When drafting from the sixth position in a PPR league, I've typically wished for just one thing to happen in the five picks before mine -- can Cooper Kupp come off the board. please? It's not that I don't see the upside in drafting Kupp, who was dominant on a per-game basis in 2022 and 2021, but I am concerned with the downside after he suffered a soft tissue (hamstring) injury earlier this summer and it flared up again in recent days. I subscribe to one simple theory about the first round of my Fantasy Football drafts and it's the one time I'm not necessarily swinging for upside and league winning picks. It's the opposite -- in Round 1, I want the safe foundation type players.
In this draft, I was lucky enough to see Kupp go in the top five, and that allowed me to start my draft with Austin Ekeler. While I would prefer to have a wide receiver in Round 1 of any kind of PPR league, Ekeler fits the role as one of the only running backs in the entire draft pool with upside to see triple-digit targets in the pass game. Ekeler saw a ridiculous 127 targets in 2022 and he was efficient with them -- he caught 102 passes. Sure, that number is likely to come down with new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore installing a more vertical passing game and with rookie first-round wide receiver Quentin Johnston in the mix, but he remains one of the best route running backs in the NFL so it's not like the Chargers are just going to forget about him in the pass game. Ekeler is one of my favorite first-round plays this year because he has a floor I can feel comfortable with.
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 also award a point for every reception. We feature a starting lineup of QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE and FLEX (RB/WR/TE).
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Here's my squad from the sixth pick:
1.06: Austin Ekeler
2.07: Jaylen Waddle
3.06: Jahmyr Gibbs
4.07: Justin Herbert
5.06: Brandon Aiyuk
6.07: Dallas Goedert
7.06: Jaxon Smith-Njigba
8.07: Courtland Sutton
9.06: Zach Charbonnet
10.07: Jerick McKinnon
11.06: Jakobi Meyers
12.07: Aaron Rodgers
13.06: Joshua Kelley
14.07: Jameson Williams
I filled out my entire core of running backs with players I believe can add potential volume in the pass game starting with Jahmyr Gibbs through rookie Zach Charbonnet. On tape at UCLA, Charbonnet showed natural hands in the pass game even if his role was a bit more limited to screens and flare routes. I think he can take over as the Seahawks' passing-downs back right away in Year 1. Outside of the running backs, I like that I got an edge at quarterback (Justin Herbert with Moore is going to have his breakout season) and a bona fide TE1 in Dallas Goedert.
I leave this draft feeling a little light at the wide receiver position with a rookie currently slotted in my WR3 position, but I'm likely to use Sutton in that role until Jerry Jeudy returns from his hamstring injury. While I don't fully buy the return of Russell Wilson, I buy into Sean Payton as the play caller on any offense. I think Meyers could also provide sneaky value here as a perfect fit for the weak-armed Jimmy Garoppolo in Vegas. Plus, the Raiders are going to have to be throwing from behind a lot in 2023.
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JSN was so impressive on game film at the collegiate level that it carried over to his production -- he outproduced Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave in receptions and yards during the 2021 season. If you ask anyone involved in that Ohio State program, they call JSN the best receiver they've seen come through in those years, and that's saying a lot given how fast both Wilson and Olave acclimated to the NFL game. One of the reasons he was so productive is that he provides immediate separation out of the slot. This will be true for the Seahawks, and quarterback Geno Smith will find a new best friend in JSN at some point in 2023. That's when he moves into must-start and WR1 type territory. JSN suffered a wrist fracture earlier this summer but is already back practicing and could even be in line to play in Week 1.
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Although I love Gibbs' skill set in any version of a PPR league, his speed and how it will immediately translate vs. NFL talent and the draft capital the Lions used to get him, there's no way we can ignore David Montgomery and his role. Montgomery should not only see those gold-valued goal-line touches (look how many touchdowns Jamaal Willams scored in this role last season), but he could also see a majority of the early downs work. Gibbs is a swing for the fences type back that could backfire if his role is more limited to what we've seen from D'Andre Swift in recent seasons.
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Herbert is my make-or-break player because of where I drafted him. Using fourth round capital on Herbert means that I'm expecting a breakout season, and that's exactly where I'm at with him. I love Herbert's chances of bouncing back after seeing the breakout quarterbacks like Tua Tagovailoa and Daniel Jones had in 2022 after getting a major upgrade in offensive system and play calling. I also love that he'll return borderline elite left tackle Rashawn Slater, who missed most of the 2022 season. I need Herbert to perform like a top-five or better quarterback in 2022 if I want this team to break out.
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