If you're drafting in the middle of the draft, you should keep all options open. If Bijan Robinson or Breece Hall fall to you in Round 1, it's possible you'll be looking at an RB-RB start. If they don't, but Marvin Harrison Jr. or Puka Nacua fall to you in Round 2, a WR-WR start could be in play. If neither of those things happens, a balanced start like the one you see below could be in play. I started with a wide receiver and running back in the first two rounds and by Round 6 I drafted two running backs, two receivers, my starting quarterback, and my starting tight end. This just may be the safest way to draft your team, but you won't have a hard time finding upside below.
Here's my squad from the first pick:
1.07: Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, DET
2.06: James Cook, RB, BUF
3.07: Rachaad White, RB, TB
4.06: Patrick Mahomes, QB, KC
5:07: Tank Dell, WR, HOU
6.06: George Kittle, TE, SF
7.07: Jayden Reed, WR, GB
8.06: Courtland Sutton, WR, DEN
9.07: Keon Coleman, WR, BUF
10.06: Trey Benson, RB, ARI
11.07: Jaleel McLaughlin, RB, DEN
12.06: Tyler Allgeier, RB, ATL
13.07: Darnell Mooney, WR, ATL
14.06: Luke McCaffrey, WR, WAS
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My first pick in this draft, St. Brown, is my number three wide receiver this year in Fantasy Football, and one of the safest picks in all of the first round. He doesn't have age concerns like Tyreek Hill, contract concerns like Ja'Marr Chase, or quarterback concerns like Justin Jefferson. Barring an injury, he's all but assured to see 10 targets per game in a great offense, and he gets to play most of his games indoors.
That safe approach only lasted one round, as you'll see below I think my Round 2 pick Cook could make or break this team and my Round 3 pick White could be the pick I regret. Still, once I'd spent two of my first three picks on running backs, I knew I had to forego true depth there. So I didn't take another running back until Round 10. The three backs I did take in succession after that include two of my favorite handcuffs in Benson and Allgeier. I view McLaughlin as more of a floor play, particularly in PPR. He'll see 10-to-12 touches per game even with Javonte Williams healthy and is a fine bye-week replacement if Benson and Allgeier are still backups at that point.
I mixed upside and floor in my receiving room after St. Brown as well. Dell as my WR2 is purely an upside play. If he can match his efficiency from last year he's a huge hit at this cost, same for Reed in Green Bay. Coleman could be the WR1 for Josh Allen, but I wouldn't be surprised if we need to show patience with him early. It's unlikely all three hit, so Sutton will likely be my WR3 on this team. He's the clear WR1 in Denver, but that doesn't come with as much upside as it would on a lot of teams because we project that to be one of the worst offenses in the NFL. I also believe there's some sneaky upside for Mooney in Atlanta. If anything happens to Drake London or Kyle Pitts, Mooney could see 120 targets from the best quarterback he's ever played with.
Mahomes is my most drafted quarterback, because I draft with Fantasy analysts who allow quarterbacks to fall to Round 4. If you draft with normal people, you can take Mahomes in Round 3 and feel great about it. It looks like Rashee Rice will avoid suspension, and the additions of Marquise Brown and Xavier Worthy may just give Mahomes his best set of offensive weapons ever. it was just two seasons ago that he threw for 5,250 yards and 41 touchdowns with JuJu Smith-Schuster as his WR1. This year, Smith-Schuster is back as his WR4 at best.
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Bucky Irving has looked pretty great this preseason and White was not an efficient rusher last year. If White loses more work than I am projecting to Irving then I am really going to wish that I had taken Trey McBride here. Had I done that, I could have taken a running back in Round 6 where I took George Kittle.
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Cook is my second most draft running back this year behind only Jonathon Brooks, who goes six or seven rounds later. That's because I expect Cook to match the 20 touches per game he saw in the second half last year, set a career-high in receptions and touchdowns, and finish as a top-10 running back. If that happens, this is a great team. Others expect Ray Davis to steal both red zone work and passing downs work from Cook, turning him into a trap back. If that happens, I may be in big trouble on a lot of teams, not just this one.
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