rhamondre-stevenson-1400-us.jpg
USATSI

We had big running back news this week with Dalvin Cook signing with the Jets and Ezekiel Elliott signing with the Patriots. I wanted to see how those moves impacted all the players in their respective backfields in our latest 12-team, 0.5-PPR mock draft.

Let's start with the Patriots, and Rhamondre Stevenson was considered a borderline second-round pick prior to Elliott's signing. Here, he went in Round 3 at No. 32 overall, and that's the perfect spot for him.

Even though Elliott will potentially limit the ceiling for Stevenson, he should still be the clear leader of the New England backfield. Elliott's impact will come in short-yardage and goal-line situations, but Stevenson should still get the majority of carries and definitely dominate work in the passing game. And he'll score his share of touchdowns as well.

Elliott was drafted in Round 10 here, and that's a good time to take a flier on him -- in the double digit rounds. I'm not planning to target Elliott in most drafts because his best days are clearly behind him.

For the Jets, Breece Hall was drafted in Round 5 here, and unfortunately that's the right spot for him. I'm not opposed to reaching for him in Round 4, but I'm concerned he's going to struggle this season. And it's not completely because Cook joined the team.

The first year off an ACL tear has been difficult for running backs, and Hall was just activated off the PUP list this week. That's a great sign, but the Jets now have the luxury to ease Hall back into action.

player headshot
Dalvin Cook
DAL • RB • #20
Att264
Yds1173
TD8
FL4
View Profile

Cook can help the Jets early in the season, and then Hall can hopefully be ready to dominate in the second half of the year like he did in his rookie campaign in 2022 before getting hurt. As for Cook, he was drafted in Round 7 here, which is a good time to gamble on him. Cook should have some flex appeal through the first few weeks of the season.

I didn't draft any of these running backs, but I didn't prioritize running back in this draft. My first four picks from the No. 12 spot were Stefon Diggs, A.J. Brown, Jerry Jeudy and Christian Watson. I wanted a heavy-receiver build, and I also wanted to see what running backs would fall to me at the Round 5-6 turn.

I was thrilled to end up with David Montgomery and Alvin Kamara, and then I drafted Khalil Herbert and Isiah Pacheco at the Round 7-8 turn. I then added three more running backs in Roschon Johnson, Zamir White and Kendre Miller, and I like the way this team came together.

I can start all four of my top receivers, and I just need two of those running backs to be quality starters. Dak Prescott is my quarterback, and Pat Freiermuth is my tight end. This should be a playoff-caliber team.

Two other teams of note worth mentioning here are JP Crichton and Jon Mount. As part of our upcoming Draft-A-Thon on Aug. 30 to raise money for St. Jude, both generously donated to take part in this mock draft. So let's take a look at their teams.

JP had the No. 1 overall pick and took Justin Jefferson. He then gambled on two potentially high-end running backs in Jonathan Taylor in Round 2 and Hall, and if both are right then JP could have an awesome roster.

He has Justin Herbert at quarterback and Mark Andrews at tight end, and his receiving corps is led by Jefferson, Tyler Lockett and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Along with Taylor and Hall, JP has D'Andre Swift, Antonio Gibson and Rashaad Penny at running back, so he should be OK if Taylor and Hall have any issues.

For Jon, he built his team with an incredible running back corps from the No. 2 spot with Christian McCaffrey, J.K. Dobbins, James Conner, Samaje Perine and Jamaal Williams. I love that group, and Jon still added Josh Allen at quarterback and Jaylen Waddle, Brandon Aiyuk, Marquise Brown and Brandin Cooks at receiver. Dalton Schultz is his tight end, and this should be a top-tier roster in this league.

In this league, all touchdowns are worth six points, and we award one point for every 10 yards rushing and receiving and one point for every 25 yards passing. We also award 0.5 points for every reception. We feature a starting lineup of QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE and FLEX (RB/WR/TE) with six reserves for a 14-round draft.

Our draft order is as follows:

1. JP Crichton, St. Jude donation entry
2. Jon Mount, St. Jude donation entry
3. Meron Berkson, CBS Sports HQ Producer
4. Thomas Shafer, FFT Podcast Producer
5. Heath Cummings, Senior Fantasy Writer
6. Frank Stampfl, FBT Podcast Host
7. Adam Aizer, FFT Podcast Host
8. R.J. White, Managing Editor, SportsLine and CBS Fantasy
9. Chris Towers, Senior Editor, Fantasy Sports
10. George Maselli, Fantasy Editor
> 11. Daniel Schneier, Senior Fantasy Editor
12. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer 

