Drafting from: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
This is the first edition of our annual pick-by-pick series, and we changed it up a little this season. I'm joining Dave Richard and Jamey Eisenberg to offer my take on a third of the picks.
For those of you reading this series for the first time, this is an exercise we have done for the past several years at CBS Sports to give you a guide on how to draft from a particular draft slot in a 12-team league. Our first edition is for a standard league, and our PPR format will come out shortly. We'll also do another version of both formats during training camp.
We don't expect you to follow these teams exactly. I mean, you can if you like the rosters that much, but replicating them player for player is likely difficult. But you can see what players and, more importantly, what positions could be available in each round, depending on how you start your team.
For this installment I had the 12th pick, and to be honest, I didn't hate it at the first turn. T.Y. Hilton and Jordy Nelson is an excellent pairing of wide receivers that offer both floor and ceiling. I think it's likely that Nelson regresses in touchdowns a little bit in 2017, but the opposite could be true for Hilton. After that first turn, I absolutely hated this slot.
There were no running backs I liked at the 3/4 turn, and I was sniped by Jamey (C.J. Anderson) in the fifth round and Dave (Rob Kelley) in the 7th round. This led to a running back situation that is less than desirable.
Here is my team at No. 12 overall:
- 1.12 T.Y. Hilton, WR, IND
- 2.13 Jordy Nelson, WR, GB
- 3.36 Travis Kelce, TE, KC
- 4.37 Keenan Allen, WR, LAC
- 5.60 Eddie Lacy, RB, SEA
- 6.61 Emmanuel Sanders, WR, DEN
- 7.84 Frank Gore, RB, IND
- 8.85 Cam Newton, QB, CAR
- 9.108 Jonathan Stewart, RB, CAR
- 10.109 Terrance West, RB, BAL
- 11.132 C.J. Prosise, RB, SEA
- 12.133 Darren Sproles, RB, PHI
- 13.156 Rams DST
- 14.157 Dan Bailey, K, DAL
So yeah, there's a reason I used four straight picks from Rounds 9-12 on running backs. Bon Jovi did a song about this RB corps -- Livin' on a Prayer.
Early in the season I'd expect Lacy, Gore and West will be a fine trio, and people are probably underestimating Jonathan Stewart's role in Carolina. With the age and injury risk (not to mention the lack of excitement) of this group, I would anticipate being very active on the waiver wire late in the year. It's not ideal, but neither is pick 12 overall.
Favorite pick: Terrance West
The Ravens have been pretty clear that West is their starting running back going into the year, but what else are they going to say with Kenneth Dixon suspended for the first four games? West had flashes of productivity last season and I would expect him to be a borderline No. 2 RB for at least the first four weeks of the season.
The thing people may be overlooking is that at least part. I don't see any guarantee that Dixon returns in Week 5 and is handed the starting role. In fact, I'd say it's unlikely. He's going to have to win the job, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if that takes a few weeks. West will be extremely cheap in standard drafts and a decent starter for the first month if you're a zero-RB guy.
Pick you might regret: Emmanuel Sanders
I don't dislike the value of Sanders at the start of the sixth round. In fact, I like it. Sanders is anything but steady, but he's a good No. 3 WR and a great No. 4 in this case. The problem is obviously the fact that Eddie Lacy was my only running back when I took Sanders.
This comes down to value vs. positional need, and I may have leaned too much on the former in this instance. I'm not a huge Dalvin Cook fan for this season, but I'd feel much better about my team if I had Cook instead of Sanders in this spot.
Player who could make or break your team: Eddie Lacy
This is the type of upside pick that could make waiting on RB worth it. If Lacy is in shape (he's meeting the benchmarks so far) and stays healthy, it's not hard to imagine him turning into a workhorse for a Seahawks team that badly needs one. A 1,000 yard season with 8-plus touchdowns is not out of the question at all.
Of course there's also plenty of downside, and if Lacy misses I'm left with a stable of running backs that no one else wanted. You can win your league playing the waiver wire at RB, but it's not the path of least resistance. Hopefully Lacy doesn't make me take that route.
