In our first 12-team, PPR mock draft following Week 1 of the preseason, it was interesting to see some of the reactions and potential overreactions to what happened on the field. And this will continue over the next two weeks.
Some of this will lead to you getting good players at a bargain, or you could be reaching for someone if what you saw in an exhibition game never becomes real during the season. Injuries matter also, and we're just trying to get a better gauge of how your draft should look when it's live.
In this mock, the buzzworthy players I was curious about for their draft value included Michael Thomas, Travis Etienne, J.K. Dobbins, Cam Akers, Drake London, Antonio Gibson, Dameon Pierce, Treylon Burks, George Pickens, Isiah Pacheco and Romeo Doubs. These are players either coming off injuries, currently dealing with injuries or had preseason performances that could sway their outlooks for this year.
For Thomas (Round 3), Etienne (Round 4) and Dobbins (Round 4), these are all players trending up. All three are coming back from an injury, and all of them have the chance to be quality starters this year. I drafted Etienne ahead of David Montgomery, Ezekiel Elliott and Dobbins, and I expect him to be a breakout candidate in PPR given his role in the passing game for Jacksonville.
Akers fell to Round 6, likely due to the news of him dealing with a soft-tissue injury, but we found out Tuesday night that he should be fine. I have no problem with Akers in Round 5, and he could even creep back up into Round 4 if there's no concern with his health.
London (Round 6), Gibson (Round 7) and Burks (Round 7) had rough preseason debuts. London hurt his knee, but he's expected to be fine for Week 1. Round 6 is the right spot for him as long as he's healthy.
Gibson fumbled against the Panthers and was replaced by rookie Brian Robinson. Fantasy managers are running away from Gibson, who was previously being drafted in Round 4. This could be a steal for Gibson if he remains the lead running back for Washington, but it's hard to trust him with Robinson on the rise, as well as J.D. McKissic's role in the passing game.
Burks appears buried on the depth chart for the Titans and struggled in his first preseason outing against the Ravens. I downgraded Burks after that game, but I would still draft him in this range, preferably in Round 8.
As for Pierce (Round 7), Pickens (Round 9), Pacheco (Round 10) and Doubs (Round 11), they all looked good in their preseason openers. Pierce looks like the best running back in Houston, and it's not crazy to draft him in Round 7 now. We could look back at that as a mistake, but I value Pierce as a strong flex play heading into the season.
Pickens has moved ahead of Chase Claypool, who was drafted in Round 10. I'm comfortable with that after the positive reports out of Pittsburgh on Pickens, and he had a strong preseason outing against the Seahawks. Doubs also looked good against the 49ers, and we'll see how he does with Aaron Rodgers but also sharing the field with Allen Lazard, Randall Cobb and Sammy Watkins. Round 11 is a good spot to gamble on Doubs.
Pacheco appears to be the No. 2 running back in Kansas City now behind Clyde Edwards-Helaire, and I'm glad to see him moving into the Round 10 range. He's a potential lottery ticket if something happens to Edwards-Helaire, and he's one of my favorite sleepers for this season.
For my team, I tried something different with this roster from the No. 7 spot, drafting three running backs with my first four picks, including Dalvin Cook, Saquon Barkley and Etienne. I love those three players, but my receiving corps could be an issue.
I have Tee Higgins, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Christian Kirk as starters, with DeVonta Smith, Nico Collins, D.J. Chark and K.J. Osborn on the bench. I actually like this group a lot, but there's no headliner -- as of now.
The nice thing is I drafted Dalton Schultz at tight end and Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, and I have Brian Robinson and Alexander Mattison as backup running backs. If my starting running backs are stars then this team should be highly competitive.
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 and FLEX (RB/WR/TE) with six reserves for a 14-round draft.
Our draft order is as follows:
1. Jack Capotorto FFT HQ Producer
2. Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer
3. Chris Towers, Senior Editor, Fantasy Sports
4. Heath Cummings, Senior Fantasy Writer
5. Meron Berkson, CBS Sports HQ Producer
6. Adam Aizer, FFT Podcast Host
7. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer
8. Daniel Schneier, Fantasy Editor
9. Thomas Shafer, FFT Podcast Producer
10. Jacob Gibbs, SportsLine Fantasy Analyst
11. Tera Roberts, FFT Podcast Contributor
12. Robert Thomas, FFT Facebook Moderator