Round By Round
Round 1
Pos Team Player
1 JP Crichton
2 Chris Towers
3 Jon Mount
4 Jamey Eisenberg
5 Heath Cummings
6 Adam Aizer
7 George Maselli
8 Frank Stampfl
9 Meron Berkson
10 Daniel Schneier
11 R.J. White
12 Thomas Shafer
Round 2
Pos Team Player
13 Thomas Shafer
14 R.J. White
15 Daniel Schneier
16 Meron Berkson
17 Frank Stampfl
18 George Maselli
19 Adam Aizer
20 Heath Cummings
21 Jamey Eisenberg
22 Jon Mount
23 Chris Towers
24 JP Crichton
Round 3
Pos Team Player
25 JP Crichton
26 Chris Towers
27 Jon Mount
28 Jamey Eisenberg
29 Heath Cummings
30 Adam Aizer
31 George Maselli
32 Frank Stampfl
33 Meron Berkson
34 Daniel Schneier
35 R.J. White
36 Thomas Shafer
Round 4
Pos Team Player
37 Thomas Shafer
38 R.J. White
39 Daniel Schneier
40 Meron Berkson
41 Frank Stampfl
42 George Maselli
43 Adam Aizer
44 Heath Cummings
45 Jamey Eisenberg
46 Jon Mount
47 Chris Towers
48 JP Crichton
Round 5
Pos Team Player
49 JP Crichton
50 Chris Towers
51 Jon Mount
52 Jamey Eisenberg
53 Heath Cummings
54 Adam Aizer
55 George Maselli
56 Frank Stampfl
57 Meron Berkson
58 Daniel Schneier
59 R.J. White
60 Thomas Shafer
Round 6
Pos Team Player
61 Thomas Shafer
62 R.J. White
63 Daniel Schneier
64 Meron Berkson
65 Frank Stampfl
66 George Maselli
67 Adam Aizer
68 Heath Cummings
69 Jamey Eisenberg
70 Jon Mount
71 Chris Towers
72 JP Crichton
Round 7
Pos Team Player
73 JP Crichton
74 Chris Towers
75 Jon Mount
76 Jamey Eisenberg
77 Heath Cummings
78 Adam Aizer
79 George Maselli
80 Frank Stampfl
81 Meron Berkson
82 Daniel Schneier
83 R.J. White
84 Thomas Shafer
Round 8
Pos Team Player
85 Thomas Shafer
86 R.J. White
87 Daniel Schneier
88 Meron Berkson
89 Frank Stampfl
90 George Maselli
91 Adam Aizer
92 Heath Cummings
93 Jamey Eisenberg
94 Jon Mount
95 Chris Towers
96 JP Crichton
Round 9
Pos Team Player
97 JP Crichton
98 Chris Towers
99 Jon Mount
100 Jamey Eisenberg
101 Heath Cummings
102 Adam Aizer
103 George Maselli
104 Frank Stampfl
105 Meron Berkson
106 Daniel Schneier
107 R.J. White
108 Thomas Shafer
Round 10
Pos Team Player
109 Thomas Shafer
110 R.J. White
111 Daniel Schneier
112 Meron Berkson
113 Frank Stampfl
114 George Maselli
115 Adam Aizer
116 Heath Cummings
117 Jamey Eisenberg
118 Jon Mount
119 Chris Towers
120 JP Crichton
Round 11
Pos Team Player
121 JP Crichton
122 Chris Towers
123 Jon Mount
124 Jamey Eisenberg
125 Heath Cummings
126 Adam Aizer
127 George Maselli
128 Frank Stampfl
129 Meron Berkson
130 Daniel Schneier
131 R.J. White
132 Thomas Shafer
Round 12
Pos Team Player
133 Thomas Shafer
134 R.J. White
135 Daniel Schneier
136 Meron Berkson
137 Frank Stampfl
138 George Maselli
139 Adam Aizer
140 Heath Cummings
141 Jamey Eisenberg
142 Jon Mount
143 Chris Towers
144 JP Crichton
Round 13
Pos Team Player
145 JP Crichton
146 Chris Towers
147 Jon Mount
148 Jamey Eisenberg
149 Heath Cummings
150 Adam Aizer
151 George Maselli
152 Frank Stampfl
153 Meron Berkson
154 Daniel Schneier
155 R.J. White
156 Thomas Shafer
Round 14
Pos Team Player
157 Thomas Shafer
158 R.J. White
159 Daniel Schneier
160 Meron Berkson
161 Frank Stampfl
162 George Maselli
163 Adam Aizer
164 Heath Cummings
165 Jamey Eisenberg
166 Jon Mount
167 Chris Towers
168 JP Crichton
Team by Team
JP Crichton
Rd Pk Player
1 1
2 24
3 25
4 48
5 49
6 72
7 73
8 96
9 97
10 120
11 121
12 144
13 145
14 168
Chris Towers
Rd Pk Player
1 2
2 23
3 26
4 47
5 50
6 71
7 74
8 95
9 98
10 119
11 122
12 143
13 146
14 167
Jon Mount
Rd Pk Player
1 3
2 22
3 27
4 46
5 51
6 70
7 75
8 94
9 99
10 118
11 123
12 142
13 147
14 166
Jamey Eisenberg
Rd Pk Player
1 4
2 21
3 28
4 45
5 52
6 69
7 76
8 93
9 100
10 117
11 124
12 141
13 148
14 165
Heath Cummings
Rd Pk Player
1 5
2 20
3 29
4 44
5 53
6 68
7 77
8 92
9 101
10 116
11 125
12 140
13 149
14 164
Adam Aizer
Rd Pk Player
1 6
2 19
3 30
4 43
5 54
6 67
7 78
8 91
9 102
10 115
11 126
12 139
13 150
14 163
George Maselli
Rd Pk Player
1 7
2 18
3 31
4 42
5 55
6 66
7 79
8 90
9 103
10 114
11 127
12 138
13 151
14 162
Frank Stampfl
Rd Pk Player
1 8
2 17
3 32
4 41
5 56
6 65
7 80
8 89
9 104
10 113
11 128
12 137
13 152
14 161
Meron Berkson
Rd Pk Player
1 9
2 16
3 33
4 40
5 57
6 64
7 81
8 88
9 105
10 112
11 129
12 136
13 153
14 160
Daniel Schneier
Rd Pk Player
1 10
2 15
3 34
4 39
5 58
6 63
7 82
8 87
9 106
10 111
11 130
12 135
13 154
14 159
R.J. White
Rd Pk Player
1 11
2 14
3 35
4 38
5 59
6 62
7 83
8 86
9 107
10 110
11 131
12 134
13 155
14 158
Thomas Shafer
Rd Pk Player
1 12
2 13
3 36
4 37
5 60
6 61
7 84
8 85
9 108
10 109
11 132
12 133
13 156
14 157