the second round.

 

Pick: 9 - Colby Conway

Man, running backs went quick, huh!? Overall, I like my team, and my first four picks are money in the bank. Yes, it's a PPR format, but Chubb is so dang good that it doesn't matter. My wide receivers are going to be the strength of this team, and if Chase Edmonds hits as "the guy" in Miami, I have a deadly 1-2 punch at the running back position. Running back depth could be a problem, but that's what the waiver wire is for, right? Right? The last domino for this team would be Jimmy G. getting the heck out of San Francisco for Lance to shine as a dual-threat QB, but Matt Ryan is a fine backup option if needed.

Favorite Pick: CeeDee Lamb (Adam Ronis Rd. 2)

I almost took CeeDee Lamb at 2.06, and he would have been a steal there. So, for Adam Ronis to get him four picks later is absolutely exceptional value. Lamb has all the upside and talent in the word, and that talent will finally mesh with a heaping target share, en route to fantasy gold. Honorable mentions: Cole Kmet (Rd. 8) and Chris Olave (Rd. 9).

Least Favorite Pick: Jared Goff (Britt Flinn Rd. 15)

Jared Goff. He's a second quarterback in a 1QB league, and I do get the appeal. However, he's just not my cup of tea, and other QBs that went after Goff include Zach Wilson, Daniel Jones and Mac Jones, all of which I'd rather have over Goff

Pick: 10 - Britt Flinn

I think my team is solid and has a lot of upside with picks like Treylon Burks, Elijah Moore, Christian Kirk, and Darrel Williams rounding out the starting roster. If Williams slots into the Chase Edmonds role in Arizona, he could be the steal of the draft in full PPR leagues. Chris Carson could be a sneaky addition to the team if he gets over his neck issue, and in the last round, there's nothing really to lose.

Favorite Pick: Allen Robinson (Justin Fensterman Rd. 4)

I love Justin Fensterman's Allen Robinson selection in the late fourth round (24th wide receiver overall). The Rams supported two top fantasy wide receivers before Robert Woods' ACL injury, and there's no reason they shouldn't be able to this year with Robinson. As 24th overall, this is an absolute steal.

Least Favorite Pick: Lamar Jackson (Andrew Cooper Rd. 3)

I can't tell if Andrew Cooper is a genius or a madman taking Lamar Jackson as the QB2 overall, especially after the Ravens lost Marquise Brown. If Baltimore can return to the top three in the league in rush attempts, the finish isn't out of the question, but I think he reached a little too much for a "what if" scenario.

Pick: 11 - Howard Bender

I wanted to go with a more traditional route for this mock draft and loaded up on running backs and wide receivers early and let the chips fall where they may with regard to quarterbacks and tight ends. I took on a little added risk with the Alvin Kamara pick in the second round, not knowing his potential suspension status, and I probably should have hit the running back position again in either the third or fourth round, especially with this being a 14-teamer, but overall, I think I accomplished what I wanted to do and post up a competitive team.

Favorite Pick: Jarvis Landry (Andrew Cooper Rd. 9)

He is routinely undervalued and should have a strong season in New Orleans. We're still not 100% sold on Michael Thomas and his return from another ankle surgery, let alone his desire to even keep playing football, and Chris Olave still has plenty to learn as a rookie. Landry could be Jameis Winston's bread and butter this season.

Least Favorite Pick: Josh Allen (Dan Servodidio Rd. 2)

Especially in a 14-team league, I don't like the QB pick in the second round when there was so much RB and WR talent available. The difference in fantasy points between Allen and someone like Dak Prescott or Matthew Stafford doesn't seem to give you as much of an edge as say grabbing a top TE like Travis Kelce versus a Dallas Goedert, so I'd prefer to have the runner or receiver that early.

Pick: 12 - Justin Vreeland

Love the values I got on Ja'Marr Chase and Mark Andrews. I have a top-3 player at three positions (4 if you count DST). I don't love Clyde Edwards-Helaire as my RB2, but hopefully, he or Dameon Pierce would work out.

Favorite Pick: Tee Higgins and Hunter Renfrow (Colby Conway Rd.3 & Rd. 7)

Great value for both, especially given the 14-team format. Higgins is maybe the best WR2 in all of football and Renfrow is a great value in the mid-rounds and should still see a nice target share even with Davante Adams now in Las Vegas.

Least Favorite Pick: Early Running Back Picks of James Conner, Ezekiel Elliot and Cam Akers (Rd.2)

Felt these were reaches where they went in the second round as all come with risk and regression potential.

Pick: 13 - Kevin Tompkins

With my draft, Travis Kelce was an easy choice at 1.13 and in a 14-team draft and getting an anchor running back was pretty essential coming back early in Round 2. From there, it was hammering wide receivers and a stack partner for one of them at quarterback — which was Courtland Sutton and Russell Wilson back to back in Rounds 4-5. After that, targeting upside and later floor values like Jakobi Meyers and K.J. Osborn plus contingent running back plays always makes my lineup antifragile in the face of the chaos of the NFL season.

Favorite Pick: Kyle Pitts  ( James Grande Rd. 4)

James Grande getting Kyle Pitts at the 4.01 was such a great pick there, he’s a candidate to rise in ADP as we get closer to the season and where he got him equates to a late-3rd Round pick in 12-team leagues.

Least Favorite Pick: Josh Allen (Dan Servodidio Rd. 2)

Sorry Servo, but I don’t like your pick of Josh Allen at pick 25. It’s much too early for a quarterback there with the depth of the position as a whole. I look at quarterbacks like Matthew Stafford, Tom Brady, Dak Prescott who went rounds after that would have represented much better value at that draft slot.

Pick: 14 - James Grande

In this year’s Fantasy Alarm mock draft, I didn’t go in with any approach. Picking on the wheel was interesting and in hindsight, I wish I went with Aaron Jones over Leonard Fournette. Jones’ volume in that Green Bay offense is going to be elite. Nevertheless, outside of the running back position, the depth my team has is very solid. I took some shots after my top two backs considering what was on the board at the time.

Favorite Pick: Courtland Sutton & Russell Wilson (Kevin Tompkins Rd. 4 & Rd.5)

Kevin Tompkins did not tumble, his 4th-5th round combo of Courtland Sutton and Russell Wilson is a fantastic pairing heading into the 2022 fantasy football season.

Least Favorite Pick: DeVonta Smith (Dan Servodidio Rd. 6)

I like the talent of DeVonta Smith, love it in fact, but with the acquisition of A.J. Brown and a quarterback in Jalen Hurts that has trouble delivering the football, I didn’t love the pick by Dan Servodidio in the sixth round. I’m out on Smith until Hurts proves he can support multiple receivers.

 

Fantasy Alarm is the home of expert NFL Fantasy content. We also bring you all of the best online sportsbook free bets & promo codes, and fantasy sports bonuses.

Related Fantasy Football Links