Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Starting With Jaxon Smith-Njigba From 1.05

If you’re like me, your home league draft with your friends is one of your most cherished days of the year. It’s one of the few times when we all can get away from the rest of the world and just go back to being kids. We drink, we talk smack and hope to set the stage for a successful fantasy season.

Unfortunately, it gets harder and harder each year to find a date to get together in person for a group of guys in their mid-to-late 30s. This year, we couldn’t find a day that worked until after the official start of the NFL season. We’re going to draft on Saturday, Sept. 14, and while that’s far from ideal, it still beats the thought of shifting to an online gathering.

The good news is it gives me more time to prep. I’ve been taking full advantage of all the tools we have at Fantasy Life, including Draft Champion. It gives me the opportunity to do a full mock draft in minutes and test my strategies and fantasy football rankings.

Let’s walk through a draft I just completed from the No. 5 spot, which the computer randomly generated for me. It’s a traditional 0.5-PPR league featuring a 16-round draft with 10 starters: 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex, 1 DST and 1 Kicker. Let’s dive in.

Fantasy Football Mock Draft From Position 1.05

1.05: Jaxon Smith-Njigba | WR | SEA

The fifth pick might be the “easiest” in fantasy this year. There are two Tier 1 running backs and three Tier 1 receivers, so you just have to select whoever falls to you. In this instance, that happened to be Jaxon Smith-Njigba. I’m more than OK with that outcome.

JSN may not have the same elite weekly ceiling as Puka Nacua, but he scares me a whole lot less. I’ve moved him ahead of Nacua in my personal rankings just because I feel better about his prospects of playing a full season. Just as a reminder, Smith-Njigba racked up more than 300 points in 0.5-PPR scoring last season, leading the league with 1,739 receiving yards. He also led the league with 14.5 yards per touch, so he combined efficiency and volume in a way that very few can. If the Seahawks have to throw the ball a bit more this season after losing Kenneth Walker, it should surprise no one if he finishes as the top receiver in fantasy.

2.08: Omarion Hampton | RB | LAC

After going WR in Round 1, getting a running back in Round 2 felt like a necessity. The falloff after the early-round running backs feels steep this season, so going without one through the first two rounds is something I’m trying to avoid. I’m not going to force a running back if an elite value slips through the cracks, but I’m gravitating toward RBs whenever it feels close.

Fortunately, Omarion Hampton felt like both a need and a value. He checks in at No. 20 in our fantasy football rankings, and he feels like the last player before a tier drop at the position. Going from Hampton to someone like Jeremiyah Love, Breece Hall or Javonte Williams feels like a pretty significant downgrade.

3.05: Chris Olave | WR | NO

If I were Matthew Berry, Chris Olave would be a finalist for my “Ride or Die” selection this year. He’s coming off a WR6 finish in 0.5-PPR scoring last season, and he could be poised for an even better performance this year. He has minimal competition for targets—especially with Jordyn Tyson recently landing on IR—while Tyler Shough should see a boost in production in his second professional season.

Olave does have some injury concerns, especially when it comes to concussions. But he made it through 16 games last season, and if he can do that again, I expect him to flirt with another top-5 finish at the position.

4.08: Ladd McConkey | WR | LAC

With Hall, Javonte Williams, Kyren Williams and Travis Etienne all coming off the board after I selected Olave, no RB felt worthy of a selection in this spot. Instead, I chose to continue to bolster my receiving corps. I’m going to have to focus on running back over the rest of my draft, but I couldn’t pass on the idea of Ladd McConkey as my No. 3 receiver.

McConkey is another potential “Ride or Die” finalist and has significant upside for the Chargers. Mike McDaniel could turbocharge their offense, and McConkey should see a significant boost in volume with Keenan Allen no longer in town.

Additionally, I have zero qualms about pairing Hampton and McConkey in a redraft format. While that type of correlation decreases your weekly ceiling, it increases your weekly floor. That type of correlation isn’t great for things like best ball, but it’s perfectly fine for managed redraft leagues.

5.05: David Montgomery | RB | HOU

It’s time to pay the piper. I’ve neglected running back so far, so I have to make a bit of an “ugly” pick in this round. I much prefer the wide receivers that go in this range, but passing on running back again would’ve left me with a real headache at RB2.

This pick ultimately came down to David Montgomery, Bhayshul Tuten and Jadarian Price in my head. While Montgomery probably has the lowest ceiling of that group, he also has the highest floor. I’m not looking to hit a home run with this selection, just to keep the chains moving.

