One-Man Mock Draft - Assembling the Greatest Fantasy Football Teams Ever

April 22, 2024

Dave Ventresca attempts to assemble the greatest fantasy football teams ever made in this one-man mock draft.

If you're a longtime fantasy football player, then you have been lucky enough to witness the game's greatest players deliver some incredible performances over the years. Perhaps they even helped you win a few fantasy football titles along the way.

But where would the greatest players and fantasy football heroes stack up if they were all available in a fantasy football draft? Today, we will try and sort it all out as we will hold our first-ever fantasy football All-Star draft. All current and former fantasy football stars are available. From Y.A. Tittle to Patrick Mahomes, anyone and everyone is on the table.

Make sure you keep up to date with all your NFL Draft and fantasy football needs by following RotoBaller on X and checking out RotoBaller.com. Now, let's have some fun as we assemble the greatest fantasy football teams of all time.

Draft Format

League Type: Redraft, 12 teams, single-quarterback

Scoring: Full-PPR

Lineups: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, FLEX, FLEX, BENCH, BENCH, BENCH, BENCH

Below, you'll find the draft board, which shows every player selected.

Fantasy Football Draft Board

Next up is the team-by-team recap where you will find a list of the players each team drafted and at which pick, as well as a chart showing the positional composition of each team (how many players at each position they drafted).

Team No. 1 - RBs Are For The WEAK

Team Composition

Overview - Having the 1.01, RBs Are For The Weak went with the greatest receiver of all time. It's understandable given this is a full-PPR league. However, there were several elite bell-cow running backs available. It's debatable if going receiver was the right approach. This squad certainly lived up to its name as it waited until Round 6 to draft a back. It came away with Maurice Jones-Drew as its RB1. He was a touchdown machine, so this is a pretty good get after going zero-RB. Terrell Davis as RB2 presents a solid 1-2 punch. RBs Are For The Weak made out pretty well despite the lack of depth at running back.

Strengths -This receiving corps is loaded. Jerry Rice, Andre Johnson, Chad Johnson, and Roddy White are a mean top four. They also have an advantage at tight end and quarterback with Jason Witten and Patrick Mahomes.

Weaknesses - Obviously the backfield is RBs Are For The Weak's biggest question mark. It has a nice 1-2 punch, but Riggins and Taylor as RB3 and RB4 are weaker options when comparing them against other teams in this draft.

Best Pick - Terrell Davis in Round 8 was a steal. A former 2,000-yard back as your RB2 is pretty sweet. Especially after going zero-RB in this draft.

Team No. 2 - Touchdown Firm of Faulk, Holmes, & McCaffrey

Team Composition

Overview - Wow. The Touchdown Firm went hard at running back and landed three fantasy football legends. Marshall Faulk and Christian McCaffrey are two of three players in NFL history to have both 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in a single season. Then, you have Priest Holmes, who had an incredible run in the early 2000s. To be fair, Round 2 might have been a bit premature for Holmes given the length of his elite run. Tim Brown and DeAndre Hopkins as WR1 and WR2 is a great duo. It also rounded things out with a nice Shannon Sharpe/John Elway stack. The Touchdown Firm is solid all around and is an early championship contender.

Strengths - This is easy. How can you not LOVE this running back room? A Faulk, Holmes, and McCaffrey trio is truly the stuff of dreams. Each one of these players has a 20+ touchdown season on their resume. This trio gives The Touchdown Firm arguably the biggest advantage in the league that could single-handedly carry it to a title.

Weaknesses - It's hard to find any real flaws with this team. Receiver depth would be the one slight issue. With such an edge at running back, maybe it would have served the team better to invest in a fifth receiver instead of a fifth back. Hard to argue with Stefon Diggs as WR3 and Rod Smith as WR4, though.

Best Pick - Brett Favre in Round 10 is fantastic value. The man fourth in all-time passing yards and passing touchdowns is a rock-solid QB who can be interchanged with Elway on a week-to-week basis.
 

Team No. 3 - Marino's First Title

Team Composition

Overview - Marino's First Title assembled a very balanced roster throughout the draft. It built their team around Emmitt Smith, the NFL's all-time leading rusher in terms of rushing yards and rushing touchdowns, and added Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald as receivers. That's a pretty good top three. Pairing pocket passer Dan Marino with Jalen Hurts makes for a nice quarterback duo. This a well-balanced team and should find itself in playoff contention.

