We’re winding down on my 12-part fantasy football mock draft series, where I’m drafting from every spot — 1 through 12 — in a standard 12-team Yahoo league to break down how draft strategies evolve based on pick position. As always, I used the Yahoo Fantasy Plus Instant Mock Draft tool and drafted solo. The format is half-PPR, with the following roster construction: QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, TE, FLEX, K, D/ST and six bench spots.
We’re onto 1.11, let’s run it!
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Full Roster
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WR: Amon‑Ra St. Brown (DET)
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RB: Omarion Hampton (LAC)
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RB: Kenneth Walker III (SEA)
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FLEX: D’Andre Swift (CHI)
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Bench: George Pickens (DAL)
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Bench: Zach Charbonnet (SEA)
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Bench: Ricky Pearsall (SF)
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Bench: Marvin Mims Jr. (DEN)
Rounds 1–3: WRs leading the way
1.11 – Amon‑Ra St. Brown (DET – WR)
2.02 – Nico Collins (HOU – WR)
3.11 – Omarion Hampton (LAC – RB)
Roster Assessment after Round 3
I opened with a couple of investments at WR — St. Brown stands out with three straight seasons over 140 targets, despite questions around emerging teammates. Collins has been top-three in yards per route run (YPRR) over the past two seasons, one of the best indicators for fantasy production at the WR position. Now he has to stay healthy.
In Round 3, I grabbed rookie RB Omarion Hampton, who offers a ton of potential with Najee Harris sidelined and other backups underwhelming through the preseason.
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Rounds 4–6: Adding RB depth with flex appeal
4.02 – Kenneth Walker III (SEA – RB)
5.11 – D’Andre Swift (CHI – RB)
6.02 – George Pickens (DAL – WR)
Roster assessment after Round 6
I continued loading up on RBs with Walker’s explosiveness and Swift’s dual-threat skillset. Walker, who dealt with a foot injury in the preseason, is back practicing in full, removing some reluctance around selecting him in the fourth round. With Swift, I’m buying into the Bears’ improved offensive line. Having familiarity with his HC Ben Johnson from their days in Detroit doesn’t hurt either.
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With the starting backfield set, turning to WR in the sixth round was necessary. It’s my first time selecting the current contested catch king, George Pickens. If he continues making these eye-popping catches, even as a WR2, he’ll be in for a big year with Dak Prescott under center. Structurally, this layer of picks strengthens running back consistency while protecting from WR downturn.
Rounds 7–10: Youth, Upside & QB Anchor
7.11 – Zach Charbonnet (SEA – RB)
8.02 – Ricky Pearsall (SF – WR)
9.11 – Tyler Warren (IND – TE)
10.02 – Dak Prescott (DAL – QB)
Roster assessment after Round 10
Picking up Walker’s trusted backup (Charbonnet) a round early was rooted in locking up the Seattle backfield. In the eight games Charbonnet played with Walker sidelined, he averaged 94.95 scrimmage yards per game and scored seven TDs. The Niners’ offense runs through CMC and George Kittle. However, Pearsall enters his second season poised to see more opportunities with Brandon Aiyuk on the PUP list through at least Week 6 and Jauan Jennings’ unresolved contract situation and calf injury.
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The ninth round is right around Warren’s current ADP and I wouldn’t be surprised if it starts to climb with draft season officially kicking off this weekend. Prescott anchors the QB spot with a Pickens stack.
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Rounds 11–15: Develop and round it out
11.11 – Trey Benson (ARI – RB)
12.02 – Marvin Mims Jr. (DEN – WR)
13.11 – Jared Goff (DET – QB)
14.02 – Vikings (MIN – D/ST)
15.11 – Harrison Butker (KC – K)
Roster assessment after Round 15
I closed the draft with some swings. James Conner has been a reliable back who also turned 30 earlier this year. Mims was efficient last year, cashing in six TDs despite only seeing 52 targets. He’s a hit-or-miss flier who I’d have no issue cutting if it doesn’t work out.
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I took Goff as my backup because Dak got hurt in two of his last three seasons. Goff is hardly a needle-mover, but he can get the job done with a St. Brown stack.
The Vikings D/ST was a top three defense last season and opens up Week 1 as a consensus top-5 unit. I got Butker as my kicker because the options were dwindling. Playing for the Chiefs should be a plus.
Positional runs and key takeaways
RB: Unsurprisingly, the demand was high early on, with 12 RBs drafted through the first two rounds. The RB demand remained steady through the mid-rounds.
WR: The wideouts peaked in Rounds 4 and 8, with 15 total WRs getting selected across those two rounds. I faded WR in Round 4 and started the run in Round 8.
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TE: Targeted sparsely but consistently, often in response to team needs or positional runs.
Number of positions selected in each round of the mock draft.
(Dan Titus)
Overall, I mocked a balanced, relatively young roster that has a mix of highly-targeted wideouts, a high-floor QB and a stable of promising RBs behind ascending offensive lines. By adding Goff and Charbonnet, I insulated some of the injury concerns with drafting Walker and Prescott. Lastly, choosing to stack Prescott with Pickens and Goff with St. Brown should give me a decent floor for weekly production.