The sixth spot in your Fantasy draft is a great spot to be in. You're going to get one of the Elite Eight studs in Round 1, and you're in a great position to draft a terrific running back in Round 2, which I did with Ja'Marr Chase and Travis Etienne in this draft. Now, if Breece Hall or Bijan Robinson makes it to 6th overall, take one of those guys without hesitation and don't be afraid to start your team with two RBs. If things break right, You could end up with Puka Nakua or Marvin Harrison Jr. in the second round. Ideally I wouldn't exceed WR9 in my rankings (Nacua) at 2.6.
I knew I'd be happy with my start, but what about the rest of my team? I used this mock draft as an experiment: Could I invest somewhat early picks in both quarterback and tight end and still come away with a roster I like? The answer is yes. After drafting Malik Nabers in Round 3, I drafted Mark Andrews, Amari Cooper and Jayden Daniels with my next three picks. In retrospect, I should have drafted Lamar Jackson instead of Cooper in Round 5 and a WR in place of Daniels in Round 6, but either way, I invested two of my first six picks in a QB and TE and I still don't feel like this team has a real weakness.
Furthermore, this is a 3-WR league. In 2-WR leagues, I implore you to be aggressive at QB and TE. Use the depth of the WR position and the glut of RBs available to you in Rounds 6-10 to your advantage and don't be afraid to get your QB and TE early. If you take Jayden Daniels, consider pairing him with a more established veteran like Jared Goff late in the draft.
Here's my squad from the sixth pick:
1.6 Ja'Marr Chase, WR, CIN
2.7 Travis Etienne, RB, JAC
3.6 Malik Nabers, WR, NYG
4.7 Mark Andrews, TE, BAL
5.6 Amari Cooper, WR, CLE
6.7 Jayden Daniels, QB, WAS
7.6 Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, NE
8.7 Zack Moss, RB, CIN
9.6 Ladd McConkey, WR, LAC
10.7 Austin Ekeler, RB, WAS
11.6 Zach Charbonnet, RB, SEA
12.7 Tank Bigsby, RB, JAC
13.6 Jared Goff, QB, DET
14.7 Ben Sinnott, TE, WAS
Please scroll up if you want to know why this was my favorite pick! I haven't drafted enough elite TEs, so it was nice to finally do that and still put together a good group of WRs and RBs. Before leaving Week 11 with an injury, Andrews was averaging more than 14.0 PPR Fantasy Points per game and basically performing like the top TE in Fantasy.
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Cooper was the #19 WR per game in PPR last season, and he was considerably better in games that were not started by Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Cooper scored 15.8 or more PPR Fantasy points in four of five games with a healthy Deshaun Watson. So why might I regret this pick? It has not been an encouraging offseason for Watson. He didn't play in the preseason and dealt with soreness as he recovered from shoulder surgery. The Browns caught lightning in a bottle with Joe Flacco in 2023, but their passing game may let us down this season.
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Incredible talent with a concerning QB situation. This could go in so many directions! I could see Nabers being a Top 10 WR or outside the Top 30. Garrett Wilson, Drake London and George Pickens haven't been true Fantasy difference makers with bad QB play, so why will Nabers be different? I'm hopeful that he'll average 8 or more targets per game and do enough after the catch to live up to third round draft value, but it's easy to see this one going wrong. Overall, I'm optimistic and I'm willing to reach a little for him.
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