Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Building Around Ravens and Bucs In An Underdog Draft

The face people give when I tell them I've been drafting fantasy football teams since early May would qualify for a premium display spot in The Louvre. But as Reese Bobby said, if you ain't first, you're last.

Drafting early in the summer, especially low-stakes best ball drafts, gives you a great idea of how the draft board should (mostly) unfold. You find pockets of value, pockets of positional fades and really hone in on your draft strategy before your leaguemates even open their laptops in August.

My favorite way to prep is by consistently drafting in The Puppy contests on Underdog. A low-stakes ($5), large-field best ball tournament. It's not entirely free, so people (mostly) pay attention to the draft and take it seriously. It's also cheap enough that you can rattle off rep after rep without burning a hole in your pocket.

Let's take a look at the draft board of my most recent Puppy draft and approach it like a mock draft to prep for the fantasy draft season.

Fantasy Football Mock Draft On Underdog

My Final Roster

Below is how my team turned out in my latest Puppy draft with the No. 9 pick.

I was able to take advantage of some elite value (Christian McCaffrey falling to 1.09) and build around two full team stacks of offenses with massive scoring potential (Ravens, Bucs).

QB (2): Lamar Jackson, Baker Mayfield
RB (5): Christian McCaffrey, Kenneth Walker, Kenneth Gainwell, Isiah Pacheco, Tank Bigsby
WR (8): Zay Flowers, Emeka Egbuka, Jordyn Tyson, Chris Godwin, Jalen Coker, Ryan Flournoy, Zachariah Branch, Elijah Sarratt
TE (3): Tucker Kraft, Mark Andrews, Mike Gesicki

See below for a round-by-round analysis of the draft and the thought process of my specific picks through the first 11 rounds. The results of Rounds 12 through 18 are included as well, but without in-depth analysis for each round.

First Round (1)

1.01 - Jahmyr Gibbs
1.02 - Bijan Robinson
1.03 - Ja'Marr Chase
1.04 - Puka Nacua
1.05 - Jaxon Smith-Njigba
1.06 - Jonathan Taylor
1.07 - Ashton Jeanty
1.08 - Justin Jefferson
1.09 - Christian McCaffrey
1.10 - Amon-Ra St. Brown
1.11 - CeeDee Lamb
1.12 - James Cook

I wouldn't say I've been actively fading Christian McCaffrey in my early drafts; I just haven't found myself in a spot where I'm entirely comfortable taking him. That changed in this draft, as 1.09 was simply too far for McCaffrey to fall. He's expressed excitement about another heavy workload in 2026, and at the end of the day, we're drafting to win, not drafting not to lose.

The top five of the draft provided no surprises, nor did Jonathan Taylor at 1.06. The big surprise from Round 1 was Team 7 going Ashton Jeanty. I'm as in on Jeanty this season as anyone, but taking him at 1.07 when he could very well have been there at 2.06 for you feels irresponsible, and it led to others in the draft getting nice value off the bat (McCaffrey, Amon-Ra St. Brown at 1.10).

Second Round (2)

2.01 - Chase Brown
2.02 - Saquon Barkley
2.03 - De'Von Achane
2.04 - Kenneth Walker
2.05 - Omarion Hampton
2.06 - Drake London
2.07 - A.J. Brown
2.08 - Jeremiyah Love
2.09 - Derrick Henry
2.10 - Brock Bowers
2.11 - Nico Collins
2.12 - George Pickens

Round 2 saw a near-half-round RB run, with James Cook kicking it off last round at 1.12, followed by five more running backs—Chase Brown, Saquon Barkley, De'Von Achane, Kenneth Walker and Omarion Hampton.

I would be thrilled to draft four of these six running backs (sorry, Achane and Barkley), and getting Kenneth Walker in Round 2 allowed me to attack every other position in the draft before circling back to RB. With a McCaffrey + Walker pairing out of the gate, it's hard to envision any other backs that I draft finding their way into my starting lineup, barring injuries.

