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- Picking in PPR from: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
- Picking in non-PPR from: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
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Editor's note: Our latest non-PPR pick-by-pick series was done in June and is a three-man draft with Heath Cummings, Jamey Eisenberg and Dave Richard, with each one selecting four teams in this 12-team mock. The goal of this series is to show you positions to draft in these spots as much as the players selected, so take that into account when viewing each team.
Keenan Allen's 2017 was remarkable. He caught 102 passes for 1,393 yards and somehow finished as the No. 3 receiver in PPR scoring despite his low touchdown total (6). It was remarkable, but it shouldn't have been that surprising.
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In 2013, Allen posted 71-1,042-8 on just 105 targets. He was actually better on a per-target and per-reception basis that year. In 2015, he played half a season and caught 67 passes for 725 yards and four touchdowns. His 16-game pace for his career is 96-1,188-7, and there's reason to think he could be even better in 2018.
The Chargers have always heavily involved their tight ends in the passing game. With Antonio Gates and Hunter Henry on the roster, it made a lot of sense. Neither is a Charger right now, and even if Gates returns, he's not the same player. That opens up targets and, more importantly, red-zone opportunities for the receivers. I'm not saying you should expect more than last year's 159 targets for Allen, I'm also not saying you should rule it out. But if he plays 16 games you should expect 100-plus catches and more touchdowns than he scored in 2017. That's well worth the No. 7 pick in a PPR draft.
Here's the rest my team from No. 7 overall:
- 1.7 Keenan Allen, WR, LAC
- 2.6 Leonard Fournette, RB, JAC
- 3.7 Demaryius Thomas, WR, DEN
- 4.6 JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, PIT
- 5.7 Dion Lewis, RB, TEN
- 6.6 Rex Burkhead, RB, NE
- 7.7 Devontae Booker, RB, DEN
- 8.6 Delanie Walker, TE, TEN
- 9.7 Ty Montgomery, RB, GB
- 10.6 Kirk Cousins, QB, WAS
- 11.7 Marqise Lee, WR, JAC
- 12.6 T.J. Yeldon, RB, JAC
- 13.7 Saints DST
- 14.6 Will Lutz, K, NO
Want to know why we're always preaching to wait on quarterback (and sometimes tight end)? Take a look at this team. In Round 8, I landed a tight end who has been a top-five option each of the past three seasons. Two rounds later I took a quarterback who has been a top-10 option for three straight years and has a major upgrade in supporting cast. Yes, the names are Walker and Cousins, but that's almost immaterial. When there's this type of value available at a position, it makes it easy to stockpile running backs and receivers early in the draft.
As for those running backs, they're led by Leonard Fournette. I don't love Fournette in PPR this year, but his volume is too much to pass up in the middle of the second round. I didn't take my second back until the fifth round, but I took four of them with my next five picks. Both Dion Lewis and Rex Burkhead have top-15 upside in this format and should see a chunk of touches at the start of the season. Ty Montgomery is the wild card. I'm fond of Montgomery's skill set, especially in this format, but he has a lot to prove this year in terms of his ability to stay healthy.
Favorite pick: Marqise Lee
I drafted three receivers in the first four picks, but didn't take another one until 11th round when I got one of my favorite late-round values in Lee. He got off to a slow start last year but really seemed to be catching on before leaving Week 15 against the Texans. In his final eight games before that injury Lee caught 41 passes for 494 yards and three touchdowns.
I fully expect Lee will lead the Jaguars in catches, yards and receiving touchdowns this year. While it isn't a high-profile passing attack, it still gives him a good chance of being a No. 3 receiver, and there's upside above that.
Pick I might regret: Devontae Booker
At this point in the offseason it looks very possible that Booker will begin the year as Denver's starting running back, so it's hard to be too down on him in the seventh round. Especially when Royce Freeman went in the fifth. But looking back now, it's quite possible I'd feel better about this team if I'd picked one of the three receivers that went after Booker in this round: Cooper Kupp, Allen Hurns or Corey Davis.
Player who could make or break my team: JuJu Smith-Schuster
Smith-Schuster was awesome as a rookie and did much of his damage whenever Antonio Brown or Martavis Bryant was out of the picture. With Bryant shipped to Oakland, that seemingly opens up an opportunity for Smith-Schuster to post No. 2 wide receiver numbers as my flex, giving me a very strong receiving corps. But there are plenty of ways this could go sideways.
Ben Roethlisberger could suffer another injury. Brown and Le'Veon Bell could so dominate the touches that there's no room for Smith-Schuster to shine. Or he could regress from last year's 73 percent catch rate and 15.8 yards per reception. If any of those things happen, my team could be weak at No. 2 running back and flex. That's not a winning combination.
