2021 Fantasy Football 12-Team Half-PPR Mock Draft

BY KEVIN HANSON (@EDSFootball)
Updated: Sunday, September 5th

The best way to become good at something is to practice. So, what should you do if you want to draft a better fantasy football team?

Practice, of course!

Leading up to the start of the 2021 NFL season, we will use the 2021 Fantasy Football Mock Draft Simulator (powered by FantasyPros) to complete fantasy football mock drafts.

We will use a variety of scoring formats -- PPR, half-PPR, standard scoring and even 2-QB leagues, league sizes and draft slots. The goal is to give you a good representation of the team that you may be able to construct given your league settings and the rationale of why we made the picks we did.

+ Our mocks will be tracked here: Fantasy Football Mock Drafts.

That said, nothing beats practicing yourself so (check out the simulator) and complete a mock in a matter of minutes.

Half-PPR Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 9th Pick

1.09 - Davante Adams, WR, Green Bay Packers

Not only did Adams miss two games in 2020, but he has missed multiple games in three of his past four seasons. Even so, the seven-year veteran led the NFL in receiving touchdowns (18) and yards per game (98.1) and also set a career high in receptions (115). With double-digit touchdowns in four of five seasons, Adams has a total of 58 scores in 71 games over that span. With Aaron Rodgers still playing at an MVP level, Adams moves back into the WR1 spot with the Rodgers drama behind us.

2.04 - Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

Missing a significant chunk of time due to injury and playing at less than 100 percent when returning to the field, Ekeler averaged 5.5 yards per touch and scored only three touchdowns, both of which were career lows. With Joe Lombardi coming over from New Orleans to run the offense, Ekeler's immense receiving upside makes him a top-10 back across all formats and an upside second-round pick here.

3.09 - Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Football Team

While the team's quarterback play hasn't done him many favors, McLaurin managed to set career highs with 87 catches and 1,118 yards in his second season. While his Y/R dipped from 15.8 to 12.9, he set career highs in YPG (74.5) and catch rate (64.9%). Even though WFT didn't draft a QB in April, signing Ryan Fitzpatrick in free agency boosts McLaurin's outlook and he's a top-eight option in my rankings.

More: Washington Football Team 2021 Fantasy Football Projections

4.04 - Robert Woods, WR, Los Angeles Rams

It was a relatively disappointing season for Woods and the Rams offense in general. Woods tied a career high in receptions (90), but his receiving yardage (936) and yards from scrimmage (1,091) were three-year lows. Replacing Jared Goff with Matthew Stafford generates some optimism for all of the skill-position players.

5.09 - Mike Davis, RB, Atlanta Falcons

Filling in for a mostly-injured Christian McCaffrey in 2020, Davis performed as a top-15 (half-PPR) fantasy running back last season. Limited competition for running back touches makes Davis a back-end RB2/flex option in 2021 with Arthur Smith taking over as Atlanta's head coach.

6.04 - Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks

It was a tale of two seasons for Wilson. In his first eight games, Wilson averaged 29.52 fantasy points per game and scored no fewer than 21.9. In his final eight games, he averaged only 17.08 and scored more than 21.9 only once during that span.

Despite Pete Carroll's prioritization to establish the run, Wilson has never finished worse than the QB11 (2016) and has finished as a top-six fantasy quarterback in five of the past seven seasons.

7.09 - Javonte Williams, RB, Denver Broncos

Even though he was the third back off the board in the 2021 NFL Draft, some teams viewed Williams as "best back in the draft." With the Broncos moving up to get in front of the Dolphins to select Williams, it's likely that he emerges as the team's lead back sooner rather than later. The 20-year-old back is a tackle-breaking machine.

8.04 - James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals

Joining the Cardinals on a one-year deal, Conner will steal some early-down carries from Chase Edmonds and could potentially be in a fairly even split. If he can stay healthy and earn a larger role, there is plenty of upside for Conner as well (as Edmonds).

More: Chase Edmonds 2021 Fantasy Football Outlook

9.09 - Jamaal Williams, RB, Detroit Lions

In his four NFL seasons, Williams has averaged 736.5 scrimmage yards, 155.5 touches and 30.5 receptions per season with the Packers. While he remains his team's RB2 (to D'Andre Swift instead of Aaron Jones), Williams should get 8-10 touches per game even with both Swift and Williams healthy.

More: Fantasy Football Sleepers

10.04 - Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas Cowboys

Even though he played fewer than 50% of the team's offensive snaps in all but one game (Week 15, 90%), Pollard had at least eight touches in 10 of the team's final 12 games. Assuming good health for Dak Prescott and the offensive line, 8-10 weekly touches in this offense could lead to stand-alone flex value for Pollard on a weekly basis.

11.09 - Marquise Brown, WR, Baltimore Ravens

Brown's catch rate (58.0%) and yards per target (7.7) dropped in 2020 from his rookie season of 64.8% and 8.2 Y/T, respectively. Since he played a full 16-game season, however, his overall numbers (58/769/8) improved last season. Landing three of my top-13 receivers as starters, Brown is a high-upside option as a bye-week fill-in during those three weeks.

More: NFL Predictions 2021: AFC North

12.04 - Tyler Higbee, TE, Los Angeles Rams

The fifth-year tight end saw a year-over-year dip in targets (60), receptions (44) and yards (521), but he did set a career high in touchdowns (five). With Gerald Everett signing with Seattle and the team trading for Matthew Stafford, there is optimism for improved numbers from Higbee.

More: 10 Undervalued Players in 2021 Fantasy Football Drafts

13.09 - Darrel Williams, RB, Kansas City Chiefs

Williams is a high-upside handcuff for Clyde Edwards-Helaire. If CEH were to miss any time, Williams would immediately become an RB2 in Kansas City's high-powered offense.

14.04 - 49ers DST, San Francisco 49ers

15.09 - Harrison Butker, K, Kansas City Chiefs

16.04 - Cole Kmet, TE, Chicago Bears

Down the stretch, Kmet leapfrogged Jimmy Graham on the depth chart based on snaps played. In addition, the rookie out of Notre Dame averaged 6.0 targets per game over his five final regular-season games. There is some potential for Kmet to have a breakout sophomore campaign.

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