If I hadn't clicked Walker, A.J. Brown would've been my target. Potential concerns around the knee issue aside, Brown is going from a low-volume passing offense to an offense with an ascending young quarterback who averaged 50 more passing yards per game than Jalen Hurts (249 vs 199, including playoffs), with less target competition.

He could be a Round 1-2 turn pick by the time August rolls around.

Third Round (3)

3.01 - Breece Hall
3.02 - Travis Etienne
3.03 - DeVonta Smith
3.04 - Kyren Williams
3.05 - Javonte Williams
3.06 - Rashee Rice
3.07 - Trey McBride
3.08 - Chris Olave
3.09 - Zay Flowers
3.10 - Malik Nabers
3.11 - Tee Higgins
3.12 - Josh Allen

Starting RB-RB put me in a position of need at WR, as I was one of only two teams without a wideout. It can feel uncomfortable to be in a position where your WR room isn't anchored by a true alpha, especially in Round 3, where seemingly all of the WRs have a question mark or asterisk by their names, outside of DeVonta Smith.

Rashee Rice - recently released from jail (he did run without limitations!) and rehabbing an offseason procedure.
Chris Olave - has yet to participate in OTAs as he recovers from an early-2026 blood clot.
Zay Flowers - low passing volume in the offense, new coaching staff in town.
Malik Nabers - ambiguity surrounding his recovery from a knee injury, looked like a peg-legged pirate when he was running in a community softball game.
Tee Higgins - not even the WR1 on his own team.

I ended up clicking Flowers in Round 3 with the goal of building out a Baltimore stack. He topped 1,200 receiving yards last season, has improved his yards per target in each of the last three seasons and gets a healthy Lamar Jackson without Isaiah Likely to siphon targets. At worst, I feel OK that he'll return high-end WR2 value.

Fourth Round (4)

4.01 - Ladd McConkey
4.02 - Garrett Wilson
4.03 - Josh Jacobs
4.04 - Emeka Egbuka
4.05 - Tetairoa McMillan
4.06 - Cam Skattebo
4.07 - Colston Loveland
4.08 - D'Andre Swift
4.09 - Bucky Irving
4.10 - TreVeyon Henderson
4.11 - Mike Evans
4.12 - Luther Burden

Round 4 is arguably my favorite pocket of the draft outside of the top-five picks in Round 1. The round is littered with high-upside players and I want to make sure to grab shares of several of these guys throughout the summer—namely Emeka Egbuka, Cam Skattebo, Colston Loveland and Luther Burden. Through my first 20 drafts of the summer, I've already got over 25% of both Burden and Loveland, so I'm taking my foot off the gas on these two Bears in this draft. And with a pair of elite running backs with only Flowers in the WR room, Skattebo would be an irresponsible click.

That led me to Egbuka, who's one of my favorite clicks on the entire board this summer. Had his 2025 season been reversed and he started slow and finished hot instead of the inverse (he was the WR3 overall through Week 5 last season), we'd be clicking his name a round or two earlier. WR1 Mike Evans is gone, Chris Godwin is on the wrong side of 30 and Egbuka has had a healthy offseason ahead of assuming the WR1 role. He has legitimate top-10 upside at the position and should continue to climb the fantasy football rankings as the summer rolls along.

Sign me up.

Fifth Round (5)

5.01 - Terry McLaurin
5.02 - Jaylen Waddle
5.03 - Jameson Williams
5.04 - DJ Moore
5.05 - Davante Adams
5.06 - David Montgomery
5.07 - Christian Watson
5.08 - Quinshon Judkins
5.09 - Lamar Jackson
5.10 - Rome Odunze
5.11 - Bhayshul Tuten
5.12 - Brian Thomas Jr.

