The Fantasy Footballers Mock Draft Recap
The start of the 2026 NFL season is less than a week away, but there are still drafts to be completed, so the Ballers are taking to the mock draft room one last time!
Andy, Mike, and Jason take on their staff for the final time this offseason from all over the draft board! Jason drew the 1.01, Mike the 1.05, and Andy the 1.09.
For this mock draft, we are using the following settings: 12 teams, 0.5 PPR, 1QB, 2RB, 2WR, 1TE, 1FLEX, and 4 Bench.
As a reminder, the Ballers are back to shows 5 days a week now that we’re in August! Make sure to find The Fantasy Footballers Podcast on all of your devices to stay in tune!
To follow along with the draft board as the mock draft progresses, check out the episode on YouTube!
Round 1
Jason (1.01) – Jahmyr Gibbs (RB, DET)
Mike (1.05) – James Cook (RB, BUF)
Andy (1.09) – Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR, SEA)
The start of this mock draft goes very high-T, with six of the first eight picks being RBs, including both Jason and Mike’s picks. Jason grabbed the consensus 1.01 in Jahmyr Gibbs to start his draft off. Gibbs is on one of the best offenses in the league with very little competition in the Lions backfield and should be poised for a huge fantasy season.
With his first pick, Mike took an unconventional pick in James Cook. While Cook is definitely deserving of such high draft capital, we do not usually see him quite this high in fantasy drafts. Cook, much like Gibbs, is on one of the best offenses in the league and is in line for a huge workload, so taking him with the fifth-overall pick definitely isn’t getting him in a place where he cannot return on the draft value.
Andy felt like he got great value late in the first round, taking just the third WR off the board with Jaxon Smith-Njigba. While there is plenty of worry around potential regression coming for 2025’s WR2 overall, he remains the top receiving target for the defending Super Bowl champions and should retain his massive target share in Seattle.
For the second mock draft in a row, the RBs taken in Round 1 (8) outnumbered the WRs (4), which may be more reflective of where draft strategies are shifting as we inch closer to draft season coming to a close.
Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Round 2
Andy (2.04) – Justin Jefferson (WR, MIN)
Mike (2.08) – A.J. Brown (WR, NE)
Jason (2.12) – Drake London (WR, ATL)
To kick off Round 2, Andy doubles up at WR, taking Justin Jefferson for the second-straight mock draft in the second round. While Jefferson was a bit disappointing for fantasy managers last season, he is still one of the most talented WRs in the league, and fantasy managers can be hopeful there is an upgrade at QB coming via Kyler Murray for this Vikings offense.
Mike followed suit, taking his first WR of this mock draft in A.J. Brown, as the third WR taken off the board this round and the eighth WR taken overall. Brown felt like a frustrating fantasy asset last season, but still finished as the WR10. The change of scenery and offense to New England could mean big things for Brown and should have him as a valuable fantasy asset this season.
Jason gets his first WR of this mock draft in Drake London to cap off the second round. While London is the clear leading receiving option in Atlanta, the Pua problem at QB (Michael Penix and Tua Tagovailoa) could cap his production this season.
Round 2 did see the first QB off the board, with Josh Allen taken at 2.09 – nearly two full rounds higher than he went in the last Ballers mock draft. What is interesting is that neither of the elite TEs was picked in the second round, where at least one has been taken in each of the last four Ballers mock drafts.
Round 3
Jason (3.01) – Brock Bowers (TE, LV)
Mike (3.05) – Chris Olave (WR, NO)
Andy (3.09) – D’Andre Swift (RB, CHI)
Of course, Brock Bowers is really only a third-round pick in this mock draft in name only, as Jason waited to take him at the 3.01. Bowers truly has the chance to be a difference-maker at TE for fantasy managers who spend the high draft capital to get him. While Bowers did not pay off for fantasy managers last season, we should expect the offense in Las Vegas to be much more competent and give him every chance to return his draft value in 2026.
