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USA Today

We always like to hold our first mock draft for the next season right after Week 18 ends. It's a fun exercise to see what we just learned from the 17 games we just watched. And that's what we did Tuesday with our first 12-team, PPR mock draft for 2025.

A lot will change between now and August when most real drafts start happening, including free agency and the NFL Draft. Rosters will look different, and coaching changes will alter offenses.

But we can still have fun doing mock drafts now. And what I wanted to see with this mock draft was what would happen in Round 1.

Ja'Marr Chase was the No. 1 overall pick, which makes sense. He just won the Triple Crown by leading the NFL in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708) and receiving touchdowns (17).

Saquon Barkley went No. 2 and Bijan Robinson was No. 3, and those two running backs will be debated all offseason about who should be drafted first. As of now, I lean toward Robinson over Barkley based on their age when next season kicks off (23 and 28).

Justin Jefferson, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Amon-Ra St. Brown were the next three selections, and I like all of them as top seven overall picks. I would draft Puka Nacua ahead of St. Brown as of now, and Nacua fell to No. 10 overall here.

Christian McCaffrey went at No. 7 overall, and it will be interesting to see where he gets drafted in 2025. He'll be 29 in June, and he only played four games in 2024 due to Achilles and knee injuries. But, as we know, when healthy he can still be dominant, and hopefully that's the case next season.

De'Von Achane went No. 8, CeeDee Lamb went No. 9, Bucky Irving went No. 11 and Malik Nabers went No. 12. The biggest surprise of this group was Irving, who should be drafted in Round 2 and not Round 1.

I had the No. 12 pick, and I was torn on three players for two selections with Nabers, Nico Collins, and Brian Thomas Jr. I decided on Nabers and Collins, but all three of these receivers have top-five upside in 2025.

I went with a Hero-RB strategy with this team when I drafted Rashee Rice in Round 3 and Kenneth Walker III in Round 4. Rice will hopefully come back from his knee injury at 100 percent and be the No. 1 receiver for the Chiefs, and he averaged 21.3 PPR points in three healthy games in 2024.

Chris Godwin could be a steal in Round 5 depending on where he plays next season since he's an unrestricted free agent. He'll be 29 in February and coming off an ankle injury, but he averaged 19.1 PPR points in seven games in 2024 and looked like a star.

I hope I can draft George Kittle in Round 6 in every league next season (he led all tight ends with 15.8 PPR points per game), and I got one of my favorite breakout candidates for 2025 in Round 7 with Ricky Pearsall. You'd think I'm a 49ers fan after this draft.

My quarterback is Kyler Murray, who I drafted in Round 11, and my final two picks were Kayshon Boutte and Jalen Coker. Both of those guys could be sleepers in 2025, especially if the Patriots get the right coaching staff to help Drake Maye.

The fun thing about this roster will be figuring out my running back corps behind Walker. I took a chance on Travis Etienne in Round 8, and hopefully, the new coaching staff in Jacksonville will get him back on track. He was among the biggest busts in 2024 as a Round 2 pick, but he still has the potential to be a top-20 running back in the right system.

The other three running backs on this roster are Isaac Guerendo, Trey Benson, and Jordan Mason, and hopefully one of them becomes a featured running back in 2025. Guerendo and Mason -- more 49ers -- should compete for the No. 2 job behind McCaffrey, and we know that's a valuable role. And Mason is a restricted free agent this offseason, so he could be on a different team with the chance to start.

Benson did little as a rookie in 2024 behind James Conner, and Conner will return to Arizona in 2025. But he also turns 30 in May, and Benson could emerge as a significant playmaker for the Cardinals if Father Time catches up to Conner next season.

I hope you enjoy the results of this first mock draft for 2025. Get ready for many more mock drafts to come, in different formats as well. We're just getting started to prepare you to dominate your Fantasy leagues next season.

As a reference point for this mock draft, 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. Heath Cummings, Senior Fantasy Writer
2. Joel Cox, CBS Sports VP Business Development
3. Dan Schneier, Senior Fantasy Editor
4. Adam Aizer, FFT Podcast Host
5. Brandon Howard, Fantasy Editor
6. Robert Thomas, FFT Facebook Moderator
7. Jake Grogins, CBS Sports HQ Production Staff
8. Jacob Gibbs, SportsLine Fantasy Analyst
9. Meron Berkson, CBS Sports HQ Producer
10. Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer
11. Austin Ramos, CBS Sports HQ Production Staff
12. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer

Round By Round
Round 1
Pos Team Player
1 Jacob Gibbs
2 Brandon Howard
3 Adam Aizer
4 Meron Berkson
5 Daniel Schneier
6 Jake Grogins
7 Dave Richard
8 Jamey Eisenberg
9 Austin Ramos
10 Rob Thomas
11 Heath Cummings
12 Joel Cox
Round 2
Pos Team Player
13 Joel Cox
14 Heath Cummings
15 Rob Thomas
16 Austin Ramos
17 Jamey Eisenberg
18 Dave Richard
19 Jake Grogins
20 Daniel Schneier
21 Meron Berkson
22 Adam Aizer
23 Brandon Howard
24 Jacob Gibbs
Round 3
Pos Team Player
25 Jacob Gibbs
26 Brandon Howard
27 Adam Aizer
28 Meron Berkson
29 Daniel Schneier
30 Jake Grogins
31 Dave Richard
32 Jamey Eisenberg
33 Austin Ramos
34 Rob Thomas
35 Heath Cummings
36 Joel Cox
Round 4
Pos Team Player
37 Joel Cox
38 Heath Cummings
39 Rob Thomas
40 Austin Ramos
41 Jamey Eisenberg
42 Dave Richard
43 Jake Grogins
44 Daniel Schneier
45 Meron Berkson
46 Adam Aizer
47 Brandon Howard
48 Jacob Gibbs
Round 5
Pos Team Player
49 Jacob Gibbs
50 Brandon Howard
51 Adam Aizer
52 Meron Berkson
53 Daniel Schneier
54 Jake Grogins
55 Dave Richard
56 Jamey Eisenberg
57 Austin Ramos
58 Rob Thomas
59 Heath Cummings
60 Joel Cox
Round 6
Pos Team Player
61 Joel Cox
62 Heath Cummings
63 Rob Thomas
64 Austin Ramos
65 Jamey Eisenberg
66 Dave Richard
67 Jake Grogins
68 Daniel Schneier
69 Meron Berkson
70 Adam Aizer
71 Brandon Howard
72 Jacob Gibbs
Round 7
Pos Team Player
73 Jacob Gibbs
74 Brandon Howard
75 Adam Aizer
76 Meron Berkson
77 Daniel Schneier
78 Jake Grogins
79 Dave Richard
80 Jamey Eisenberg
81 Austin Ramos
82 Rob Thomas
83 Heath Cummings
84 Joel Cox
Round 8
Pos Team Player
85 Joel Cox
86 Heath Cummings
87 Rob Thomas
88 Austin Ramos
89 Jamey Eisenberg
90 Dave Richard
91 Jake Grogins
92 Daniel Schneier
93 Meron Berkson
94 Adam Aizer
95 Brandon Howard
96 Jacob Gibbs
Round 9
Pos Team Player
97 Jacob Gibbs
98 Brandon Howard
99 Adam Aizer
100 Meron Berkson
101 Daniel Schneier
102 Jake Grogins
103 Dave Richard
104 Jamey Eisenberg
105 Austin Ramos
106 Rob Thomas
107 Heath Cummings
108 Joel Cox
Round 10
Pos Team Player
109 Joel Cox
110 Heath Cummings
111 Rob Thomas
112 Austin Ramos
113 Jamey Eisenberg
114 Dave Richard
115 Jake Grogins
116 Daniel Schneier
117 Meron Berkson
118 Adam Aizer
119 Brandon Howard
120 Jacob Gibbs
Round 11
Pos Team Player
121 Jacob Gibbs
122 Brandon Howard
123 Adam Aizer
124 Meron Berkson
125 Daniel Schneier
126 Jake Grogins
127 Dave Richard
128 Jamey Eisenberg
129 Austin Ramos
130 Rob Thomas
131 Heath Cummings
132 Joel Cox
Round 12
Pos Team Player
133 Joel Cox
134 Heath Cummings
135 Rob Thomas
136 Austin Ramos
137 Jamey Eisenberg
138 Dave Richard
139 Jake Grogins
140 Daniel Schneier
141 Meron Berkson
142 Adam Aizer
143 Brandon Howard
144 Jacob Gibbs
Round 13
Pos Team Player
145 Jacob Gibbs
146 Brandon Howard
147 Adam Aizer
148 Meron Berkson
149 Daniel Schneier
150 Jake Grogins
151 Dave Richard
152 Jamey Eisenberg
153 Austin Ramos
154 Rob Thomas
155 Heath Cummings
156 Joel Cox
Round 14
Pos Team Player
157 Joel Cox
158 Heath Cummings
159 Rob Thomas
160 Austin Ramos
161 Jamey Eisenberg
162 Dave Richard
163 Jake Grogins
164 Daniel Schneier
165 Meron Berkson
166 Adam Aizer
167 Brandon Howard
168 Jacob Gibbs
Team by Team
Jacob Gibbs
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
Brandon Howard
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
Adam Aizer
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
Meron Berkson
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
Daniel Schneier
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
Jake Grogins
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
Dave Richard
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
Jamey Eisenberg
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
Austin Ramos
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
Rob Thomas
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
Heath Cummings
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
Joel Cox
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