Fantasy Football Mock Draft: A Chase-Henry-Pickens In Full-PPR

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I ran a mock from the 4th overall slot, and used PPR scoring, with 3 WRs, 2 RBs, 1 FLEX, plus QB, TE, K and DEF. Pretty standard. You can view the entire draft board here.

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Review: PPR Scoring From The 1.04

Round 1: Ja’Marr Chase

I started with Ja’Marr Chase. I’ve written plenty about alpha receivers, and I just don’t think you can go wrong with Chase, who is the cream of the crop and a model of consistency. You’re drafting weekly league‑winning upside, especially in PPR. He can single‑handedly win you multiple weeks. That’s a theme here: I want week‑breaking pieces early.

Round 2: Derrick Henry

On the way back, I took Derrick Henry at 2.09. I debated Brock Bowers or one of the receivers at the turn, but figured there’d be a handful of WRs I liked at 3.04. I also toyed with the idea of waiting for a back like Josh Jacobs in the third.

Ultimately, Henry gives me monster touchdown equity and a proven ceiling. Pairing Chase with a hammer RB feels like a very comfortable start in any start/sit league.

Round 3: George Pickens

George Pickens falling into my lap at 28th overall was one of the more interesting picks. Fantasy Life has him projected north of 1,200 yards, but it may feel a little unconventional to take an NFL team’s “No. 2” wide receiver in the third round. However, Dallas’ offense is awesome. They play in a dome, ranked 5th in EPA per play last season and should live in the red zone.

Round 4: Cam Skattebo

Round 4 is where things got polarizing. I took Cam Skattebo at 4.09.

This felt like the classic RB dead zone—from the Travis Etienne types down through Quinshon Judkins and that whole ambiguous range. That’s exactly why I want at least one back early in start/sit formats. Skattebo wasn’t a reach for positional need; he was a ceiling bet.

I didn’t want a QB here and was in the tight end dead zone, so I felt committed to RB. Among the options, Skattebo offered the most week‑to‑week upside. We saw flashes of usage before he got hurt last year, and while Tyrone Tracy remains a capable runner (and a best ball favorite of mine), Skattebo has real high‑end RB2 upside if the cards break his way.

After digging in more, I liked what I saw: Skattebo took roughly two‑thirds of the team’s snaps inside the 5‑yard line in Weeks 1–8 and scored seven touchdowns in eight games. Health is the worry—I put that on the back burner later with insurance picks—but in this range, his ceiling was the swing I wanted.

With three guys at the top of my draft who I feel great about their floors, I’m looking for ceilings and/or high touchdown‑equity players to win me those head‑to‑head weeks—even if they are a bit boom‑or‑bust.

Middle Rounds: Mike Evans and D’Andre Swift

I followed Skattebo with Mike Evans in Round 5, which I loved.

Evans brings super‑high red‑zone equity and the ability to string together multi‑TD weeks. With Chase and Pickens as consistent PPR threats and Henry as a touchdown machine, Evans adds another slate‑breaking profile.

Round 6 was my RB2 insurance: D’Andre Swift. If Skattebo isn’t healthy or the backfield becomes more of a committee than I imagined, I wanted another back I felt good about. You can say similar committee things about Swift, but he was cheaper, and you have to love having a piece of a Ben Johnson offense.

Later I added Tony Pollard in Round 9, a range I really like—Kyle Monangai was also sitting there. Pollard feels like the high‑equity‑touch back in that room even with Tyjae Spears in a contract year and a young back like Nicholas Singleton lurking. As a third RB, he made me feel much better about the position. If Skattebo doesn’t pan out, I still have multiple RB2 options I can live with.

Quarterback: Dak Prescott

At quarterback, I landed Dak Prescott—which felt perfect after already having Pickens.

I love elite QBs, but Prescott is still wildly underappreciated coming off a monster season. The continuity is there, Dallas should keep humming in a division where defense may be optional, and grabbing him at a discount with built‑in correlation to Pickens was an easy click.

Tight Ends: Oronde Gadsden and Juwan Johnson

The tight end spot got interesting. In Round 10, I took Oronde Gadsden.

The Chargers added veteran tight end David Njoku on a modest one‑year deal. Some people will view that as a big negative for Gadsden, but the contract itself tells you there wasn’t a huge market for Njoku. Gadsden flashed a ton last year, commanding 69 targets and 664 yards, and I think he has TE1‑range upside or at least a top‑12 finish.

A big part of this bet is Mike McDaniel, the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator. In my opinion, McDaniel has quietly become one of the best “tight end whisperers” in football. What more do we need to see?

We’ve seen him carve out a creative role for Jonnu Smith, help Darren Waller briefly look like he hadn’t lost a step and turn Greg Dulcich into a legitimate weapon late last season. McDaniel consistently finds ways to leverage athletic tight ends, and Gadsden fits that mold perfectly.

I backed him up with Juwan Johnson, who turned in a career season in 2025: 77 catches, 889 yards and 3 touchdowns, finishing third among tight ends in receiving yards and fifth in receptions.

Under Kellen Moore, the Saints threw at a high neutral rate, and Johnson was a key piece of that passing game. If anything, a little positive touchdown variance would have pushed his fantasy stock up a couple of rounds, so I’m considering him a big‑time bargain.

Boxed out of the early‑round tight ends? I think either Gadsden or Johnson can finish as a TE1 this year. They’re two of my favorite “don’t overthink it” targets at the position. And yes, I kept getting sniped in earlier rounds on some other guys I was looking at—that’s what makes this mock draft tool so great. It feels as real as it gets.

Late Rounds: Stefon Diggs and Travis Hunter

Round 11: Stefon Diggs. The grade didn’t love it; I did. He’s going to sign somewhere, and in the right landing spot he’ll be a weekly FLEX with a solid floor. At pick 124, you’re buying the name before the landing spot—once he signs, this price will skyrocket. Some of my best drafts have come when the grades disagree with me, so I’m taking this entire draft on the chin.

Round 14: Travis Hunter. Pound for pound, this might be my favorite ceiling swing. There’s all kinds of speculation about how Jacksonville will use him. I just can’t see trading up assets to have him playing corner 75–80% of the time. Even with some nice offensive pieces already there, if Hunter can help push this offensive unit to another level, he’ll see offensive snaps.

In Round 14, you’re searching for league winners. If Hunter ends up with a 65–70% offensive snap share by Week 2 or 3, you’ve unearthed massive upside for essentially no risk. That’s exactly the kind of late dart I want in a draft where my early picks have already given me a solid floor.

Kickers, Defenses and Ambiguity

My last two picks were defense and kicker. Honestly, depending on draft timing and league rules, I often skip kicker altogether and let waivers handle it right before Week 1. If your league drafts weeks before opening kickoff, stock up on as many ambiguous situations as possible—crowded backfields, hazy WR rooms, unclear depth charts.

The more outs you have for a player to benefit from late‑summer news, the better. Grab handcuffs that aren’t even yours if they have standalone value. Then, right before the season, you swap one for a kicker. That’s just how I play.

I’m really happy with the way this roster turned out. You’re missing out if you’re not practicing on Draft Champion. Jump in a mock today!