I'm a sucker for an elite-QB build, and as I mentioned after clicking Flowers in Round 3, I wanted to target a Ravens stack of their pass game. I was able to grab Lamar Jackson a couple of picks past his fantasy football ADP here, shoring up the meat and potatoes of the stack.

Had I not gone Jackson, Brian Thomas Jr. would have been my favorite click. Offseason reports have been glowing about BTJ, noting that he's been in lockstep with Trevor Lawrence, especially vertically down the field. Let us not forget he was a top-five receiver just 18 months ago!

Side note: Sure, he's 34, but Davante Adams at 5.05 feels like an awfully strong pick given the Rams' offense, his propensity to find the end zone and him seemingly refusing to fold to Father Time.

Sixth Round (6)

6.01 - Carnell Tate
6.02 - Joe Burrow
6.03 - Jadarian Price
6.04 - Jordyn Tyson
6.05 - Tyler Warren
6.06 - Jayden Daniels
6.07 - Caleb Williams
6.08 - Marvin Harrison
6.09 - Parker Washington
6.10 - Jalen Hurts
6.11 - Drake Maye
6.12 - Chuba Hubbard

With only Flowers and Egbuka occupying my WR room, I needed to fill out the last remaining starting spot in my wide receiver room in either Round 6 or Round 7. With Jordyn Tyson, Marvin Harrison, Parker Washington and Makai Lemon on the board, I didn't want to wait until Round 7 and potentially miss on this entire tier.

Tyson, to me, represents the highest-upside option, particularly in best ball formats. His reps will be managed throughout the offseason as he returns from hamstring issues, but the Saints have one of the fastest-paced offenses in the league, a budding young star at QB in Tyler Shough and Tyson has been a proven target-earner when on the field in college. Ian Hartitz's WR1 in the class, Tyson gives me massive upside at my WR3 spot.

Had I not chosen Tyson, Washington would've been my pick. While I am sky-high on BTJ this season, I want to make sure I get exposure to Washington, too. He had the sixth-most catches among all players of at least 20 yards last season, bringing week-winning upside to the table in one of the highest-scoring offenses in the NFL.

Seventh Round (7)

7.01 - Makai Lemon
7.02 - Tony Pollard
7.03 - Rhamondre Stevenson
7.04 - Dak Prescott
7.05 - Justin Herbert
7.06 - DK Metcalf
7.07 - Jaylen Warren
7.08 - RJ Harvey
7.09 - Tucker Kraft
7.10 - Jayden Reed
7.11 - Alec Pierce
7.12 - Rico Dowdle

With my starting wideouts locked down, two elite running backs and an elite QB on the roster, it was time to either start stacking depth or fill out the TE position.

With Tucker Kraft still on the board, the choice was easy, especially with more and more optimism about his Week 1 availability surfacing. In his seven fully healthy games in 2025, Kraft operated as the TE2 in PPR formats (16.2 ppg) with a 19% target share and 80% route rate. His big-play upside is second-to-none, logging at least 20 yards per reception in three of those seven games (Weeks 2, 6 and 8). With no Romeo Doubs or Dontayvion Wicks, there's a legitimate case to be made that Kraft will be the No. 1 target in the passing game this season.

Eighth Round (8)

8.01 - Quentin Johnston
8.02 - Jordan Addison
8.03 - Courtland Sutton
8.04 - Chris Godwin
8.05 - Michael Wilson
8.06 - Josh Downs
8.07 - Patrick Mahomes
8.08 - Trevor Lawrence
8.09 - Jaxson Dart
8.10 - Kyle Monangai
8.11 - Xavier Worthy
8.12 - Blake Corum

With my hypothetical starters locked in, it was time to start stacking depth. I was hoping that Quentin Johnston would fall a few more picks, as I want to target any piece of the Chargers' offense that I can get my hands on this season.

