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USATSI

We held our first 12-team, PPR mock draft following the Chiefs' 25-22 overtime victory against the 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII with members of our CBS Sports staff this week. I wasn't so much interested in the results, but rather in the strategy for our managers.

We know the player landscape will change dramatically in the coming weeks with free agency and the NFL Draft. But how Fantasy managers approach their drafts now is worth noting, even if it's just to experiment.

For this mock draft, which is a three-receiver league, Joel Cox and Dave Richard each took a different strategy. Joel went Zero RB, with his first six picks including four receivers, a tight end and a quarterback. Dave leaned more into running backs early, when four of his first six picks were Jonathan Taylor, Kyren Williams, Joe Mixon and James Conner.

Let's see which team you like better.

From the No. 4 spot, Joel started his team with CeeDee Lamb, D.J. Moore, Tank Dell, DK Metcalf, Trey McBride and Dak Prescott. He can start all four of those receivers with one in the flex, and McBride and Prescott have top-five upside at their respective positions.

While Joel didn't prioritize running back, he still ended up with Tony Pollard, Raheem Mostert, Jerome Ford, Zack Moss, Roschon Johnson and Tank Bigsby. If two of those guys are above average -- and Pollard and Moss are free agents this offseason -- then Joel should be among the best teams in this league going into the season. He also added some quality late-round fliers at receiver in Treylon Burks and Trey Palmer.

For Dave, he started his team from the No. 12 spot with Taylor and Williams, who are excellent selections. He followed that up with Mike Evans and Amari Cooper, and both are solid receivers at that point in the draft, even though we don't know where Evans will play in 2024 since he's a free agent.

But it felt like Dave was stuck with his next turn in Rounds 5 and 6 because the receiver pool quickly went dry of top-tier talent. He could have drafted his third receiver here with guys like Chris Godwin, Christian Watson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and George Pickens still on the board. Or he could have gone with a quarterback or tight end.

Instead, Dave added to the strength of his team with Mixon and Conner, and one should be his flex this season, assuming both remain with their current team in 2024. But now Dave had to find a third receiver, and he threw a lot of capital at the position.

After going with Dalton Kincaid and C.J. Stroud to lock up tight end and quarterback, Dave drafted five receivers (Courtland Sutton, Romeo Doubs, Demario Douglas, A.T. Perry and Tre Tucker) with his next six picks. He also added Jake Ferguson as a second tight end.

I like Dave's team if his receiving corps holds up, but I lean toward Joel as having the better roster. It's generally easier to find running backs during the season than standout receivers, and Joel gave himself that advantage at receiver on Draft Day.

My roster construction was closer to Joel's since four of my first five picks were receivers from the No. 11 spot with A.J. Brown, Garrett Wilson, Tee Higgins and Christian Kirk. I drafted James Cook in Round 3, and I'm happy with how this turned out.

I was still able to get Rhamondre Stevenson, Najee Harris and Brian Robinson Jr. to round out my running back corps, and I love my receiver depth with Khalil Shakir, Michael Wilson and Andre Iosivas. I drafted two quarterbacks late in Kyler Murray (Round 10) and Brock Purdy (12), and my only flaw with this roster was waiting on a tight end. 

I settled for Dalton Schultz in Round 14, and he ends up in a good situation as a free agent this offseason. But overall, I was very satisfied with this draft.

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 and FLEX (RB/WR/TE) with six reserves for a 14-round draft.

Our draft order is as follows:

1. Rob Thomas, FFT Facebook Moderator

2. Adam Aizer, FFT Podcast Host

3. Meron Berkson, CBS Sports HQ Producer

4. Joel Cox, CBS Sports VP Business Development

5. Thomas Shafer, FFT Podcast Producer

6. Brandon Howard, Fantasy Editor

7. Heath Cummings, Senior Fantasy Writer

8. Daniel Schneier, Senior Fantasy Editor

9. R.J. White, Managing Editor, SportsLine and CBS Fantasy

10. Zach Brook, FFT Social Media Coordinator

11. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer

12. Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer

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