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USATSI

If you are picking second in a 12-team, PPR league, you're set up for an excellent Fantasy Football season. You have the option in Round 1 of drafting one best wide receivers or running backs in the entire draft pool. However, planning ahead and projecting what will be available for you in Rounds 2 and 3 (where you have two selections in the span of four picks) can set you up for success in your Fantasy Football drafts.

After doing close to 100 mock and real drafts this summer, there's one key takeaway I have about picking at the top of the draft (picks 1-4 overall): I always like my builds a lot more when I draft a wide receiver in Round 1. So I started this draft off with CeeDee Lamb, a player who should benefit immensely from the return of Dak Prescott, plus defenses forced to account resources for George Pickens. He should also benefit from a passing game script that is likely to emerge as the Cowboys secondary struggles with issues of talent, depth, and health.

Lamb is my favorite bet outside of Ja'Marr Chase to finish WR1 overall, and in a PPR scoring format, that may mean the highest-scoring player overall. The reason I prefer to start these builds at wide receiver is that I often find my highest-ranked players in Rounds 2 and 3 are running backs. Avoiding a three-running back start in Rounds 1-3 in full PPR formats is all but mandatory. But don't be afraid to grab two backs with your next two selections -- I did here -- with Bucky Irving and James Cook. Both should have a role in their respective passing games. 

My draft from No. 2 overall:

As a reference point, all touchdowns in this league 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, and FLEX (RB/WR/TE).

1.2: CeeDee Lamb, WR, Cowboys
2.11: Bucky Irving, RB, Buccaneers
3.2: James Cook, RB, Bills
4.11: Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Panthers
5.2: Calvin Ridley, WR, Titans
6.11: Rome Odunze, WR, Bears
7.2: Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB, Giants
8.11: Zach Charbonnet, RB, Seahawks
9.2: Colston Loveland, TE, Bears
10.11: Keenan Allen, WR, Chargers
11.2: Brandon Aiyuk, WR, 49ers
12.11: Jayden Higgins, WR, Texans
13.2: Roschon Johnson, RB, Bears
14.11: Justin Hebert, QB, Chargers 

If there's ever a year to wait on a quarterback in one-QB format, it's this one. Landing Justin Herbert, who is a top-12 ranked QB for me, with the final pick of the draft -- that's a dream come true. But even if I didn't get Herbert, there's a plethora of quarterbacks drafted around his range -- or in this draft -- undrafted -- who can push for QB1 upside in 2025. 

Favorite pick: Colston Loveland

If you've listened to any episode of Beyond the Boxscore with myself and Jacob Gibbs, you've almost certainly heard the Loveland hype. We discussed Loveland at length in our Best Buys episode:

Loveland makes for an ultimate upside pick at tight end for a variety of reasons that include the following: his draft capital (10th overall), his potential fit in Ben Johnson's scheme (horizontal route dominator both before and after the catch) and the possibility that he remains the ideal candidate to play the Amon-Ra St. Brown role in the Bears' new offense. You can get him cheaper -- typically in Rounds 11-12 -- but I needed to make sure Loveland ended up on this roster.

Pick I might regret: James Cook

While I'm a big-time believer in Cook due to his explosive play upside plus the fact that the Bills averaged the seventh-most yards before contact among all offensive lines in 2024, I recognize the downside, too. Cook scored 40% of his Fantasy points on touchdowns in 2024. He is a touchdown regression candidate and almost a guarantee to not score 18 again. If Cook's touchdowns fall much further than I expect, and back into the single digits, he likely won't get enough volume to justify this draft pick. 

Player who could make or break my team: Tetairoa McMillan

All it took was a few preseason snaps for me to see the vision with McMillan. I watched Bryce Young dial up multiple intermediate pass attempts to McMillan that were released well before the rookie receiver got out of his break. Anticipatory passes completed in the preseason to a rookie? Timing and rhythm between two players who have barely had time to work together? If these two are already connecting on passes like that, they have a chance to be unstoppable as their timing improves. McMillan is still the most likely candidate to be this year's Brian Thomas Jr. or Malik Nabers. However, if the progress Bryce Young made as a passer in 2024 regresses back to how he played in 2023, you won't want any piece of the Panthers passing game.