Fantasy Football: Way too early 2020 PPR mock draft features seven first-round running backs

The 2019 season just ended, but we're already looking ahead to the 2020 campaign. And there's no better way to do that than with our first mock draft of the season. Call us crazy, but we like Fantasy drafts.

We're well aware plenty of things will change between now and the summer when these drafts matter. The NFL Draft and free agency will reshape rosters, but this 12-team PPR mock draft featuring members of our CBS Sports staff is a good review of what happened in 2019.

The first round was heavy on running backs, with Christian McCaffrey, Dalvin Cook, Saquon Barkley and Ezekiel Elliott as the first four picks. Alvin Kamara, Nick Chubb and Derrick Henry were also selected in Round 1, which could be a little surprising in a three-receiver league, but I like all of these selections.

I would have selected Michael Thomas higher than No. 5 overall -- I have him at No. 2 behind McCaffrey -- but he was the No. 1 receiver drafted, ahead of DeAndre Hopkins, Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill and Julio Jones. No quarterback or tight end was selected in Round 1, but you can make a strong case that Lamar Jackson, Travis Kelce or even George Kittle are worthy of being top 12 overall picks.

Jackson went at No. 16 overall here, while Kelce fell to No. 18. I was shocked to see Kittle make it to Round 3 at No. 27 overall, and that likely won't happen in many PPR drafts in 2020. In full disclosure, we did this draft without any full rank list, so maybe Kittle falling that far is an oversight.

Some other good value picks were Josh Jacobs in Round 3, Zach Ertz in Round 4 and Patrick Mahomes, Kenyan Drake and James Conner in Round 5. And fallen stars like A.J. Green, T.Y. Hilton and Kareem Hunt in Round 6, as well as Evan Engram and Damien Williams in Round 7, could be steals.

I'm also excited about some younger players headed for potentially bigger roles in 2020, including Hunter Renfrow, Noah Fant, Gus Edwards, Mike Gesicki, Preston Williams, T.J. Hockenson, Ryquell Armstead and Damien Harris. All of these players were drafted in Round 10 or later, but these are sleepers/breakouts with plenty of upside.

I drafted Renfrow, Williams and Armstead, and these are the types of players I like to speculate on, especially at this time of year, as well as Diontae Johnson in Round 9. Renfrow was my favorite selection of this group after he closed the season with at least 22 PPR points in each of his final two games.

I picked at No. 12 overall and started my team with Julio Jones and Mike Evans. I'm still debating between Evans and Chris Godwin as the best Buccaneers receiver for 2020, and for now I like Evans better, even though Godwin was better in 2019. I still expect Evans to have the higher ceiling, but that can change over the next few months.

My first running back was Devin Singletary in Round 3, and I drafted Ertz in Round 4. I went heavy on running back next with Phillip Lindsay in Round 5, David Montgomery in Round 6 and Damien Williams in Round 7, and I love the way this team was built.

My receiving corps is stacked, including Darius Slayton joining Jones, Evans, Johnson, Renfrow and Preston Williams, who will hopefully be fine coming off his torn ACL in Week 9. Johnson will hopefully have a healthy Ben Roethliserger (elbow) in 2020, and Slayton could be the No. 1 receiver for the Giants.

My running backs have plenty of promise with Singletary a potential stud, and Lindsay and Williams should be solid, especially if the latter can stay healthy and remain the starter for the Chiefs. As for Montgomery, he struggled as a rookie in 2019, but he's still a candidate for 300 total touches and double digits in touchdowns (he had 267 total touches and seven touchdowns this year).

With Ertz and Dak Prescott, who I got in Round 12, this team could be awesome. But that's now. We'll see what happens with these players in August.

For now, use this mock draft as a fun review of 2019. Then you can see what changes after the NFL Draft and free agency, and we'll adjust as well. This is just the start of many mock drafts to come this offseason.

In this league, all touchdowns are worth six points, and we award one point for every 10 yards rushing and receiving and one point for every 25 yards passing. We also award one point for every reception. We feature a starting lineup of QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE, FLEX (RB/WR/TE), K and DST. There also are six reserve spots for a 16-round draft.

Our draft order is as follows:

1. Ben Schragger, Podcast Producer
2. Ruben Palacios, CBS Sports HQ Producer
3. Ben Gretch, Fantasy Editor
4. Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer
5. George Maselli, Fantasy Editor
6. Adam Aizer, Podcast Host
7. Tommy Tran, CBS Sports HQ Host
8. Chris Towers, Senior Editor, Fantasy
9. Jack Capotorto, CBS Sports HQ Producer
10. Andrew Baumhor, CBS Sports HQ Producer
11. Will Brinson, Senior NFL Writer
12. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer

Round By Round