Experts Fantasy Mock Draft 2022 Strategy tips advice for 12-team PPR league

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The NFL preseason has already begun, and fantasy football owners are eagerly waiting for their drafts to begin. Most leagues host their drafts in late August/early September, but true fantasy football aficionados can't wait that long to get in on the action. Many will get involved with mock drafts to help test their cheat sheets, rankings, and see where sleepers are landing to flesh out a draft strategy.Mock drafts can take a while to complete, though, especially if there are slow drafters in your mock. If you're busy, you cancheck out the, which allows you to do a mock draft in minutes.That said, if you want to be on the clock in a pre sure-packed environment, participating in a 10- or 12-team mock draft can be beneficial. I recently participated in with Walter Cherepinsky of. We did a PPR mock draft during which I put The Sporting News'to the test to see what type of team I was able to get.DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT:I had the No. 10 overall pick in this mock draft, so my strategy was simple. I wanted to land a top-tier running back if one made it to the 10th selection, but if not, I would take a top receiver and then whichever back came around to me. Per usual, I was only looking to add RBs and WRs in the first six rounds. After that, I focused on QB, TE and at other positions to bolster my depth.2022 PPR RANKINGS:|||||||Without further ado, here's a look at our fantasy football PPR mock draft results.2022 STANDARD RANKINGS:|||||||*Round 1, Pick 10: RB Najee Harris, Steelers.When I took the No. 10 pick in this mock, I never expected that would still be on the board. However, a run on receivers ensured that Harris made it to the 10th slot where I quickly snapped him up.Harris was tied with Austin Ekeler as the most targeted RB in the NFL with 94 targets. He caught 74 of them for 467 yards and three touchdowns. Harris might not get quite as many targets in 2022 with the noodle-armed Ben Roethlisberger gone, but he should have more running room with improved play at quarterback and along the offensive line. He could be the best RB in PPR, so he's a great value with the No. 10 overall pick.Round 2, Pick 15: WR Stefon Diggs, Bills.This seems like the year to build a balanced team, so I wanted to get a receiver coming back. I managed to do that by landing Diggs.Like Harris, Diggs may see a slight drop in production as circumstances around him have changed. Gabriel Davis may siphon off some of his targets, but Diggs' floor in PPR is still sky high. He has averaged 165 targets, 115 catches, 1,380 receiving yards and nine touchdowns per season in his two years with the Bills. He led the league in catches and yards in 2020, and if he returns to that form, he will be the No. 1 receiver in PPR. As it stands, he is a great WR1 for this quad.2022 FANTASY SLEEPERS:|||||Round 3, Pick 34: RB Antonio Gibson, Commanders.This pick may look like a reach, but it must be noted that it was made before the third-year back's lackluster preseason debut. Even still, Gibson has PPR potential and could emerge as a receiving threat out of the backfield given that he played receiver at Memphis.Gibson has averaged 39 catches per season in his first two NFL campaigns. That has come despite him mi sing three total games and being banged up in others. Gibson eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards last season and could do that again if he can avoid fumbling as much as he did last year (six fumbles in 300 touches). He's a risky RB2 given his recent negative momentum, but he's not a bad gamble at the position.Round 4, Pick 39: WR Mike Williams, Chargers.One of the reasons that I took Gibson in the third round was that both Chargers receivers were still on the board. I figured either Williams or Keenan Allen would make it back to me, and Williams did.Williams and Allen are ranked back-to-back in , so the difference between them is negligible. Allen may catch a few more pa ses, but Williams still managed 76 catches on a career-best 129 targets for 1,146 yards and nine touchdowns last Elvis Peralta Jersey year. Williams is a serious downfield threat with a career average of 16.1 yards per reception, and his 6-4 frame should allow Justin Herbert to find him in the end zone frequently.Round 5, Pick 58: WR Darnell Mooney, Bears.Every draft has some sort of "dead zone" within it where there aren't many top-tier values on the board. That happens in the fifth and sixth rounds of PPR drafts this year, as the available options come with some sort of flaw that makes them risky selections.Take Mooney, for example. He is our 17th-ranked PPR WR, but he plays for the Bears, who had one of the worst offenses in 2021. The good news is that Mooney will get plenty of targets as the team's new No. 1 receiver with Allen Robinson gone, but since he doesn't have a great running mate, defenses will be able to focus on him.Still, Mooney has more upside than the other players on the board at this juncture, so he's worth a shot.2022 AUCTION VALUES (Standard & PPR):||||||Round 6, Pick 63: WR DeAndre Hopkins, Cardinals.OK, here's something that would have looked like a value last year but is a bit of a reach this year. Hopkins is suspended for the first six games of the 2022 NFL season, so he won't be in our lineup for quite some time. However, when he returns, he could be a top-20 fantasy receiver and supplant Mooney in our lineup.Hopkins only played in 10 games last year because of a hamstring injury and a torn MCL. Before that, he was on pace for 71 catches, 972 yards and 14 touchdowns, the latter of which would have marked a career high. He may experience a bit of touchdown regre sion with more mouths to feed in Arizona's offense, but Hopkins still has a high floor. He should be, at minimum, a high-end WR3 once his suspension ends.Round 7, Pick 82: RB Kenneth Walker, Seahawks.One of the downsides to the fifth and sixth rounds was that the running back value wasn't great. As such, I waited until the seventh round to select my RB3.The good news is I landed one of the top sleepers in fantasy football. Walker totaled 1,636 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns at Michigan State last season. He is currently battling for a starting job against Rashaad Penny, but Penny has been injury prone during his career. Walker could emerge as the starter, and if not, he should be a nice tandem with Penny. Both are viable fantasy options, but Walker has a bit more upside.Round 8, Pick 87: QB Dak Prescott, Cowboys.The top quarterbacks lasted a long time in this mock, and in retrospect, I probably should have taken Patrick Mahomes with either my fifth- or sixth-round pick. Instead, I waited until the eighth round and got Prescott, which is a pretty solid value.Prescott has totaled at least 30 touchdowns in two of his past three seasons. He recorded a career-high 37 pa sing touchdowns in 2021, and if he stays healthy in '22, he may be called upon in that type of role again. His supporting cast is a bit weaker, but if Prescott can average a couple of scores per game, I shouldn't have any i sues at quarterback.2022 RANKINGS TIERS & DRAFT STRATEGY:||||Round 9, Pick 106: TE Dallas Goedert, Eagles.Waiting on a tight end paid off in the same way that waiting on a quarterback did. Goedert became the true No. 1 tight end for the Eagles last year after they traded Zach Ertz, and he fared well, logging 56 catches, 830 yards and four touchdowns.Goedert (6-5, 256 pounds) may not score as much as some may like because he plays in a run-heavy offense. Still, he averaged 14.8 yards per catch last season, so he will only need a couple of catches on average to post a respectable PPR score at the tight end spot.Round 10, Pick 111: RB Nyheim Hines, Colts.The three-down backs are all gone at this point, so I needed to land a top-tier receiver. Hines certainly qualifies, as he has been targeted at least 57 times and recorded 40 catches in each of his four NFL seasons.Hines tied a career-low last season with just 96 total touches, as he typically plays behind Jonathan Taylor at running back. However, Frank Reich seems to be experimenting with playing him at receiver a bit, so Hines' volume should increase this year. Landing him in the 10th round could pay off in a big way.Round 11, Pick 130: WR Michael Gallup, Cowboys.OK, taking a second receiver who isn't going to be able to play in Week 1 is certainly a risky move. Gallup is preparing to return from an ACL tear he suffered last year, but it is unclear when he might be healthy.Still, it's hard to pa s on an opportunity to pair Prescott with someone who may be his No. 2 receiver. Gallup has ave Dave Henderson Jersey