This 12-team half PPR mock draft for tight end premium leagues breaks down pick-by-pick analysis from RotoWire fantasy football expert Ian Hartitz to help you draft smarter in 2026.
You know what is scary? That new movie Obsession.
You know what's even scarier? Entering your tight end premium (TEP) fantasy football draft and not having any idea what to do.
This brings us to today's goal: Go through a TEP mock draft, chronicle our thoughts and decisions throughout, and learn some cool stuff so hopefully we crush when the moment is real.
Scoring is tight end premium, half-PPR, so tight ends get 1.5 fantasy points per reception. We'll use Yahoo ADP. I used the RotoWire Draft Order Generator and got the 1.04. Scout's honor. Check out the full draft settings below.
Make sure to check out RotoWire's (free!) mock draft tool to get your mind right before being thrown into the REAL fire that is your fantasy draft. We're also here to directly help you with our (not free) live draft assistant, and hey, feel free to use code "IAN20" for 20% off any RotoWire subscription if you're into that kind of thing.
As always: It's a great day to be great.
12-Team Half PPR Mock Draft Board (TE Premium)
Draft Settings
- Teams: 12
- Scoring: Half-PPR (half-point per reception)
- Draft type: Snake (single-QB)
- Roster: 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 FLEX, no kickers or DST
🏈 Before your league drafts, get a leg up on your competition
This 12-team half PPR mock draft for tight end premium leagues breaks down pick-by-pick analysis from RotoWire fantasy football expert Ian Hartitz to help you draft smarter in 2026.
You know what is scary? That new movie Obsession.
You know what's even scarier? Entering your tight end premium (TEP) fantasy football draft and not having any idea what to do.
This brings us to today's goal: Go through a TEP mock draft, chronicle our thoughts and decisions throughout, and learn some cool stuff so hopefully we crush when the moment is real.
Scoring is tight end premium, half-PPR, so tight ends get 1.5 fantasy points per reception. We'll use Yahoo ADP. I used the RotoWire Draft Order Generator and got the 1.04. Scout's honor. Check out the full draft settings below.
Make sure to check out RotoWire's (free!) mock draft tool to get your mind right before being thrown into the REAL fire that is your fantasy draft. We're also here to directly help you with our (not free) live draft assistant, and hey, feel free to use code "IAN20" for 20% off any RotoWire subscription if you're into that kind of thing.
As always: It's a great day to be great.
12-Team Half PPR Mock Draft Board (TE Premium)
Draft Settings
- Teams: 12
- Scoring: Half-PPR (half-point per reception)
- Draft type: Snake (single-QB)
- Roster: 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 FLEX, no kickers or DST
🏈 Before your league drafts, get a leg up on your competition with live, in-draft analysis using ourDraft Assistant.
My 12-Team Half PPR Mock Draft Strategy for Tight End Premium Leagues
Here's a breakdown of how I approached each round of the draft.
Round 1
Was REALLY hoping Brock Bowers would simply fall to me at 1.04 and make this easy, but alas. He went 1.01! These things happen in the TEP streets, especially over in high-stakes leagues like FFPC.
While there's nothing wrong with Ja'Marr Chase or Puka Nacua after Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson are off the board, I've really come around to just going with good ole CMC with the (usual) third pick. His peak, especially in half-PPR, will top that of pretty much any receiver, and I also love locking down and RB early so I can more responsibly avoid some of the meh mid-round backs in favor of fun wide receivers.
Pick 1: 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey
Round 2
No luck on Trey McBride or Colston Loveland falling back to the end of Round 2 either. Literally one pick away from Loveland. Could have made this REALLY easy. Instead it's an August 13th reminder that the fantasy football gods are cruel and mercilus.
I'm between Omarion Hampton or a sweet wide receiver (CeeDee Lamb and Justin Jefferson are both still available). While the idea of fading Hampton does scare me, getting Jettas THIS late in Round 2 feels pretty nicey. I've worried that using the 1.09 on Jefferson is risky considering the potential that Kyler Murray isn't, you know, all that good, but the 2.09? Let's do it.
Pick 2: Vikings WR Justin Jefferson
Round 3
Drake London is still on the board? These stupid, stupid automated robots.
Pick 3: Falcons WR Drake London
Round 4
Tucker Kraft and Sam LaPorta go off the board at the end of Round 3, but then something funny happened: Nobody snagged Mr. Tyler Warren! It's a bit of a bargain – RotoWire's Theo Greminger and I took Warren with the 3.10 over in the FFPC streets earlier this month – but I'm not here to ask questions.
Pick 4: Colts TE Tyler Warren
Round 5
I was tempted to double-tap the position with Kyle Pitts, but remembered I have Drake London. Two pass-catchers from the Falcons? Not today, satan.
Side note: Darren Waller just signed with the Panthers mid-mock draft. This is great. The computers are going to think I'm NUTS when I take him in the last round. Did you know Waller was actually pretty solid last season? He caught a touchdown over Sauce Gardner!
*Slots Waller in as the TE23 in my ranks, in the same tier as Greg Dulcich, Terrance Ferguson, Oronde Gadsden, and Kenyon Sadiq. Basically, the "They won't work out, but you could imagine what it'd be like if they did" group of tight ends*
Okay, back to reality. Chris Olave is still on the board, and while I actually do have Ladd McConkey ranked a bit higher, Round 5 Olave is just too good to be true. Hell, maybe they'll let Ladd slide back to me. They won't, but maybe! (They won't).
Pick 5: Saints WR Chris Olave
Round 6
Sadly, McConkey did not fall back to me. But that's okay: We've already locked down a hero RB in CMC, three awesome receivers, and a stud TE in Tyler Warren.
We'll have to get back into the RB streets soon – I generally like to have four inside the first nine rounds if possible – but not when Emeka Egbuka is on the board!
"Not in my league pal!" Yeah, probably not mine either, but maybe the computers are freaking out about his toe sprain. Today, anything is possible!
Pick 6: Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka
Round 7
Hot take: Maybe the other first-round running back on the reigning Super Bowl champs could wind up being okay.
Pick 7: Seahawks RB Jadarian Price
Round 8
If every single starting RB in the NFL decided to go on strike, who do you think would be fantasy's RB1?
My pick: TreVeyon Henderson. But then, probably Blake Corum. I'm going to make a video on this ridiculous idea soon. But for now, I'll jsut draft Blake Corum.
Pick 8: Rams RB Blake Corum
Round 9
Your favorite fantasy nerd's favorite mid-to-late-round RB who will DEFINITELY not be available this late if he does *one* thing even remotely cool in the Panthers' preseason opener.
Note: This mock draft was conducted the night of 8/12, so Brooks will ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY not be available by this point in the future. But you could imagine what it'd be like if he was.
Pick 9: Panthers RB Jonathon Brooks
Round 10
Normally I'd line up someone like Stefon Diggs or get around to taking a QB (honestly have gotten so used to going with a late-round QB approach I sort of forgot about that position). But hey, it is TEP scoring after all, and Isaiah Likely is still on the board! Let's party.
Pick 10: Giants TE Isaiah Likely
Round 11
I don't force stacks in re-draft fantasy leagues, but it's pretty cool when they work out! C'mon down, Vikings QB1. There's more than enough dual-threat upside here: 26 of 28 QBs with 100+ rush attempts have posted top-12 numbers in PPR points per game since 2016! That's a 93% hit rate!
Of course, maybe Kyler isn't good at football anymore, and we have to eventually pivot to someone else. Fine. It's a one-QB re-draft league. Ever heard of the waiver wire?
Pick 11:Vikings QB Kyler Murray
Round 12
We have three more picks: I'd like to get two more RBs and one last receiver. I like Chargers RB Keaton Mitchell based on the available dudes. He's solid for a hero-RB build like this because we might be in a situation where we have a bunch of RB3 types waiting for a breakthrough to be a locked-in starter at my RB2 alongside CMC. If I had started RB-RB, or at least had three top-24-ish options, I'd probably go after a higher-upside handcuff like Tank Bigsby.
Pick 12: Chargers RB Keaton Mitchell
Round 13
KC Concepcion off the board. I wanted him. Ugh.
That's okay. I'll just go with MarShawn Lloyd instead. You know my motto: Every draft is a great draft to draft MarShawn Lloyd. It just rolls off the tongue!
Pick 13: Packers RB MarShawn Lloyd
Round 14
Son of a b*tch! I really wanted Rashod Bateman, but apparently we can't have nice things in this world.
That's okay. I'll just go ahead and take the No. 2 overall pick from the 2025 NFL Draft. You know, the ultra-talented Heisman winner who looked like he was on the verge of breaking out as a rookie before that unfortunate season-ending knee injury? The guy who everyone is afraid of drafting now because
Pick 14: Jaguars WR/CB Travis Hunter
Did I Draft A Good Fantasy Football Team?
… and I just realized I forgot to draft Darren Waller in Round 14. What an absolute travesty. The difference between a good and great mock draft. We'll watch the film and get better.
It also would have been nice to get a second QB chip in addition to Kyler, but that's okay: Nothing is more common than 2-QB drafters immediately bailing on their backup in Week 2 the second a mediocre WR5 reveals himself.
Otherwise? I'm a fan. We secured a top-four and top-10 TE in Tyler Warren and Isaiah Likely to keep up with the juiced format while also nabbing four pretty much consensus top-20 receivers. Throw in CMC and an army of upside RB2/3 types (Price, Corum, Brooks, Mitchell, Lloyd), and I'm thinking Team 4 is VERY live to take down these nameless, faceless opponents.
If only we had Darren Waller. Sigh.
