Fantasy football draft season is in full swing in 2021, and mock drafts help you get an idea of what strategy to enact come draft day. An underrated aspect of mock drafts is you to make mistakes. It's like a trial run or anything else you'd practice for. Screw-upswill happen (trusting rankings Mario Addison Jersey too much, reaching too far for a sleeper, etc.), but you can learn from them as you progre s toward your real draft(s).Admittedly, I wasn't 100 percent pleased with how the early part of the draft belowturned out. Thingsdidn't go exactly how I planned -- but they never will. It's a perfect example of why it was beneficial for me to take part in a mock draft.DOMINATE YOUR DRAFT: Below, I'll dive into every pick and discu s what went right and what went wrong. What I did do well was find value in the late rounds -- another underrated aspect of fantasy drafts. Everyone at the top of the draft is a stud. Finding sleepers and undervalued players at the bottom of the draft can give you a huge edge over your leaguemates.One other note: Chase upside! In this draft, I didn't make a habit of hedging my bets. Playing scared and taking the 'safe' route is a great way to make the playoffsbut not win the league. You must chase upside if you want a chance at hardware come fantasy playoff time. I did that here.One of my favorite tools for mock drafting is the , which allows you to complete a mock in minutes. To get more info on it, .2021 PPR FANTASY RANKINGS: | | | | | | * Round 1, Pick 4: RB Alvin Kamara, Saints.Weirdly, your first pick can be your toughest decision. That was the case for me, but I ultimately took Kamara in this spot. This decision may come with some pushback as people point out the Saints' offense won't be nearly as good. My question to those people -- will it definitely not be, though? Last season, Kamara was the RB2 in standard Buffalo Bills Pet Gear (behind Derrick Henry). He did this despite Drew Brees mi sing four games and when Brees was on the field, he was a shell of his former self. The pa sing attack was nowhere near on par as it's been in the past, yet Kamara still produced. I'm banking on Jameis Winston being the starter in New Orleans. With a gunslinger pushing the ball down the field to newfound fantasy sweetheart Marquez Callaway (and eventually Michael Thomas) in a Sean Payton offense and an elite offensive line, Kamara will continue to produce. Again, I'm taking off my safety blanket and 'risk-avoidance gla ses' and chasing the undeniable upside Kamara presents.2.21:WR DK Metcalf, Seahawks.After locking up an elite running back at the four spot, I decided to go with a stud receiver in DK Metcalf. I pa sed on Justin Jefferson, Keenan Allen, and AJ Brown on this pick. , which is why it's important to know who brings more value acro s each format. A popular strategy in the first two rounds is "RB hero,"but I didn't feel great about the best available RBs on the board (Clyde Edwards-Helaire and JK Dobbins). Ultimately, I locked up a wideoutas the sixth WR taken off the board. As soon as I picked Metcalf, I knew I wanted to stack him with Ru sell Wilson later in the draft (as you'll see soon).2021 FANTASY TIERS & DRAFT STRATEGY: | | | | 3.28: TE Darren Waller, Raiders.At the start of the third round is when I decided to go against the grain -- zig when others zag. I confidently locked in Waller and po se sed one of the three premier tight ends in football. The advantage of having an elite tight end cannot be overstated. My decision also had to do with the best O.J. Howard Jersey RBs available on the board. I didn't get a jittery feeling at the prospect of drafting Josh Jacobs and David Mongomery, so Itook a TE who produces WR1 numbers (Waller would've ranked WR11 last year). Plus, with fantasy owners worried about another of my targets, D'Andre Swift (groin), he surely was going to fall to me in the fourth round right? Wrong.4.45: RB Myles Gaskin, Dolphins.In fantasy drafts, it's always important to look ahead. However, sometimes things just don't play out the way you'd want them to. I wanted Swift, but he was taken a half-round earlier than my pick. Still, it was time to lock up another RB before the position dried up any further. My options were Gaskin, Javonte Williams, Mike Davis, or Darell Henderson. I don't trust Davis, an RB who broke out at age 27, and despite anything Sean McVay was saying, I knew there was a good chance the Rams would add another RB.Ultimately, . News came out that Miami was planning to use a committee at RB, with Salvon Ahmed, Malcolm Brown, and Gaskin, but was thatjust coach speak? Here's another example of chasing upside. I can cower down to the thought of RBBC po sibility, or I can chase the upside of Gaskin, who averaged 12.3 FPPG (13th among RBs)in standard leagues just last season. The choice was Buffalo Bills Jackets easy using my upside detector.2021 FANTASY SLEEPERS: | | | | | 5.52: WR Amari Cooper, Cowboys.IsCooper really falling this late in the draft? Sign me up. In our , we have Cooper ranked at the 45slot, soI grabbed him ata great value. Last year, Cooper finished as the WR19 in standard but did so with garbage QB play after Dak Prescott was lost for the season. That feels like the floor to me. Drafting a player at their floor is both safe chases upside. It's a sumed CeeDee Lamb is taking a stranglehold on the WR1 job in Dallas, but is that really a certainty? I don't think so.A top-10finish is well within Cooper's range of outcomes, so again this was an easy pick for me. I took him over the likes of Chase Claypool and Kenny Golladay.6.69: QB Rusell Wilson, Seahawks. I got my Seahawks QB-WR stack --one of the top stacks in fantasy football. The stacking strategy is yet another demonstration of chasing upside. While I won't write an e say Tommy Sweeney Jersey on why stacking is beneficial, it's an easy way to maximize explosive weeks from the Seattle offense. To read more about stacking, check out .With the OC change in Seattle, all signs point toward "letting Ru s cook."I'm banking on that notion andgot him an incredible value. has him off the board at pick No. 50, and our cheat sheet has him at slot 43. At the end of the sixth round, I took a QB with a ceiling of the overall QB1. His floor remains around at least the top eight.2021 STANDARD FANTASY RANKINGS: | | | | | | 7.76: WR DeVonta Smith, Eagles.FantasyPros ADP indicates Smith coming off the board around pick 81, well within the territory I took him. There are durabilityand QB-play concerns that follow Smith, but there's also incredible upside. As the 29th wideout off the board in this draft, it's easy to envision a scenario in which he outperforms his draft position. He may not step in as a WR1 right away, but I picked him in WR3 ter
