Fantasy Football Mock Draft: WR-Heavy Start With Chris Olave, Davante Adams And More

My friends, the day we've all waited for is here: The 2026 Fantasy Life Draft Champion is live!

I wouldn't say that I'm a sicko. That's not the kind of thing I'd admit publicly in writing.

But I do love doing endless mock drafts in the dead of summer so that by the time late August comes around and my soon-to-be-dominated friends and family once again make the mistake of inviting me to be in their $20 buy-in fantasy league, I'll be ready to do to them what Jack Nicholson says he wants to do to Tom Cruise at the end of A Few Good Men. (Such an underrated Fourth of July movie, by the way.)

With that in mind, here's a quick breakdown of a 12-team PPR draft that I just spun up.

Some specifications:

Roster: 8 Starters (QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 FL), 8 Bench Spots
Draft Type: Snake
Draft Position: Third
ADP: ESPN
Strategy: Late-Round QB

Alright, let's get into it!

You can use Draft Champion for FREE if you sync your league, but for full access use the promo code FREEDMAN for a 20% discount to the FantasyLife+ package.

12-Team Fantasy Football PPR Mock Draft

1.03: Ja'Marr Chase | WR | Bengals

As I noted recently in my article on the season-long prop market, I think Ja'Marr Chase is a reasonable selection at 1.01.

Over the past two seasons, he's No. 1 in targets (360), receptions (252), receiving yards (3,120) and receiving TDs (25), and that's despite the fact that QB Joe Burrow missed nine games last year.

Chase is as safe as any pass catcher in the league.

2.10: Chris Olave | WR | Saints

The teams picking after me selected RBs Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson in Round 1, so there's a decent chance one of them will select Chris Olave at the turn of Rounds 2-3 if he's available, in which case he (my preferred WR on the board) won't make it back to me at 3.03.

Hence, I'm grabbing him here at 2.10, knowing I'll almost certainly still be able to get one of RBs Omarion Hampton, Jeremiyah Love, Derrick Henry and Chase Brown in Round 3.

Olave broke out last year (100-1,163-9 receiving) and was especially strong after the Saints traded away No. 2 WR Rashid Shaheed (No. 2 Utilization Score at 92, per our Utilization Report; 45-603-6 receiving on 69 targets in 7 games).

If QB Tyler Shough progresses in his second season and the offense comes together more in HC Kellen Moore's second year with the team, Olave's hot back half of 2025 could extend across all of 2026.

3.03: Derrick Henry | RB | Ravens

Oh baby, I love it when a plan comes together.

Derrick Henry isn't a great receiver, so he offers diminished value in a PPR league, but the dude has still put up 3,859 scrimmage yards and 34 TDs in 34 games since joining the Ravens in 2024 at the age of 30 years old.

Henry is nearly indestructible, and that reliability is especially desirable in an early-round RB.

4.10: Davante Adams | WR | Rams

If you're gonna give me in Round 4 the guy who led the league last year with 14 receiving TDs in only 14 games, I'll take him.

Davante Adams last year had his lowest yardage total (789) in a decade, and over the past three years—after he turned 30)—his efficiency has disappeared (7.0 yards per target). Still, last season he had an NFL-high 27 targets in the end zone and 23 inside the 10-yard line.

Few pass catchers are more bankable than Adams in the red zone, evidenced by the fact that he's No. 2 at DraftKings (+850, behind only Chase at +550) to have 15+ receiving TDs this year.

And now with Chase, Olave, and Adams, I feel set at WR and will probably attack RB with at least half of my next six picks.

5.03: Josh Jacobs | RB | Packers

Josh Jacobs is currently dealing with some legal issues, and he wasn't as prolific last year (80.7 yards, 0.93 TDs per game) as he was the year prior (98.3, 0.94), but he's still the No. 1 RB in the offense that has been No. 4 in EPA (0.101) over the past two seasons.

I feel decent about him as my No. 2 RB.

6.10: Jadarian Price | RB | Seahawks

Even though I think the Seahawks massively overdrafted Jadarian Price, the fact is that they did invest first-round draft capital into him, former starter Kenneth Walker is gone and No. 2 RB Zach Charbonnet (knee) is still recovering from a severe postseason injury.

