Fantasy Football draft prep 2021: Drafting my best team from No. 3 overall in a 0.5 PPR league

You find out you have the third pick in the draft, now here's what you should do

Everybody's rankings are different, but if I get the No. 3 overall pick in my Fantasy drafts this season, there's going to be a lot of Alvin Kamara on my teams. Because, while Dalvin Cook figures to go second overall in most drafts, I've got Kamara as my No. 2 overall player, and that's why it was an easy pick when it came to picking third in our pick-by-pick series. 

The gap is smaller in a 0.5-PPR league than in full-PPR, but you should still be thrilled if you can snag Kamara at third overall in any scoring format. He's an incredible asset to build around, and he gives you a lot of flexibility for how to approach the rest of your draft. I went with an approach I don't usually follow in this one, as I waited until the fourth round to take my first wide receiver -- I took George Kittle in the second and David Montgomery in the third, giving me two of my top-18 RBs and my No. 2 tight end. Let's take a look at how it worked out for me.

As a reference point, all touchdowns in this league 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 feature a starting lineup of QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE and FLEX (RB/WR/TE). 

Here's my team from No. 3 overall:

• 1.3: Alvin Kamara
• 2.10: George Kittle
• 3.3: David Montgomery
• 4.10: Tyler Lockett
• 5.3: Diontae Johnson
• 6.10: Russell Wilson
• 7.3: Will Fuller
• 8.10: T.Y. Hilton
• 9.3: Kenyan Drake
• 10.10: Corey Davis
• 11.3: Nyheim Hines
• 12.10: Rashaad Penny
• 13.3: Parris Campbell
• 14.10: Gabriel Davis
• 15.3: Devontae Booker

This might be the worst WR group I'll draft all offseason, and one lesson to take from this exercise is that, even if you want to prioritize tight ends (which I very much do), it might be worth waiting until the third round to do that if you pick near the top of the draft. I took Kittle in the second and then there was Darren Waller still available with my next pick. Would I have felt better with Waller and, say, Justin Jefferson rather than Montgomery and Kittle? It's close, but you could certainly make a case for it. 

Or maybe the move I should have made was to combine Kittle with Patrick Mahomes. You only have so many opportunities to lock in elite players who will give you a real edge on the competition, and if you are going to wait on a position as I did with wide receiver here, you'd better make sure you've got an edge everywhere else. Mahomes might have let me do that better than Montgomery.

If this team goes wrong, that's probably where it happened. When you're picking near, but not quite at, the end of the draft, you're kind of stuck in no man's land -- you have to wait a long time between picks on the long side of the turn, but then you aren't quite as in control of your destiny as when you're picking at the end. 

Still, there's a lot to like about this team, and the top two running backs, a top-six QB, and a top three tight end within the first six picks is where you start. The combination of Tyler Lockett, Diontae Johnson, and Will Fuller gives me a group of receivers who all had stretches playing like a top-12 WRs last season, with big weekly upside from any of them -- did you know Johnson has as many games with 20-plus points over the past two seasons as Nick Chubb, Mike Evans, Amari Cooper, and Calvin Ridley, among others? 

There are some who will tell you -- if you have to be weak anywhere, wide receiver is the place to do it. Looking at this squad, I'm still not quite sure I agree with them. But this could still be a winner. 

• Drafting from No.: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

Favorite Pick

Diontae Johnson WR

CLE Cleveland • #16
Age: 29 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Fantasy Breakdown (PPR)
OVERALL RNK 47th	WR RNK 20th	PROJ PTS 234.9	SOS 21	ADP 71

2020 Stats
REC 88	TAR 144	REYDS 923	TD 7	FPTS/G 14.8

There's a lot of uncertainty around the Steelers offense after Ben Roethlisberger looked so timid last season, but I'm not lacking in confidence in Johnson. He could legitimately lead the league in targets -- if you take away the two games where he played just 19 and six snaps due to injuries, he was on pace for 174 last season. There are limitations to Johnson's game, but as long as Roethlisberger locks into him like he did a year ago, he's going to be a great value if you can get him in the fifth.  

Pick I might regret

David Montgomery RB

DET Detroit • #5
Age: 28 • Experience: 7 yrs.

Fantasy Breakdown (PPR)
OVERALL RNK 30th	RB RNK 15th	PROJ PTS 214	SOS 23	ADP 34

2019 Stats
RUYDS 1070	REC 54	REYDS 438	TD 10	FPTS/G 17.7

Based on ADP, this was a bit of a reach. Not based on my rankings and projections, but I'm obviously a bit concerned that I just may be too high on Montgomery, especially if Tarik Cohen is activated from the PUP list and cleared to play by Week 1. If that doesn't happen and Montgomery replicates his passing game role from 2020, he's going to be a significant difference maker. That's just a big if.

Player who could make or break my team:

Russell Wilson QB

NYG N.Y. Giants • #3
Age: 37 • Experience: 14 yrs.

Fantasy Breakdown (PPR)
OVERALL RNK 69th	QB RNK 6th	PROJ PTS 390.5	SOS 1	ADP 41

2019 Stats
PAYDS 4212	RUYDS 513	TD 42	INT 13	FPTS/G 27.5

I'm pretty confident in Wilson being very good this season, just like he normally is. But am I confident he's going to be a true difference maker? After passing on Tee Higgins to take him, I better be, because I sure could use the WR help. Oh, and there's the little thing about my No. 1 WR being tied to my QB. Yeah, if Wilson is more like his second-half of 2020 version, I'm toast.