Four takeaways from ESPN's fantasy mock draft

It’s August, otherwise known as “draft month” to fantasy football players. To celebrate, the experts at ESPN published a 12-team, PPR mock draft. Here’s what stood out to us.

Travis Kelce's regression is on display

The Chiefs’ Travis Kelce used to hold the distinction of being the only tight end with a first-round fantasy grade. In this mock draft, he went in the third round, 29th overall.

Kelce scored only five touchdowns in 2023 while failing to reach 1,000 yards for the first time since 2015. He led all tight ends in fantasy points from 2018-2022, but finished third last year.

Dak Prescott continues to get no respect

Not only did Prescott lead the NFL with 36 touchdowns last season, he finished third among quarterbacks in fantasy scoring with 342.84 points. Of course, most offseason talk of Prescott has been focused on his contract, or lack thereof, in 2025.

With a reported asking price of $60M per year, this could be Prescott’s last season with the Cowboys. That could become a distraction, especially in Dallas, which may explain why the 31-year-old QB lasted until the 10th round in ESPN’s draft.

Younger, less accomplished quarterbacks like Arizona’s Kyler Murray, Houston’s C.J. Stroud and Washington rookie Jayden Daniels were all drafted in the seventh round, which could make Prescott a bargain while he fights to become the highest-paid player in football.

For PPR players, in Detroit, it’s all about Jahmyr Gibbs

Lions running back David Montgomery led the team with 209 carries, 13 touchdowns and 1,015 yards last year, but Gibbs had 10 scores of his own as a rookie. More importantly, he caught 36 more passes for 199 more yards than Montgomery.