2026 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 12-Team Half-PPR Mock (8th Pick)
Updated: Friday, August 7, 2026The 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 2026 NFL season, we will use the fantasy football mock draft simulator to complete fantasy football mock drafts. And we will do so using a variety of scoring formats — point per reception (PPR), half-PPR, standard scoring and even 2-QB leagues — and league sizes. The goal is to provide you with a good representation of the team that you may be able to draft given your league settings while also providing the rationale of why we made the picks we did.
> Our 2026 mocks will be centralized 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, 8th Pick
Starting positions: 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex (RB/WR/TE), 1 K, 1 DST; Bench spots: 6
1.08 - Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Detroit Lions
St. Brown has at least 106 receptions and 1,161 yards in each of the past four seasons and double-digit scores in three consecutive seasons. In addition, he has finished as a top-three fantasy receiver in three consecutive seasons. Barring injury, he's nearly a lock for another top-five season.
2.05 - Omarion Hampton, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
Not only did Hampton miss nearly half of his rookie season, but bookend tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt were lost to season-ending injuries. New OC Mike McDaniel has said that Hampton reminds him of Terrell Davis (obviously high praise) and that he had arguably "the most growth of any player" this offseason. Given his combination of size and speed along with the coaching upgrade, the sky's the limit for Hampton (and the Chargers offense in general).
3.08 - DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
As the WR2 (or no better than 1B to A.J. Brown) in a run-heavy offense, Smith's numbers have been impressive — three 1,000-yard seasons over the past four years. (And he would have eclipsed 1,000 yards in the exception if it weren't for four missed games.) With A.J. Brown traded to the Patriots, Smith is in store for a target share bump even though the team drafted Makai Lemon in the first round.
4.05 - Travis Etienne Jr., RB, New Orleans Saints
With Alvin Kamara returning for another season, it limits some of Etienne's upside. That said, there are a lot of reasons to be bullish on the Saints offense and Etienne is a solid (at worst) RB2 for this team.
5.08 - Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders
The 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, Daniels missed all but seven games in his follow-up season. As a rookie, however, Daniels threw for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns while also rushing for 891 yards and six scores to finish as fantasy's QB5. The upside is there to challenge Josh Allen (or Lamar Jackson and others) to be fantasy's QB1 in 2026.
6.05 - Christian Watson, WR, Green Bay Packers
Despite tearing his ACL in Week 18 (January 2025), Watson hit the ground running when he returned for the 2025 season (Week 8) with four catches for 85 yards. From Week 8 on, Watson was WR18 in fantasy PPG among wide receivers who played at least five games. With a shallower rotation (following offseason departures of Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks), Watson could turn out to be a huge value as my WR3/flex.
7.08 - Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos
Sutton has 259 targets and back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons with Bo Nix under center, but the team's trade for Jaylen Waddle dealt a huge blow to Sutton's fantasy outlook. That said, he's still a top-40 option who provides this team with some depth.
8.05 - Kyle Monangai, RB, Chicago Bears
For a seventh-round (real) NFL draft pick with a late-round fantasy ADP, Monangai was a bargain in 2025 as he racked up 187 touches (11/G) for 947 YFS (55.7/G) and five touchdowns. He has stand-alone flex value with contingent upside if D'Andre Swift were to miss any time.
9.08 - Sam LaPorta, TE, Detroit Lions
Three tight ends were drafted in Round 6: Harold Fannin Jr. (6.03), Tucker Kraft (6.10), and Kyle Pitts (6.12), respectively. None in Round 7. None in Round 8. Then, LaPorta at 9.08. For me, these four tight ends are all in the same tier, so I'd much rather have a three-round discount with LaPorta, who was fantasy's TE1 as a rookie (2023). To be clear, I'm not expecting a TE1 finish (or even top three), but there is plenty of upside from him in Round 9.
10.05 - Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB, New York Giants
Cam Skattebo is healthy now and the team's clear RB1. While his play style and demeanor boost his fantasy value, it also increases his risk for injury. Even though it's difficult (foolhardy) to try to predict injuries, Tracy will become a weekly top-20 fantasy option for any weeks that Skattebo is sidelined.
11.08 - Jalen Coker, WR, Carolina Panthers
12.05 - Keaton Mitchell, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
13.08 - Sean Tucker, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Coker, Mitchell and Tucker all provide depth, and Mitchell has some intriguing upside in Mike McDaniel's offense.
14.05 - Minnesota Vikings, DST, Minnesota Vikings
15.08 - Tyler Loop, K, Baltimore Ravens
MORE: View full mock