Mock Draft Mayhem Returns! Podcast Recap (Fantasy Football)
It’s mock-football time! As the 2023 NFL season looms closer, the Ballers get together for a final mock draft, and this time Andy is bringing up the mayhem while Jason and Mike go head-to-head. You can find this episode here if you want to listen to it.
The settings used during this mock draft were: 12 teams, 0.5 PPR, with four bench spots. This time the guys had a “battle of the turns” in which Jason drafted from the 1.01 and Mike from the 1.12 while Andy scattered bombs throughout the draft. His available mayhem powers were “Nope! Pick Again,” “Andy’s Choice,” and “Opponent’s Choice.”
Don’t forget to check out Andy, Mike, and Jason’s 2023 tier-based rankings with risk and upside ratings in the Ultimate Draft Kit.
Round 1:
Jason – Christian McCaffrey, Mike – Derrick Henry
Since it’s not a 3WR roster, Jason opens the draft picking CMC instead of considering one of the top wide receivers. Six WRs go in the first round, which makes Mike feel a bit pushed into picking two RBs at the turn. After considering Tony Pollard for a second, he decides to take Derrick Henry and Nick Chubb, a delicious combo of running backs according to Andy, who allows him to make the picks. Mike takes Henry at the 1.12 to respect the Yeti.
Round 2:
Jason – Tee Higgins, Mike – Nick Chubb
Mike starts the second round taking Nick Chubb, even though he considers him a risky pick. Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen are the first two QBs off the board. Jason looks at the WR position and likes Chris Olave better than the rest. Andy denies him the pick using one of his mayhem powers and allows Mike to choose for Jason and disrupt his roster. Mike picks Tee Higgins for him.
Round 3:
Jason – Chris Olave, Mike – Joe Mixon
With his third pick, Jason tries to take Chris Olave for a second time, and this time he is allowed by Andy to do so. Jason mentions he would’ve taken Olave and Pollard at the turn, but mayhem ruined his plan and forced him to pick two WRs. After taking RBs in the first two rounds, Mike feels like there are no true WR1s left, so he considers picking an RB again and selects Joe Mixon now that his legal case has been dropped. Andy allows him to make the pick.
Round 4:
Jason – J.K. Dobbins, Mike – Justin Herbert
Mike tries to take Keenan Allen at the 4.01, but Andy causes some mayhem and decides to pick for him, forcing him to take Justin Herbert. Mike doesn’t love it, since he would have taken Fields over Herbert and he really needed a WR. At the other end of the board, Jason’s hopes of getting Justin Fields are shattered when he’s taken by Team 3 at the 4.10. This forces Jason to take a running back and he picks J.K. Dobbins.
Round 5:
Jason – George Kittle, Mike – D’Andre Swift
Surprise! It’s Ducer Mayhem time! After a brief light show, Andy announces that the Ducers will make Mike and Jason’s fifth-round picks for them. Brooks, Owl Borland, and Kyle select George Kittle for Jason’s team, which he doesn’t like since he considers Kittle’s ADP too high. Then they pick D’Andre Swift for Mike. He HATES it and makes it very clear that he considers it a deleted pick.
Round 6:
Jason – Mike Williams, Mike – Tyler Lockett
After the mayhem caused by the Ducers, Mike makes what he considers an easy auto-selection and picks Tyler Lockett as his first WR. Jason mentions that the quarterback position is out of consideration for him at this moment, now that Trevor Lawrence is off the board. He briefly considers taking Deshaun Watson, but then stares at the WR position and decides to pick Mike Williams.
Round 7:
Jason – Deshaun Watson, Mike – Mike Evans
Jason opens this round saying he is considering taking Deshaun Watson as his quarterback, trying to use it as bait for mayhem. Andy activates the mayhem drop to make the pick for him and after seeing Jason celebrate, decides to leave Deshaun Watson as his pick. Jason admits he really wanted a running back, so the trickster has been tricked. Mike regrets not being able to get Diontae Johnson in this round and then he picks Mike Evans, an amazing value at the 7.12
Round 8:
Jason – Khalil Herbert, Mike – Jordan Addison
Mike is still looking for WRs. If he hadn’t taken Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba would’ve been in consideration for him here. Jordan Addison and George Pickens are also in the mix at this point, but he decides to take Jahan Dotson as a pick that could beat his ADP. But Andy stops him and gives Jason the power to make Mike’s pick. Jason is benevolent and gives him one of the players Mike was considering: Jordan Addison. At the 8.12, Jason is allowed to make his pick without mayhem and takes Khalil Herbert, who seems to have secured the starting role as the Chicago Bears‘ primary back.
Round 9:
Jason – Zach Charbonnet, Mike – Zay Flowers
Jason talks about how much he likes Zay Flowers’ routes and says he would like to pick him here, but Andy denies him the chance of taking Flowers, forcing him to choose a different player. Jason considers Devon Achane for a moment but finally picks Zach Charbonnet. Mike takes advantage of the situation as Zay Flowers is still available and picks him as his fourth WR, which makes him very happy.
Round 10:
Jason – Allen Lazard, Mike – Tank Bigsby
Mike looks at which tight ends are available since he needs one. There are no great options on the board, but he settles on Jake Ferguson. However, Andy has still a mayhem pick left and uses it to force Mike to take a different player. Hoping Ferguson comes back to him in the last round, Mike decides to pivot to the WR position and takes one of his 2022 “my guys”: Courtland Sutton. Jason hopes Elijah Moore falls to him to stack him with Deshaun Watson but that doesn’t happen. So he takes Allen Lazard.
Round 11:
Jason – Allen Lazard, Mike – Jake Ferguson
Jason quickly takes Van Jefferson to stop Andy from considering giving him Allen Robinson after mistaking his name for Lazard’s, and with the last pick in this mock draft, Mike takes Jake Ferguson as he had planned. Despite all the mayhem and the regrettable D’Andre Swift pick, both Jason and Mike are happy with what they’ve managed to put together.