2017 Fantasy Football Draft Prep: Picking at No. 9 overall in PPR leagues

Heath Cummings took a couple of untraditional paths from the ninth overall pick and came away with mixed results.

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

This is such a weird team (and even draft position), and I have no idea how I feel about it.

The weirdness starts with drafting both Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. That was not the plan.

I took Freeman in the first because I didn't want to start WR-WR near the back of the draft if I could avoid it. Then I got to Round 5 and Coleman was my top ranked RB on the board. I love the security the pick gives me in case of a Freeman injury, and I'm fine with Coleman as a No. 2 RB, regardless of whether I have Freeman. Still, it feels awfully weird to only have one backfield wrapped up despite taking two running backs in the first five picks. 

You know what else is weird for me? Taking a quarterback early. But how could I pass on Aaron Rodgers in Round 4? I can't. 

The back half of the draft is going to put you in some interesting positions this year (especially if you start with two receivers). I probably wouldn't have feel comfortable taking Rodgers if I didn't yet have a running back. 

Here's the rest of my team at No. 9 overall:

• 1.9 Devonta Freeman, RB, ATL
  
• 2.16 Amari Cooper, WR, OAK
  
• 3.33 Keenan Allen, WR, SD
  
• 4.40 Aaron Rodgers, QB, GB
  
• 5.57 Tevin Coleman, RB, ATL
  
• 6.64 Emmanuel Sanders, WR, DEN
  
• 7.81 Rob Kelley, RB, WAS
  
• 8.88 Kyle Rudolph, TE, MIN
  
• 9.105 LeGarrette Blount, RB, PHI
  
• 10.112 Darren Sproles, RB, PHI
  
• 11.129 Marvin Jones, WR, DET
  
• 12.136 Kevin White, WR, CHI
  
• 13.153 Rams DST
  
• 14.160 Dan Bailey, K, DAL
  

Speaking of weird, taking Rob Kelley and LeGarrette Blount in PPR seems less than ideal. But those touchdowns count the same and I expect them to score plenty. I wasn't able to land Samaje Perine (Jamey loves sniping), but I did get a little protection in Darren Sproles in Round 10. 

Favorite pick: Amari Cooper

Cooper is just the fourth receiver ever to start his career with 150 receptions and 2,200 yards in his first two seasons. So why isn't Cooper viewed as an elite receiver already? Touchdowns. His 11 in his first two years are 38 percent lower than any of the other three receivers to start a career like he has. The thing is that touchdowns are also one of the least "sticky" or predictable things from year-to-year. 

Give me his elite production everywhere else and I'll expect the touchdowns to come around soon.

Pick you might regret: Emmanuel Sanders

There are picks in these drafts that make us change our rankings. This was one of them.

I was behind the eight ball due to spending two picks in the first five rounds on a Falcons' running back and probably should have just taken Danny Woodhead. But Sanders stuck out like a sore thumb because I had him ranked so much higher than anyone else available.

The thing is that Sanders is likely going to finish better than WR30, which is where I took him here. But the way he gets there feels like anything but value. Having a third receiver after six rounds also made me focus on other positions and led to a situation where I'd say WR depth is my biggest weakness. That's not great when one of your top two receivers is never healthy.

Player who could make or break your team: Keenan Allen

Can he stay healthy? That's really the only question at this point. 

Allen's 16-game average for his career is 93-1,102-7. That would have made him the No. 9 WR in this format in 2016. Of course, he's never actually played 16 games in a season.

While I can make a reasonable argument that Allen has had some bad injury luck, his health could make this team a juggernaut , and a Week 1 injury would really hurt. He's a No. 1 WR in PPR when he's healthy.