Mike added to his WR room at 3.05, nabbing Chris Olave as his WR2. Olave finally returned the high-end fantasy value that was hoped for when he was taken with the 11th-overall pick in the 2022 draft, finishing as the WR9 last season. There is plenty of optimism around the emerging Saints offense in year 2 of Kellen Moore as Head Coach, and Olave will be a big part of that success.
Andy was not pulling any punches in this mock draft (maybe it was Papa Josh’s sickness taking over?), but he reached down the ADP bucket for his RB1 in D’Andre Swift. Swift is the clear lead RB in one of the best offenses in the league as the RB16 off the board could prove to be a great value, even though going into the season with him as a team’s RB1 may feel shakier than it actually is.
Round 3 saw both elite TEs go off the board, and interestingly, no QBs, following the first QB being taken 21st overall.
Round 4
Andy (4.04) – Jadarian Price (RB, SEA)
Mike (4.08) – Luther Burden (WR, CHI)
Jason (4.12) – Cam Skattebo (RB, NYG)
Andy got right back to his ADP-ignoring ways in Round 4, taking his RB2 in Jadarian Price at 4.04. While this pick may feel like a reach, it really shows the rising ADP of Price. In the last three Ballers mock drafts alone, Price went at 6.06, then 5.11 and 5.01. At the end of the day, Price is a player taken in the first round of the NFL Draft on a team with significant need at RB who has a clear pathway to be the main RB in the Seattle offense.
With his fourth pick, Mike added a third-straight WR in Luther Burden. Burden has had Mike’s eye all offseason, but the draft price has rarely allowed the Fantasy Hitman to get him on his roster. As a WR3, Burden gives a ton of upside to a fantasy roster without needing him to come out of the gate living up to the expectation of what many in the fantasy community are hoping he can be.
At the end of the round, Jason adds his second RB in Cam Skattebo. While there is plenty of risk around Skattebo and what the Giants offense will ultimately be, the second-year RB seems to be the most assured thing in New York’s new-look offense with Matt Nagy and company.
Round 4 saw seven WRs in total go off the board, the most in a single round of this mock draft at this point.
Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Round 5
Jason (5.01) – Davante Adams (WR, LAR)
Mike (5.05) – Drake Maye (QB, NE)
Andy (5.09) – Bucky Irving (RB, TB)
To kick things off in Round 5, Jason added his WR2 in Davante Adams. Adams may have been in “My Guy” territory for Jason since he has taken the WR in the last three mock drafts the guys have done on the show. While regression could be heading Adams’ way in the TD department, there is still plenty of upside in his range of outcomes, with the status of Puka Nacua still up in the air from both a health and league discipline perspective.
A pretty consistent trend for Mike this draft season has been getting a QB in the first six rounds, and he does one better this time, getting Drake Maye at 5.05. While this may be a bit early for what Mike has been doing, getting Maye completes his stack with A.J. Brown in the Patriots offense and gives his team a higher overall ceiling.
Andy continued to add to his RB room with his fifth pick, taking his third-straight RB in Bucky Irving. While Irving disappointed fantasy managers in 2025, having him on a roster as the RB3 allows for some truly elite upside if he were to return to his RB15 form fantasy managers saw in his rookie season.
Round 5 saw the first QBs taken off the board in two full rounds. That is the largest gap from the QB1 to the QB2 in any of the single QB drafts that the Ballers conducted this offseason.
Round 6
Andy (6.04) – Marvin Harrison Jr. (WR, ARI)
Mike (6.08) – J.K. Dobbins (RB, DEN)
Jason (6.12) – Brian Thomas (WR, JAX)
For an optimistic start to the sixth round from the Ballers, Andy decided to draft some hope in one of his bold predictions from the Live Show and take Marvin Harrison Jr. At this point of the draft, getting Harrison on Andy’s roster means he doesn’t even have to slot in as a starter, so he is really not relying on Harrison to produce right away. With potential improvement in the play-calling in Arizona, Harrison could be in for a real step forward in his third season.
