Fantasy Football 10-Team PPR Mock: Deeper talent pool encourages swinging for the fences

Differentiating your team from the other loaded rosters is the key

It's hard to screw up a draft in a 10-team league because everyone should have a stacked roster. The key is setting your team apart from the field to maximize your potential to win.

Now, it's easy to say that, but how do you make it work? Where you draft in the first round matters, but I like to be aggressive with certain players who might pose a greater risk. The hope is there's a big reward with these guys, but you also have the ability to recover if they fail given a more robust waiver wire.

You can prioritize quarterback or tight end in this format -- this is a 10-team, PPR mock draft -- with the hope of locking up a top-five player at those positions. Or you can try to have the most dominant running back or receiving corps to obliterate your opponents.

I had the No. 10 pick in this mock draft, and I ended up with what I consider the best collection of running backs in this league after selecting Najee Harris, Joe Mixon, James Conner and A.J. Dillon with four of my first six picks. We start two flexes in this league, so I can play all four if I want, which is awesome.

Harris and Mixon were easy picks to start this draft, but Conner and Dillon come with some risk. Conner, as we know, is injury prone, although he was exceptional last year when given the chance to be the lead running back for the Cardinals. Drafting him over receivers like Courtland Sutton, Chris Godwin, Tee Higgins and Mike Williams could be something I regret, but I felt like Conner gives me the best chance to win.

The same goes for Dillon, who will share touches with Aaron Jones for the Packers. I expect him to be a breakout candidate this year and lead Green Bay in rushing yards and touchdowns, as well as having a role in the passing game, and he could be a league-winner if Jones were to miss any time. With that in mind, I drafted him ahead of Ezekiel Elliott, Cam Akers and plenty of talented receivers, along with Darren Waller.

I have a solid but stable receiving corps with A.J. Brown, Jaylen Waddle, Christian Kirk, Brandon Aiyuk, Chris Olave, Chase Claypool and Isaiah McKenzie. Brown and Waddle are top-20 receivers, and Kirk and Aiyuk have breakout potential, but this isn't the strength of my team. That's why I invested so much capital at receiver, with Kirk and Aiyuk giving me other quality options at flex.

Dalton Schultz has top-five upside at tight end, and I was thrilled to draft him in Round 8. But I love my quarterback duo of Trey Lance and Russell Wilson, and Lance could be the reason my team is the best in this league if he has a top-five finish.

Keeping in mind my strategy to maximize talent, I drafted Lance in Round 10 ahead of Wilson, who I have ranked higher by one spot. Both quarterbacks have huge upside, but I think Lance has the higher ceiling if everything goes right.

He also has a low floor, so I recommend drafting a backup with Lance. And it was easy to draft Wilson when he was still on the board in Round 12.

If my running backs perform as expected, and Lance has the type of season I'm hoping for, this team should be dominant, especially with Schultz and a quality receiving corps. I like the way this roster came together.

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, 2 WR, TE and 2 FLEX spots (RB/WR/TE) with six reserves for a 14-round draft.

Our draft order is as follows:

1. Heath Cummings, Senior Fantasy Writer
2. Zach Brook, FFT Social Producer
3. Chris Towers, Senior Editor, Fantasy Sports
4. Thomas Shafer, FFT Podcast Producer
5. Daniel Schneier, Fantasy Editor
6. Adam Aizer, FFT Podcast Host
7. Jeremy St. Louis, CBS Sports HQ Host
8. Jack Capotorto FFT HQ Producer
9. George Maselli, Fantasy Editor
10. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer