Welcome to the first in our 'Undercover Mock' series, where our analysts will surreptitiously go into mock drafts to draft with real people. Unlike our expert mock drafts, you won't see Patrick Mahomes falling to the fourth round here. We're trying to show you how to find real advantages drafting with real people.

Picking first through fourth is easy. Picking fifth is tough.

The elite tier of running backs is sure to make up the first four picks in pretty much every draft, making the choice at fifth overall kind of difficult. Do you take a safe receiver or a should-be-safe running back?

Take a look around the league and you'll see running backs dropping like flies in training camp. Especially in a non-PPR, I want as much stability in the running back position as I can get, even if it costs me a stud receiver. That's why I had no problem taking James Conner before the likes of DeAndre Hopkins, Julio Jones and Davante Adams. I couldn't say for sure I could land a stud workhorse running back in Round 2, but I knew a very good pass-catcher would be there for me.

Suffice to say, this line of thinking was put to the test. Yes, there were quality hands men available to me at 20th overall like Mike Evans, George Kittle, Amari Cooper, Zach Ertz, Keenan Allen and T.Y. Hilton. But one running back stood out -- Nick Chubb. I know there are some hand-wringers who think Kareem Hunt will somehow come back on the field in Week 10 and create a timeshare. But if Chubb keeps up his hyper-efficiency from last year when coach Freddie Kitchens was calling his number, it's hard to argue the Browns not continuing to ride him.

I also knew someone from those other positions would make it back to me in Round 3. I didn't know it would be just two of them -- Allen, Hilton, Evans and Ertz (and Patrick Mahomes and a handful of nice running backs) were gone. All that was left was Kittle and Cooper. Again choosing position scarcity, I went with Kittle in Round 3, which was a real nice perk for me since I've taken him in Round 2 in a bunch of analyst mocks over the past month.

But the decision to go Conner-Chubb-Kittle came with a price: Seven of the next 14 picks after Kittle were receivers. I missed out on all of them, including three suspect choices like Julian Edelman (30th overall), Robert Woods (38th overall) and A.J. Green (41st overall).

By the time I was up in Round 4, my queue looked like this:

Yikes. The top three names were all running backs! I knew I'd have to either force my hand and take a receiver or choose the best-available player and deal with the consequences.

My fourth-round decision was nudged by the fact that the Fantasy managers at Picks 1 through 4 had three receivers total between them. This receiver run I was in the middle of wasn't about to stop. So with a quick glance at my rankings and a cross-check of ADP, I figured my best chance to get two from Golladay, Kupp and Godwin meant choosing Golladay first. Conveniently, he was my highest-ranked receiver.

Sure enough, Godwin was still available at 53rd overall (Kupp went right after Golladay) and I had a decent wide receiver duo to go with my amazing running backs and stud tight end.

Things picked up from here. I knew I needed to add to my receiver stockpile with one of my next two picks or so but saw this glorious queue when I was up in Round 6:

The pressure to take a receiver vanished. There was a pretty good shot that one of Anderson, Pettis or Williams could fall to me in Round 7. I felt the same way about the quarterbacks. That left only one name in the queue -- I chose Coleman to solidify my running back depth.

In Round 7, the good news was that Pettis was available. The bad news was that if I took him, he'd be my third 49ers player on staff. If this were the Saints, the Rams or even the Colts, I wouldn't complain. The Niners? I suppose beggars can't be choosers when chasing receiver depth. Pettis was locked in as my No. 3 wideout.

But the draft became a success in Round 8. Mayfield was still on the board and at the top of my rank list -- a perfect storm if there ever was one. However, before I picked I noticed that every single team picking after me in Round 8 and before me in Round 9 already had a quarterback. Unless one of those knuckleheads decided to take Mayfield as a backup, I liked my odds of getting him in Round 9.

So I took the high-percentage gamble and opted for Rams rookie runner Darrell Henderson in Round 8. Sure enough, no one wanted Mayfield as a backup, so I took him as my starter.

You guys already know how I feel about drafting a quarterback for value -- this is the strategy in action. I knew I had to wait for a passer simply because I needed to feed receivers to my roster. Not only did I pick up a top-six passer, but I did it at a point where it was an irresistible steal. You may not find Mayfield in Round 9 in your drafts, but I bet you will find someone at a better-than-expected value. That's why you wait on them.

In the double-digit rounds, my focus turned to high-upside breakouts and sleepers and I went a little too overboard with running backs. I couldn't help myself with the number of potential starters available. I even was responsible and picked up Jaylen Samuels to use in case Conner missed some playing time.

