2017 Fantasy Football Draft Prep: Picking at No. 8 overall in PPR leagues

With four of the first 41 picks in a PPR draft a certainty, picking past the mid-point of Round 1 definitely has its benefits.

Drafting from: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

There's a consensus top six to Fantasy drafts this fall: Le'Veon Bell, David Johnson, Ezekiel Elliott, Antonio Brown, Julio Jones and Odell Beckham.

If you pick eighth, you won't get any of those guys.

But you will get a shot at Mike Evans, A.J. Green and Melvin Gordon, and those aren't bad players to build a Fantasy roster around. With the top six and Green off the board when I got on the clock, Evans was the easy choice for me. Though I doubt he works his way to 96 receptions again given the Bucs' improved receiving corps, I do think he'll be much more efficient, and still a major player in the end zone.

I hoped for Michael Thomas to make it back to 17th overall, but he went two spots in front of me. Luckily, Jordan Howard was still there. I consider Howard one of the last, best top-tier players at any position you can find on Draft Day. With the alternatives being Rob Gronkowski, DeAndre Hopkins, DeMarco Murray and Leonard Fournette, choosing Howard was an easy call.

I think Fantasy owners will particularly like having one running back and one receiver after two picks. That way, there isn't any pressure to take a certain position in Round 3, or even Round 4. Not surprisingly, I felt no pressure when I took Alshon Jeffery in Round 3, followed by Julian Edelman nine picks later.

That didn't mean there was any pressure later. Naturally, I found myself short on running backs when I was up at 56th overall. Fortunately, one guy I was happy to swipe was Vikings rookie Dalvin Cook. He's off to a positive start with them in practice and should end up being their best running back given the competition. I even like his schedule.

For me, the pressure to take running backs didn't fade after Round 5, either. In no way should a Fantasy owner feel good about his backs if the only two are Howard and Cook. I needed more depth.

But I also needed a quarterback.

I noticed when I was on the clock in Round 6 that none of the other drafters picking in the first through seven draft slots had a quarterback. And who was still on the board, but Matt Ryan. Even though I was needy for a ball carrier -- Marshawn Lynch or Danny Woodhead would have been fine there -- I couldn't pass on Ryan, especially since I think there's a drop-off from him to the next-best quarterback.

Who needs running backs, anyway?

I felt foolish taking Frank Gore in Round 7, but I was desperate for running back help at that point. A few rounds later I handcuffed Cook with Latavius Murray, then handcuffed Gore with rookie Marlon Mack, before taking another rookie runner, D'Onta Foreman, with my second-to-last choice.

In between those choices I stole Tyler Eifert in Round 8, picked up a sleeper receiver in Tyrell Williams in Round 9, and splurged on the Chiefs DST (hello, Tyreek Hill special teams touchdowns!) in Round 12. 

Here is my team at No. 8 overall:

• 1.8 Mike Evans
  
• 2.17 Jordan Howard
  
• 3.32 Alshon Jeffery
  
• 4.41 Julian Edelman
  
• 5.56 Dalvin Cook
  
• 6.65 Matt Ryan
  
• 7.80 Frank Gore
  
• 8.89 Tyler Eifert
  
• 9.104 Tyrell Williams
  
• 10.113 Latavius Murray
  
• 11.128 Marlon Mack
  
• 12.137 Chiefs DST
  
• 13.152 D'Onta Foreman
  
• 14.161 Adam Vinatieri
  

Alright, my running back group may never quite be the backbone of my team, but I really like the fact I have no-doubt-about-it starters for both receiver spots and my flex, as well as quarterback, tight end, and DST, and even one of my running back positions. I'm a little iffy at my No. 2 running back. There are worse problems to have in a PPR league.

Focusing on receivers with high-reception potential was a pretty easy choice. Evans, Jeffery and Edelman all have a shot at cracking the 85-catch mark in 2017. That's easy advice for PPR formats.

Another takeaway is to take note of who the owners in draft slots 9 through 12 choose. In those odd-numbered rounds when you pick before them, see what their needs are and if they match your needs. If they do, consider those positions first. It's part of the reason I took Alshon Jeffery in Round 3 instead of a running back. 

Favorite pick: Matt Ryan

The combination of the value (sixth round!) and knowing he would have never, ever made it back to me in Round 7 turned Ryan into my favorite selection.

A year ago, everyone, including me, was scared to draft Ryan, but he finally fell into a situation where he threw a ton of touchdowns. It helped that his offensive line improved -- Alex Mack's arrival turned out to be clutch. The change in coordinators is a little scary, but Ryan should remain the focal point of the offense.

While I doubt he throws 38 touchdowns again, I wouldn't be surprised to see him top 4,500 yards and 30 scores, albeit with more turnovers. Maybe that's why he fell to the sixth round.

Pick you might regret: Frank Gore

Shoot, I regretted this pick soon after I took him. So why did I take him? Because he's a running back and I was a scared man in search of running backs.

You already know why Gore is undesirable -- he's 34 years old, has 3,105 career carries and is long overdue to miss games after six straight 16-game seasons. But hey, he still plays running back, right? It helped that I picked up Marlon Mack later on -- getting those two together seems like a good idea. Hopefully I won't need Gore much this season, though that will significantly depend on how Cook does.

Speaking of …

Player who could make or break your team: Dalvin Cook

I've got plenty of great players on my roster, but I'll begin the season leaning heavily on Cook. That's assuming he begins 2017 as the Vikings' lead rusher. Minnesota's coaching staff has been stingy about giving rookies lots of snaps, but Cook seems to be bucking that trend.

Coach Mike Zimmer turned heads when he called Cook "special" during spring workouts, a term he's rarely used about anyone. It was because of Cook's speed, a trait that helped him notch over 1,900 total yards and 20 total touchdowns in each of his last two seasons at Florida State. If he acclimates quickly to the Vikings offense and pushes Murray and Jerick McKinnon off the field, he'll be a fantastic selection. If he can't, then I'll have wished I spent the pick on someone else.