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Mock Draft: Players set to give you best chance at additional $1 million fantasy football sweepstakes entries

dalton del don · scott pianowski · matt harmon
·7 min read

ICYMI — Yahoo and NBC Sports have teamed up to provide you with a shot at a $1 million prize!

Those playing in a private Yahoo fantasy football league this year have the opportunity to enter for the big prize ... and the chance to earn some extra entries along the way. Earning those extra entries (AKA, more opportunities for you to win) is simple!

If any of the players on your fantasy squad score a touchdown in one of the three Week 1 NFL games airing on NBC or Peacock, you nab an extra entry (up to seven bonus entries). And boy, do the six teams in play have some tantalizing options:

Now, you won't necessarily be drafting your fantasy teams based on the $1 million contest ... but what would it look like if you did?

Yahoo Fantasy analysts Matt Harmon, Scott Pianowski and Dalton Del Don take us through a seven-round mock draft with a player pool exclusive to those extra-entry-eligible matchups in Week 1.

The Rules? Draft 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE and 1 FLEX from NBC/Peacock's slate of Week 1 games. Here's how it shook out:

1.01 — QB Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles

Jalen Hurts has scored 73 rushing and passing touchdowns over the last two regular seasons combined. Even if the tush-push attempts come down, he can still be a threat in the red zone as a rusher. — Matt Harmon

1.02 — QB Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs

Although waiting on a QB would be reasonable, getting access to the game's best quarterback and play designer sounds like a fun idea. — Scott Pianowski

1.03 — RB Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens

Henry has averaged 13.7 touchdowns over the last six years, and he missed half of 2021. He now goes from one of the league’s worst offensive lines in Tennessee to a Baltimore system that helped Gus Edwards have the second-most carries inside the five-yard line (24) last year. — Dalton Del Don

2.01 — RB Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams

Williams has concerns about his ability to hold up over a full season, but he’ll remain Sean McVay’s workhorse in Week 1. Williams led the NFL in percentage of team carries inside the five (80.3%) last season, helping him score 15 touchdowns over just 12 games. — Dalton Del Don

2.02 — RB David Montgomery, Detroit Lions

Montgomery isn't the splashiest back in the Detroit backfield, although Jahmyr Gibbs is a little dinged up at the moment. But when the Lions get close to the goal, they love to hand the ball to Montgomery, plowing behind the league's best offensive line. — Scott Pianowski

2.03 — RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions

A dynamic rushing and receiving back who is in line for more work in Year 2. Gibbs should be the odds-on favorite to lead the backfield in touches. — Matt Harmon

3.01 — WR A.J. Brown, Philadelphia Eagles

A.J. Brown was on pace for a 1,900-yard season in the first half of 2023 but slowed down as the offense sputtered in the back-end. Kellen Moore's offense will get the most out of the receivers with motion concepts and put Brown in position to thrive. — Matt Harmon

3.02 — WR Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams

I can't get past the idea that Kupp might be the top receiver in Los Angeles this year, given that Puka Nacua's nicked up this summer — and he was constantly hurt at BYU.

I would never pick Kupp over Amon-Ra St. Brown in a standard league, but when searching for a Week 1 touchdown, it's reasonable. — Scott Pianowski

3.03 — WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions

St. Brown pulled down 10 scores last season, and his TD rate shoots up at home. The Lions averaged 29.9 points in Detroit last season and have the highest implied team total in Week 1. The Rams allowed the 10th-most passing touchdowns in the league last year and lost Aaron Donald during the offseason. — Dalton Del Don

4.01 — TE Sam LaPorta, Detroit Lions

LaPorta ranked top 10 in targets inside the five-yard line last season, including wide receivers. He scored all but one of his 11 touchdowns (including the playoffs) at home, and the Lions are projected to score the most points in Week 1. The Rams allowed the second-most touchdowns to tight ends last season. — Dalton Del Don

4.02 — RB Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs

Pacheco's role steadily increased through the 2023 season, and he was a three-down back come playoff time. Pacheco spiked seven times in his final eight games, and has improved as a reciever as well. — Scott Pianowski

4.03 — TE Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

Kelce is likely to have some lighter workloads during the regular season this year in order to gear him up for the postseason run. However, the Chiefs could assign him a full complement of routes in Week 1 to avoid another miserable start to the year like the one they experienced in 2023. — Matt Harmon

5.01 — WR Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams

While Nacua is dealing with an injury, it sounds as if he won't be in danger of missing Week 1. Not only is he a threat to score as a receiver, the Rams weren't afraid to use him as a rusher in critical situations. Given Kupp's injury risk, if they're running a receiver on the goal line, it'll be Nacua. — Matt Harmon

5.02 — WR DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles have a fairly narrow target tree, so if they score outside of the Tush Push area, Smith has a fair chance at a touchdown. — Scott Pianowski

4.03 — RB Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers

Jacobs averaged 11 touchdowns over 2020-2022 before dealing with injuries and a bad offensive environment in Las Vegas last season. He should be Green Bay’s goal-line back and gets a neutral matchup in Brazil in Week 1. — Dalton Del Don

6.01 — WR Rashee Rice, Kansas City Chiefs

Rice tied for the fifth-most targets inside the 10-yard line last year as a rookie, and Patrick Mahomes loves throwing around the goal line. Marquise Brown’s status for Week 1 is highly questionable, and Baltimore’s defense took a step back during the offseason. — Dalton Del Don

6.02 — TE Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

Andrews might not be a safe bet for a full season, but he's visited the end zone 37 times in his last 71 games. If he does manage to stay hale for most of the year, a TE1 finish is within the range of outcomes. — Scott Pianowski

6.03 — RB Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles

Seven of Barkley's eight red-zone touchdowns during his big 2022 campaign came inside the five-yard line. There's a chance he was brought in to take some of that work off of Jalen Hurts' plate. — Matt Harmon

7.01 — WR Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens

Flowers doesn't profile as a red zone target hog but he's still the top wide receiver for an NFL offense that features the 2023 MVP winner. He's a nice value at this stage of the draft and could see some designed targets in the scoring area in a high-scoring Week 1 game. — Matt Harmon

7.02 — WR Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers

It took a while for Reed to get his sea legs as a rookie, but he surged for seven touchdowns in his final eight games, essentially working as Green Bay's gadgety answer to Deebo Samuel. Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur deserves more credit — he's a dynamic play designer and is a key reason the Packers had such a high passing-touchdown rate last season. — Scott Pianowski

7.03 — QB Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

Quarterback is the most likely position to account for a touchdown, so Jackson only went this late because the two other drafters filled the position right away. The reigning MVP totaled 29 TDs last season, and the Ravens/Chiefs matchup could turn into a shootout. — Dalton Del Don