Lessons learned

  • I don't regret taking Chubb over Evans or Kittle over Cooper. I think Chubb and Kittle will help my team win. Anyone who you feel similarly about should be drafted with confidence without worrying about the consequences.
  • However, you have to figure out going into your draft just how much tight end means to you. If you don't dream of having a top-three tight end, you'll wait until Round 4 or later (maybe way later) to get one. I prefer to have a difference-maker at tight end if I can, even if it costs me at another position.
  • I don't regret picking Golladay and then getting Godwin and Pettis -- that was making the best out of a tough situation by utilizing ADP. But I do think I could have done a better job choosing more receivers in general. Thing is, I couldn't resist Royce Freeman in Round 10, Kalen Ballage in Round 11 or Justin Jackson in Round 14. Would my team really be that much better if I had taken DeSean Jackson instead of Freeman or John Brown instead of Jackson? I'd rather begin the season with these lotto-ticket running backs on the squad.
  • If you think my mock stunk because I didn't take a receiver early, sign yourself up for drafting one before Round 3 ends no matter what. I'm not saying that's a bad idea -- in PPR it's pretty obvious. Just commit to it.
  • Paying attention to Fantasy managers picking near you at the end of rounds is something I always preach, but pay attention to ADP, too. It'll help you manufacture a better roster when you're judging which players have the best chance to make it back to you.
  • Wait on quarterback.

Interesting picks

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Round 1

Pick

Team

Player

1

Team 1

Ezekiel Elliott

2

Team 2

Saquon Barkley

3

Team 3

Alvin Kamara

4

Team 4

Christian McCaffrey

5

Dave Richard

James Conner

6

Team 6

Le'Veon Bell

7

Team 7

Melvin Gordon

8

Team 8

DeAndre Hopkins

9

Team 9

David Johnson

10

Team 10

Davante Adams

11

Team 11

Todd Gurley II

12

Team 12

Michael Thomas

Round 2

Pick

Team

Player

13

Team 12

Julio Jones

14

Team 11

Joe Mixon

15

Team 10

Tyreek Hill

16

Team 9

JuJu Smith-Schuster

17

Team 8

Travis Kelce

18

Team 7

Odell Beckham Jr.

19

Team 6

Antonio Brown

20

Dave Richard

Nick Chubb

21

Team 4

Keenan Allen

22

Team 3

Dalvin Cook

23

Team 2

T.Y. Hilton

24

Team 1

Patrick Mahomes

Round 3

Pick

Team

Player

25

Team 1

Mike Evans

26

Team 2

Josh Jacobs

27

Team 3

Leonard Fournette

28

Team 4

Zach Ertz

29

Dave Richard

George Kittle

30

Team 6

Julian Edelman

31

Team 7

Amari Cooper

32

Team 8

Devonta Freeman

33

Team 9

Damien Williams

34

Team 10

Adam Thielen

35

Team 11

Marlon Mack

36

Team 12

Derrick Henry

Round 4

Pick

Team

Player

37

Team 12

Kerryon Johnson

38

Team 11

Robert Woods

39

Team 10

Aaron Jones

40

Team 9

Brandin Cooks

41

Team 8

A.J. Green

42

Team 7

Stefon Diggs

43

Team 6

Sony Michel

44

Dave Richard

Kenny Golladay

45

Team 4

Cooper Kupp

46

Team 3

Deshaun Watson

47

Team 2

Chris Carson

48

Team 1

Phillip Lindsay

Round 5

Pick

Team

Player

49

Team 1

Mark Ingram II

50

Team 2

Alshon Jeffery

51

Team 3

Tyler Lockett

52

Team 4

James White

53

Dave Richard

Chris Godwin

54

Team 6

Aaron Rodgers

55

Team 7

Evan Engram

56

Team 8

Sammy Watkins

57

Team 9

Calvin Ridley

58

Team 10

Kenyan Drake

59

Team 11

Jarvis Landry

60

Team 12

DJ Moore

Round 6

Pick

Team

Player

61

Team 12

David Montgomery

62

Team 11

Hunter Henry

63

Team 10

Tarik Cohen

64

Team 9

O.J. Howard

65

Team 8

Derrius Guice

66

Team 7

Miles Sanders

67

Team 6

Tyler Boyd

68

Dave Richard

Tevin Coleman

69

Team 4

Allen Robinson

70

Team 3

Mike Williams

71

Team 2

Andrew Luck

72

Team 1

Robby Anderson

Round 7

Pick

Team

Player

73

Team 1

Eric Ebron

74

Team 2

Rashaad Penny

75

Team 3

Sterling Shepard

76

Team 4

Matt Ryan

77

Dave Richard

Dante Pettis

78

Team 6

Jared Cook

79

Team 7

Lamar Miller

80

Team 8

LeSean McCoy

81

Team 9

Austin Ekeler

82

Team 10

Cam Newton

83

Team 11

Will Fuller V

84

Team 12

Marvin Jones Jr.

Round 8

Pick

Team

Player

85

Team 12

Dede Westbrook

86

Team 11

Drew Brees

87

Team 10

Delanie Walker

88

Team 9

Latavius Murray

89

Team 8

Christian Kirk

90

Team 7

Corey Davis

91

Team 6

Kareem Hunt

92

Dave Richard

Darrell Henderson

93

Team 4

Golden Tate

94

Team 3

Peyton Barber

95

Team 2

David Njoku

96

Team 1

Bears D/ST

Round 9

Pick

Team

Player

97

Team 1

Nyheim Hines

98

Team 2

Larry Fitzgerald

99

Team 3

Ronald Jones

100

Team 4

Jordan Howard

101

Dave Richard

Baker Mayfield

102

Team 6

Jerick McKinnon

103

Team 7

Carson Wentz

104

Team 8

Ben Roethlisberger

105

Team 9

Damien Harris

106

Team 10

Keke Coutee

107

Team 11

Emmanuel Sanders

108

Team 12

Vance McDonald

Round 10

Pick

Team

Player

109

Team 12

Dak Prescott

110

Team 11

Greg Olsen

111

Team 10

Jared Goff

112

Team 9

Kyler Murray

113

Team 8

Courtland Sutton

114

Team 7

N'Keal Harry

115

Team 6

Curtis Samuel

116

Dave Richard

Royce Freeman

117

Team 4

Michael Gallup

118

Team 3

DeSean Jackson

119

Team 2

Geronimo Allison

120

Team 1

Donte Moncrief

Round 11

Pick

Team

Player

121

Team 1

Trey Burton

122

Team 2

Russell Wilson

123

Team 3

Harrison Butker

124

Team 4

D'Onta Foreman

125

Dave Richard

Kalen Ballage

126

Team 6

Carlos Hyde

127

Team 7

Matt Breida

128

Team 8

Jaguars D/ST

129

Team 9

Devin Funchess

130

Team 10

Tom Brady

131

Team 11

Philip Rivers

132

Team 12

Rams D/ST

Round 12

Pick

Team

Player

133

Team 12

James Washington

134

Team 11

Broncos D/ST

135

Team 10

Bills D/ST

136

Team 9

Lamar Jackson

137

Team 8

DaeSean Hamilton

138

Team 7

Vikings D/ST

139

Team 6

Tyrell Williams

140

Dave Richard

Anthony Miller

141

Team 4

Saints D/ST

142

Team 3

Mark Andrews

143

Team 2

Marquez Valdes-Scantling

144

Team 1

Jamison Crowder

Round 13

Pick

Team

Player

145

Team 1

Adam Humphries

146

Team 2

Chargers D/ST

147

Team 3

DK Metcalf

148

Team 4

Marquise Brown

149

Dave Richard

Jaylen Samuels

150

Team 6

Patriots D/ST

151

Team 7

Greg Zuerlein

152

Team 8

Jack Doyle

153

Team 9

Giovani Bernard

154

Team 10

Justin Tucker

155

Team 11

Dion Lewis

156

Team 12

Austin Hooper

Round 14

Pick

Team

Player

157

Team 12

Stephen Gostkowski

158

Team 11

Wil Lutz

159

Team 10

Parris Campbell

160

Team 9

Duke Johnson Jr.

161

Team 8

Ka'imi Fairbairn

162

Team 7

Albert Wilson

163

Team 6

Robbie Gould

164

Dave Richard

Justin Jackson

165

Team 4

Mike Badgley

166

Team 3

Colts D/ST

167

Team 2

Mitchell Trubisky

168

Team 1

Adam Vinatieri

Round 15

Pick

Team

Player

169

Team 1

Brett Maher

170

Team 2

Kenny Stills

171

Team 3

Paul Richardson

172

Team 4

Mohamed Sanu

173

Dave Richard

Cowboys D/ST

174

Team 6

DJ Chark

175

Team 7

Marqise Lee

176

Team 8

Deebo Samuel

177

Team 9

Texans D/ST

178

Team 10

Kyle Rudolph

179

Team 11

Jordan Reed

180

Team 12

Jameis Winston

Round 16

Pick

Team

Player

181

Team 12

Jamaal Williams

182

Team 11

Jalen Richard

183

Team 10

Jimmy Graham

184

Team 9

Matt Prater

185

Team 8

Chris Herndon

186

Team 7

Andy Isabella

187

Team 6

Tre'Quan Smith

188

Dave Richard

Josh Lambo

189

Team 4

Hakeem Butler

190

Team 3

A.J. Brown

191

Team 2

Jake Elliott

192

Team 1

Kirk Cousins