Strengths - In this case, the best attribute of this squad is a balanced attack. It has quality players in all four positions, which should make it competitive.

Weaknesses - This was one of the teams that chose to wait at tight end. You would think that selecting from the entire NFL player pool would make it easier to address the position. However, just like most years in redraft, the position dried up pretty fast. Dallas Clark and Kellen Winslow are a good pairing, but it definitely hurts this team when looking at the elite options that were taken earlier in the draft.

Best Pick - If Justin Jefferson continues on his current trajectory, then we are going to look back on this pick and laugh. Jefferson has the most receiving yards by a player in his first four seasons. This pick feels so criminal that the FBI might launch an investigation into how exactly this happened.
 

Team No. 4 - EmBoldin with Stars

Team Composition

Overview - This team kicked things off with LaDainian Tomlinson at the 1.04. Hard to argue with this pick as he scored 145 career rushing touchdowns and was a fantasy stalwart for nearly a decade. EmBoldin with Stars invested early at quarterback and selected Tom Brady in Round 2. Things may have gotten off track in Rounds 3-4 with Thurman Thomas and Anquan Boldin. Both were great players in their own right, but there were options with higher ceilings (Christian McCaffrey most notably) still available. This does feel like one of the weaker squads coming out of the draft, but some work on the waiver wire could help turn it around.

Strengths - EmBoldin with Stars came away with strong receiving depth. Yes, Boldin was a questionable pick as WR1, but it balanced out after taking Davante Adams in the next round. Wes Welker brings a strong floor in a full-PPR league. DeSean Jackson and Greg Jennings are great boom/bust options as WR4 and WR5.

Weaknesses - The biggest problem with this team is that after the Tomlinson/Brady start, it feels like there is a lack of star power. It just seems like this team came away from the draft lacking firepower and that shouldn't be the case in a draft this loaded. We might need to petition the league for a name change to this squad.

Best Pick - Even though he has a reputation for being a stat accumulator, Frank Gore in the next to last round is a great value. He's still third all-time in rushing yards. Not too bad for an RB4 option coming off the bench.
 

Team No. 5 - No Cell Phones Allowed

Team Composition

Overview - No Cell Phones Allowed took Barry Sanders fifth overall. No gripes here, great option to build a team around. Jerome Bettis is a quality RB2. Reggie Wayne as WR1 is nice. It also got a solid edge at tight end with Rob Gronkowski as well as two quarterback options in Aaron Rodgers and Warren Moon. Very nice squad all around.

Strengths - Much like other teams so far, No Cell Phones Allowed's running back room is formidable. Sanders and Bettis are a strong 1-2 punch. But Jamaal Charles as RB3 seals the deal. If you get a guy who once averaged over 6.0 yards per carry on 190 touches as your RB3, giddy up.

Ahman Green had some strong seasons for the Green Bay Packers and shouldn't be overlooked as an RB4. And Steve Van Buren had four seasons with 10+ rushing touchdowns. Fantastic option as an RB5 in case injuries strike the top of the depth chart.

Weaknesses - Wide receiver is weak on this team. Seems wild to say because Mike Evans has been fantastic and Joe Horn had a great run with the Saints. However, this is the reality when selecting from a draft loaded with stars. Wayne is a good get as WR1 in Round 3, but waiting until Round 6 to select a WR2 appears to have been a mistake.

Best Pick - Love the Rob Gronkowski selection in Round 5. No Cell Phones Allowed still gets a massive tight end advantage and doesn't have to pay a premium to do so. A+ pick.
 

Team No. 6 - Gates to Titles

Team Composition

Overview - Gates to Titles opted to build around an elite receiver and went with Hall of Famer Randy Moss in the first round. Then, it went and locked up a tight end by selecting Antonio Gates in Round 2 as the second tight end off the board. The running backs are adequate. Ricky Williams as an RB3 option feels like good value. Gates to Titles also paired up Lamar Jackson with a traditional pocket passer in Philip Rivers. This team might have been on to something waiting on Jackson after seeing a run on less mobile quarterbacks go off the board early. It may have just gotten the quarterback with the highest upside.

Strengths - Really like what this team did at quarterback and tight end. It definitely has strong advantages with these positions. There are issues with other parts of this roster, but Gates and Jackson could make up for those deficiencies.

Weaknesses - Wide receiver is going to hurt this team. Moss and Tyreek Hill are one heck of a 1-2. After that, things drop off. Derrick Mason was a pro's pro and his career numbers are more than respectable. But when you break down his stats by year, there isn't really a high ceiling. Joey Galloway delivered some of his best seasons later in his career but never produced at an elite level. Michael Thomas in the last round could save this position for Gates to Titles if he finds the fountain of youth for another 2019-type season.

Best Pick - A player who may have been overlooked in this draft was Lamar Jackson. He already has the fourth-most rushing yards ever by a quarterback in just 86 career games. Jackson should easily set this record by the time his career is over. Those who took quarterback early opted for traditional pocket passers. But Gates to Titles waited and found a gem with dual-threat ability in Round 7.

Team No. 7 - Team Beast Mode

Team Composition

Overview - Things started nicely in the first five rounds for Team Beast Mode. Antonio Brown was a PPR cheat code with the way he racked up receptions in Pittsburgh. Jim Brown and Marshawn Lynch are among the best backfield tandems. Lynch's lack of receptions hurts his value in PPR leagues, but his touchdown production always helped compensate. No complaints about Jimmy Graham as tight end. Michael Vick and Steve Young make for a fun quarterback combination that carries Konami Code upside. Both can be interchanged depending on the matchups each week.

Looking things over, though, the backfield started off strong, but things feel like they fell off a cliff after Lynch. Eddie George is an okay RB3 or flex option but is better suited in a bench/reserve role. Mike Alstott only had one double-digit rushing touchdown season. Team Beast Mode is going to have its work cut out if its want to compete in this league.

Strengths - The first five picks are where this team can excel. There's plenty of upside here and any one of Antonio Brown, Jim Brown, Lynch, Michael Irvin, or Graham could explode any week and make up for other flaws. The quarterback room is also formidable. Vick always provides a safe-floor play that helps stabilize weekly scoring.

Weaknesses - If you're only going to take four wide receivers in a full-PPR league, you better make sure they are darn good. Brown and Irvin were a good start. Steve Largent did have 100 career receiving touchdowns, but he never eclipsed 80 receptions on 1,300 yards in any season. This team will need Largent to continue scoring touchdowns at a high rate. Team Beast Mode didn't quite pull a Russell Wilson in Super Bowl XLIX, but a little more depth and higher-quality WR3 would have gone a long way.

Best Pick - Jimmy Graham in Round 5. Just like Gronkowski a few picks earlier, I love getting the tight end advantage without having to pay a premium. Graham's elite years did not last as long as the top-tier tight ends, but those elite seasons were still a massive advantage for fantasy gamers.

Team No. 8 - Get Your Popcorn Ready

Team Composition

Overview - Here we had the second of our two zero-RB teams. Get Your Popcorn Ready might have missed the mark. Terrell Owens as the WR1 was totally fine. Isaac Bruce before Calvin Johnson, though, was a highly questionable pick. Steve Smith Sr. and Hines Ward are great players, but I'm not really sure they are who you'd want to plug in your flex positions as opposed to some of the running backs available.

This receiving corps just looks lighter than it should if you're going zero-RB. Perhaps in a fun bit of irony, this strategy might work considering the value Get Your Popcorn Ready got at running back. Ricky Watters, Larry Johnson, O.J. Simpson, and Michael Turner are a pretty decent room for waiting so long. There are things to like about this squad, but there are also some things to tilt your head at. That probably means Get Your Popcorn Ready doesn't wind up in victory lane.

Strengths - I really want to say this team's wide receivers are its strength. Given its draft strategy, it SHOULD be. But man, it doesn't feel like its receivers have given it a big enough positional advantage to justify the zero-RB strategy. As a result, we will go with a Josh Allen/Ben Roethlisberger quarterback pairing. Allen has been a dominant force thanks to his dual-threat ability. Roethlisberger is a great backup just in case all the hits begin to take a toll on Allen.

