Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Star-studded 12-team PPR draft features Ezekiel Elliott first overall

One of the great things about the Fantasy Football industry is, for the most part, that all the analysts support and root for each other, no matter where you work. While there's a competition for clicks and trying to be the best at what we do, it's better when everyone has success. 

With that in mind, I couldn't be more appreciative of the analysts who joined us for this 12-team PPR mock draft. This draft was done as part of our content for the CBS Sports Fantasy Football telethon to benefit the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. It's for a great cause to help in whatever way we can to defeat childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. 

Before we look at the results, I just want to thank Nando Di Fino and Jake Ciely of the Athletic, Andy Holloway of the Fantasy Footballers, Nathan Zegura from the Cleveland Browns and Chris Harris of Harris Football for helping out. We also had WWE superstar Eric Young, who moonlights as a Fantasy analyst, in this draft, as well as CBS Sports personalities Bryant McFadden (a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Steelers), Will Brinson, Adam Aizer, Dave Richard, Heath Cummings and myself. 

This was a stellar mock draft heading into the third week of preseason action. And I think you'll benefit by studying many of the picks by these esteemed Fantasy Football minds.

For example, Di Fino went off script and drafted Ezekiel Elliott at No. 1 overall. He also drafted two tight ends by the fifth round (O.J. Howard and Evan Engram) and waited until Round 14 for his only quarterback, which was Mitchell Trubisky. 

Ciely wasn't afraid to take the plunge on Todd Gurley in Round 2, as well as loading up on rookie running backs with Josh Jacobs (Round 3) and David Montgomery (Round 4). Despite going big at running back early, Ciely still has an excellent receiving corps. He also stole Jamison Crowder from me in Round 11. 

Holloway wasn't afraid to draft A.J. Green (ankle) in Round 5, which could end up being a steal. And he drafted some of my favorite players in Devonta Freeman, Chris Carson, Chris Godwin and Robby Anderson. I really like this roster. 

Harris was likely the biggest risk taker in the draft by selecting guys like Andrew Luck and Antonio Brown. He got Brown in Round 3, which is fine, but Luck could be amazing value in Round 11 if he's healthy. If both produce like they have in the past, Harris could have an incredible roster. He also drafted Russell Wilson in Round 12 to cover himself with Luck. 

Young started his team with three consecutive running backs with Saquon Barkley, Kerryon Johnson and Damien Williams, which is exceptional. He still managed to draft Tyler Lockett, Cooper Kupp, Christian Kirk and Corey Davis at receiver, and this is a stacked roster. His lone question mark could be Kyler Murray at quarterback, but that's something he can address later if needed. 

Zegura, who is the senior media broadcaster for the Browns, was thrilled to get Baker Mayfield in Round 10. He also doubled up on the Dolphins running backs of Kenyan Drake and Kalen Ballage and built a balanced roster. Zegura, like Di Fino, used to be a Fantasy analyst with us at CBS Sports, so he knows his stuff. 

McFadden told me he loves his team, and you can see why with the all the stars on his roster, including Aaron Rodgers, James Conner, Leonard Fournette, Melvin Gordon, Amari Cooper, Jarvis Landry, Emmanuel Sanders and Eric Ebron. He took Gordon in Round 4, and that pick could make or break his roster depending on when he eventually plays for the Chargers this season. 

You can see the rest of the results for the CBS guys below. As for me, I picked at No. 10 overall, and I leaned on receivers early with JuJu Smith-Schuster, Julian Edelman and Robert Woods with three of my first four picks, along with Nick Chubb in Round 2. 

My biggest question mark could be Lamar Jackson, who I drafted as my only quarterback in Round 14. But I'm thrilled with that value for Jackson, who has the potential to be a top-10 Fantasy quarterback in 2019. 

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, FLEX (RB/WR/TE), K and DST. There also are six reserve spots for a 16-round draft. 

Our draft order is as follows:

1. Nando Di Fino, The Athletic
2. Eric Young, WWE
3. Nathan Zegura, Cleveland Browns
4. Andy Holloway, Fantasy Footballers
5. Chris Harris, Harris Football
6. Bryant McFadden, CBS Sports
7. Jake Ciely, The Athletic
8. Adam Aizer, CBS Sports
9. Will Brinson, CBS Sports
10. Jamey Eisenberg, CBS Sports
11. Dave Richard, CBS Sports
12. Heath Cummings, CBS Sports