Right on schedule, Mike gets his guy at 6.08, taking J.K. Dobbins as his team’s RB2. The Fantasy Hitman has kept a steady drumbeat for Dobbins to be a real value in drafts this season as the true RB1 in Denver on a team that features one of the league’s best offensive lines. While Dobbins has had trouble staying healthy, when he is on the field, he is a great fantasy asset at a discount.
Jason rounds out Round 6 of this mock draft with a little hope of his own, taking Brian Thomas as his WR3. Thomas was easily one of the biggest disappointments from 2025, not even getting close to returning on his fringe first-round ADP. As upsetting as that may have been, we have seen Thomas produce at an elite level for fantasy and he very well could prove useful for fantasy rosters again this season in a very muddied WR room in Jacksonville.
Round 7
Jason (7.01) – Jaylen Warren (RB, PIT)
Mike (7.05) – Tucker Kraft (TE, GB)
Andy (7.09) – De’Zhaun Stribling (WR, SF)
It is back to the RB room for Jason to start the seventh round, getting his RB3 in Jaylen Warren. While Warren may not be the sexiest addition to a roster, he represents an RB1 for the Steelers and a player that Aaron Rodgers seems to trust as a part of his offense. For the first time in his career, Warren was a top-20 RB in 2025 and could be a real value for fantasy managers in the middle rounds of drafts for RB-needy teams.
Mike went back to the onesie well at 7.05, taking Tucker Kraft as his TE. With that pick, Mike became just the second team in this mock draft to take their QB and TE in this draft, with Kyle finishing his duo just two picks earlier. Kraft was potentially a league-winner in 2025 before getting hurt; he finished as a top-10 TE in four of his eight games, including two TE1 overall finishes. While Kraft may take some time to get back to a full workload, it should pay off down the stretch of the season for fantasy managers.
Andy goes back to the WR well with his seventh pick, taking rookie De’Zhaun Stribling at 7.09. Stribling has flown up draft boards over the last several weeks heading into draft season, and going in the seventh round may not be high enough based on the potential of what he represents in this San Francisco offense.
Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Round 8
Andy (8.04) – KC Concepcion (WR, CLE)
Mike (8.08) – Jacory Croskey-Merritt (RB, WASH)
Jason (8.12) – Dak Prescott (QB, DAL)
For the third straight round, Andy nabs himself a high-upside WR, taking Browns rookie KC Concepcion at 8.04. Concepcion may be in a nasty QB situation in Cleveland, but Andy is hoping that the manufactured touches that the WR may see could prove to be a valuable FLEX-type asset for a fantasy roster.
It is a Mike RB sandwich of draft picks with his pick of Jacory Croskey-Merritt at 8.08. JCM seems to have the lead for the starting RB role in the Commanders backfield as part of an offense that fantasy managers are hopeful can return to their elite 2024 form after a disappointing 2025 season. If Bill can maintain his hold on the RB1 role in this offense, getting him this late in drafts could prove to be an elite depth piece for fantasy managers.
Jason gets his QB this round, taking Dak Prescott at 8.12. Usually, Dak is an easy stacking option for whoever gets CeeDee Lamb or George Pickens, but Jason argues Dak is a discounted version of Joe Burrow as part of one of the elite passing offenses in the league. The truth is, whenever Dak plays more than 12 games in a season, he has been a QB1 every single time.
Round 9
Jason (9.01) – Makai Lemon (WR, PHI)
Mike (9.05) – Jordyn Tyson (WR, NO)
Andy (9.09) – Chris Bell (WR, MIA)
In Round 9, all three Ballers took rookie WRs to add to their rosters.
Jason’s love for Makai Lemon continues in this draft after he added him at 9.01, marking the third time this draft season he has landed on the Big Shimmy’s roster. Lemon is more of a stash-and-see type rookie, with reports saying he likely will not start the season on the field in two-WR sets in Philadelphia. The Eagles rookie will be an interesting player to keep an eye on through the first month of the season to see exactly how he’s used in what fantasy managers are expecting to be a much better version of a once elite fantasy offense.