Price is not big (203 pounds), fast (4.49-second 40-yard dash), sudden (1.61-second 10-yard split) nor young (23 years old in October), and he wasn't prolific in college (1,517 yards, 20 TDs as Jeremiyah Love's backup in final two seasons).

But it's not as if the Seahawks have ever drafted a guy in Round 1 only to use him as a change-of-pace backup, right?

RIGHT?!

Ugh.

Rashaad Penny vibes aside, I think Price will probably be the No. 1 RB for the reigning Super Bowl champs in Week 1. I'll take that in my No. 3 RB.

7.03: Jaylen Warren | RB | Steelers

Jaylen Warren is no guarantee to beat out new teammate Rico Dowdle for the No. 1 job, but last year he had career-high marks (1,291 yards, 8 TDs), and over the past three years he has put up 3,266 scrimmage yards.

That feels pretty good for a No. 4 RB.

8.10: Jayden Reed | WR | Packers

This might be a bit of a luxury pick, but I like Jayden Reed way more than the average human probably should.

I admit that he had a terrible 2025 (235 yards, 1 TD), but he missed 10 games with injuries, which impacted his entire season.

Even so, Reed was his typical efficient self (9.4 yards per target, 9.3 yards per carry), and in his two prior campaigns he proved himself to be a big-play producer (1,932 yards, 17 TDs).

For the Packers, Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks are gone, Matthew Golden looked lost last year and Christian Watson has never had 700 yards in a season.

Reed has league-winning 1,000-10 potential.

9.03: Blake Corum | RB | Rams

Blake Corum's overall 2025 production wasn't prolific (782 yards, 6 TDs), but in the final 12 games (including playoffs) he significantly siphoned off rushing usage from starter Kyren Williams (38% rush share vs. 55% with a 50/50 split of goal-line carries).

Although he's had a minimal pass-catching role across his two-year career (22 targets), he's still the No. 2 RB in one of the league's best offenses, and as such Corum enters 2026 as a top-tier handcuff with weekly flex appeal and season-long contingent upside.

10.10: Jordan Mason | RB | Vikings

Jordan Mason has had a partial workload over the past two years, but he has flashed in that time (1,689 yards, 9 TDs).

A bully of a runner (5.1 yards per carry for career), Mason feels likely to earn the No. 1 RB role this season for the Vikings, which puts him in line for 250+ rushes.

I'll take that in Round 10.

11.03: Tyrone Tracy | RB | Giants

Starter Cam Skattebo (ankle) has a smashmouth playing style that could once again lead to injury, and Tracy has proven himself competent in a lead role with back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns.

12.10: Jordan Love | QB | Packers

I like the idea of going all-in on the Packers offense and stacking Jordan Love with Reed and Jacobs.

Love impressed in 2023 in his first starting season (4,159 yards, 32 TDs passing), and since then he has improved as a passer (8.1 AY/A vs. 7.4), even though his per-game numbers have declined (225.7 passing yards vs. 244.6).

Assuming HC Matt LaFleur stays sharp, Love will have a shot at a top-5 fantasy finish this year if he's able to "variance" his way into a few more dropbacks each week.

13.03: Kaytron Allen | RB | Commanders

On the one hand, Kaytron Allen is a sixth-round rookie. On the other hand, he led Penn State in carries in all four undergraduate seasons (769) on his way to becoming the school's all-time rushing yardage leader (4,180), and he has only Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Rachaad White ahead of him on the depth chart.

14.10: Chris Bell | WR | Dolphins

Sure, Chris Bell didn't break out until his final collegiate season (72-917-6, 11 games), and he tore his ACL in November.

Nevertheless, the third-round rookie has a shot to leverage his Josh Gordon-like combination of size (222 pounds) and speed (22.5-second 200-meter dash in high school) into the No. 1 WR gig in Miami.

15.03: Dalton Schultz | TE | Texans

In full disclosure: I don't really like Dalton Schultz, but he was the best TE available after a run at the position, and he's one of just three TEs with 500+ yards receiving in each season since 2020.

The other two are Travis Kelce and George Kittle.

So I'm basically getting a Kelce/Kittle-level talent in Round 15. No big deal, that's how stats work.

16.10: MarShawn Lloyd | RB | Packers

If starter Josh Jacobs misses part of this year because of injury or legal issues, the talented and finally healthy MarShawn Lloyd figures to get a shot at a workhorse role.