2017 Fantasy Football Draft Prep: Picking at No. 6 overall in standard leagues

Heath Cummings loved picking sixth in the first round, but his second-round pick created a roster crunch that he's not sure he overcame.

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 edition, I had the No. 6 pick, which may very well be the the most desirable pick in the draft. With a clear top three at both running back and receiver, you're guaranteed an elite player while getting a mid-round pick in the even numbered rounds. I took Odell Beckham. It was about as easy as a draft pick gets. 

In Round 2, I selected DeMarco Murray, which felt awesome and terrible at the same time. I have Murray ranked ahead of three running backs (Melvin Gordon, Jay Ajayi, Jordan Howard) taken ahead of him, which is the awesome part. The terrible part comes in Round 6, when I felt motivated to reach on Derrick Henry.

Don't get me wrong, I love the talent of Derrick Henry and think he's one of the best backup running backs in the league. But spending a third of your top-six picks on one backfield doesn't feel great. It created a situation where I'd spent half of my early picks on running back but still didn't feel solidified at the position.

More on that later.

Here is my team from No. 6 overall:

• 1.6 Odell Beckham, WR, NYG
  
• 2.19 DeMarco Murray, RB, TEN
  
• 3.30 Alshon Jeffery, WR, PHI
  
• 4.43 Jarvis Landry, WR, MIA
  
• 5.54 Ty Montgomery, RB, GB
  
• 6.67 Derrick Henry, RB, TEN
  
• 7.78 Larry Fitzgerald, WR, ARI
  
• 8.91 Zach Ertz, TE, PHI
  
• 9.102 Marcus Mariota, QB, TEN
  
• 10.115 James White, RB, NE
  
• 11.126 Jalen Richard, RB, OAK
  
• 12.139 Philip Rivers, QB, LAC
  
• 13.150 Falcons DST
  
• 14.163 Matt Prater, K, DET
  

The late-round picks on this team were some of my favorites. James White has big upside in the 10th round, even if his floor is basement level. Same goes for Jalen Richard. I'm convinced one of the Raiders' backups is going to be a huge value behind Marshawn Lynch, but I'm not sure how anyone could feel confident about which one.

The gem was Philip Rivers though. Rivers is an elite quarterback who heads into the season with more weapons than we can make sense of. The fact that he was around in the 12th round almost made me wish I'd waited that long on QB. But then I would have missed my favorite pick of the draft.

Favorite pick: Marcus Mariota

Contrary to what some think, telling people to wait on quarterback doesn't mean that we don't recognize the excellence of Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. But landing Mariota with the 102nd overall pick is quite a coup. 

This is a quarterback who has performed like a No. 1 QB the past two years despite having one of the the worst WR corps in the NFL. This year he added a pair of rookies to the equation, plus Eric Decker. With Corey Davis and Decker in tow, I believe Mariota has top-five potential, and I was thrilled to draft him where I did.

Pick you might regret: Larry Fitzgerald

To be clear, I think Fitzgerald in Round 7 is an excellent value, even without PPR. He's been a top-20 performer in this format each of the past two seasons, even if that performance has been front loaded. This was just a situation where I maybe should have overlooked value. 

With Beckham, Jeffery and Landry already on the roster, it's possible that Fitzgerald is going to be excess for most of the year. The player picked immediately after this pick (Spencer Ware) is far more likely to contribute to my team. This is one of the drawbacks to pairing Murray and Henry. I already had three running backs on the roster, but for all practical purposes I only had two. If Montgomery flops, I'm going to wish I took Ware.

Player who could make or break your team: Alshon Jeffery

I have no reservations about saying Jeffery could absolutely vault into the top-10 wide receivers this season. At the same time, it's important to recognize he's missed 11 games in the past two seasons.

Jeffery is with a new team and an inexperienced quarterback, both facts that increase the volatility of his production. His upside easily justifies the cost of a third-round pick, but his floor could make the fact that I only selected four receivers seem foolish.