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USATSI

Mock drafts are useful for trying new things. It's why we encourage you to do as many as possible before your actual Draft Day. You get to experiment with different strategies and figure out what works best for you in building your Fantasy team.

In our latest 12-team, PPR mock draft -- you can watch the live results here -- I tried something different from the No. 12 spot by taking a Zero RB approach. It's the first mock draft this season where I've gone Zero RB, and I have mixed feelings on the results.

My first five picks, in order, were Tyreek Hill, Stefon Diggs, CeeDee Lamb, Julio Jones and Lamar Jackson. I went with Lamb over Amari Cooper in Round 3 with Cooper still dealing with his ankle injury, but otherwise, these were easy selections.

For the most, I love this start. All four receivers are starters on my team and should be great if healthy, and I have a star quarterback in Jackson. But Round 6 is where the struggle started, and it made me slightly regret this approach. And it had nothing to do with the running backs.

It was frustrating when I saw Mark Andrews, T.J. Hockenson and Kyle Pitts get selected right in front of me at the end of Round 5. I had planned to draft a quarterback at this turn, but I also wanted one of those tight ends. In hindsight, I should have drafted Hockenson, Andrews or Pitts in Round 4 instead of Jones, and I could have selected a different receiver in Round 6 like Kenny Golladay, JuJu Smith-Schuster or Courtland Sutton, among others.

I ended up with Blake Jarwin at tight end in Round 14, and that's the only potential hole on this roster if Jarwin isn't a quality Fantasy option this year. While I like Jarwin as a sleeper, I would have preferred a tight end with a higher ceiling like Hockenson, Andrews or Pitts.

Now, when you take a Zero RB approach, the key to all of this is what you do at running back. And I like the group that I put together with Javonte Williams, Zack Moss, Melvin Gordon, Latavius Murray, Jamaal Williams and Samaje Perine. The Broncos backfield will hopefully deliver one starting Fantasy option out of Javonte Williams and Gordon (I prefer Williams), and Moss should be a borderline starter as the best running back for the Bills. 

Murray, Jamaal Williams and Perine are lottery tickets in case they get increased workloads during the season, but I expect Murray and Williams to have prominent roles on their teams and get enough work to be useful if I have to start them. The waiver wire is also vital to making Zero RB work.

And if we were playing out this league then I would have trade options at receiver, especially since I have two quality reserves in Tre'Quan Smith and DeVante Parker. Smith is a solid sleeper with Michael Thomas (ankle) out to begin the season with the Saints.

I probably won't use Zero RB much this season because wide receiver is so deep this year. Most likely, I'll take a modified approach with one running back in the first two rounds. And that will probably be the next strategy I use in our next mock draft.

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. Nate Williams, Podcast Listener Participant

2. Andrew Baumhor, CBS Sports HQ Producer

3. Frank Stampfl, Fantasy Baseball Today Podcast Host

4. Dan Schneier, Fantasy Editor

5. Scott Engel, SportsLine Fantasy Analyst

6. Chris Towers, Senior Editor, Fantasy

7. Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer

8. R.J. White, Managing Editor, SportsLine and CBS Fantasy

9. Heath Cummings, Senior Fantasy Writer

10. Adam Aizer, Fantasy Football Today Podcast Host

11. Mike Miller, Podcast Listener Participant

12. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer

Round By Round
Round 1
Pos Team Player
1 Nate Williams
2 Mike Miller
3 Jamey Eisenberg
4 Scott Engel
5 R.J. White
6 Dan Schneier
7 Adam Aizer
8 Dave Richard
9 Frank Stampfl
10 Heath Cummings
11 Andrew Baumhor
12 Chris Towers
Round 2
Pos Team Player
13 Chris Towers
14 Andrew Baumhor
15 Heath Cummings
16 Frank Stampfl
17 Dave Richard
18 Adam Aizer
19 Dan Schneier
20 R.J. White
21 Scott Engel
22 Jamey Eisenberg
23 Mike Miller
24 Nate Williams
Round 3
Pos Team Player
25 Nate Williams
26 Mike Miller
27 Jamey Eisenberg
28 Scott Engel
29 R.J. White
30 Dan Schneier
31 Adam Aizer
32 Dave Richard
33 Frank Stampfl
34 Heath Cummings
35 Andrew Baumhor
36 Chris Towers
Round 4
Pos Team Player
37 Chris Towers
38 Andrew Baumhor
39 Heath Cummings
40 Frank Stampfl
41 Dave Richard
42 Adam Aizer
43 Dan Schneier
44 R.J. White
45 Scott Engel
46 Jamey Eisenberg
47 Mike Miller
48 Nate Williams
Round 5
Pos Team Player
49 Nate Williams
50 Mike Miller
51 Jamey Eisenberg
52 Scott Engel
53 R.J. White
54 Dan Schneier
55 Adam Aizer
56 Dave Richard
57 Frank Stampfl
58 Heath Cummings
59 Andrew Baumhor
60 Chris Towers
Round 6
Pos Team Player
61 Chris Towers
62 Andrew Baumhor
63 Heath Cummings
64 Frank Stampfl
65 Dave Richard
66 Adam Aizer
67 Dan Schneier
68 R.J. White
69 Scott Engel
70 Jamey Eisenberg
71 Mike Miller
72 Nate Williams
Round 7
Pos Team Player
73 Nate Williams
74 Mike Miller
75 Jamey Eisenberg
76 Scott Engel
77 R.J. White
78 Dan Schneier
79 Adam Aizer
80 Dave Richard
81 Frank Stampfl
82 Heath Cummings
83 Andrew Baumhor
84 Chris Towers
Round 8
Pos Team Player
85 Chris Towers
86 Andrew Baumhor
87 Heath Cummings
88 Frank Stampfl
89 Dave Richard
90 Adam Aizer
91 Dan Schneier
92 R.J. White
93 Scott Engel
94 Jamey Eisenberg
95 Mike Miller
96 Nate Williams
Round 9
Pos Team Player
97 Nate Williams
98 Mike Miller
99 Jamey Eisenberg
100 Scott Engel
101 R.J. White
102 Dan Schneier
103 Adam Aizer
104 Dave Richard
105 Frank Stampfl
106 Heath Cummings
107 Andrew Baumhor
108 Chris Towers
Round 10
Pos Team Player
109 Chris Towers
110 Andrew Baumhor
111 Heath Cummings
112 Frank Stampfl
113 Dave Richard
114 Adam Aizer
115 Dan Schneier
116 R.J. White
117 Scott Engel
118 Jamey Eisenberg
119 Mike Miller
120 Nate Williams
Round 11
Pos Team Player
121 Nate Williams
122 Mike Miller
123 Jamey Eisenberg
124 Scott Engel
125 R.J. White
126 Dan Schneier
127 Adam Aizer
128 Dave Richard
129 Frank Stampfl
130 Heath Cummings
131 Andrew Baumhor
132 Chris Towers
Round 12
Pos Team Player
133 Chris Towers
134 Andrew Baumhor
135 Heath Cummings
136 Frank Stampfl
137 Dave Richard
138 Adam Aizer
139 Dan Schneier
140 R.J. White
141 Scott Engel
142 Jamey Eisenberg
143 Mike Miller
144 Nate Williams
Round 13
Pos Team Player
145 Nate Williams
146 Mike Miller
147 Jamey Eisenberg
148 Scott Engel
149 R.J. White
150 Dan Schneier
151 Adam Aizer
152 Dave Richard
153 Frank Stampfl
154 Heath Cummings
155 Andrew Baumhor
156 Chris Towers
Round 14
Pos Team Player
157 Chris Towers
158 Andrew Baumhor
159 Heath Cummings
160 Frank Stampfl
161 Dave Richard
162 Adam Aizer
163 Dan Schneier
164 R.J. White
165 Scott Engel
166 Jamey Eisenberg
167 Mike Miller
168 Nate Williams
Round 15
Pos Team Player
169 Nate Williams
170 Mike Miller
171 Jamey Eisenberg
172 Scott Engel
173 R.J. White
174 Dan Schneier
175 Adam Aizer
176 Dave Richard
177 Frank Stampfl
178 Heath Cummings
179 Andrew Baumhor
180 Chris Towers
Team by Team
Nate Williams
Rd Pk Player
1 1
2 24
3 25
4 48
5 49
6 72
7 73
8 96
9 97
10 120
11 121
12 144
13 145
14 168
15 169
Mike Miller
Rd Pk Player
1 2
2 23
3 26
4 47
5 50
6 71
7 74
8 95
9 98
10 119
11 122
12 143
13 146
14 167
15 170
Jamey Eisenberg
Rd Pk Player
1 3
2 22
3 27
4 46
5 51
6 70
7 75
8 94
9 99
10 118
11 123
12 142
13 147
14 166
15 171
Scott Engel
Rd Pk Player
1 4
2 21
3 28
4 45
5 52
6 69
7 76
8 93
9 100
10 117
11 124
12 141
13 148
14 165
15 172
R.J. White
Rd Pk Player
1 5
2 20
3 29
4 44
5 53
6 68
7 77
8 92
9 101
10 116
11 125
12 140
13 149
14 164
15 173
Dan Schneier
Rd Pk Player
1 6
2 19
3 30
4 43
5 54
6 67
7 78
8 91
9 102
10 115
11 126
12 139
13 150
14 163
15 174
Adam Aizer
Rd Pk Player
1 7
2 18
3 31
4 42
5 55
6 66
7 79
8 90
9 103
10 114
11 127
12 138
13 151
14 162
15 175
Dave Richard
Rd Pk Player
1 8
2 17
3 32
4 41
5 56
6 65
7 80
8 89
9 104
10 113
11 128
12 137
13 152
14 161
15 176
Frank Stampfl
Rd Pk Player
1 9
2 16
3 33
4 40
5 57
6 64
7 81
8 88
9 105
10 112
11 129
12 136
13 153
14 160
15 177
Heath Cummings
Rd Pk Player
1 10
2 15
3 34
4 39
5 58
6 63
7 82
8 87
9 106
10 111
11 130
12 135
13 154
14 159
15 178
Andrew Baumhor
Rd Pk Player
1 11
2 14
3 35
4 38
5 59
6 62
7 83
8 86
9 107
10 110
11 131
12 134
13 155
14 158
15 179
Chris Towers
Rd Pk Player
1 12
2 13
3 36
4 37
5 60
6 61
7 84
8 85
9 108
10 109
11 132
12 133
13 156
14 157
15 180