NCAA Football: Michigan State at Ohio State
Joseph Maiorana / USA TODAY Sports

The first mock draft following the NFL Draft is always one of my favorites. That's because we get to see how Fantasy managers value the rookies and players impacted from the NFL Draft now that everything is official.

And this 12-team, PPR mock draft did not disappoint. It started early in Round 2 when Cardinals rookie receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was selected with the No. 14 overall selection.

Now, I like Harrison -- a lot. He's my No. 17 overall player, and I was prepared to draft him in Round 2. But Joel Cox beat me to it with the second pick of the second round.

Joel started his team with Jonathan Taylor in Round 1, and Joel said he didn't want to go RB-RB with Kyren Williams or Saquon Barkley. Joel debated Harrison vs. Chris Olave, but Joel said Harrison has "better upside." I agree, and I love this aggressive draft pick, which will hopefully be justified.

Now, there was a big gap between Harrison and the next rookie selected, which was Malik Nabers of the Giants in Round 6. Panthers rookie running back Jonathan Brooks also went in Round 6, and this is a good spot for both of these players. Nabers is a high-end No. 3 Fantasy receiver, and Brooks is a low-end No. 2 running back, especially since he's coming off a torn ACL in November at Texas.

The rookies started getting drafted more frequently from this point forward, with Ladd McConkey (Chargers) and Brock Bowers (Raiders) in Round 7, Keon Coleman (Bills) and Trey Benson (Cardinals) in Round 8 and Rome Odunze (Bears), Xavier Worthy (Chiefs) and Caleb Williams (Bears) in Round 9. This is solid value on all of these players, and I like that Adam Aizer drafted Williams to be his starting quarterback.

Adam drafted Brock Purdy in Round 12 to have a safe option at quarterback in case Williams struggles, and I love this approach to take the quarterback with more upside first. Only two rookie quarterbacks were drafted in this mock, and I drafted Jayden Daniels (Commanders) in Round 13 to be my backup to Joe Burrow.

Along with Daniels, I drafted fellow rookies Roman Wilson (Steelers) in Round 10 and Troy Franklin (Broncos) in Round 12. Both of these receivers could emerge as quality Fantasy options given their expected roles, even as rookies.

The rest of my team were veterans, and I love how this draft unfolded. From the No. 5 overall spot, I selected Justin Jefferson and Chris Olave with my first two picks, followed by Derrick Henry and Kenneth Walker III.

Jefferson was the No. 3 receiver off the board behind CeeDee Lamb and Tyreek Hill, and even that might be too low for him. I expect Jefferson to remain dominant, even with rookie J.J. McCarthy as his new quarterback. And Olave should be a third-year breakout, especially as the unquestioned No. 1 receiver for the Saints this year.

I'm always going to be skeptical of aging running backs changing teams, so Henry at 30 going to Baltimore isn't ideal for me. But there might not be a more ideal landing spot than with the Ravens for Henry, and I like drafting him in Round 3 when he's available.

Walker felt like a steal in Round 4, and I followed that selection with Christian Kirk in Round 5 and Terry McLaurin in Round 6. Kirk should remain the No. 1 receiver in Jacksonville even with the addition of rookie Brian Thomas Jr., and McClaurin should benefit with Daniels now at quarterback for the Commanders.

I wasn't planning to draft running backs with my next two picks, but it was hard to pass on Nick Chubb in Round 8 and Jaylen Warren in Round 9. Chubb (knee) might not be ready for the start of the season, but if he is then he still has the potential to be a standout Fantasy option. And Warren could also emerge as the best running back in Pittsburgh this season, or at worst be a flex on this roster if he performs like he did in 2023.

The last thing about my roster was that it worked out waiting on a tight end since I got Jake Ferguson in Round 11. He should be No. 2 on the Cowboys in targets behind Lamb, and Ferguson is a safe fallback option at tight end with top-10 upside.

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 one point 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. Daniel Schneier, Fantasy Editor
2. Zach Brook, FFT Social Media Coordinator
3. Meron Berkson, CBS Sports HQ Producer
4. Heath Cummings, Senior Fantasy Writer
5. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer
6. R.J. White, Managing Editor, SportsLine and CBS Fantasy
7. Alfredo Brown, Footballguys Analyst
8. Thomas Shafer, FFT Podcast Producer
9. Joey Wright, Footballguys Analyst
10. Adam Aizer, FFT Podcast Host
11. Joel Cox, CBS Sports VP Business Development
12. Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer