One of my favorite things about doing mock drafts is getting a different perspective on players and strategies. It's why I love doing the impromptu #iwannamock drafts that I post on Twitter, where I jump in a mock with 11 total strangers.
I learn something new every time. And that happened again Tuesday night with our latest 12-team PPR mock draft on Twitch.
This draft featured 10 members of our CBS Sports staff, but we also included Michelle Magdziuk of the BallBlast Podcast and Anthony Brown, who is a gaming YouTuber and also goes by BigJigglyPanda. It was great to see how each of them built their teams.
Let's start with Anthony's squad since he had the No. 1 overall selection. He got three standout players to open his draft with Christian McCaffrey, DeAndre Hopkins and Patrick Mahomes.
Anthony then drafted Zach Ertz and Devin Singletary, and he expressed regret not taking another wide receiver there because the position dried up quickly, especially since we start three receivers in this league. The rest of Anthony's receiving corps is Marvin Jones, Jarvis Landry, Robby Anderson, Larry Fitzgerald, Sammy Watkins and Tyrell Williams.
Anthony added Phillip Lindsay and Adrian Peterson to his backfield, and he drafted Jared Cook as a second tight end. The upside of Anthony's team is having great players in McCaffrey, Hopkins, Mahomes and Ertz, and Singletary is a solid No. 2 running back. Jones and Landry are fine secondary receiving options, and Lindsay isn't a bad No. 3 running back.
But his receiving corps could be in trouble if Hopkins regresses in Arizona. And Anthony might have been correct about passing on a receiver in Round 4 or 5 for Ertz.
For example, if he drafted one of Stefon Diggs, DK Metcalf or Courtland Sutton there and then just went with Cook at tight end, his team might have been a little better. That's a lesson he learned that he can apply to his next draft.
As for Michelle, she also had an excellent start to her draft from the No. 8 overall spot with Miles Sanders, Josh Jacobs and Adam Thielen with her first three picks. In Round 4, she drafted Leonard Fournette, which was a move she didn't love.
Afterward, Michelle said she should have drafted D.J. Chark or Terry McLaurin instead because of the run on receivers. She still ended up with Michael Gallup in Round 5 and Diontae Johnson in Round 6, and her take on both of those receivers was interesting.
Michelle still expects a breakout campaign for Gallup even with the addition of CeeDee Lamb, and I love that optimism for the third-year receiver. She also drafted Johnson over Tyler Boyd because of the potential higher ceiling for Johnson, and I'm a big fan of the second-year receiver for the Steelers, so I like that call.
The rest of her team is Drew Brees at quarterback, T.J. Hockenson at tight end and reserves in Zack Moss (one of her favorite players), Bryce Love, Rashaad Penny, John Brown, Deebo Samuel and Denzel Mims. It's an excellent team.
I picked right in front of Michelle at No. 7 overall, and I thought about taking a Zero RB approach after starting with Michael Thomas and Travis Kelce. But when I got to Round 3 and saw how many good receivers were available — Thielen, Mike Evans, Cooper Kupp, Tyler Lockett, Odell Beckham, Amari Cooper, Robert Woods and A.J. Brown — I decided to go with Todd Gurley instead. If healthy, Gurley can be a star once again in this Falcons offense, especially in the passing game.
I still got Brown in Round 4, and I love the start to this team. The rest of my running backs are Le'Veon Bell, David Montgomery, J.K. Dobbins, Alexander Mattison and Joshua Kelley, and my receivers along with Thomas and Brown are Sterling Shepard, Anthony Miller, Steven Sims and DeSean Jackson.
I waited on a quarterback and ended up with Daniel Jones, and I made a mistake in taking Jones over Ben Roethlisberger. Jones has a higher ceiling than Roethlisberger if things work out for him this year, but the start of his season is brutal with matchups against Pittsburgh, Chicago, San Francisco and the Rams. Meanwhile, Roethlisberger opens with the Giants, Broncos, Texans and Titans.
If I'm drafting a second quarterback as a stash candidate then I'm going with Jones. But I realized that if I need a starter for Week 1 then I'd rather have Roethlisberger. Next time, that's the move I would make.
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. Anthony Brown, YouTube Gamer
2. Jacob Gibbs, SportsLine Fantasy Analyst
3. Ben Gretch, Fantasy Editor
4. Adam Aizer, Fantasy Football Podcast Host
5. Michael Kiser, Director, VOD and Video Optimization
6. Tommy Tran, CBS Sports HQ Host
7. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer
8. Michelle Magdziuk, BallBlast Podcast
9. Frank Stampfl, Fantasy Baseball Podcast Host
10. Heath Cummings, Senior Fantasy Writer
11. Ben Schragger, Podcast Producer
12. Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer
So which Fantasy football busts should you completely avoid? And which running back going off the board early should you fade? Visit SportsLine now to get cheat sheets from the model that called Baker Mayfield's disappointing season, and find out.
