Fantasy Football mock draft: Zero-WR gambit highlights our second August 0.5 mock

USATSI

Heath Cummings tried something Tuesday night in our latest 12-team, 0.5 PPR mock draft that we don't see much of these days. He started his team with a tight end in Round 1, a quarterback in Round 2 and didn't draft a receiver until Round 6.

You've heard of Zero RB, right? Well, Heath went Zero WR in this mock draft, and his roster has plenty of positives with a few negatives. Let's take a look at his team.

The tight end at No. 6 overall was Travis Kelce, and Heath drafted Patrick Mahomes in Round 2. That's arguably the best stack for any quarterback-receiver combination, and it should work out great for Heath on most weeks.

His next three picks were running backs with D'Andre Swift, Darrell Henderson and Josh Jacobs, and one of those will be Heath's flex option. There's a lot to like about these first five picks, and Heath is strong at quarterback, running back and tight end. And now the fun begins.

Heath's next seven picks were spent on receivers in JuJu Smith-Schuster, Robby Anderson, Deebo Samuel, Marvin Jones, Terrace Marshall, Henry Ruggs and Rashod Bateman. This is a good group, but it's filled with backup singers and no star. Smith-Schuster and Anderson are quality starters, but everyone else is a question mark.

I like Jones as a sleeper, especially with D.J. Chark (hand) hurt. But I didn't like the Samuel pick in Round 8, and I would have gone with someone with more upside like Will Fuller, Jaylen Waddle, Elijah Moore or Mike Williams, who were all available.

We'll see how this works out for Heath, and hopefully at least three of his receivers come through to complement Mahomes, Kelce and his trio of running backs. If that happens, as well as Swift, Henderson and Jacobs playing close to their draft value, Heath should have a solid squad.

I like that Heath experimented with a new roster build, but I'm sure next time he will prioritize receivers over the running backs after starting his team with Kelce and Mahomes. It's hard to sacrifice receivers in this format.

I took a more balanced approach with my team from No. 12 overall, starting with Saquon Barkley and Jonathan Taylor. I love the potential of those two running backs, who have fallen in drafts because of injury concerns. If healthy, both are stars.

It worked out great when I ended up with CeeDee Lamb in Round 3 and Cooper Kupp in Round 4. Now, I have two elite running backs and two top-15 receivers. I followed that up with Dak Prescott in Round 5 and Travis Etienne in Round 6, and this team is oozing with upside.

I rounded out my receiving corps with Antonio Brown, Laviska Shenault and Darnell Mooney, and I also drafted lottery ticket running backs in Tony Pollard, Darrel Williams, Xavier Jones and Damien Williams. My receivers are in great shape, and if any of these backup running backs get the chance to start this year then this team is loaded.

There is a giant hole, however, and that could be at tight end. I waited too long to address the position, so I drafted Blake Jarwin with my final selection in Round 15. My choices at that point were Jarwin, Mike Gesicki and Evan Engram, and I went with Jarwin for the Cowboys stack. Most likely, unless Jarwin is a capable Fantasy starter, I will be streaming tight ends this year.

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 0.5 points for every reception. We feature a starting lineup of QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE, FLEX (RB/WR/TE) and DST. There also are six reserve spots for a 15-round draft.

Our draft order is as follows:

1. Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer
2. Andrew Rossow, Podcast Listener
3. Sam Lopez, Podcast Listener
4. Meron Berkson, CBS Sports HQ Producer
5. R.J. White, Managing Editor, SportsLine and CBS Fantasy
6. Heath Cummings, Senior Fantasy Writer
7. Adam Aizer, Fantasy Football Today Podcast Host
8. Jacobs Gibbs, SportsLine Fantasy Analyst
9. Jack Capotorto, CBS Sports HQ Producer
10. Scott Engel, SportsLine Fantasy Analyst
11. Chris Towers, Senior Editor, Fantasy
12. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer

