There are a lot of ways to build a fantasy football team, but being prepared and knowing what to do with your first handful of picks can go a long way. To win your league, you need to be able to find the gems later in the draft and on waivers. You might not win it all with a good first five picks, but you can certainly lose if you miss on them.
To help, we've compiled a few tables comparing mock drafts from some fantasy football outlets at ESPN, Yahoo!, Sports Illustrated and Bleacher Report. Each of the mock drafts we include below are from a 12-team, half PPR league.
Perhaps these can help you get a sense of what to expect on draft day – because there's a pretty good chance the guy you want could fall to you, or go way before you. Either way, don't be caught in the headlights when you're on the clock.
Round 1
Pick ESPN Yahoo! SI BR
1 Ja'Marr Chase Chase Chase Robinson
2 Bijan Robinson Lamb Robinson Chase
3 Justin Jefferson Jefferson Barkley Lamb
4 Jahmyr Gibbs Robinson Jefferson Barkley
5 Ashton Jeanty Barkley Gibbs Gibbs
6 Saquon Barkley Gibbs Lamb St. Brown
7 Christian McCaffrey McCaffrey Henry Jeanty
8 CeeDee Lamb Nakua Nakua Jefferson
9 Malik Nabers Achane Jeanty McCaffrey
10 Puka Nakua Jeanty St. Brown Achane
11 Amon-Ra St. Brown Thomas McCaffrey Henry
12 Brian Thomas Jr. Nabers Collins Nabers
• Barkley's range is interesting. After having basically the best running back season ever in 2024, and tallying commiserate touches, he falls to sixth on ESPN while going in the top five in the other drafts.
• There is even less consensus on other first-rounders, like Nakua (ranging from 8 to 15), Lamb (from 2 to 8) and Jefferson (from 3 to 8).
• Depending on your preference, Derrick Henry can be a first-rounder. So can Brian Thomas, Malik Nabers and Amon-Ra St. Brown. There seems to be more first-round variance than there usually is.
Round 2
Pick ESPN Yahoo! SI BR
1 De'Von Achane Collins London Collins
2 Jonathan Taylor London Nabers Thomas
3 A.J. Brown Bowers Lamar Jackson Nakua
4 Derrick Henry St. Brown Thomas London
5 Josh Jacobs McConkey Taylor Williams
6 Nico Collins A.J. Brown A.J. Brown McConkey
7 Brock Bowers Irving Achane Taylor
8 Tyre McBride Henry Bowers Bowers
9 Drake London Rashee Rice Jacobs Jacobs
10 Chase Brown Hill Josh Allen Irving
11 Bucky Irving Josh Jacobs Irving Waker
12 Ladd McConkey Taylor C. Brown C. Brown
• The McConkey love is very interesting. As a rookie, he burst onto the scene in the second half of the year and helped win a lot of people their fantasy leagues. He's essentially a slot guy with the Chargers, on a team that likes to run the ball. He is obviously expected to have a very high volume thrown his way in 2025.
• In addition to McConkey, it looks like there are a lot of other second-year players who have high expectations in Round 2. Bowers falls into that category, as does Irving.
• Josh Allen is the earliest QB to go under Sports Illustrated. Lamar Jackson is the next soonest QB to get picked up under Yahoo! in the next round.
Round 3
Pick ESPN Yahoo! SI BR
1 Kyren Williams Jackson McBride Harrison
2 James Cook Allen Hill Kittle
3 Lamar Jackson C. Brown McConkey McBride
4 Tee Higgins Higgins K. Williams A.J. Brown
5 Jayden Daniels Adams Cook Allen
6 Omarion Hampton Trey McBride Wilson Jackson
7 Kenneth Walker Wilson Hall Kamara
8 Tyreek Hill Smith-Njigba Higgins Hill
9 Josh Allen Daniels Metcalf Smith-Njigba
10 Davante Adams Walker Kamara Wilson
11 Alvin Kamara George Kittle Evans Hampton
12 Jaxon Smith-Njigba Hall Henderson Hall
• Time to take some stabs with high upside. Rookies Hampton, Harvey and Henderson are going in this range and they could be superstars. Rookies are often good values, but they might be a bit overpriced in these cases with so many unknowns.
• Do you believe Tyreek Hill can stay healthy? Will Davante Adams dominate at age 33? Some high upside, high risk moves at wide receiver can be made in Round 3.
Round 4
Pick ESPN Yahoo! SI BR
1 Joe Burrow K. Williams Daniels Cook
2 Jalen Hurts RJ Harvey Hampton Henderson
3 Chuba Hubbard Harrison Smith-Njigba Daniels
4 George Kittle Hampton Kittle Harvey
5 James Conner James Cook Hurts Hurts
6 Marvin Harrison Jr. Moore McLaurin Evans
7 Xavier Worthy Hurts Harrison Higgins
8 Terry McLaurin Evans Walker Metcalf
9 TreVeyon Henderson McLaurin Moore Adams
10 De'Andre Swift Hubbard Rice Conner
11 Mike Evans Tetairoa McMillian Hubbard Hubbard
12 David Montgomery Kamara DeVonta Smith Kyler Murray
• Jalen Hurts is as sure a thing as there is in fantasy football. With the tush push giving him near automatic touchdowns and some of the best receivers and O-linemen in the game, he continues to be under drafted. In 2021, he was QB5 in PPG. He was first in 2022, third in 2023 and sixth last year. And yet he's consistently taken after Joe Burrow and/or Jayden Daniels.
• Hubbard and Conner are as boring as it gets at running back. Evans is as boring as it gets at wide receiver. But sometimes those are the right picks.
• Some buy in for the McMillian hype in Yahoo!'s draft. He could be a total stud for Bryce Young and the Panthers' upstart offense.
Round 5
Pick ESPN Yahoo! SI BR
1 DK Metcalf George Pickens Harvey Emeka Egbuka
2 Courtland Sutton Metcalf Smith?? Sutton
3 Calvin Ridley Joe Mixon Worthy Moore
4 DJ Moore Waddle Sutton Burrow
5 Jaylen Waddle Sutton Pickens Ridley
6 Garrett Wilson J. Williams LaPorta Swift
7 Aaron Jones Worthy Hockenson Tyrone Tracy Jr.
8 Zay Flowers Henderson Conner J. Williams
9 Jameson Williams Smith Burrow McMillian
10 Breece Hall Travis Hunter Montgomery McLaurin
11 DeVonta Smith Kaleb Johnson Pacheco Smith
12 Sam LaPorta Connor Flowers Pickens
• The once respectable Sports Illustrated continues to disappoint — an obvious typo had two people picking DeVonta Smith• Another note on the SI draft, it's interesting to see Burrow as a fifth-rounder here. He's limited as a runner, in contrast to the other top QBs, but is a clear top guy. He did not go in the top 5 rounds on Yahoo! at all and went a slot above Jalen Hurts at ESPN.
• Do you like Pickens with the Cowboys or Metcalf with the Steelers? It'll be interesting to see how those star wideouts acclimate to their new homes.
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