2018 Fantasy Football Draft Prep: You will love picking at No. 12 overall in PPR
Jamey Eisenberg shows you how to build a team from the No. 12 overall spot in a PPR league, and the highlight of his roster is starting his team with two stud receivers in Julio Jones and Michael Thomas.
What sleepers should you snatch in your draft? And what big-name running back could ruin your season? Visit SportsLine now to get Fantasy Football cheat sheets from the model that called Alvin Kamara's huge breakout last season.
- Picking in PPR from: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
- Picking in non-PPR from: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
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Editor's note: Our latest PPR pick-by-pick series was done in June and is a three-man draft with Heath Cummings, Jamey Eisenberg and Dave Richard, with each one selecting four teams in this 12-team mock. The goal of this series is to show you positions to draft in these spots as much as the players selected, so take that into account when viewing each team.
There are some Fantasy owners who fear drafting toward the end of Round 1 and consider it a daunting task. That shouldn't be the case at all.
You should embrace picking at No. 12 overall, which is what we're talking about here in our latest PPR pick-by-pick series. From this spot, you get two players in the top 13, and that's a tremendous advantage.
While you might not be able to secure one of the top six running backs in PPR -- Todd Gurley, Le'Veon Bell, David Johnson, Ezekiel Elliott, Kareem Hunt and Alvin Kamara will almost certainly be off the board – you could have your choice of potentially Saquon Barkley, Melvin Gordon, Dalvin Cook or Leonard Fournette. You also should have plenty of options at receiver.
Antonio Brown and DeAndre Hopkins will definitely be gone by the end of Round 1, but don't be surprised if Julio Jones, Odell Beckham, Keenan Allen, Michael Thomas or A.J. Green are available. And that's what happened here.
I had my choice of Jones, Thomas or Green at receiver, and Gordon, Cook and Fournette were available at running back. I also could have selected Rob Gronkowski.
But I wanted to start this team with two receivers, and it was easy to take two studs in Jones and Thomas. Surprisingly, this was one of just two teams to start WR-WR in this mock draft, along with the team at No. 5 overall that went with Antonio Brown and Mike Evans. The team at No. 6 overall went with Hopkins and Gronkowski, and every other team drafted at least one running back in the first two rounds.
Here is my team from No. 12 overall:
- 1.12 Julio Jones, WR, Falcons
- 2.1 Michael Thomas, WR, Saints
- 3.12 Joe Mixon, RB, Bengals
- 4.1 Alex Collins, RB, Ravens
- 5.12 Royce Freeman, RB, Broncos
- 6.1 Greg Olsen, TE, Panthers
- 7.12 Tevin Coleman, RB, Falcons
- 8.1 Randall Cobb, WR, Packers
- 9.12 Drew Brees, QB, Saints
- 10.1 Nelson Agholor, WR, Eagles
- 11.12 Jordan Wilkins, RB, Colts
- 12.1 Anthony Miller, WR, Bears
- 13.12 Steelers DST
- 14.1 Harrison Butker, K, Chiefs
You don't have to look for running backs in Round 3 if you start your team WR-WR, but there could be talented options you want to acquire in that spot. And that's what happened here with Mixon and Collins at the Round 3-4 turn.
I considered Amari Cooper with one of those picks, but Mixon and Collins give me a balanced team. And both running backs have top 15 upside, with the chance for one to finish in the top 10 (my money is on Mixon).
Freeman should be the starting running back for the Broncos this year, and I like his value in Round 5. He'll have to beat out Devontae Booker in training camp for the job, but I'm confident in Freeman being a No. 2 Fantasy running back in 2018 and one of the top rookies.
Speaking of value, please take Olsen every time he slips past Round 5. He might not have the same upside as Gronkowski, Travis Kelce or Zach Ertz, but he will be the No. 4 tight end this season if he stays healthy.
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I'm hopeful Coleman can be a solid No. 4 running back for this team, and Wilkins is a sleeper in case he wins the starting running back job for the Colts – or at least plays a prominent role. Running back will likely make or break this team because I'm solid at every other position.
My reserve receivers behind Jones and Thomas are excellent with Cobb, Agholor and Miller. Cobb had decent stats in the five healthy games he played with Aaron Rodgers in 2017 (30 catches for 302 yards and two touchdowns on 44 targets), and over 16 games, he would have finished with 96 catches for 966 yards and six touchdowns.
Agholor could benefit greatly with Alshon Jeffery (shoulder) potentially limited or out to start the season. And Miller could be the best rookie receiver this season in what should be a surprise offense in Chicago. This should be a strong group, and one of Cobb, Agholor or Miller could be my flex.
As always, I plan to wait on quarterback for the best value, and Brees in Round 9 is a tremendous steal. It's doubtful someone like Brees will fall this far in non-analyst drafts, but always look for value at quarterback given how deep the position is this year.
Favorite pick: Drew Brees
Brees just had his worst Fantasy season since 2006, which was his first year in New Orleans. It was his first time since 2007 with fewer than 30 passing touchdowns, and it was his fewest passing yards since 2005. Now, is this a sign of Brees slowing down since he's 39 this year? Is the newfound ground game in New Orleans going to continue to hinder Brees' production? Or will he become a huge value on Draft Day this year? I'm counting on the latter, and Brees was still No. 9 in pass attempts last year (536).
He's still an elite Fantasy quarterback, and don't shy away from drafting him -- at a great price.
Pick I might regret: Tevin Coleman
Coleman will once again be a solid Fantasy reserve and lottery ticket, especially if Devonta Freeman continues to deal with injuries. Two concussions and a knee injury limited Freeman in 2017, and Coleman had three games with at least 19 carries. He scored four touchdowns in those games and averaged 16.0 PPR Fantasy points over that span. The reason I might regret this pick, however, is I took Coleman over Carlos Hyde, Tarik Cohen and Aaron Jones. In this format, those guys might be better options for my team, but hopefully Coleman will be fine. And he'll be a star if Freeman is out for any games in 2018.
Player who could make or break my team: Joe Mixon
I have a lot of confidence in Mixon this season, especially with the Bengals improving their offensive line with the additions of Cordy Glenn and Billy Price. And Mixon is a better receiver out of the backfield than you might expect with at least three catches in seven of 14 games. He'll lose touches to Giovani Bernard, but don't be surprised when Mixon has a breakout campaign in 2018. I might need that to happen for this team to be dominant since Mixon is my No. 1 running back. I'm confident in him this season, and he's worth drafting toward the end of Round 3 and beginning of Round 4 in PPR.


















