The mock draft series continues! Join Ian, Andy and Luke along with readers and discord members for a live Auction Mock Draft this Thursday, 7/31, at 8:00 Eastern. We have five spots still available. Join with the link below!
To join the Live Auction Mock this Thursday, 7/31, use this link and please comment on this message as well so I can reach out directly with any updates!
For round number two we have opted for a full PPR redraft league. The rosters are 1QB/2RB/2WR/2FLEX/1PK/1DST/6BENCH. With two WR spots, two FLEX and full PPR this format doesn’t so much prioritize WR or RB but creates more strategies for handling the advantage for pass catchers. Our drafters include Andy Richardson, Todd Zola, Luke Wilson and myself from the Fantasy Index staff as well as readers and members of the Discord server.
Here is how the board stands after three rounds :
Redraft, 2WR/2FLEX, Draftboard | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
. | 1. Junior Ayers | 2. Breece | 3. Todd Zola | 4. Andy Richardson | 5. Josh | 6. Title Town | 7. Lou | 8. Luke Wilson | 9. Ben Prator | 10. T'Challa | 11. Sanj | 12. Chuck Anderson | |
Round 1 | Ja'Marr Chase | Bijan Robinson | Jahmyr Gibbs | Saquon barkley | Justin Jefferson | Malik Nabers | CeeDee Lamb | Amon-Ra St.Brown | Puka Nacua | Brian Thomas | Nico Collins | Derrick Henry | |
Round 2 | Kyren Williams | A.J. Brown | Drake London | Ladd McConkey | Jonathan Taylor | Josh Jacobs | Christian McCaffrey | Brock Bowers | Bucky Irving | Ashton Jeanty | Devon Achane | Tyreek Hill | |
Round 3 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | Garrett Wilson | Trey McBride | Tee Higgins | Chase Brown | George Kittle | Breece Hall | Alvin Kamara | Terry MCLaurin | Josh Allen | Lamar Jackson | Joe Burrow |
Three of the top five picks were RB but on balance WR has a slight edge, 14 RBs and 16 WRs were drafted in the first three rounds. There was a small run on QBs at the end of the third with Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. In my view available players like Davante Adams, James Cook, Mike Evans and DJ Moore are likely to provide a larger positional advantage compared to taking a 2nd or 3rd tier QB. However, if you want a top tier QB you can’t wait too long this season. Do keep in mind that those QBs give their rosters a big bump in projected scoring, managers with a QB are marked with an asterisk. Here’s how the projected points look through Round 3 :
2025 Projected Points | ||
---|---|---|
pos | name | PROJ POINTS |
1 | *Chuck Anderson | 966.82 |
2 | *Sanj | 942.51 |
3 | *T'Challa | 941.56 |
4 | Junior Ayers | 880.22 |
5 | Todd Zola | 806.59 |
6 | Breece | 802.67 |
7 | Andy Richardson | 798.02 |
8 | Ben Prator | 775.86 |
9 | Josh | 772.11 |
10 | Title Town | 768.73 |
11 | Lou | 748.62 |
Excluding those teams with a QB we can see that the top score is held by Index subscriber Junior Ayers drafting from the 1.01. Let’s start by considering his team so far :
1. Junior Ayers | ||
---|---|---|
Projected Points | ||
. | Total | Avg |
Team | 880.22 | 293.41 |
QB | 0.00 | 0.00 |
RB | 271.03 | 271.03 |
WR | 609.19 | 304.60 |
TE | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Junior’s lead is powered by using that 1.01 on Ja’Marr Chase which is probably accurate. Chase is hands down the best fantasy player and that’s reflected in the Fantasy Index projections. He’s projected to outscore the WR2 by 84.00 fantasy points, his projection would make him the QB6 or the RB1 on the season. Draft him first, it’s really a no brainer. Getting Kyren Williams in the second is also going to make this roster hard to beat. Kyren is the RB6 in our rankings, he went as the RB11 here and his ADP is four spots later at the 2.03. As of today, he is arguably the best value on the board so keep an eye out for him if you’re drafting from an early position.
