There is nothing better to get you ready for the big day than a good fantasy football mock draft. You can look at all the player rankings you want, read about all the different draft strategies you need and study the fantasy football ADP until you have it memorized. But until you implement it on the field of battle, you’re just pushing paper.

 

 

 

Whether you’re prepping for your home league or looking to play in something with TE Premium scoring like The FFPC Main Event, a quality fantasy football mock draft can give you the glimpse into the future you need to be successful. You’ll learn where the position runs are taking place, how long you can wait to draft the quarterback you covet, what the player pool looks like around your eighth-round pick, etc. You can even use it as an opportunity to test out the draft software. All of these add up to a successful draft and those who don’t mock and just go in blind, typically fail.

To get you better prepared, if you find it difficult to get into a legitimate mock draft that doesn’t turn into five auto-drafters by the fourth round, you should give a shout in the NFL Redraft room on the Fantasy Alarm Discord as numerous #FAmily members are always down to draft. Or you can check out what we’ve done here in the Draft Guide and check out our mock draft write-ups:

This one here is for those who compete in leagues with TE Premium scoring, so let’s get to it!

2024 Fantasy Football Mock Draft: 12-Team PPR TE Premium

If you are new to TE Premium, it’s simple. In an effort to make the position less of a throwaway in drafts, tight ends typically receive an extra half-point per reception than wide receivers or running backs get. If your league has extra scoring for things like first downs, then the bonus for the tight ends usually applies as well. Be sure to always check your scoring before you draft, just to be on the safe side.

The interesting thing about TE Premium this 2024-25 season is that the position is actually loaded with heavily-targeted players. It used to be Travis Kelce and then everybody else, but now it’s Kelce with Dalton Kincaid, Sam LaPorta, Mark Andrews and Trey McBride sharing the top tier while guys like Evan Engram and Kyle Pitts aren’t that far behind. Go check out the TE Yin Yang Strategy piece and see just how loaded this position is finally. You might think that will make things easier for you to leave the position until later, but it actually makes your TE work during the draft that much more important!

TE Premium Fantasy Mock Draft Format & Scoring

  • Format: 12 teams, 16 rounds, snake draft
  • Scoring: Full-point PPR scoring with the usual touchdown and yardage scoring (no bonuses)
  • Scoring Add-On: TE Premium – 1.5 PPR
  • Starting Rosters: QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE, 2 Flex (R/W/T)
  • Bench: 7 players

Our Fantasy Football Mock Drafters (In Draft Order)

If you’re on X (formerly known as Twitter), please give everyone a follow! And if they’re in the industry, check out their sites as well for all of their work. They are all worth it!

The 2024 Fantasy Football TE Premium Mock Draft Board

The final mock draft board is posted here, but you can also click here to open it in a new window for easier reference:

TE Premium Fantasy Football Mock Draft 2024 Results & Strategy

When I saw I had the 11th pick in a 12-teamer, I was elated. The top eight picks off the board are the top eight in almost every non-superflex draft, so I knew I was going to land one of the top five tight ends, a goal of mine in any draft. Even with Sam LaPorta going to RJ Wilson seventh overall, I was locked in. And when the next three picks were wide receivers, I knew I could land my anchor RB first and hit the tight end position in the second round.

After grabbing Mark Andrews, my plan was to let the tight end position marinate for a little while; see where everyone else goes. I have no problem grabbing one of this year’s top five earlier than usual, given the scoring format, but all too often we see people reaching for the mid-tier, borderline-mediocre tight ends early and that is something I don’t see the value in. When you’re looking at tight ends in the 70-90 target range, that extra half-point on receptions doesn’t move the needle enough for me. Multiple high-end tight ends, I could easily start both and flex one of them, but a guy like Dallas Goedert? I’d rather have the extra running back or wide receiver.

I pounded the receivers and running backs for seven rounds, snagged Joe Burrow in the ninth and then went back to running backs and receivers for a couple of picks. I went with a couple of late-round tight ends with upside to cover Andrews’ bye week and see what develops. Could Aaron Rodgers turn Tyler Conklin into 2020 Robert Tonyan? Maybe. If Juwan Johnson’s foot heals, could he land as the second or third target in New Orleans? Perhaps. But it’s not costing me an arm and a leg to find out. Overall, I really like the way this team turned out. But I’m sure everyone’s going to say that about their draft, aren’t they? Let’s find out.

