Fantasy Football Mock Draft 2021: Travis Kelce in first round for 12-team PPR?

A fantasy football mock draft for the 2021 season in a 12-team PPR league to see if going with Travis Kelce in the first round can pay off. 

While there are still a few weeks until the start of NFL training camp, it may well be time for your fantasy football leagues to start getting underway. And that means your drafts are approaching. There is research to be done and an opinion or two that can be formed still. However, one of the best ways managers can prepare is to dive into a fantasy football mock draft to see how other managers are approaching the 2021 season.

One of the areas I frequently struggle to draft in is at the back-middle of the first round. So with that in mind, that’s where I wanted to start with the first fantasy football mock draft for 2021: picking at No. 8 in a 12-team PPR league. Moreover, I adopted a bit of a bold strategy by spurning running back or wide receiver in the first round to see how things would turn out from there.

So, from a mock draft compiled with 11 other users on ESPN Fantasy’s platform, we’re going round-by-round through this fantasy football draft to see how our team ended up and what the order of business was. All stats are courtesy of ESPN Fantasy.

Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Round 1

• Team 1 (1.01): Derrick Henry, RB, Titans
• Team 2 (1.02): Christian McCaffrey, RB, Panthers
• Team 3 (1.03): Dalvin Cook, RB, Vikings
• Team 4 (1.04): Saquon Barkley, RB, Giants
• Team 5 (1.05): Alvin Kamara, RB, Saints
• Team 6 (1.06): Jonathan Taylor, RB, Colts
• Team 7 (1.07): Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Cowboys
• Team 8** (1.08): Travis Kelce, TE, Chiefs
• Team 9 (1.09): Davante Adams, WR, Packers
• Team 10 (1.10): Tyreek Hill, WR, Chiefs
• Team 11 (1.11): Austin Ekeler, RB, Chargers
• Team 12 (1.12): Stefon Diggs, WR, Bills

In the first round, the bold strategy is going with Travis Kelce over some low-tier RB1 candidates and the top wide receivers like Davante Adams. My reasoning for that is that the top of the tight end ground is substantially more separated from the next tier of players at the position than at running back or wide receiver.

Last season, Kelce average 20.9 fantasy points per game. Only two other tight ends averaged more than 12.5 points per game and the closes to the Chiefs star was Darren Waller at 17.4. That’s a substantial matchup advantage that, to me, is worth making Kelce a first-round pick.

Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Round 2

• Team 12 (2.01): Aaron Jones, RB, Packers
• Team 11 (2.02): DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Cardinals
• Team 10 (2.03): Nick Chubb, RB, Browns
• Team 9 (2.04): Cam Akers, RB, Rams
• Team 8** (2.05): D’Andre Swift, RB, Lions
• Team 7 (2.06): Joe Mixon, RB, Bengals
• Team 6 (2.07): Calvin Ridley, WR, Falcons
• Team 5 (2.08): A.J. Brown, WR, Titans
• Team 4 (2.09): Najee Harris, RB, Steelers
• Team 3 (2.10): DK Metcalf, WR, Seahawks
• Team 2 (2.11): Antonio Gibson, RB, WFT
• Team 1 (2.12): Patrick Mahomes, QB, Chiefs

After a miscue in his first career NFL game got him off to a bad start, D’Andre Swift came around in a big way to really finish up strong and show that he can be a big fantasy football asset in just his second season — even if you don’t believe in the Lions offense after this tumultuous offseason.

Swift will still be behind an offensive line that is solid and has a ton of value as a dual-threat player out of the backfield. When he got the work last year, he almost always produced. Now, there is no one standing in the way of a huge workload, which makes him worthy of a second-round pick this season after he finished last year as the RB18.