2. Breece | ||
---|---|---|
Projected Points | ||
. | Total | Avg |
Team | 802.67 | 267.56 |
QB | 0 | 0 |
RB | 308.85 | 308.85 |
WR | 493.82 | 246.91 |
TE | 0 | 0 |
Breece used the second pick to get Bijan Robinson as his RB1. Bijan had the third most yards in 2024 to go along with the third most receptions so he’s primed to be a monster in this format. Just to play the Devil’s advocate his catch percentage through fourteen games was 90.00%, in three games with Michael Penix that dropped to 58.30% but the sample size is too small to be very concerned about. Breece also selected Garrett Wilson in the 3rd round as the WR14. That’s 7 spots above his ranking and 6 above his ADP. Will Justin Fields be able to support a top 15 WR has been a topic in the Discord lately and it’s something everyone eyeing Wilson is going to have to grapple with. Fields has struggled as a passer, but he also led D.J. Moore to a WR6 finish in 2023.
3. Todd Zola | ||
---|---|---|
Projected Points | ||
. | Total | Avg |
Team | 806.59 | 268.86 |
QB | 0.00 | 0.00 |
RB | 289.24 | 289.24 |
WR | 256.02 | 256.02 |
TE | 261.32 | 261.32 |
Todd took Jahmyr Gibbs in the 1st then got a good value on Drake London four spots after his ADP in the late 2nd. London’s catch % dropped about 9-points with Penix but that’s not enough to be concerned about. His WR5 breakout last year was a product of his health, he was the WR14 per game but played in all seventeen. In three seasons he’s only missed one game, and I love the volume and touchdown upside at the back end of the 2nd. Trey McBride is a great value in the 3rd as well, also four spots after ADP. I’ve struggled with taking TE early in mocks this year but McBride is tempting at 3.03.
4. Andy Richardson | ||
---|---|---|
Projected Points | ||
. | Total | Avg |
Team | 798.02 | 266.01 |
QB | 0.00 | 0.00 |
RB | 284.85 | 284.85 |
WR | 513.16 | 256.58 |
TE | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Andy started with Saquon Barkley who plays in a low passing volume offense, Ladd McConkey who is in a low volume passing offense and Tee Higgins who is an oft injured WR2. And none of that is really a problem as all three of these guys eat despite their situation. McConkey’s performance ramped up in the second half of the season, project those stats across a full season and he should be great even if an improved RB room keeps the ball out of the air. Higgins had 109 targets and 10 TDs in twelve games last year and Saquon is Saquon. Great roster so far.
5. Josh | ||
---|---|---|
Projected Points | ||
. | Total | Avg |
Team | 772.11 | 257.37 |
QB | 0.00 | 0.00 |
RB | 487.00 | 243.50 |
WR | 285.11 | 285.11 |
TE | 0.00 | 0.00 |
I’ve probably done more mocks with Josh over the last three years than anyone and this is a classic Josh roster, he is an RB hawk. Taking Justin Jefferson in the 1st is a given. He reached a bit on Jonathan Taylor in the 2nd taking him five spots before his ADP but still three spots after his positional ranking. Taking Chase Brown with the 3.05 is not a particular value but it is a great pick. Only two teams took RB twice so far and I’d contend this is the better of the duos. Josh has got to be happy with this start.
6. Title Town | ||
---|---|---|
Projected Points | ||
. | Total | Avg |
Team | 768.73 | 256.24 |
QB | 0.00 | 0.00 |
RB | 285.87 | 285.87 |
WR | 278.45 | 278.45 |
TE | 204.41 | 204.41 |
Title Town took Malik Nabers in the first, he’s destined to be among the league leaders in targets if he’s healthy. It’s true that the Giants QB situation remains a mess but it’s hard to imagine his catch percentage going down much from just 64.10% in his rookie season. If he sees 170 targets matching his WR6 finish is well within reach and if the team improves he can finish higher than that. Josh Jacobs continues to be a steal this season. This is just about his ADP but six spots after his positional rankings. Nabers/Jacobs is an amazing start if you can get it.
7. Lou | ||
---|---|---|
Projected Points | ||
. | Total | Avg |
Team | 748.62 | 249.54 |
QB | 0.00 | 0.00 |
RB | 474.05 | 237.02 |
WR | 274.57 | 274.57 |
TE | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Lou has the other roster to take two RB in the first three rounds. Christian McCaffery in the 2nd seems like a great price but it’s just three spots after his ADP. If he’s healthy teams taking him here are going to have a good season. I was burned pretty bad by him last season which probably informs my skepticism of the “29 year old makes complete recovery from Achilles tendonitis in both legs” narrative. Breece Hall at the 3.07 is three spots above his ADP and three after his ranking, but rushing QBs usually help elite RBs and if the Jets are going to be any good, Breece is going need to have a big season. Getting him as your RB2 in the 3rd round is a strong start.
8. Luke Wilson | ||
---|---|---|
Projected Points | ||
. | Total | Avg |
Team | 740.39 | 246.80 |
QB | 0.00 | 0.00 |
RB | 220.15 | 220.15 |
WR | 274.34 | 274.34 |
TE | 245.90 | 245.90 |
A man after my own heart, Luke has hoovered up a ton of targets through three rounds. Amon-Ra St.Brown has topped 140 targets the last three seasons with 10+ touchdowns in the last two. His career catch rate of 75.4% means he’s going to make the most of those looks. Brock Bowers is one of only five TE to top 100 targets as a rookie and set the record with 153. Alvin Kamara paced all RBs with 89 in just 14 games last year; that was good for RB6 on a per game basis in PPR.
9. Ben Prator | ||
---|---|---|
Projected Points | ||
. | Total | Avg |
Team | 775.86 | 258.62 |
QB | 0.00 | 0.00 |
RB | 247.69 | 247.69 |
WR | 528.17 | 264.09 |
TE | 0.00 | 0.00 |
I’m drafting from the nine this time and I started with Puka Nacua. I seriously considered Nico Collins and Ashton Jeanty with this pick but decided on Puka because he’s on the best team out of the three. The Rams look like they are going to be really good at football and really good for their receivers. I used the same logic taking Bucky Irving in the 2nd over Josh Jacobs. In the 3rd I took Terry McLaurin. He’s a guy I’m targeting this year, but I might have taken Davante Adams except I’m not a fan of stacking WRs. Excluding the teams with a QB, there has been a steady correlation between draft order and projected points in this draft. Junior drafted 1.01, he has the top projected points. Some managers moved up or down a spot, but this roster is the only climber so far. Four managers drafting before me have a lower projected score than I do. Though I am happy with this roster so far, I don’t intend that as a victory lap, just an observation.
10. T'Challa | ||
---|---|---|
Projected Points | ||
. | Total | Avg |
Team | 941.56 | 313.85 |
QB | 411.88 | 411.88 |
RB | 257.26 | 257.26 |
WR | 272.41 | 272.41 |
TE | 0.00 | 0.00 |
T’Challa started with a pair of young stars in Brian Thomas and Ashton Jeanty. I wouldn’t count on getting Jeanty here as his ADP is four spots earlier. He paired these guys with the reigning MVP Josh Allen. Other than using an early pick at QB there isn’t much to complain about with this powerhouse. Which is why I’m surprised to see that T’Challa has the lowest projected points of the teams with a QB after three rounds.
11. Sanj | ||
---|---|---|
Projected Points | ||
. | Total | Avg |
Team | 942.51 | 314.17 |
QB | 414.59 | 414.59 |
RB | 252.32 | 252.32 |
WR | 275.60 | 275.60 |
TE | 0.00 | 0.00 |
Sanj started with Nico Collins in the first round. Nico played great for the floundering Texans last year. He finished as the WR23 in 12 games, WR8 on a per-game basis. There is no question he’s going to be the top receiver in Houston this year with a couple of rookies and Christian Kirk as his only competition. Devon Achane in the early 2nd is a slam dunk if you’re assuming he’s in line for 80+ targets. While the Dolphins offense is difficult to rely on, Achane’s performance last season was a feature of the team’s dysfunction so he will likely produce whether the team falls apart or functions perfectly. Sanj added Lamar Jackson in the 3rd to edge out T’Challa’s projected points by a narrow margin.
12. Chuck Anderson | ||
---|---|---|
Projected Points | ||
. | Total | Avg |
Team | 966.82 | 322.27 |
QB | 419.17 | 419.17 |
RB | 279.42 | 279.42 |
WR | 268.23 | 268.23 |
TE | 0.00 | 0.00 |
At the turn Chuck invested in veteran players Derrick Henry and Tyreek Hill. Henry is a solid pick in this range, the only thing that could hold him back would be his age but it would be a shock to everyone if that happened this season. Tyreek is a more speculative pick here fourteen spots before his ADP but in line with his ranking as the WR9. He played well last season when Tua Tagovailoa was healthy despite a wrist injury that required off season surgery. Unfortunately, his age, his own drama, the tumultuous situation at QB and the Dolphins generally chaotic footing this season introduce a good bit of risk this early. If you can get him closer to the end of the second, that’s where I’d be more comfortable gambling on his copious upside. Joe Burrow if the top ranked QB this season and along with Henry’s 5th highest projected RB total, was enough to push Chuck’s roster to a sizeable lead in the early projected point totals.
-- Ben Prator