From Tight End Whisperer Andrew Cooper…

I've noticed a pattern with most tight end premium drafts I've done: the top tier is usually drafted appropriately. After that, folks reach for the "middle" tier. Then, most players stop drafting TEs and there are values to be had later. With two RBs, three WRs AND two flex spots, I chose to fill those up first and do a little Tight End Whispering in the late rounds.

I went for some guys in uncertain situations that could be top two targets on their team like Pat Freiermuth, Hunter Henry and Hayden Hurst. I really just need to find ONE guy to fill that TE spot but, with this scoring, these guys could make an appearance in the flex. I even hedged my bets on Freiermuth and Henry by taking rookies Roman Wilson and Ja'Lynn Polk down the stretch.

What Did Eric Balkman Think?

The 12-spot gets a lot of hate this year, but I enjoyed drafting from it. A lot of value fell to me there, including Derrick Henry at the 3.12 and Malik Nabers and Amari Cooper at the five/six turn. I feel like I filled in my backfield well with a few upside guys late like Blake Corum, Kendre Miller and Jaylen Wright (all of whom I have significant shares of this season). 

I also loved getting Jayden Daniels and Trevor Lawrence where I did, but I don't feel great about my tight end room with just Travis Kelce and a quasi-dart throw behind him in Mike Gesicki. You gotta be weak somewhere, though!

From The Mind Of Nate Marcum…

Having the 10th pick in a 12-team league, there were a couple different avenues to begin my build. With CMC, Bijan and Breece off the board, I was happy to wait until the end of the next tier to attack RB, while focusing my attention to the WR position, especially considering we have three WR spots in this format.

  • 1.10–A.J. Brown. As mentioned above, with three WR spots in our lineup, I’m building a base at WR, as I am comfortable with my next tier at RB. Brown feels as safe as it can be, and even with Saquon and a little less dominant O-Line, there could be even more targets to be had. 
  • 2.3–Garrett Wilson. Both Kelce and Andrews went right before me, which comfortably led to Garrett Wilson. It’s pretty exciting to imagine if Garrett Wilson can command another 30% target share with Aaron Rodgers under center for more than 4 snaps.  

By the time my 3rd pick was up, seven TE’s have already been taken, which did push down, what I deemed, good value at the RB position. I had my eye on Isaiah Pacheco, but unfortunately, he went a few picks prior.

  • 3.10–James Cook. The most vacated targets in the NFL, which often funnels to the RB position. Really took off under Joe Brady, and I expect Cook to see even more than the 54 targets.
  • 4.3–Alvin Kamara. Durability issues aside, Kamara has only failed to record 50 receptions in one season. In a PPR format, Kamara should be a very stable floor with another shot at 90+ targets.
  • 5.10–Lamar Jackson. As mentioned above, QB and TE were my focus, and I am very happy to have Lamar as my QB, especially in a 4pt passing TD league.  
  • 6.3–Tee Higgins. I fully expect a healthy season out of Joe Burrow, which should translate to 4,500 yards. The bigger expectation is a healthy season out of Higgins, which if happens, should result in another 1,000+-yard season out of my WR3!
  • 7.10–Rashee Rice. We know all about the legal woes, but if the NFL pushes back the potential suspension to 2025, I have a Top 20 WR at value. If he does serve his suspension, I have a WR for the 2nd half.
  • 8.3–Brian Robinson True upside RB depth piece. On a per-touch basis, Robinson was very good, but what role does Austin Ekeler occupy?  

I have my starting lineup full, except the TE spot, which in a TE premium league is pretty risky. My focus will be adding upside depth mixed in with a few “safe” plays to offset any injuries/bye week situations. 

  • 9.10–Chigoziem Okonkwo - Kmet, ‘Muth, and Goedert all picked prior. Best available.
  • 10.3–Trey Benson - One James Conner injury away from a starting role.
  • 11.10–Tyler Lockett- JSN hype may be warranted, but five straight 100+-target seasons.
  • 11.3–Jonnu Smith - 3rd option in an explosive offense. Coming off career high targets.
  • 12.10–Gus Edwards - I don’t trust the long-term starter role, but appears to be a “leg up” on J.K.
  • 13.3–Dontayvion Wicks - Probably better in best ball, but a rapidly improving offense.
  • 14.10–Jared Goff - Don’t always take two QBs in this format, but Goff plays 14 games in a dome.
  • 15.5–Daniel Bellinger - No Darren Waller means he’s atop the depth chart… for what that is worth.

Jason Brown Said…

For my strategy, once I saw that I had the fourth pick, I had my mind set on drafting Breece Hall or Bijan Robinson. Either one of these players could be the RB1 or top player in fantasy. When the second round came around and all the top TE’s were off the board, I decided to go with the best player on the board, which was Etienne. In the third, I took Nico Collins who should finish as a low-end WR1, and I finally picked up a TE in Round 4 in Kittle who will finish as a TE1, even though he probably will not have a bunch of catches but should crush in yards and touchdowns. 

In Round 5, I thought I was going nuts when I saw Mike Evans sitting there. In Rounds 6 and 7, I saw two potential RBs there to fill up my two flex spots. Both Aaron Jones and Rhamondre Stevenson have good pass-catching upside, and each could rush for 1,000 yards. I decided to pair Collins with C.J. Stroud in Round 8 (this will never happen in any of my leagues with 12 players, but I took a shot).

I got a tight end with possible good upside in Cole Kmet (at least he can provide a bye-replacement for Kittle). In Rounds 10 and 11, I picked up two wide receivers who could have decent years in Jerry Jeudy and Michael Wilson from Arizona, who could fill that last WR spot. Round 12, I took the highest-rated handcuff in Ty Chandler from Minnesota. 

Rounds 13 and 14 were my “shots in the dark” picks in Quentin Johnston and Rashod Bateman. If you listen to their coaches (the Harbaugh brothers), they should have bigger roles this year for their respective teams. Both are former first-round picks who have not met their potential, so this could be the year for them both or at least one. I took a possible sleeper TE in Round 15 with Noah Fant, and lastly, I took my boy Baker Bayfield (that's what we call him on my show lol) in the last round to be a filler for Stroud in Week 14.

This From Sam Schneider…

My draft from the ninth position yielded anchors at both wide receiver and running back (Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jonathan Taylor), leaving me free to take any direction I like in the draft. Teams began to scramble immediately for tight ends in this TEP league, but a 1.5 premium is not enough to sway my process given the volatility of the position. 

I drafted a unicorn in Brock Bowers (whose quarterback situation is actually going to create him dividends in the fifth) amongst a trio of high-end receiving options. Struck gold in the sixth as the last of the bell cow running backs (Zamir White) fell to me and my lineup was set with the addition of a falling Dak Prescott. 

From there, it was all upside city with breakout candidates for the bench, including T.J. Hockenson for a potential stretch run and one of my favorite sleepers, tight end Colby Parkinson, who will start for the high-powered Rams. Getting Kirk Cousins as QB2 in the 16th is nothing to sneeze at, either. With virtually no in-season management, this team is a playoff lock. With solid waiver monitoring, it has the upside of taking the league.

Short & Sweet From Shawn Green

Wanted to start with an elite WR/TE combo as well as an RB with top 5 upside. Couldn't pass on the stack with Allen in the 4th and, from there, tried to build in some upside with my WR2/flex and some safety with the RB2 position. 

The Fantasy Alarm draft grade has me finishing 4th! I’ll take that in a room full of sharps.

Finally, From My Man, Gator J

With the TE premium, I knew I wanted two top-end TEs that I think will get volume. So, starting off with a top WR, Hill, and backing it up with two top TEs, Pitts & Engram, in the first three rounds is right where I wanted to be. Knowing I was pushing the WR down the board, I knew I would have to make up ground. 

After being killed in round 6 with the big WR run, DJ Moore, Tank Dell and Courtland Sutton all fell to me. In a 1-QB format, I try to let QBs fall to me and not take one before the 10th round. Getting Tua in the 10th to pair with Hill is exactly what I like to do. Now, time for some dart throws.

2024 Fantasy Football: Related Draft Guide Articles

Check out more of our fantasy football draft guide articles for extra tips and support for the 2024 fantasy football season: