We do a lot of mock drafts. Some of you might think we do too many. But hey, it's our job, so it comes with the territory.
Every now and then, we take part in really cool mock drafts, including this one with other Fantasy analysts in the industry. Joining me, Dave Richard, Heath Cummings and Adam Aizer in this recent 12-team PPR mock draft were eight of the best Fantasy prognosticators you will find.
I'll just jump right to the draft order so you can see this all-star group:
- Adam Aizer, CBS Sports
- Jamey Eisenberg, CBS Sports
- Mike Tagliere, Fantasy Pros
- Evan Silva, Establish the Run
- Mike Clay, ESPN
- Heath Cummings, CBS Sports
- Chris Harris, Harris Football
- Michael Fabiano, NFL Media
- Brad Evans, Yahoo Sports
- Scott Fish, Scott Fish Bowl
- Dave Richard, CBS Sports
- Jake Ciely, The Athletic
First off, I swear, no matter what Ciely says, the draft order was done randomly on CBS Sports. And second, you're going to enjoy these results.
The starting lineup for this mock draft is QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE, FLEX (RB/WR/TE), DST and K. There are six reserves for a 16-round mock draft, and it was interesting to see which analysts prioritized receiver in the early rounds given the lineup requirements.
Through the first five rounds, four analysts had three receivers (Clay, Fabiano, Evans and Richard), while two others only had one (Silva and Fish). Fish actually took three running backs among his first four picks, drafting Joe Mixon, Derrick Henry and David Montgomery after selecting Odell Beckham in Round 1.
His running back corps is solid (he also has Darrell Henderson and Tony Pollard on his bench), and he has Baker Mayfield at quarterback and Hunter Henry at tight end. But aside from Beckham, his receivers have plenty of question marks, including Corey Davis, Courtland Sutton, Anthony Miller, Robert Foster and Josh Gordon.
He could be in great shape if Miller and Sutton are sophomore sensations, which is certainly possible, and Davis finally thrives in his third year. Foster is a good late-round flier, and Gordon could be a significant asset if he plays this year, although he remains suspended indefinitely at the start of training camp.
Clay was the first team with three receivers after drafting Le'Veon Bell in Round 1. He followed that with Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper and Brandin Cooks, and then he drafted Sony Michel in Round 5.
Drafting Bell in Round 1 at No. 5 overall is likely going to be polarizing (I prefer him in Round 2), but Clay has an amazing receiving corps. He added to it with D.J. Moore, James Washington, Keke Coutee and Michael Gallup, which is exceptional.
But his running backs could be his weak spot with Bell, Michel, Derrius Guice and Nyheim Hines, especially if Guice suffers a setback in his recovery from last year's torn ACL. Clay also has Drew Brees at quarterback and Jimmy Graham at tight end.
Evans took a more balanced approach with his first five picks, drafting Davante Adams, Dalvin Cook, Julian Edelman, Devonta Freeman and Tyler Boyd to start his team. He has a solid mix of running backs (Cook, Freeman, Royce Freeman, Jaylen Samuels and Ryquell Armstead) and receivers (Adams, Edelman, Boyd, Christian Kirk, Andy Isabella and Ted Ginn). Evans has Kyler Murray at quarterback and a combination of Eric Ebron and Austin Hooper at tight end.
Of these three teams, I like Evans' roster the best, but all three should be competitive. Evans just built his roster in a similar fashion to mine, so maybe I'm a little biased.
For my first five picks, I started with Saquon Barkley, Mike Evans, Leonard Fournette, Cooper Kupp and Evan Engram. I rounded out my running backs with Tevin Coleman, Ito Smith, Damien Harris and Justice Hill, and the rest of my receivers include Dante Pettis, Curtis Samuel, DaeSean Hamilton and Marquise Goodwin. I also have Cam Newton at quarterback.
One of the interesting aspects of this draft was seeing where some of these analysts selected a few of the buzz-worthy players. It started with Clay drafting Bell at No. 5 overall, and Melvin Gordon went to Ciely at No. 13 overall. That could be a great pick if Gordon doesn't hold out because of his contract.
Fabiano took Todd Gurley in Round 2, which could be amazing if he doesn't have any issues with his knee. And Ciely drafted the first rookie with Josh Jacobs in Round 3.
I was surprised to see Damien Williams fall to Chris Harris in Round 3, and Harris also drafted the first quarterback with Patrick Mahomes in Round 5. I would have expected Williams to go sooner given the love for him as the Chiefs' starting running back, but seeing Mahomes fall to the fifth round of an analysts' draft wasn't a shock.
This was a slow draft, meaning we made picks over several days, and the Tyreek Hill news happened after the draft already started. As a result, Richard was able to get Hill in Round 3, which ended up as a steal since he's not going to be suspended.
It's worth studying this draft in depth, and I encourage you to use it as a guide on your Draft Day. We have plenty of more mock drafts coming, but this one could be our best given the caliber of analysts who joined us.
In terms of scoring for 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 give one point per reception.