6.08: Tucker Kraft | TE | GB

Tucker Kraft has been one of my most-drafted tight ends this season. It’s possible that he’s a bit limited to start the year, but his upside is absolutely immense. Through the first eight weeks of last season, Kraft was the No. 1 TE in fantasy in terms of points and points per game. With Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks now gone, he could be the focal point for a Packers offense that has to throw the ball a bit more this season.

7.05: Jonathon Brooks | RB | CAR

I played it safe with Montgomery in the fifth, so now I’m swinging for the fences with Jonathon Brooks. He was the first RB selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, but his career has been unable to get off the ground due to injuries. However, the drumbeat is building that he could supplant Chuba Hubbard as the team’s starter at some point in 2026. The most likely outcome is some sort of committee between the two players, but Rico Dowdle had plenty of excellent weeks despite Hubbard’s presence last year.

8.08: Jaxson Dart | QB | NYG

I see very little reason to take a QB early in 2026. There are simply too many good options at the position in 1QB formats.

That said, Jaxson Dart did feel like the last QB in a tier when I was on the board in Round 8. He was the 12th QB off the board in this draft, and the last with significant rushing upside. In his 12 starts last year, he averaged more than 40 rushing yards per game with 9 touchdowns. That type of production is hard to match at quarterback, and it propelled him to a QB8 finish in terms of fantasy points per game.

9.05: Michael Pittman Jr. | WR | PIT

Even though I feel rock-solid with my top three receivers, I can start a fourth in the flex. For that reason, I wanted some safety and stability with my fourth. That pushed me toward Michael Pittman Jr. I think he serves as the team’s No. 1 receiver this season, with his skill set a much clearer match with Aaron Rodgers than DK Metcalf’s. He’s also been a model of consistency throughout his career, averaging 16 games played, 89 receptions and 950.2 receiving yards over the past five seasons.

10.08: Kyler Murray | QB | MIN

While I like the upside with Dart, he is far from a sure thing. Pairing him with another quarterback felt like the right thing to do, and I am a big fan of Kyler Murray’s prospects this season. We’ve seen Murray turn in elite fantasy production when healthy in the past, especially when working with an alpha receiver. He’ll get that with Justin Jefferson in Minnesota. This is arguably the best situation of Murray’s career, so a big bounceback could be in the cards.

11.05: Josh Jacobs | RB | GB

Is this the right range for Josh Jacobs? I honestly have no idea. But with the way my roster was constructed, it felt like a risk worth taking. If he only ends up missing a handful of games, it would give me another high-end fantasy RB to pair with Hampton. And if it doesn’t work out, all it cost me was a pick in the double-digit rounds.

12.08: Mike Washington | RB | LV

I’m continuing to stack bodies at my weakest position. It’s hard to not be impressed by what we saw out of Mike Washington during the preseason. He was electric, and he has reportedly forced the coaching staff to “rethink” their RB rotation for the regular season. I still don’t think he’ll be a huge threat to Ashton Jeanty if he’s healthy, but who knows exactly how healthy Jeanty is at the moment? If the Raiders’ starting RB were to miss any time, Washington could be a league-winner.

13.05: Ja’Kobi Lane | WR | BAL

Let’s double down on rookies who impressed during the preseason. Ja'Kobi Lane turned in a few highlight-reel catches, and there are clear opportunities available in the Ravens’ passing attack. I’m simply hunting upside at this point, and Lane has it in spades.

14.08: Kayshon Boutte | WR | HOU

Kayshon Boutte is another guy with plenty of upside at receiver. They are extremely thin at the position currently, with Jayden Higgins out for the year, and Tank Dell and Jaylin Noel both dealing with injuries. He should open the year as the team’s No. 2 option, and if he plays well, he could hold that spot down all year.

15.05: Cam Little | K | JAX

I forced myself to draft a kicker and defense in this draft, so I settled on the guy who can make from 70+ yards. I’m no kicker expert, but that feels like a good strategy.

16.08: Steelers DST

A Week 1 matchup vs. either Tua Tagovailoa or a potentially still-rehabbing Michael Penix? Yeah, sign me up for that.

Players Mentioned in this Article

JaxonSmith-Njigba
WRSEA
PPG
16.8
Proj
13.7
OmarionHampton
RBLAC
PPG
11.8
Proj
14.2
ChrisOlave
WRNO
PPG
13.7
Proj
13.3
LaddMcConkey
WRLAC
PPG
9.0
Proj
10.7

Published Sep 6, 2026, 8:30 PM ETUpdated Sep 6, 2026, 8:40 PM ET