Fantasy Football: January PPR mock draft features surprising picks starting early in Round 1

We don't like to wait. Maybe we're impatient. Or maybe we just love doing Fantasy football drafts. Is there really anything wrong with that?

Right after the regular season ended in Week 17, we held our first PPR mock draft for 2021. We know a lot will change between now and August, including free agency and the NFL Draft, but we wanted to see what a Fantasy draft would look like following what took place this past season.

Hopefully, by reading this you can learn something for the 2021 campaign, or this will give you some things to think about. For example, in Round 1, Derrick Henry and Nick Chubb were drafted ahead of Davante Adams. You might agree with those selections, but I would rather have Adams, especially in a three-receiver, PPR league.

Clyde Edwards-Helaire was also a first-round selection at No. 12 overall, and it's hard to validate that pick. I'm not sure I would draft him even in Round 2, and we'll find out if Damien Williams will return to the Chiefs in 2021 after opting out in 2020 because of concerns over COVID-19, which could be a huge problem for Edwards-Helaire.

Some other picks that surprised me included DeAndre Hopkins, DK Metcalf and Calvin Ridley being drafted ahead of Stefon Diggs in Round 2, and Josh Jacobs going before Aaron Jones in that same round. In Round 3, Keenan Allen went after Mike Evans, Allen Robinson, Justin Jefferson and Chris Godwin, and I'd rather have Allen.

Julio Jones and Terry McLaurin fell to Round 4, which could be incredible steals, and D.J. Moore wasn't picked until Round 5. Jeff Wilson was drafted ahead of Raheem Mostert, and veteran running backs like Melvin Gordon, David Johnson and Kenyan Drake fell to Round 6.

A few picks that I loved that stood out to me included D.J. Chark in Round 5, A.J. Dillon in Round 6 and Mecole Hardman in Round 9. Chark and Laviska Shenault (Round 9) could benefit in a huge way with the Jaguars expected to select Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft. Dillon could be the starting running back for the Packers if Aaron Jones leaves as a free agent. And Hardman could be a starting receiver for the Chiefs if Sammy Watkins leaves as a free agent.

We start with discussing our favorite picks from the 2021 PPR mock draft plus news and notes and 2020 Fantasy Awards on the Fantasy Football Today podcast. Listen below and subscribe at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts:

For my team, I had the No. 10 overall selection, and I actually started my team with three running backs in a row with Austin Ekeler, James Robinson and J.K. Dobbins. I might regret passing on Julio Jones or McLaurin to draft Dobbins, but I like my top two receivers in Kenny Golladay and Brandon Aiyuk. Golladay could end being a steal in Round 4.

Gordon is my fourth running back, and I also drafted Benny Snell in Round 10, which could be incredible value if he ends up as the starting running back for the Steelers since James Conner is a free agent. And the rest of my receiving corps is Jerry Jeudy, Robby Anderson, Michael Pittman and Jakobi Meyers. There's a lot of potential in that group, especially Jeudy and Pittman, and Anderson is an excellent No. 3 receiver for this lineup.

I went for upside at tight end (Irv Smith and Cole Kmet) and quarterback (Joe Burrow), and Smith and Burrow are going to be two of my favorite breakout players in 2021. Burrow has top-10 upside based on how he played before his knee injury in Week 11, and Smith could be a star if Kyle Rudolph leaves Minnesota this offseason.

We have a lot of time to revisit these picks over the next few months, but this is the start of our draft prep for 2021 -- with plenty more to come.

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, FLEX (RB/WR/TE) and DST. There also are six reserve spots for a 15-round draft.

Our draft order is as follows:

1. Heath Cummings, Senior Fantasy Writer
2. Frank Stampfl, Baseball Podcast Host
3. Andrew Baumhor, CBS Sports HQ Producer
4. Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer
5. Meron Berkson, CBS Sports HQ Producer
6. George Maselli, Fantasy Editor
7. R.J. White, Managing Editor, SportsLine and CBS Fantasy
8. Jacob Gibbs, SportsLine Staff Writer
9. Adam Aizer, Podcast Host
10. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer
11. Chris Towers, Senior Editor, Fantasy
12. Dan Schneier, NFL Editor

Round By Round