We all love the top six receivers this season of Tyreek Hill, CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Ja'Marr Chase and A.J. Brown. They're all elite, and all of them have top-three potential.
In most PPR leagues, Hill and Lamb are gone by No. 5 overall, and then it comes down to personal preference of Jefferson, St. Brown, Chase and Brown. I like Jefferson the best, and I'm not worried about Sam Darnold as Minnesota's quarterback. Jefferson is an elite talent that could lead the NFL in targets, and I'm hopeful that he's quarterback proof.
But even though Jefferson is my favorite of that foursome, I would be happy with any of those receivers, which is why picking at No. 8 or 9 overall is ideal. This isn't a situation of getting a leftover -- you're still getting a stud.
Here, at No. 8 overall, I had the choice of Jefferson and Brown, so it worked out in my favor. And now it's just about building the right team around Jefferson to make this roster into a playoff contender.
This is our 12-part, PPR pick-by-pick series where me, Heath Cummings, Jacob Gibbs, Dan Schneier, Dave Richard and Adam Aizer all took part in a six-person mock draft. We each built two of the 12 teams in this 14-round draft to show you a different strategy from each spot.
This is an outline that you can follow if you pick from No. 8 overall in your league. The key is to study the strategy and not necessarily the players to see if this works for you.
As a reference point, all touchdowns in this league 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).
Here's my team from No. 8 overall:
1.8: Justin Jefferson, WR, Vikings
2.5: Kyren Williams, RB, Rams
3.8: Kenneth Walker III, RB, Seahawks
4.5: Tee Higgins, WR, Bengals
5.8: Lamar Jackson, QB, Ravens
6.5: Zay Flowers, WR, Ravens
7.8: Evan Engrams, TE, Jaguars
8.5: Tyjae Spears, RB, Titans
9.8: Josh Palmer, WR, Chargers
10.5: Nick Chubb, RB, Browns
11.8: Ja'Lynn Polk, WR, Patriots
12.5: Tyler Lockett, WR, Seahawks
13.8: Jordan Mason, RB, 49ers
14.5: Antonio Gibson, RB, Patriots
In full disclosure, if we did this draft again, I would have selected Travis Etienne instead of Williams in the second round. The Rams offensive line concerns me with Williams, and I dropped him behind Etienne, Josh Jacobs and Isiah Pacheco in my rankings after this draft was done.
I was set up for a Hero-RB build, but then Walker fell to Round 3, which was too good to pass up. I love his potential in Seattle's new offense under Ryan Grubb, and Walker has top-10 upside this season.
Higgins was an easy choice in Round 4 given my need at receiver, and Jackson was a steal in Round 5. I stacked Jackson with Flowers in Round 6, and I'm hopeful Flowers will be a solid No. 3 Fantasy receiver on this roster.
I want to get a top-nine Fantasy tight end whenever possible, and Engram is great value in Round 7. He might not catch 114 passes again like he did in 2023, but he should be a standout Fantasy option as a go-to target for the Jaguars.
I didn't need a third running back yet, but Spears in Round 8 was too good to pass up, and he could be the best running back for the Titans this year ahead of Tony Pollard. And I loved getting Palmer in Round 9, and he could easily be my flex if he hits as the No. 1 receiver for the Chargers. Palmer is a popular sleeper this year, so you should plan to be aggressive in drafting him.
My team was in great shape by the time we got to Round 10, and it felt like the right time to get Chubb. Even though he's on the PUP list while he recovers from the knee injury he suffered last year, I won't need Chubb until the end of the season when I'm hopefully making a playoff push. And by then he could be useful as a flex option if he's fully healthy.
Polk and Lockett are solid bench receivers, and I love the value for Mason and Gibson. Both could be lottery tickets, and Mason is worth drafting in Round 10 now that Elijah Mitchell (hamstring) is out for the season.
I'm excited about the outlook for Higgins this season. He's highly motivated to get a new contract since he's playing on the franchise tag, and Joe Burrow is back at 100 percent. Last year, Higgins missed five games and played more than 75 percent of the snaps in just eight outings. He had an up-and-down season, but he scored at least 19 PPR points in four games. And in the previous two years, he averaged 13.8 PPR points (2022) and 15.7 (2021). He has the potential to post outstanding stats, and I love drafting him in Round 4.
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I moved Williams down in the rankings this week after this draft from an early second-round pick to a late second, early third-round pick. The offensive line for the Rams is beat up right now with left tackle Alaric Jackson suspended for the first two games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy, and left guard Jonah Jackson (shoulder) and right tackle Rob Havenstein (ankle) are injured. When I looked at my rankings, I liked the situations for Etienne, Jacobs and Pacheco better, so I moved them ahead of Williams. The appeal of Williams, who missed four games due to an ankle injury last season, was his workload, and he averaged 21.6 touches per game, third-most in the NFL. Blake Corum will be a factor, and Williams is someone I'd rather draft later in Round 2 instead of this spot.
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I need Flowers to play at a high level this season, and if he does, then this team could be fantastic. It helps that I have Jackson also, so there could be plenty of big weeks when Jackson and Flowers connect for touchdowns. As a rookie, Flowers averaged 12.8 PPR points per game, but the best stretch of his production came with Mark Andrews (ankle) sidelined toward the end of the season. Flowers scored at least 19.6 PPR points in four of his final five games of the regular season, including catching four of his five touchdowns over that span. Andrews is back at 100 percent, but Flowers should continue to improve in his sophomore campaign. I love drafting him in Round 6.
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