Mike takes a real long-range WR pick in Jordyn Tyson at 9.05. Tyson has already landed on IR with a hamstring injury to start the season and could be out at least a month into the season before making his NFL debut. The strategy for fantasy managers is with Tyson already being on IR, he isn’t just eating a bench spot and can truly be a stashed player until he is ready to return to the field.
Andy gets into the Dolphins’ extremely ambiguous WR room, taking Chris Bell at 9.09. Bell is one of two rookie WRs taken by Miami in the third round of the NFL Draft this spring. While his return from a torn ACL during his final season in college has his status up in the air for how much he will be used to start the season, once he gets on the field, he may very well be the best WR in Miami. Amazingly, this is the highest any Miami WR has been taken in any of the Ballers mock drafts all offseason.
Round 10
Andy (10.04) – Juwan Johnson (TE, NO)
Mike (10.08) – Chris Rodriguez (RB, JAX)
Jason (10.12) – Michael Pittman (WR, PIT)
With just two rounds left, Andy has to fill his onesie positions and starts by taking Juwan Johnson at TE. Johnson may be the direct beneficiary in the Saints’ offense of the Jordyn Tyson injury. It is easy to forget, but Johnson saw a career-high 102 targets and had nearly 900 receiving yards for New Orleans last season.
As bullish as Mike is on the Bhaysul Tuten RB1 path in Jacksonville, he is willing to be open to the possibility that it is more of a timeshare than he had hoped for and nabs Chris Rodriguez as his RB4. Rodriguez saw the most carries of his career last season when opportunity presented itself in Washington and could be an annoyingly decent option to eat into the workload in the Jaguars’ backfield.
To add to his WR room, Jason takes a solid WR5 in Michael Pittman at 10.12. Pittman was a steal in fantasy drafts last season, finishing as a top-24 WR in 8 of his first 13 games to start 2025. The injury to QB Daniel Jones and an injury to Pittman himself really slowed down his production, but he still finished as the WR24 on the year. With a new home in Pittsburgh, Pittman may prove to be an essential part of the Steelers offense and a decent FLEX option for fantasy rosters.
Round 11
Jason (11.01) – Kaleb Johnson (RB, GB)
Mike (11.05) – Malik Washington (WR, MIA)
Andy (11.09) – Malik Willis (QB, MIA)
While it may have come in the softest of whispers, Jason adds his beloved Kaleb Johnson with his final pick of this mock draft. Johnson was traded from Pittsburgh to Green Bay after Josh Jacobs was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List earlier this week. While Johnson may be a long shot to get real snaps in the Packers’ offense, he was a talented RB coming out of Iowa, and getting a fresh start in a new offensive system might be just what he needs to turn his career around.
Somehow a second Dolphins WR goes off the board as Mike takes a shot at finding Miami’s WR1 in Malik Washington. There are plenty of sexy rookies in the Dolphins offense, but none of them have the experience that Washington has in the NFL, and that may be what separates him from the pack to emerge as a real fantasy option in this offense.
Clearly, there weren’t enough Dolphins being drafted, so Andy taps Malik Willis as his QB to round out his team. Willis signed a big contract to be the starter for Miami this offseason after a roller-coaster few years to start his career, featuring just six total starts in four seasons. All that said, for the game we play, Willis fits the profile pretty well as a late-round QB who is able to use his legs on a team that will be playing from behind consistently this season.
Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images
Jason’s Team
QB – Dak Prescott
RB – Jahmyr Gibbs, Cam Skattebo, Jaylen Warren, Kaleb Johnson
WR – Drake London, Davante Adams, Brian Thomas, Makai Lemon, Michael Pittman
TE – Brock Bowers
Mike’s Team
QB – Drake Maye
RB – James Cook, J.K. Dobbins, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Chris Rodriguez
WR – AJ Brown, Chris Olave, Luther Burden, Jordyn Tyson, Malik Washington
TE – Tucker Kraft
Andy’s Team
QB – Malik Willis
RB – D’Andre Swift, Jadarian Price, Bucky Irving
WR – Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Justin Jefferson, Marvin Harrison Jr., De’Zhaun Stribling, KC Concepcion, Chris Bell
TE – Juwan Johnson
Draft Board
