At a time when wide receivers are starting to dominate the early part of Fantasy drafts, is it smart to lean heavily on running backs, especially in a three-receiver, 0.5-PPR league? I attempted to find out picking from No. 11 overall in our latest mock.
It was easy to draft Jonathan Taylor in Round 1, although I would have had a tough decision if Cooper Kupp remained on the board. Thankfully, Kupp went at No. 10. I drafted Taylor, but then was surprised to see Tony Pollard still sitting there at No. 14 overall.
It's hard to argue with a backfield tandem of Taylor and Pollard in any format, and both could challenge to be the No. 1 overall player in Fantasy this season. In 2021, Taylor averaged 20.8, 0.5-PPR points per game as the No. 1 running back (No. 2 overall player behind Kupp), and he still has that potential after battling injuries in 2022.
Pollard averaged 14.3, 0.5-PPR points per game in 2022, but he had a three-game stretch last season where he scored at least 19.5, 0.5-PPR points in each outing, with Ezekiel Elliott missing two of those contests with a knee injury. As we all know, Elliott is no longer in Dallas (for now), giving Pollard immense upside.
In Round 3, I made the decision to pass on a wide receiver and select the No. 4 quarterback off the board in Lamar Jackson. Admittedly, this is too soon to draft Jackson, but I wanted to build a roster with an early-round quarterback. I drafted Jackson in the same round as Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts and Josh Allen, and I wouldn't recommend that, even though Jackson might have the same upside as that trio with his rebuilt receiving corps.
The receivers available in Round 4 weren't the most appealing -- DeAndre Hopkins, D.J. Moore, Deebo Samuel, DK Metcalf, Keenan Allen and Christian Watson all have flaws -- and I would have drafted Allen in full PPR. I went with Hopkins with the hope that he does get traded from Arizona to a spot where he can still maximize his production (hello Kansas City).
In Round 5, I went with the best-player available with Joe Mixon. There's still a chance the Bengals could release Mixon, which is why he continues to fall in our early mocks. But if Mixon remains in Cincinnati by the time training camp starts then he will likely be drafted in Round 3 given his upside in a high-powered offense.
At this point, I decided to essentially punt on wide receiver. Now, that doesn't mean what it sounds like, after all it's a three-receiver league. But instead of reaching for a receiver in Round 6 like Kadarius Toney, Mike Evans, George Pickens or Diontae Johnson, I drafted Dallas Goedert instead.
The idea is to be strong or elite at five of the starting positions I focused on (quarterback, two running backs, tight end and flex), and I should have accomplished that with Jackson, Taylor, Pollard, Mixon and Goedert. And I still have Hopkins, who could be a top-10 Fantasy receiver if he's traded, or Kyler Murray (ACL) is healthy by Week 1 should Hopkins remain in Arizona.
With this plan in place, it was time to attack receiver, and six of my next seven picks were dedicated to the position with Jahan Dotson (Round 7), Jordan Addison (Round 8), Nico Collins (Round 9), Romeo Doubs (Round 10), Elijah Moore (Round 12) and K.J. Osborn (Round 13). There's plenty of upside with this group, but ideally these are receivers that fill out your bench, not two of your starting spots.
Dotson could challenge Terry McLaurin to be the No. 1 receiver in Washington, and Collins should be the No. 1 receiver in Houston. Addison should be the best rookie receiver this season, and pairing him with Osborn gives me the "friendship strategy" we often talk about on our Fantasy Football Today podcast. Hopefully, one of these Minnesota receivers emerges as a weekly No. 3 Fantasy option, and both could benefit in a big way if Justin Jefferson ever suffered an injury.
Doubs should play a prominent role in Green Bay opposite Watson, and Doubs was better than Watson to start 2021. And I like the setup for Moore in Cleveland, where he should be No. 2 in targets behind Amari Cooper.
Again, it's not the sexiest wide receiver group, even with Hopkins. But given this roster build with a heavy emphasis on running backs, I like the way this team came together, and it should be competitive this season.
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 0.5 points for every reception. We feature a starting lineup of QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE and FLEX (RB/WR/TE) with six reserves for a 14-round draft.
Our draft order is as follows:
1. Thomas Shafer, FFT Podcast Producer
2. George Maselli, Fantasy Editor
3. Heath Cummings, Senior Fantasy Writer
4. Zach Brook, FFT Social Media Coordinator
5. Jack Capotorto, FFT HQ Producer
6. Ben Gretch, Stealing Signals
7. Meron Berkson, CBS Sports HQ Producer
8. Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer
9. Robert Thomas, FFT Facebook Moderator
10. Will Brinson, Pick Six Podcast Host
11. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer
12. Scott Fish, Scott Fish Bowl
| Round 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Player |
| 1 | Thomas Shafer | |
| 2 | George Maselli | |
| Thomas Shafer | ||
|---|---|---|
| Rd | Pk | Player |
| 1 | 1 | |
| George Maselli | ||
| Rd | Pk | Player |
| 1 | 2 | |