Non-PPR draft slot: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6  | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

Picking in the latter part of the first round in non-PPR requires some flexibility this year. I picked ninth in a recent 12-team non-PPR mock Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard, Heath Cummings and I did in order to provide a blueprint for how to attack a draft from each position. 

In some non-PPR drafts this year, I suspect running backs will fly off the board, with several second-round PPR backs being boosted to the first round because of the format. That wasn't necessarily the case here, as two wide receivers mixed in with two running backs in picks 5-8 after the big four backs were off the board. 

That left me with a decision for my first pick of whether to take one of those aforementioned backs or perhaps target an elite wide receiver. Partly because we start three wide receivers in this league, and partly because I felt more confident in a running back I'd like being there in the second than one of my top wide receivers, I decided to go WR and see what my RB options looked like on the way back. 

Ultimately, that meant an Odell Beckham-Dalvin Cook start, something I was pleased with. Here's how the rest of the draft went. 

I was surprised to see Aaron Jones available at the 33rd overall pick, and scooped him up there. The other option I was targeting was Stefon Diggs, which almost certainly would have meant going another way in the fourth round, considering I'd already taken Cook in Round 2. Two players from one offense in the first four rounds is already stretching the limit; three would have been nuts. 

The decision to take Thielen wound up being a tough one, and it's one I'd probably like back given the non-PPR format. But I do think Thielen is going a bit overlooked based on a small sample from the end of 2018 when new offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski took over the team. I like Diggs' upside more, but I imagine Thielen will be far more involved than he was last December after Stefanski gets an offseason to properly install his offense.

An interesting thing happened in this draft where after taking Christian Kirk in the sixth, I stacked him with Kyler Murray in the 10th, which I thought was pretty good value on Murray. But then in the 11th, the top two wide receivers on my board were also both Cardinals! In a decision that seems a little bonkers, I went with the upside option in Isabella over Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald has always had such great body control that it's not hard to see him being a red-zone presence, but the non-PPR format led me to value youth and explosiveness more for that bench slot.

Speaking of youth and explosiveness, one of my top considerations with non-PPR running backs is the strength of the offense, and Darrell Henderson steps into one that should put up plenty of points. I expect Todd Gurley will still be a force in the red zone, but I'm envisioning a situation similar to what we've seen from the other Los Angeles team the last few seasons, where Austin Ekeler has scored five and six touchdowns in his two seasons behind Melvin Gordon's double-digit scores both years. 

I didn't get great value late in this draft, perhaps a byproduct of drafting three teams in the same draft. Rex Burkhead isn't what I'd consider a priority late-round target, but I do think his role is being overlooked, and after I'd nabbed some of my other favorite late-round RBs on my other two rosters -- and watched as Jamey, Dave and Heath also stole some -- I felt Burkhead made some sense. I do think he has the chance to be more of a contributor than people realize this season.

Favorite pick
player headshot
Christian Kirk WR
HOU Houston • #13
Age: 29 • Experience: 8 yrs.
2018 Stats
REC
43
TAR
68
REYDS
590
TD
3
FPTS/G
10.3

Kirk's ability to rise above his surroundings as a rookie last year deserves serious commendation. An elite prospect, Kirk stepped into one of the worst Fantasy offenses in the last decade, but he posted over 600 yards from scrimmage in just 12 games. There seems to be a little concern Kirk won't be the Cardinals' No. 1 with Larry Fitzgerald still on the roster, but Kirk averaged more receiving yards per game last season, so don't sweat that. There are a lot of places the ball can go in Arizona, but you can bet Kirk will command his share of the looks.

Pick I might regret
player headshot
Sammy Watkins WR
BAL Baltimore • #82
Age: 32 • Experience: 10 yrs.
2018 Stats
REC
40
TAR
55
REYDS
519
TD
3
FPTS/G
11.4

I haven't been sure what to make of Watkins this offseason. Even when we didn't know if Tyreek Hill would be on the field, it was difficult to buy into Watkins emerging as Patrick Mahomes' No. 1, not because he doesn't have the talent, but because he hasn't played 16 games since his rookie season and has missed at least six games in two of the past three years. With Hill being reinstated, Watkins is a tough buy in the middle rounds, even if he falls to the eighth round as he did here. It would seem hard to argue with a starting option in this Chiefs' offense, and yet I just did.

Make or break pick
player headshot
Kyler Murray QB
ARI Arizona • #1
Age: 28 • Experience: 7 yrs.
2018 Stats (at Oklahoma)
PAYDS
4361
RUYDS
1001
TOTAL TD
54
INT
7

Quarterbacks tend to go later in analyst mocks than they do in most real leagues, so Murray may not last until the 10th round in most leagues. But snagging him there in this one gave me a great stack combination with my favorite pick, Christian Kirk. I'm a big believer that the more modern, spread offenses are better targets for Fantasy, and while we don't know much about how good Kliff Kingsbury will be as a coach, we can be pretty sure he'll open things up from the get-go. But this roster may be sunk if that analysis is wrong, or Murray isn't the real deal.