2016 Fantasy Football Draft Prep: 12-team PPR mock draft

We haven't talked much about Rob Gronkowski so far in our recent mock drafts, but he remains a prominent figure in the first round in the majority of leagues. And in this 12-team PPR mock draft, he went at No. 3 overall.

Now, some of you might consider that too soon, which is understandable. He doesn't have Tom Brady for the first four games of the season because of his suspension, and the Patriots added some new weapons in Martellus Bennett and Chris Hogan to go with Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Dion Lewis, which means more mouths to feed.

We also could see better play from tight ends around the league this season with Jordan Reed, Greg Olsen, Coby Fleener and possibly Ladarius Green, among others, closing the gap on Gronkowski as the best player at his position. It's also potentially risky to draft him ahead of Julio Jones, which happened here (Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham went first and second overall), and you can argue that DeAndre Hopkins and A.J. Green are better options as well.

But if you want Gronkowski, who I still consider the best tight end by far and the best option in this New England passing game, then you draft him when available. And for Will Brinson, that was at No. 3.

Will filled out his team with Carson Palmer at quarterback, Carlos Hyde and Thomas Rawls at running back, Jarvis Landry and Demaryius Thomas at receiver and Duke Johnson as his flex, with Gronkowski. His bench consists of Kenyan Drake, Christine Michael, Darren Sproles, Michael Crabtree, Devin Funchess and Mohamed Sanu.

I didn't love the Landry pick in Round 2 (Mike Evans and Brandin Cooks were available), but Will's starting lineup is solid in this format if Hyde and Rawls can play 16 games. And he has the best tight end in the NFL, which should give him an advantage over most other owners.

I picked at No. 10 overall, and I expected to take a receiver in the first round, which happened with Dez Bryant. And then I gambled on Ezekiel Elliott in Round 2 even though he's dealing with a hamstring injury.

The time to panic on Elliott will be if he's still out for the third preseason game, which is three weeks from now, but the Cowboys expect him back well before then. And don't be afraid to take two stud players on the same team, even with early-round picks.

Remember last year, Devonta Freeman and Jones for the Falcons and Brown and DeAngelo Williams for the Steelers were top-five players at their positions in Fantasy points. The same could easily happen with Bryant and Elliott.

I filled out my roster with Eli Manning at quarterback, Elliott and C.J. Anderson at running back, Bryant and Sammy Watkins at receiver, Fleener at tight end and Michael Floyd at flex. My bench is Charles Sims, DeAndre Washington, Kenneth Dixon, Karlos Williams, Sterling Shepard and Michael Thomas.

Waiting for a quarterback like Manning can pay huge dividends, and this receiving corps should be excellent if Watkins is healthy. He's expected to return to practice this week, and if that happens then he'll move up my rankings. I also love the upside for guys like Shepard and Thomas.

Fleener is my favorite mid-round tight end to target, and I expect him to finish as a top-five option. And my running backs should do well if Elliott is healthy and Anderson rebounds from last year's down season. So far, all the reports are positive. There's also plenty of upside in PPR leagues for Sims and Washington.

I wanted to handcuff Anderson with Devontae Booker in Round 11, but George Maselli drafted Booker in Round 10. We'll see if that move comes back to haunt me, but otherwise I'm pleased with this 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 have one point for every reception. We feature a starting lineup of QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, TE, K, DST and a FLEX (RB/WR/TE). There will also be six reserve spots for a 15-round draft.

Our draft order is as follows:

1. Joe Polito, Social Media Coordinator
2. Ryan Bass, Video Host
3. Will Brinson, NFL Writer
4. Nick Kostos, Video Host
5. George Maselli, Editor
6. Matthew Coca, College Football Analyst
7. Michael Long, Video Producer
8. Meron Berkson, Video Producer
9. R.J. White, NFL Editor
10. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer
11. Chris Towers, Fantasy Writer
12. Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer