Fantasy Football Offseason: Early 2019 Mock Draft

Members of the CBS Sports staff recently took part in their first PPR mock draft for 2019. Jamey Eisenberg breaks down all the results here.

By Jamey Eisenberg

Jan 3, 2019 at 5:12 pm ET • 3 min read

We're not wasting any time in starting our draft prep for the 2019 season. Even though the NFL playoffs haven't started yet — and well before free agency and the NFL Draft — we're already doing our first PPR mock draft for 2019.

Yes, we're a little obsessed.

But we also like to be prepared. And it's never too early to start looking ahead, as well as learning from the season that just ended. So, here we are.

A lot will change with many of these players with free agency and the NFL Draft, and hopefully we have no major injuries in the NFL playoffs. But this is the first glance of where players might go in PPR drafts heading into next season.

And it was fun to see where some of the buzz-worthy players were selected in this 12-team, 15-round draft. For example, Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown were both still first-round picks. Bell will definitely be with a new team following his fallout with the Steelers, and Brown could also leave Pittsburgh if his demands to be traded are met.

One owner took a chance on Kareem Hunt (Round 7) and Josh Gordon (Round 14) even though both might not play in 2019. And it was interesting to see where several players coming off significant injuries were selected: Jerick McKinnon (Round 4), Derrius Guice (Round 5), Hunter Henry (Round 6) and Jimmy Garoppolo (Round 10).

I drafted Guice after starting my team from No. 7 overall with Davante Adams, Travis Kelce, Phillip Lindsay and Julian Edelman. In Round 6, I drafted Tevin Coleman, who will likely leave Atlanta as a free agent, and it would be great if he lands a starting job in a prominent offense in 2019 (hello, Kansas City).

My next three picks were young players with upside in Corey Davis, Rashaad Penny and Royce Freeman, who is a handcuff for Lindsday. Hopefully Davis will have a breakout campaign in his third season in the NFL. Penny could also be a steal if he's able to wrest away the starting job from Chris Carson in Seattle next season.

In Round 10, I took a value pick in Adam Humphries, who should remain the slot receiver for Tampa Bay in 2019, and I took a flier on Adrian Peterson in Round 11. He might retire after this year, or he could return to Washington and play in tandem with Guice. Whatever happens with him, he was the best player on the board in my opinion.

My pick in Round 12 might have been my favorite selection with James Washington, who could emerge as a starter in Pittsburgh next season if Brown is traded. We'll see what develops with the Steelers, but Washington playing opposite JuJu Smith-Schuster could lead to plenty of Fantasy production.

I also waited until Round 13 to draft a quarterback, ending up with Cam Newton, who likely fell because of concerns with his shoulder. If he's healthy, this pick is a steal, otherwise I could be looking for another starter. And some of the quarterbacks who went undrafted were Tom Brady, Kirk Cousins and Lamar Jackson.

As you'll find in 2019, you can once again wait for a quarterback on Draft Day and be fine with your Fantasy roster.

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, 2 WR, TE, FLEX (RB/WR/TE), K and DST. There also are six reserve spots for a 15-round draft.

Our draft order is as follows: