Fantasy Football Mock Draft: A Jonathan Taylor-Malik Nabers Start In 14-Team Mock

Not only is it fantasy football mock draft season, but real fantasy drafts are starting to pick up in August. It’s early, but I understand how it goes. As someone who has been running home leagues for nearly 20 years, it gets harder and harder to get everybody together every summer.

On Friday, I fired up Draft Champion, our incredible fantasy football mock draft simulator, for a 14-team, half-PPR mock. I landed the 11th overall pick. Let’s see how it shook out.

14-Team Fantasy Football Mock Draft in Draft Champion

Rounds 1-2: Jonathan Taylor and Malik Nabers

At 1.11, I started with Jonathan Taylor.

The volume is never the question with Taylor, and in a 14-team league, I want to feel great about my RB1. This is a format where 28 running backs are in starting lineups before we even get to FLEX spots. A dependable, high-ceiling bell cow carries a little more weight than he would in a shallow league.

I circled back in Round 2 and took Malik Nabers. Some might consider that a reach, but if I’m drafting today, I’m willing to take the risk that he’ll be ready to roll. All reports have been positive, and there’s such a gap in my mind between Nabers’ ceiling and the receivers available after Drake London went at the turn ahead of me.

The injury concern is real, and Nabers could absolutely make or break this team. But in a 14-team league, I’m willing to bet on a potential difference-maker rather than settle for a safer player without his top-end outcome.

Rounds 3-5: Javonte Williams, Mike Evans, Carnell Tate

I was thrilled to land Javonte Williams at pick 39.

People keep sleeping on Williams’ floor-ceiling combination. Of course, I want week-winning upside, but in a 14-team league, having a dependable RB2 is serious business. The running back landscape is messy, and Williams gives me a piece of the Cowboys offense that I expect to make plenty of red-zone trips.

Then I went back-to-back at wide receiver with Mike Evans in Round 4 and Carnell Tate in Round 5.

Evans has been a little banged up, but it was encouraging to see him participating in post-practice drills. I also can’t pass on his fit with Kyle Shanahan. George Kittle could be slow out of the gates, and when you’re playing half-PPR, give me a guy with elite red-zone equity who can win a head-to-head matchup with two or three touchdowns.

Tate is another player I’m excited about. I see legitimate low-end WR1 upside in a picture-perfect ceiling outcome, but I think a solid WR2 finish is much more realistic in Brian Daboll’s offense. Tennessee’s offense can only improve from last year’s debacle, and Tate has the talent to emerge as a focal point quickly.

With Taylor, Nabers, Williams, Evans and Tate through five rounds, I felt like I had a good blend of floor, touchdown equity and weekly ceiling.

Rounds 6-8: Tony Pollard, Dak Prescott, Mark Andrews

Round 6 was interesting. Justin Herbert and Trevor Lawrence were available, but I took Tony Pollard instead.

I wanted another running back before the position got even uglier. Pollard gives me meaningful depth behind Taylor and Williams, and I later added Tyjae Spears as a handcuff. But Spears also happens to be entering a contract year and could become a trade candidate if another team needs running back help. There are multiple ways that situation could get interesting.

By waiting at quarterback, I was able to land Dak Prescott in Round 7. I have written about Prescott quite a bit this summer, and I still think he is wildly underappreciated. Dallas plays in a dome, ranked top-five in EPA per play last year and has enough firepower to keep this offense humming.

It is not the traditional quarterback-wide receiver stack, but pairing Prescott with Williams is still a small bet on the Cowboys’ offense. If Dallas is efficient and living in the red zone, I want exposure.

At tight end, Travis Kelce was available at 8.04, but I took Mark Andrews. Fantasy Life’s half-PPR projections have only about a point separating the two. Without Isaiah Likely in the fold, Andrews offers spike-week potential in a brand-new offense. Similar to Evans, he is one of those players who can win you a head-to-head matchup all by himself with a multi-touchdown game.

Late Picks: Deebo, Handcuffs, and Cam Ward

I received a D+ grade for Deebo Samuel, and I get it. But I love that he is back with the 49ers, and I viewed him as a bit of an Evans contingency plan. If something happens to Evans, I have another versatile weapon tied to Shanahan who can be used all over the field—including near the goal line.

I also scooped up Spears and MarShawn Lloyd. Lloyd has a laundry list of injury issues, which is unfortunate, but he has looked good in camp. He caught a touchdown and did a backflip earlier this week—even if his head coach was not thrilled about the celebration. With uncertainty around Josh Jacobs in Green Bay, I am more than willing to stockpile potential league winners late.

Jalen Nailor was another depth piece I liked as a nice bye-week filler with room for more in Las Vegas’ passing game.

Cam Ward at pick 186 was a shock. Dak is my weekly starter unless something unusual happens, but Ward made sense as another miniature bet on Daboll’s Tennessee offense. I already rostered Tate and Pollard, so taking the quarterback at that point was an easy choice.

Final Thoughts On My 14-Team Fantasy Football Mock Draft

I got a B+ grade, and I would be thrilled to walk away with this roster in a real draft today.

It is well-rounded, loaded with players who can score touchdowns in bunches, and built for a 14-team format where depth matters. The Nabers pick is the big swing, no doubt. But sometimes you have to take a stance on a player with his kind of ceiling.

If Nabers is healthy and the Cowboys offense keeps cooking, this is the kind of roster that can make some noise.