Round By Round

Round 1
Pos	Team	Player
1	Chris Towers
2	Heath Cummings
3	Jacob Gibbs
4	R.J. White
5	Dave Richard
6	Sam Lopez
7	Jack Capotorto
8	Adam Aizer
9	Jamey Eisenberg
10	Meron Berkson
11	Andrew Rossow
12	Scott Engel
Round 2
Pos	Team	Player
13	Scott Engel
14	Andrew Rossow
15	Meron Berkson
16	Jamey Eisenberg
17	Adam Aizer
18	Jack Capotorto
19	Sam Lopez
20	Dave Richard
21	R.J. White
22	Jacob Gibbs
23	Heath Cummings
24	Chris Towers
Round 3
Pos	Team	Player
25	Chris Towers
26	Heath Cummings
27	Jacob Gibbs
28	R.J. White
29	Dave Richard
30	Sam Lopez
31	Jack Capotorto
32	Adam Aizer
33	Jamey Eisenberg
34	Meron Berkson
35	Andrew Rossow
36	Scott Engel
Round 4
Pos	Team	Player
37	Scott Engel
38	Andrew Rossow
39	Meron Berkson
40	Jamey Eisenberg
41	Adam Aizer
42	Jack Capotorto
43	Sam Lopez
44	Dave Richard
45	R.J. White
46	Jacob Gibbs
47	Heath Cummings
48	Chris Towers
Round 5
Pos	Team	Player
49	Chris Towers
50	Heath Cummings
51	Jacob Gibbs
52	R.J. White
53	Dave Richard
54	Sam Lopez
55	Jack Capotorto
56	Adam Aizer
57	Jamey Eisenberg
58	Meron Berkson
59	Andrew Rossow
60	Scott Engel
Round 6
Pos	Team	Player
61	Scott Engel
62	Andrew Rossow
63	Meron Berkson
64	Jamey Eisenberg
65	Adam Aizer
66	Jack Capotorto
67	Sam Lopez
68	Dave Richard
69	R.J. White
70	Jacob Gibbs
71	Heath Cummings
72	Chris Towers
Round 7
Pos	Team	Player
73	Chris Towers
74	Heath Cummings
75	Jacob Gibbs
76	R.J. White
77	Dave Richard
78	Sam Lopez
79	Jack Capotorto
80	Adam Aizer
81	Jamey Eisenberg
82	Meron Berkson
83	Andrew Rossow
84	Scott Engel
Round 8
Pos	Team	Player
85	Scott Engel
86	Andrew Rossow
87	Meron Berkson
88	Jamey Eisenberg
89	Adam Aizer
90	Jack Capotorto
91	Sam Lopez
92	Dave Richard
93	R.J. White
94	Jacob Gibbs
95	Heath Cummings
96	Chris Towers
Round 9
Pos	Team	Player
97	Chris Towers
98	Heath Cummings
99	Jacob Gibbs
100	R.J. White
101	Dave Richard
102	Sam Lopez
103	Jack Capotorto
104	Adam Aizer
105	Jamey Eisenberg
106	Meron Berkson
107	Andrew Rossow
108	Scott Engel
Round 10
Pos	Team	Player
109	Scott Engel
110	Andrew Rossow
111	Meron Berkson
112	Jamey Eisenberg
113	Adam Aizer
114	Jack Capotorto
115	Sam Lopez
116	Dave Richard
117	R.J. White
118	Jacob Gibbs
119	Heath Cummings
120	Chris Towers
Round 11
Pos	Team	Player
121	Chris Towers
122	Heath Cummings
123	Jacob Gibbs
124	R.J. White
125	Dave Richard
126	Sam Lopez
127	Jack Capotorto
128	Adam Aizer
129	Jamey Eisenberg
130	Meron Berkson
131	Andrew Rossow
132	Scott Engel
Round 12
Pos	Team	Player
133	Scott Engel
134	Andrew Rossow
135	Meron Berkson
136	Jamey Eisenberg
137	Adam Aizer
138	Jack Capotorto
139	Sam Lopez
140	Dave Richard
141	R.J. White
142	Jacob Gibbs
143	Heath Cummings
144	Chris Towers
Round 13
Pos	Team	Player
145	Chris Towers
146	Heath Cummings
147	Jacob Gibbs
148	R.J. White
149	Dave Richard
150	Sam Lopez
151	Jack Capotorto
152	Adam Aizer
153	Jamey Eisenberg
154	Meron Berkson
155	Andrew Rossow
156	Scott Engel
Round 14
Pos	Team	Player
157	Scott Engel
158	Andrew Rossow
159	Meron Berkson
160	Jamey Eisenberg
161	Adam Aizer
162	Jack Capotorto
163	Sam Lopez
164	Dave Richard
165	R.J. White
166	Jacob Gibbs
167	Heath Cummings
168	Chris Towers
Round 15
Pos	Team	Player
169	Chris Towers
170	Heath Cummings
171	Jacob Gibbs
172	R.J. White
173	Dave Richard
174	Sam Lopez
175	Jack Capotorto
176	Adam Aizer
177	Jamey Eisenberg
178	Meron Berkson
179	Andrew Rossow
180	Scott Engel

Team by Team

Chris Towers
Rd	Pk	Player
1	1
2	24
3	25
4	48
5	49
6	72
7	73
8	96
9	97
10	120
11	121
12	144
13	145
14	168
15	169
Heath Cummings
Rd	Pk	Player
1	2
2	23
3	26
4	47
5	50
6	71
7	74
8	95
9	98
10	119
11	122
12	143
13	146
14	167
15	170
Jacob Gibbs
Rd	Pk	Player
1	3
2	22
3	27
4	46
5	51
6	70
7	75
8	94
9	99
10	118
11	123
12	142
13	147
14	166
15	171
R.J. White
Rd	Pk	Player
1	4
2	21
3	28
4	45
5	52
6	69
7	76
8	93
9	100
10	117
11	124
12	141
13	148
14	165
15	172
Dave Richard
Rd	Pk	Player
1	5
2	20
3	29
4	44
5	53
6	68
7	77
8	92
9	101
10	116
11	125
12	140
13	149
14	164
15	173
Sam Lopez
Rd	Pk	Player
1	6
2	19
3	30
4	43
5	54
6	67
7	78
8	91
9	102
10	115
11	126
12	139
13	150
14	163
15	174
Jack Capotorto
Rd	Pk	Player
1	7
2	18
3	31
4	42
5	55
6	66
7	79
8	90
9	103
10	114
11	127
12	138
13	151
14	162
15	175
Adam Aizer
Rd	Pk	Player
1	8
2	17
3	32
4	41
5	56
6	65
7	80
8	89
9	104
10	113
11	128
12	137
13	152
14	161
15	176
Jamey Eisenberg
Rd	Pk	Player
1	9
2	16
3	33
4	40
5	57
6	64
7	81
8	88
9	105
10	112
11	129
12	136
13	153
14	160
15	177
Meron Berkson
Rd	Pk	Player
1	10
2	15
3	34
4	39
5	58
6	63
7	82
8	87
9	106
10	111
11	130
12	135
13	154
14	159
15	178
Andrew Rossow
Rd	Pk	Player
1	11
2	14
3	35
4	38
5	59
6	62
7	83
8	86
9	107
10	110
11	131
12	134
13	155
14	158
15	179
Scott Engel
Rd	Pk	Player
1	12
2	13
3	36
4	37
5	60
6	61
7	84
8	85
9	108
10	109
11	132
12	133
13	156
14	157
15	180