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Editor's note: Our latest PPR pick-by-pick series was done in August prior to the third preseason game 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.
Building a team from every draft slot in PPR and non-PPR
There's only one advantage to picking 12th -- and that's picking 13th as well.
Getting two of the top 13 players in Fantasy Football isn't such a bad thing. You won't get a dynamo running back or one of the top two receivers, but you will get two cracks at landing productive players. That kind of edge is enough to get you off to a great start to building a team.
But there's another treat, and it happens with your next two picks at 36th and 37th overall. Getting that early fourth-round pick takes you off the hook from choosing players at the perceived drop-off right around the end of Round 4 and beginning of Round 5. That puts you in prime position to land four of the top-40 players on Draft Day plus start shopping for breakouts at 60th and 61st overall.
You think it's lame to pick late, but as it turns out it can be quite helpful to picking a nice, balanced roster without any hint of massive reaching.
Just keep in mind that because you pick at the ends, the odds of "someone making it back to you" are always going to be slim. You've got 11 different owners picking twice each before you pick again. This simply means that you'll end up taking the two players you need the most every time you're up. Splurging won't be much of an option until later on, if at all.
This can also work in your favor if you wait on quarterback or tight end. By doing such a thing, you can spend back-to-back picks on the position you're lackadaisical with and take two with similar values.
Here is my team from No. 12 overall:
- 1.12 Leonard Fournette
- 2.1 Odell Beckham
- 3.12 Amari Cooper
- 4.1 LeSean McCoy
- 5.12 Michael Crabtree
- 6.1 Andrew Luck
- 7.12 Rashaad Penny
- 8.1 Ronald Jones
- 9.12 Corey Clement
- 10.1 Michael Gallup
- 11.12 Nyheim Hines
- 12.1 Rams DST
- 13.12 Tyler Eifert
- 14.1 Mike Gesicki
I used the top-15 list in my rankings to take the best two players available at 12 and 13. I didn't even think about position scarcity. This was a no-brainer -- Fournette was a top-10 Fantasy running back last year in 13 games and Odell Beckham is a dominator. Two must-start studs. I wish all things in Fantasy were this easy.
The next two picks were pretty simple as well, even if one of them was the equivalent to having someone force a spoonful of mushroom-and-asparagus gruel into my gullet. Amari Cooper was my highest-rated receiver left on the board, and LeSean McCoy, sadly, was the running back. To pass on Shady meant taking Kenyan Drake or Lamar Miller instead, and with their roles not expected to be as big as McCoy's, I bit the bullet and took a player I had on my Do Not Want list. Hey, sometimes value can't be overlooked. Hopefully this doesn't come back to bite me.
Perfect balance was achieved with these first four picks, taking away any stress from being forced into taking any position with any of my next four selections. This turned out to be a very good thing -- on the Round 5/6 swing I felt like there weren't any good running backs at value. Maybe Marshawn Lynch? So I turned to receiver and nabbed Michael Crabtree first before grabbing Andrew Luck at the top of Round 6. Did that feel like a steal? Kind of, but I knew if I passed on Luck here that I wouldn't find anyone great at quarterback the rest of the way. Sure enough, when I was up in Round 7 the best quarterback left was Ben Roethlisberger, who wouldn't have felt like much of a steal.
I made up for lost running backs in Rounds 7 and 8 with Rashaad Penny and Ronald Jones, two rookies I'm willing to be patient with. It's exactly the kind of depth I don't mind having in Fantasy leagues. I added promising Eagles rusher Corey Clement and Cowboys rookie receiver Michael Gallup in Rounds 9 and 10. I like the potential these four give my squad.
What about tight end?! Did I forget on purpose?! I could have had Greg Olsen when I took Luck in Round 6, or David Njoku when I took Gallup in Round 10. Those values were okay, but not amazing. Instead, I opted to begin the season with some streamers -- Tyler Eifert and Mike Gesicki. Both offer some nice potential and I invested literally my last two picks in them. Worst-case scenario is that I have to play the waiver wire for tight ends all season; best-case scenario is that I stole a tight end at the end of my draft.
Favorite pick: Odell Beckham
I can't explain why Beckham fell to Round 2. In almost every other draft I've been in, he's gone before pick No. 12 overall. This time he wasn't so I had to capitalize. Some are worried about Beckham playing with an old quarterback in an offense with a suddenly stout run game. I say Beckham can beat up on defenses a little bit differently -- the run threat can create play-action opportunities and the improved receiving threats on the other side of the field could keep defensive coordinators from double-teaming Beckham. He's healthy and moving around just fine after his 2017 surgeries. He should finish as a top-5 Fantasy receiver.
Pick I might regret: LeSean McCoy
Obviously anyone who I recommend not drafting at current ADP is someone I'd be unhappy with on my team. McCoy has over 2,500 career touches, a new quarterback, an offensive line with at least three new starters and a groin injury that has slowed him down in late August. Suddenly, taking Lamar Miller or Kenyan Drake wouldn't have been such a bad idea.
Player who could make or break my team: Andrew Luck
Through two preseason games we've seen Luck throw with good accuracy and poise. He seems almost all the way back following his shoulder surgery. But he hasn't chucked the ball very deep and his receivers outside of T.Y. Hilton and Jack Doyle really haven't impressed. I'm hoping Luck plays like his old self and brings big Fantasy points with him.
