Fantasy Football: How to draft from the second overall pick in 0.5 PPR leagues with Justin Herbert early

The blueprint for drafting second overall in 0.5 PPR leagues

The second pick in Fantasy drafts should be a running back. In a 12-team league, your wide receiver options in rounds two and three will be much more appealing than those at running back, so go ahead and grab your anchor RB with the second overall pick. For me, that's Christian McCaffrey because you CAN'T PLAY SCARED! With a plethora of appealing wide receiver options available with my next two picks, I picked D.J. Moore and Courtland Sutton (though you may prefer Michael Pittman or Mike Evans over Sutton, which is perfectly fine). 

I typically would continue to draft running backs and wide receivers in rounds four and five, but I could not pass up Justin Herbert in round four. After taking Breece Hall in round five, I selected Dalton Schultz in the sixth round and thus ended up taking a quarterback and a tight end with two of my first six picks, which is atypical for me. Could I successfully build up my running back and wide receiver depth from round seven and beyond, or should I have waited on quarterback and drafted one of the thinner positions with that fourth-round pick? 

I have no regrets about taking Herbert there. My team is a bit thin at running back particularly with Breece Hall looking like he'll have to play his way out of a committee, but running backs pop up on waivers throughout the season and you shouldn't feel like you need to be set at running back for the rest of the season as soon as your draft ends. I like having a team with an elite quarterback, a must-start tight end and the player with the most upside in Fantasy Football in Christian McCaffrey. 

Pick-by-pick 0.5-PPR strategy: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

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 0.5 points for every reception. We feature a starting lineup of QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE and FLEX (RB/WR/TE). 

Here's my team from No. 2 overall:

1.2 Christian McCaffrey, RB, Panthers
2.11 D.J. Moore, WR, Panthers
3.2 Courtland Sutton, WR, Broncos
4.11 Justin Herbert, QB, Chargers
5.2 Breece Hall, RB, Jets
6.11 Dalton Schlutz, TE, Cowboys
7.2 Christian Kirk, WR, Jaguars
8.11 Antonio Gibson, RB, Commanders
9.2 George Pickens, WR, Steelers
10.11 Brian Robinson, RB, Commanders
11.2 Michael Gallup, WR, Cowboys
12.11 Rachaad White, RB, Buccaneers
13.2 Jeff Wilson, RB, 49ers
14.11 Trevor Lawrence, QB, Jaguars
15.2 D'Onta Foreman, RB, Panthers

Favorite pick

At some point in his career, Justin Herbert is going to have an MVP-caliber season. That might as well be 2022! He has all the makings of an MVP candidate with good wide receivers, a good offensive line and obviously incredible talent. I usually wait on quarterback, but Herbert really could be a league-winner. 

Pick I might regret

Am I too high on Courtland Sutton? Just two seasons ago, Russell Wilson produced two Top 8 wide receivers in PPR leagues (D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett) and I wouldn't be completely shocked if Sutton and Jerry Jeudy both finished Top 12. Having said that, I took Sutton ahead of Michael Pittman and Mike Evans. He simply may not be as good of a player as I believe he is. I feel strongly that he is a third-round pick in Fantasy leagues, but ideally, that would be late in the third round as opposed to where I drafted him. 

Make or break player

Is this the 2022 version of Melvin Gordon/Javonte Williams? If yes, then Breece Hall is not worth a fifth-round pick. Or is this a situation in which the superior talent will eventually take over the backfield and be a must-start Fantasy option? I'm banking on the latter in the case of Hall. If he can get more than 15 touches a game by midseason, Hall could be an elite running back.