How to Use Mock Drafts to Prepare for Fantasy Football
A mock draft is a practice draft — no stakes, no consequences. You draft exactly like the real thing, experience the board evolving, and test strategies without any cost. Most experienced managers do 5–10 mocks before each real draft. Here’s how to make them count.
Mock Draft Effectiveness Checklist
Run through this before and during each mock:
Before you start:
- Format matches your real draft (same team count, scoring, roster requirements, snake vs. auction)
- You’re drafting from a different position than your last mock (practice multiple slots)
- You have a specific strategy or hypothesis to test this mock (“I want to try Zero RB” / “I want to test waiting on TE until Round 6”)
- You’re drafting against humans if possible (AI bots behave unrealistically in certain rounds — use FantasyPros mock lobby for human opponents)
During the mock:
- No auto-pick — think through every single selection
- When your target player gets taken, make a deliberate pivot decision — don’t just take the next name on a list
- Note when players go significantly earlier or later than their ADP
- Note which rounds feel uncomfortable — positions you’re not confident in
After the mock (2 minutes max):
- What was the weakest position on your final roster?
- Was there a player you wanted but couldn’t get because you waited too long?
- Did any ADP surprise you — players who went much earlier or later than you expected?
- What’s the one thing you’d change in the next mock?
What Mock Drafts Actually Teach You
ADP behavior in real time. Which players disappear faster than their listed ADP? Which ones fall? Where do the position runs really happen? Written ADP charts don’t capture the momentum of a live board — mock drafts do.
Whether your strategy is viable. A strategy that looks good in theory may fall apart in practice. “Zero RB” requires enough quality WRs and TEs available late. “Hero RB” requires being in the right draft slot. Mock drafts test feasibility before it costs you a real season.
Contingency planning. Your target player gets taken one pick before you — what’s your backup? Mock drafts train you to have an answer for every “my player is gone” scenario before it happens in a real draft.
How Many Mocks?
| Format | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Single redraft league, experienced manager | 3 | 5–7 |
| Single redraft league, first season | 5 | 8–10 |
| Best ball, single entry | 5 | 10 |
| Best ball, 10–20 entries | 10 | 15–25 |
When to stop: When you feel confident in your decision-making and have solid contingency plans for your most likely draft scenarios — not when you’ve hit a number.
Mock addiction warning: Some managers do 30+ mocks and become too attached to a specific “perfect” roster. In the real draft, they deviate from good strategy to chase the mock result they liked. The goal is to improve your decision framework, not to find the optimal specific roster.
After Each Mock: One Variable Change
The fastest way to improve: change exactly one thing between mocks.
Example variations:
- Round 1: Tried RB1 → next mock try WR1 at same slot
- TE: Waited until Round 6 → next mock try Round 3–4
- QB: Took one in Round 5 → next mock wait until Round 8
- Draft slot: Practiced slot #1 → next mock try slot #7
One change per mock keeps your learning specific. Changing five things at once makes it impossible to identify what worked.
Mock Drafts for Best Ball
Best ball mocks are especially high-value because you can test specific stack combinations.
What to test in best ball mocks:
- Your QB + WR stack at various round prices — how late can you wait and still land both?
- TE availability — where does the TE you want actually get taken?
- How your draft changes from different slot positions (early vs. late affects stack availability)
- Whether a specific construction (heavy stacks, balanced, late QB) is feasible from your real slot
For best ball tournaments, preparation is genuine competitive advantage. You’re competing against managers who may have done 30+ mocks.
For the draft strategy to practice in mocks, see: Fantasy Football Draft Preparation Guide. For ADP to use during mocks, see: How to Use ADP in Fantasy Football.