Instead, Chris Godwin was my selection. With vacated targets from the departure of Mike Evans and a healthy offseason under his belt, I'm banking on Godwin assuming a 1B role to Egbuka's 1A in a pass-happy offense. While his 2025 was disappointing, his 2024 season saw him operate as the overall WR2 (behind only Ja'Marr Chase) before his season-ending dislocated ankle. With both Egbuka and Godwin, I was fully in on attacking the Bucs as my secondary stack.

Had I not gone with Godwin, Josh Downs would've been the easy click with Michael Pittman out of town and Alec Pierce nursing an injury. Downs is already one of my highest-owned players this offseason, however, so I wanted to spread out the exposure a bit.

Ninth Round (9)

9.01 - Brock Purdy
9.02 - Ricky Pearsall
9.03 - Jakobi Meyers
9.04 - Matthew Stafford
9.05 - Romeo Doubs
9.06 - Sam LaPorta
9.07 - Michael Pittman
9.08 - Harold Fannin
9.09 - Kenneth Gainwell
9.10 - Bo Nix
9.11 - Matthew Golden
9.12 - Kyle Pitts

Building off of Round 8 with my Egbuka-Godwin pairing, getting Kenneth Gainwell, the unofficial 1B in the Bucs' backfield and, more importantly, the pass-catching back, rounded out a full Bucs stack (until Round 10, that is …) and basically gave me guaranteed production in any game that the Bucs have success in the passing game.

We saw Gainwell literally operate as the Steelers' team MVP in 2025 and was the overall RB6—yes, RB6!!—in PPR scoring from Week 11 onward last season (17.8 ppg).

10th Round

10.01 - KC Concepcion
10.02 - Jordan Love
10.03 - Jared Goff
10.04 - Baker Mayfield
10.05 - Kyler Murray
10.06 - J.K. Dobbins
10.07 - Jonathon Brooks
10.08 - Tyler Shough
10.09 - Travis Kelce
10.10 - Rachaad White
10.11 - George Kittle
10.12 - Wan'Dale Robinson

Snagging Baker Mayfield as my QB2 rounded out the Bucs' stack (Mayfield-Egbuka-Godwin-Gainwell). He was a top-five fantasy QB to open the 2025 season, only to have his season completely derailed by injury after injury, despite gutting out the games. Had I not targeted Mayfield here, I'd have been all over Jonathon Brooks as a post-hype sleeper and Rachaad White as this year's Javonte Williams.

11th Round

11.01 - Jayden Higgins
11.02 - Aaron Jones
11.03 - Jacory Croskey-Merritt
11.04 - Dalton Kincaid
11.05 - Isaiah Likely
11.06 - Chris Rodriguez
11.07 - Malik Willis
11.08 - Jordan Mason
11.09 - Mark Andrews
11.10 - Tyrone Tracy
11.11 - Jake Ferguson
11.12 - Stefon Diggs

My Bucs' stack was complete, so I decided to circle back to my Ravens stack (Jackson-Flowers) and lock in my TE2 in Mark Andrews, who I think is one of the most underpriced players in all of best ball this season.

I'm not banging the drum that Andrews will be a top-five tight end, but with Isaiah Likely's target/snap competition gone (as well as Charlie Kolar's) and Andrews' history of production in the end zone and as a target earner with Lamar Jackson, it feels like a bulletproof TE2 pick with upside.

Rounds 12 Through 18 Of My Mock Draft on Underdog Fantasy

Through 11 rounds, I was able to lock in two high-upside stacks (Ravens, Bucs), a pair of elite RBs (McCaffrey, Walker) and upside one-offs around these pieces (Tyson, Kraft).

Throughout Rounds 12 through 18, I targeted high-upside players with week-winning upside (Jalen Coker), running back handcuffs (Isiah Pacheco, Tank Bigsby) and more depth pieces.

See below for every pick made between Rounds 12 and 18. My individual selections in each of the following rounds are bolded.

12th Round

12.01 - Travis Hunter
12.02 - Dallas Goedert
12.03 - Sam Darnold
12.04 - Jalen Coker
12.05 - Cam Ward
12.06 - Khalil Shakir
12.07 - Omar Cooper Jr.
12.08 - Keaton Mitchell
12.09 - Jauan Jennings
12.10 - C.J. Stroud
12.11 - Daniel Jones
12.12 - Chig Okonkwo

13th Round

13.01 - Jonah Coleman
13.02 - Hunter Henry
13.03 - Woody Marks
13.04 - Rashid Shaheed
13.05 - Tyler Allgeier
13.06 - Jalen McMillan
13.07 - Oronde Gadsden
13.08 - Denzel Boston
13.09 - Isiah Pacheco
13.10 - Brenton Strange
13.11 - Jalen Nailor
13.12 - Juwan Johnson

14th Round

14.01 - Tyjae Spears
14.02 - Tre Tucker
14.03 - AJ Barner
14.04 - Ryan Flournoy
14.05 - De'Zhaun Stribling
14.06 - Antonio Williams
14.07 - Brian Robinson
14.08 - Tre' Harris
14.09 - Zach Charbonnet
14.10 - Kenyon Sadiq
14.11 - T.J. Hockenson
14.12 - Bryce Young

15th Round

15.01 - Fernando Mendoza
15.02 - Deebo Samuel
15.03 - Dalton Schultz
15.04 - Isaac TeSlaa
15.05 - David Njoku
15.06 - Jerry Jeudy
15.07 - Sean Tucker
15.08 - Nicholas Singleton
15.09 - Tank Bigsby
15.10 - Greg Dulcich
15.11 - Dylan Sampson
15.12 - Aaron Rodgers

16th Round

16.01 - Germie Bernard
16.02 - Gunnar Helm
16.03 - Kaytron Allen
16.04 - Zachariah Branch
16.05 - Calvin Ridley
16.06 - Alvin Kamara
16.07 - Tank Dell
16.08 - Ted Hurst
16.09 - Emmett Johnson
16.10 - Geno Smith
16.11 - Malik Washington
16.12 - Pat Freiermuth

17th Round

17.01 - Eli Stowers
17.02 - Braelon Allen
17.03 - Dontayvion Wicks
17.04 - Colby Parkinson
17.05 - Cade Otton
17.06 - Brandon Aiyuk
17.07 - Adonai Mitchell
17.08 - Jacoby Brissett
17.09 - Mike Gesicki
17.10 - Troy Franklin
17.11 - Mike Washington
17.12 - Jaydon Blue

18th Round

18.01 - Terrance Ferguson
18.02 - MarShawn Lloyd
18.03 - Darius Slayton
18.04 - Elijah Sarratt
18.05 - Cooper Kupp
18.06 - Jaylin Noel
18.07 - Chris Brazzell
18.08 - Darnell Mooney
18.09 - Christian Kirk
18.10 - Ray Davis
18.11 - Pat Bryant
18.12 - Kayshon Boutte

Players Mentioned in this Article

ChristianMcCaffrey
RBSF
PPG
20.9
Proj
299.0
KennethWalker
RBKC
PPG
12.2
Proj
229.5
ZayFlowers
WRBAL
PPG
11.8
Proj
188.7
EmekaEgbuka
WRTB
PPG
9.5
Proj
175.4

Published Jun 19, 2026, 10:01 PM ETUpdated Jun 19, 2026, 10:02 PM ET

Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Building Around Ravens and Bucs In An Underdog Draft

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Fantasy Football Mock Draft On Underdog

My Final Roster

First Round (1)

Second Round (2)

Third Round (3)

Fourth Round (4)

Fifth Round (5)

Sixth Round (6)

Seventh Round (7)

Eighth Round (8)

Ninth Round (9)

10th Round

11th Round

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Rounds 12 Through 18 Of My Mock Draft on Underdog Fantasy

12th Round

13th Round

14th Round

15th Round

16th Round

17th Round

18th Round

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