If you're planning to pick fifth in a PPR draft, the easiest first step in your preparation is to rank your five favorite Fantasy Football players. It could be five running backs, five receivers, a mix of the two positions, or if you're in a Superflex, five quarterbacks.
You'll know you'll get one of them. Easy peasy.
My top-five list is available to see, along with 195 other players. I followed my list and just took the highest-ranked remaining player.
1. Christian McCaffrey
2. CeeDee Lamb
3. Tyreek Hill
4. Breece Hall
5. Bijan Robinson
I must admit there was a temptation to slide Amon-Ra St. Brown or Justin Jefferson into my top five because I believe the middle of the second round of PPR drafts will be robust with running backs. By committing to Hall or Robinson with my first pick, I may as well have committed to starting RB-RB, which in a league that rewards receptions and has four lineup spots eligible for receivers isn't exactly the best idea in the world. But I did it anyway. Two reasons: One, I can't pass up Robinson with the expectation that he'll be utilized even better than he was last season and has the added benefit of an improved passing game and a strong offensive line. Two, I believe in the depth at wide receiver and remained committed to hammering away at that position while waiting on both quarterback and tight end. And three, I really love the value of those running backs in the middle of Round 2.
How did the team turn out? Let's see -- here it is from the No. 5 spot:
1.05 Bijan Robinson, RB, ATL
2.08 Isiah Pacheco, RB, KC
3.05 Davante Adams, WR, LV
4.08 Brandon Aiyuk, WR, SF
5.05 George Pickens, WR, PIT
6.08 Christian Kirk, WR, JAC
7.05 Zamir White, RB, LV
8.08 Jordan Love, QB, GB
9.05 Khalil Shakir, WR, BUF
10.08 David Njoku, TE, CLE
11.05 Gus Edwards, RB, LAC
12.08 MarShawn Lloyd, RB, GB
13.05 Brock Purdy, QB, SF
14.08 Zach Ertz, TE, WAS
I love the depth at receiver this year and felt good about taking advantage of "buying on the dip" in the case of all four receivers I chose in Rounds 3 through 6. It wasn't that long ago this offseason that Pickens was a Round 4 pick, Aiyuk was a Round 3 pick, and Adams was a ... well he's pretty much been a Round 3 pick all along. But those guys in addition to Zamir White in Round 7 all felt like good bargains.
The best part is that I could have missed on all four receivers and still felt good about someone else. For example, I could have had Malik Nabers or DK Metcalf instead of Adams in Round 3, I could have had Rashee Rice instead of Aiyuk in Round 4, I could have had Amari Cooper, Calvin Ridley, or Terry McLaurin instead of Pickens in Round 5, and I could have had a Packers receiver or Diontae Johnson instead of Kirk in Round 6. I actually should have taken James Conner in Round 6 and hoped one of those other receivers (or Kirk) fell back to me in Round 7.
Point is the position is clearly deep and you should find satisfactory pass-catchers into Round 8. You could do worse than start with two running backs with your first two picks, and in the event you do take two rushers first, be sure to hammer receivers after that. Get at least as many as you can start.
Another pointer that will serve you well is paying attention to the teams that pick after you in the even rounds/before you in the odd rounds. Their needs may help craft your decisions and how you go about your upcoming picks. Remember how I should have taken Conner in Round 6? That decision would have been for the best since three of the teams picking in draft slots 1 through 4 had one running back each. I could have taken him out of their player pools and perhaps forced them to take an extra running back. I almost wonder if Kirk would have made it back to me.
But here's a follow-up: I also paid attention to the teams picking sixth through 12th. When I was up in Round 7 I actually wanted to take Jordan Love, but literally every team in those six through 12 spots had a quarterback. I knew I could risk it and hope for Love to make it back to me in Round 8. He did. And I pulled off the exact same trick in Round 10 with David Njoku. There isn't a better feeling than taking the player you wanted to take a full round later, and by paying attention to other teams' needs and players taken, you can make that feeling happen!
It's not just that I got Love 16 picks later than I could have, it's that he's proven to be a productive quarterback who was a force multiplier for his receivers and not a passer who was elevated by his receivers. Think about how last year ended with the Packers -- receivers were in and out of the lineup. Love still proved to be consistent and excellent for Fantasy. He averaged 25 Fantasy points per game in his final nine games and stayed red-hot in the playoffs. Not many quarterbacks with top-5 upside can be found in the middle rounds. Remember to wait for your quarterback and take him when it feels like you're stealing him from the rest of your league.
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For all the reasons I listed above, taking Kirk over James Conner is one I wish I had back. I view Conner as a better Fantasy option than Zamir White, and the drop-off from Kirk to someone like Jayden Reed or Diontae Johnson doesn't feel far off. And I might have had Kirk fall into my lap!
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I'm fine taking Adams in full PPR in redraft, but it's with milder expectations than we're used to having with Adams. His quarterback situation stinks, but Gardner Minshew connected with Michael Pittman for 16.5 PPR points per game last year, and Pittman was basically allergic to the end zone. Adams' talent hasn't regressed as far as I've seen, his play-caller is very familiar with him (they were together in Green Bay when Adams had some monster seasons) and Minshew will be told to pepper Adams with targets. I also don't think Minshew will be the only quarterback throwing to Adams all season -- Aidan O'Connell loosened up in his final four starts of last season, and once he did, Adams averaged 19.7 PPR points per game. I'm hoping Adams can hit 16 PPR points per game on average this season.
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