2026 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 12-Team PPR Mock (5th Pick)
Updated: Tuesday, August 11, 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), 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.
PPR Mock Draft: 12 Teams, 5th Pick
Starting positions: 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex (RB/WR/TE), 1 K, 1 DST; Bench spots: 6
1.05 - Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Maintaining last season's massive 35.8% target share seems unlikely, but Smith-Njigba could benefit from a likely increase in team pass attempts overall. Either way, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year belongs in the elite WR tier with Ja'Marr Chase and Puka Nacua. Barring an unexpected player entering the top four, this pick will always be the one who falls out of Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson, Chase, Nacua and JSN.
2.08 - Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders
I was really tempted to take Kenneth Walker III here, who went one pick later, as I prefer to have at least one running back through my first two picks. Dubbed a "football robot from heaven" by his new head coach Klint Kubiak, who funneled 35.8% of the targets to JSN last season in Seattle, Bowers has league-winning upside here in the second round.
3.05 - DeVonta Smith, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
One reason I like starting drafts RB/RB (or with a minimum of one back) is the wide receiver options in Rounds 3-5 are all appealing at their current ADPs. Smith has the potential to smash with A.J. Brown traded to the New England Patriots.
4.08 - Jaylen Waddle, WR, Denver Broncos
Not thrilled to have zero running backs through four rounds, but Waddle has a ton of upside and the running backs that went between this pick and my next pick were Bucky Irving (4.10), Quinshon Judkins (4.12), and TreVeyon Henderson (5.03). I'd much rather have Waddle than any of those three backs.
5.05 - D'Andre Swift, RB, Chicago Bears
Chicago has one of the league's best offenses, and Swift remains the RB1 with last year's depth chart basically intact. While I'd prefer Swift as my team's RB2 (or even flex), I'll load up on running backs from here on out.
6.08 - Bhayshul Tuten, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
There is a small concern that Chris Rodriguez gets more touches near the goal line, but Tuten has as much upside as any running back going in this range.
7.05 - Justin Herbert, QB, Los Angeles Chargers
Jayden Daniels (6.02) or then Jalen Hurts (6.03) were off the board before my previous pick (6.08) and I would have strongly considered them there, but I'm happy with Herbert here as this draft's QB9. Things fell apart for obvious reasons including Tua Tagovailoa's health the past two seasons in Miami, but Mike McDaniel's first two seasons there were phenomenal — 6th and 1st in yardage, 11th and second in scoring, respectively. Tua led the NFL in Y/A (8.9) and TD% (6.3) in 2022 and passing yards (4,624) in 2023. With a more durable and talented quarterback in Herbert, the sky's the limit for a healthy (knock on wood) Chargers offense in 2026.
8.08 - Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots
Yes, Henderson may have more upside, but the team's coaching staff trusts Stevenson much more (to protect Drake Maye). Given the three-round discount in this mock, I'd prefer Stevenson in Round 8 over Henderson in Round 5.
9.05 - Jonathon Brooks, RB, Carolina Panthers
Swift and Stevenson provide stability to this team's backfield as RB2/flex types, while Tuten and Brooks provide significant upside from their draft positions. Injuries have derailed Brooks' NFL career to this point, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he quickly emerges as the team's most productive running back.
10.08 - Stefon Diggs, WR, Washington Commanders
In his one-and-done season with the Patriots, Diggs eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark. While he is now one year older than last year (like every person still living), he's also one year further removed from his 2024 knee injury. Another WR2/WR3 season is likely even if this team doesn't have space to start him outside of bye weeks.
11.05 - Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB, New York Giants
Cam Skattebo is the team's RB1, but he plays with reckless abandon that makes himself more likely to incur injuries. If/when Skattebo misses time, Tracy becomes a weekly top-20 option.
12.08 - Keaton Mitchell, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
It may be too difficult to predict when Mitchell has a big game as a change-of-pace option to Omarion Hampton, but he provides some upside in Round 12.
13.05 - Brock Purdy, QB, San Francisco 49ers
There is only a small difference in my ranking between Herbert (QB8) and Purdy (QB10). Perhaps I should have taken another running back here, but a few I was hoping would fall went off the board right before this: Tank Bigsby and Jonah Coleman at 13.02 and 13.04, respectively, as two examples.
14.08 - Minnesota Vikings DST
15.05 - Tyler Loop, K, Baltimore Ravens
MORE: View full mock