Weaknesses - It sounds wild, but Get Your Popcorn Ready's receivers feel very mid. This is flat-out unacceptable whenever you go with a zero-RB strategy. You have to come away from the draft with a clear advantage at the position. If that's even up for debate, you dropped the ball. Plain and simple. Where things feel like they went haywire was the selection of Bruce in Round 2.

Best Pick - He was a controversial figure, but getting Simpson in Round 9 after going zero-RB is equivalent to a chef's kiss. Ideal scenario considering the draft strategy that was chosen.
 

Team No. 9 - Summer Brees

Team Composition

Overview - Here we had another team opt to wait on tight end. George Kittle as TE1 is probably as good as you are going to get for a starter in Round 8. It was an eyebrow-raising start when Eric Dickerson was selected ninth overall. He's a great player, but in a full-PPR league, there were better options available. This seemed to be a theme for Summer Brees as it did the same thing when selecting Derrick Henry over Christian McCaffrey. Drew Brees at quarterback is elite as he routinely threw for 5,000 yards and 30 touchdowns with the Saints. This team balanced out some questionable picks early by finding good value later in the draft. However, the early-round decisions could potentially doom Summer Brees' championship aspirations.

Strengths - Summer Brees boasts strong receiving depth. Sterling Sharpe and Demaryius Thomas are great options to throw in at flex or start during bye weeks. Irving Fryar was more of a stat accumulator than a real fantasy difference-maker. But he did have a few good years in Philadelphia at the end of his career and is a fine WR5 option.

Weaknesses - Outside of Matt Forte and Herschel Walker, none of the backs here carry any real PPR value. Eric Dickerson caught 50+ receptions just once in his career. Derrick Henry is also a liability in this regard. So, Forte and Walker help elevate the room, but this position could have been even stronger had Summer Brees focused more on backs with pass-catching chops early in the draft. Henry over Christian McCaffrey stands out as a pick that was probably botched.

Best Pick - It was close between Matt Forte and Sterling Sharpe, but ultimately Sharpe gets the nod here. Had a neck injury not prematurely ended his career, Sharpe might be talked about more as one of the game's greatest receivers. Seriously, go look at the numbers this guy posted during the 90s. Impressive stuff considering this was when defensive backs were allowed to mug receivers.
 

Team No. 10 - RBs R' Us

Team Composition

Overview - RBs R' Us was our second-to-last team to select a starting quarterback. It was clearly trying to gain an advantage elsewhere and then find a pair of high-upside quarterbacks later in the draft. Additionally, it tried to stack running backs early and find receivers later in the draft. This was a popular strategy back in the early years of fantasy football. Not entirely sure this strategy paid off, though, in this instance.

The idea of waiting on receiver and stacking running backs sounds fantastic considering how the latter used to dominate fantasy football. It just looks like RBs R' Us selected the wrong backs, waited too long for a WR2, and failed as a result. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure this team name is justified considering it wound up with more receivers than backs. It was very clearly chasing receiving production at the end of the draft. This sure looks like the worst team coming out of the draft room on paper.

Strengths - The team drafted one of the best running backs of all time, Walton Payton, at 10th overall and paired him with Shaun Alexander in Round 2. That was a great start. From there, this team collapsed faster than FTX.

Weaknesses - Sometimes going late-round quarterback can really pay dividends. Other times, it can spectacularly blow up in your face. In this case, RBs R' Us pulled the pin, stared at the grenade, and waited for the I'mpending explosion. It does have a nice pairing with Wilson and Cunningham. Wilson always threw touchdowns at a high rate and Cunningham had a fantastic floor due to his rushing/scrambling abilities. But this duo feels like it's lacking something. Maybe this team should have considered Lamar Jackson or Michael Vick over Corey Dillon in Round 5 or Jimmy Smith in Round 6 and then paired one of them with Cunningham.

Best Pick - Alright, I know I just basically ripped this team's quarterbacks, but I do like Cunningham as a backup. He could have ended up as a team's QB1 and maybe it would have worked out totally fine.

I'm not going to pull punches here. It was pretty hard trying to find a good pick on this team because I believe it completely dropped the ball in this draft with a terrible strategy and even worse execution. Time to start planning some embarrassing last-place punishment for the goon who assembled this team.
 

