If you listen to Fantasy Life on SiriusXM you know that I am always talking about our Draft Champion Mock Draft Simulator, presented by Gopuff. It is not only the perfect way to practice before going into big drafts, but it also helps to get you a little uncomfortable. We always go into a draft with a plan, but more times than not we have to abandon that plan as early as the second round. Want to practice an Anchor-RB build? Want to wait at quarterback? This is the best way to practice and to get ready to dominate those drafts.

Today we are using the mock draft simulator to look for the best draft strategy for 10-team, redraft PPR, two-WR league on Yahoo. Let's see how it went …

Settings For My Yahoo Fantasy Football Mock Draft In Draft Champion

• Platform: Yahoo
• Scoring: PPR
• Starters: 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 FLX, 1 DST, 1K
• Teams: 10
• Draft Position: 8th

Yahoo 10-Team Fantasy Football Mock Draft

Rounds 1-2 Strategy and Outcome

With the eighth overall pick in a PPR league you're usually not going to get one of Bijan Robinson, Saquon Barkley, or Jahmyr Gibbs—my strategy in the first two rounds would be to either grab a pass-catching running back if they fell to me or snag two elite wide receivers to start.

This is where I say things can get tricky pretty quickly. The choice between Malik Nabers and Christian McCaffrey was one that made me pause, because we have McCaffrey projected for 60 receptions and 510 receiving yards. Nabers has Russell Wilson to begin the year at quarterback and is projected for 162 targets—the most among wide receivers. In the end, while I'll end up drafting McCaffrey at least once this draft season, I wanted Nabers more. 

I've really enjoyed picking toward the back half of drafts this season because I think there are somewhat better options for receivers and running backs. Especially in a 10-team league, the second round has tons of great receiver options with players who could potentially finish as the overall WR1. Hence, taking Brian Thomas Jr. with our second pick.

Since we are starting two receivers and only have one flex, once we allocate to a position early then we don't have to focus as heavily later on.

Starting with two receivers wasn't necessarily in the plans, and it puts some pressure on selecting a solid running back, but we never panic. 

Rounds 3-4 Strategy and Outcome

Top Targets: RB or Elite QB

There was a run on elite quarterbacks quickly after drafting BTJ, and the receivers in this range had enough question marks (Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams, Garrett Wilson) to make me turn to an elite tight end in George Kittle. With how many injuries are happening with the 49ers right now it feels like it could be another huge year for Kittle with the potential to reach 100+ targets this season. 

I considered Joe Burrow here, but was hoping he could potentially come back in the fourth round. The same went for Omarion Hampton, but he was snagged at the turn, too. With the elite fantasy tier of quarterbacks gone, I decided to turn to running back with Kenneth Walker III on the board. New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak will be targeting Walker more than we've seen and this offense will be one that plays to Walker’s strengths. I know most are nervous about him missing 10 games over the last three seasons because of injuries, but it's not enough for me to fade him—especially considering we have him projected for 45 targets in 2025. 

Rounds 5-6 Strategy and Outcome

Top Strategy: Balance Out My Team

My goal once I get into this range of drafts is to at least have two solid receivers and running backs. We missed out on the elite, dual-threat quarterbacks, which means I am comfortable waiting now for some of my favorite later-round QB targets. 

Enter: TreVeyon Henderson. I love this pick and will take him in this range almost every time. His fit is perfect with the Patriots and even if a massive workload isn't fully in the cards, he can still pay off this ADP easily.

Also enter, Tetairoa McMillan in the sixth round?! This is basically a cheat code. Especially since we already have our Tier 1 receivers on the roster, McMillan in the FLEX almost seems like it should be illegal. McMillan is on a somewhat lackluster Panthers team, but we know he is going to be the focal point of this offense. Fantasy Life has him projected for 120 targets, but I think he could finish with more. 

Roster Recap (so far):

QB:
RB: Kenneth Walker III, TreVeyon Henderson
WR: Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr.
TE: George Kittle
FLEX: Tetairoa McMillan

Remember earlier when I said we do not panic? I can feel your panic through the screen when looking at that untouched quarterback spot. Don't worry! I will say this, though, when waiting on a quarterback after the top options are gone, I will more than likely leave the draft with two QBs just in case. It would be the same if we didn't get an elite tight end. 

Rounds 7-9 Strategy and Outcome

Continue stacking values at WR and RB, with the potential of adding at QB

At this point we want to round out our lineup and start stacking our bench. Travis Hunter was an option here, but I went with Jakobi Meyers, who is projected for 119 targets and a WR24 finish. I like his potential with the quarterback upgrade to Geno Smith.

Jordan Mason is one of the later-round running backs who could have standalone value this season, even with Aaron Jones in Minnesota. This is a great 1-2 punch, and Mason should be more of the early-down grinder with Jones getting more of the pass-catching work. 

At some point you have to look at the board and just identify immense value, and that's what I did with Travis Hunter. I know I already have BTJ, but when the consensus WR32 is going off the board at pick 104 you just have to take him. 

Rounds 10-12 Strategy and Outcome

Top Strategy: Get a QB and shoot for the best late-round value

The nightmare is over! We've got our quarterback in Caleb Williams, who I was thinking about taking two rounds earlier, but because I like the potential for Drake Maye to finish as a top-10 quarterback, I was willing to risk the wait but it paid off in my favor. Williams has everything he needs to succeed this season with the Bears, including new head coach Ben Johnson and a bevvy of weapons at his disposal. 

I usually like taking Tyjae Spears, but his high-ankle sprain has me a little more hesitant to draft him. I went with Javonte Williams over Ray Davis purely out of the possibility he holds more value earlier in the season. But when Spears came back to me I figured this is the perfect spot to snag him with the hopes that he's ready for the season, but if not he's a solid bench stash.

Roster Recap (so far):

QB: Caleb Williams
RB: Kenneth Walker III, TreVeyon Henderson
WR: Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr.
TE: George Kittle
FLEX: Tetairoa McMillan 
Bench: Jordan Mason, Jakobi Meyers, Travis Hunter, Javonte Williams, Tyjae Spears

Rounds 13+ Strategy and Outcome

Depth. Depth. Depth.

Round out your draft by going for those value running backs and potential receivers who can climb up depth charts. It's a lot easier to see running backs do this during the season because of potential injuries to starting running backs. It happens at the receiver positions, but as we've seen it's a lot harder to hit on late-round receivers than it is running backs.

Here is where I also took my second quarterback in Trevor Lawrence, who also has the potential (and should) step up this season with new head coach Liam Coen and Travis Hunter added to this receiver room. 

Some of my other favorite late-round picks:

• Luther Burden
• Jayden Higgins
• Dylan Sampson
• Hunter Henry

Final Roster

QB: Caleb Williams
RB: Kenneth Walker III, TreVeyon Henderson
WR: Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr.
TE: George Kittle
FLEX: Tetairoa McMillan 
Bench: Jordan Mason, Jakobi Meyers, Travis Hunter, Javonte Williams, Tyjae Spears, Trevor Lawrence, Luther Burden

Final thoughts: Again, do not panic if a draft does not go as planned. The worst thing you could do is just start drafting based on the board, falling into the traps of worrying about positional runs or just going with what leaguemates are doing. Use our tiers to see where potential values are by round and use ADP as a guide. If your leaguemates roast you for snagging Emeka Egbuka two rounds early let them. But if he's one of "your guys" and you don't want to walk away without him then throw ADP to the side (reasonably). 

At the end of the day you want to actually LIKE your draft. So get your guys and be sure to stock up on late-round running backs with the potential to step up during the 2025 season through either injury or just pure talent shining through. We saw it last season with Bucky Irving and Chase Brown and it will happen again somewhere. 

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