Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Overall Drafting Strategy and Cheat Sheet

What better way to spend a Sunday than watching NFL football all day and rooting for the players on your fantasy football team? It's been quite a while since people have been able to do that, as most fantasy seasons ended last December.

But it's almost that time of year again. On Sept. 8, the 2022 NFL campaign will begin with a matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Buffalo Bills. Then, the first Sunday of the season will come three days later on Sept. 11.

However, before you can know which fantasy players to cheer for this year, you'll need to join a league (if you're not in one already) and draft a team. Maybe you've already done so. If not, there's still time, with a little more than a week left before the season.

As you get ready for your fantasy football draft, here are some tools and strategies that could be helpful for your research and preparations.

1. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

2. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers

3. Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams

4. Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

5. Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

6. Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

7. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans

8. Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills

9. Davante Adams, WR, Las Vegas Raiders

10. Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

11. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings

12. D'Andre Swift, RB, Detroit Lions

13. Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

14. Leonard Fournette, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

15. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys

16. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints

17. Deebo Samuel, WR, San Francisco 49ers

18. Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers

19. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

20. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

21. Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys

22. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns

23. James Conner, RB, Arizona Cardinals

24. Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens

25. Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins

26. Keenan Allen, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

27. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

28. DJ Moore, WR, Carolina Panthers

29. Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos

30. Tee Higgins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

31. A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

32. Michael Pittman Jr., WR, Indianapolis Colts

33. Javonte Williams, RB, Denver Broncos

34. Brandin Cooks, WR, Houston Texans

35. Mike Williams, WR, Los Angeles Chargers

36. Marquise Brown, WR, Arizona Cardinals

37. Jaylen Waddle, WR, Miami Dolphins

38. Diontae Johnson, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

39. Josh Jacobs, RB, Las Vegas Raiders

40. Allen Robinson II, WR, Los Angeles Rams

First Round

1. Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

2. Christian McCaffrey, RB, Carolina Panthers

3. Austin Ekeler, RB, Los Angeles Chargers

4. Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

5. Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans

6. Dalvin Cook, RB, Minnesota Vikings

7. Joe Mixon, RB, Cincinnati Bengals

8. Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams

9. Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals

10. Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints

11. Najee Harris, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers

12. Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills

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Second Round

13. D'Andre Swift, RB, Detroit Lions

14. Davante Adams, WR, Las Vegas Raiders

15. Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

16. Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers

17. Nick Chubb, RB, Cleveland Browns

18. Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

19. CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys

20. Leonard Fournette, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

21. Deebo Samuel, WR, San Francisco 49ers

22. Javonte Williams, RB, Denver Broncos

23. Mike Evans, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

24. Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens

Conducted using the FantasyPros Mock Draft Simulator

When drafting a fantasy football team, it's always important to consider value. Never take a player too early. Try to find players who fall through the cracks and are still on the board later than they should be.

If you keep that in mind, you should be set up for a successful fantasy draft. And it's easiest to follow that strategy if you have constructed your own personal tier lists.

Fantasy managers should go into a draft with tiers for the four key positions (quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end). By doing this, it will be easier to track the players who are still available in terms of how highly you value them.

Running out of Tier 3 wide receivers but there is still plenty of Tier 4 running backs on the board? Maybe you should take a WR at that point, then wait for your pick to come around to get one of those RBs, assuming you think one of them can make it back to you.

Everybody values players differently. So do tons of research, perhaps find some tiers to use as guidelines and then make modifications based on your own preferences. If you have a gut feeling that somebody is going to underperform, don't just draft them because analysts are telling you to. Find somebody else in the same range who you feel better about.

In terms of which positions to target first, it's always best to stack up on running backs and wide receivers over the first few rounds. You can find start-worthy quarterbacks and tight ends deep into the draft this year, so if managers are reaching for the top few tiers at those positions, don't feel pressured into taking players at those spots, too.

If that happens, keep building a strong core with strong RBs and WRs. That will set you up for success, especially if you don't feel you're reaching for any player at any point.

In the late rounds, make sure to stay invested in the draft and target sleepers who you could see actually filling a role later in the season. Maybe it's a rookie who won't get immediate playing time or a breakout candidate who you feel is getting undervalued.

By drafting those types of players late, you'll be building depth that will be hugely important in the weeks and months to come. Don't be the manager whose interest wanes as the draft goes on. That will pay dividends when your roster suffers a major setback such as an injury, which is highly likely to happen at some point.