Team No. 11 - Newton's Theory of TDs

Team Composition

Overview - It was difficult trying to gauge when the first tight end would come off the board. Newton's Theory of TDs made the leap and took Gonzalez 11th overall. It locked up the tight end with the most receptions and receiving yards as well as the second-most touchdowns scored of all time. It's unclear just how much of an edge Gonzalez will provide compared to Gates and Witten, who went in Rounds 2 and 3, respectively. Receiver seems like the position that was sacrificed in going tight end so early. Torry Holt as WR1 is underwhelming. Newton's Theory of TDs balances things out nicely, though, nabbing Keenan Allen and Dez Bryant in back-to-back rounds.

Strengths - Newton's Theory of TDs got in on the run of dual-threat quarterbacks in Round 7 when it selected Cam Newton. It arguably got the best one. His MVP 2015 season highlighted just how dominant he could be. If you drafted Newton that year, you probably won your league as he was that much of a difference-maker. The former Panthers great could very well do the same for this team.

Weaknesses - It has to be the receivers. Holt and Lance Alworth as WR1 and WR2 are very meh. This team would have been better served selecting a receiver in Round 1 and then opting for a tight end later in the draft.

Best Pick - Arian Foster had a great five-year run from 2010-2014. He scored 60 total touchdowns during that span and finished as the overall RB1 in 2010. Hard to be upset getting that kind of production from your final pick.
 

Team No. 12 - The Barber Shop

Team Composition

Overview - This team got on the board with an elite QB/WR stack as it paired Marvin Harrison with his longtime Colts quarterback, Peyton Manning. Given the fact they connected for 114 touchdowns, this should work out nicely. Brandon Marshall was a PPR machine and routinely posted 100+ reception seasons. Definitely the type of high-floor play you love for a WR2. The Barber Shop built an all-around strong team here. There's plenty of ammunition to take home the league trophy.

Strengths - The Barber Shop's got star power for days. Adrian Peterson, Marvin Harrison, Brandon Marshall, Peyton Manning, and LeSean McCoy. That's arguably the best team five rounds into the draft. Not to mention snagging Odell Beckham Jr. in the next-to-last round. There's a lot of eye candy, but that eye candy is more than enough to carry the load here.

Weaknesses - We're nitpicking, but the tight end position feels weaker than others. Olsen is fine as a starting option. However, it would have been better to pair him with someone other than Delanie Walker. He had some good seasons with the Tennessee Titans, but taking Zach Ertz over Warrick Dunn or Ottis Anderson may have been a better strategic move.

Best Pick - This was close between two Giants legends in Tiki Barber and Odell Beckham Jr. Ultimately, we are going to give the edge to Barber. He was a late bloomer but had some excellent seasons to close his career. Barber eclipsed 2,000 scrimmage yards in each of his final three seasons. Fantastic production from an RB3. Getting Barber in the seventh round was a great value pick.
 

Summary

This truly was a classic draft. It was a blast assembling these teams and experimenting with different strategies in the process. I'll identify a handful of interesting takeaways here before we move on to a few awards.

1. Eight of the 12 teams took two quarterbacks.
2. Only two teams waited until Round 8 to select a starting quarterback and 50% of the league had taken a quarterback by the end of Round 4.
3. Sixteen running backs were taken during the first three rounds and seven backs were taken in Round 1.
4. Only five teams drafted more running backs than receivers.
5. Every team that waited until Round 8 to select a tight end also selected a second tight end.

Awards

Best draft pick - There were a lot of contenders, but ultimately, Arian Foster at pick 12.02 is the winner. His run as an elite back was not as long as others, but he was so good in Gary Kubiak's offense during his heyday.

Best team - Touchdown Firm of Faulk, Holmes, & McCaffrey -- The Firm just has too much firepower at running back. It just feels like a matter of time until those backs take over the league and carry this team to the championship trophy.

This draft was a lot of fun to put together. But holy cow was it difficult trying to choose between all these great players! It was hard to find flaws with any of these teams because they all felt so stacked. I hope you enjoyed the exercise and had as much fun as I did putting it together. Feel free to agree or disagree with any of the selections and please point out anyone you feel was omitted.

Here's to another exciting year of fantasy football!

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