brian-robinson-jr-5-1400-us.jpg
USATSI

There are likely three candidates for the No. 1 overall pick this season in a one-quarterback, PPR league, and that's Ja'Marr Chase, Bijan Robinson, or Saquon Barkley. While the running backs have the chance to be dominant, Chase is the easy selection for me based on what he accomplished in 2024 and, more importantly, what he should do again in 2025.

It would be amazing if Chase could repeat what he did last season when he was the Triple Crown winner with the most receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708) and receiving touchdowns (17). Only Jerry Rice (1990), Sterling Sharpe (1992), Steve Smith (2005) and Cooper Kupp (2021) have accomplished that feat since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. He's also the first receiver in NFL history to eclipse both 1,700 receiving yards and 17 receiving touchdowns in a single season. He averaged 23.7 PPR points per game, and Chase should be elite once again with Joe Burrow.

I'm not going to hesitate to select Chase with the No. 1 overall pick in PPR. And that's what happened here when I had that selection.

This is our 12-part, pick-by-pick series where me, Adam Aizer, Thomas Shafer, Jacob Gibbs, Heath Cummings and Dan Schneier all took part in a six-person PPR mock draft. We each built two of the 12 teams in this 14-round draft to show you a different strategy from each spot.

This is an outline that you can follow if you pick No. 1 overall in your league. The key is to study the strategy, not necessarily the players, to see if it works for you. 

After you draft Chase, you have to see who falls to you at the Round 2-3 turn, and you'll have plenty of great options. There could be two standout running backs available from the group of Bucky Irving, Josh Jacobs, Chase Brown or Kyren Williams. You might see Tee Higgins and Ladd McConkey on the board. And, potentially, Trey McBride could be available, along with several of the top-tier quarterbacks, including Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen.

My preferred start to building a roster from No. 1 overall is to draft one of the running backs along with McConkey or McBride to go with Chase. I like Higgins a lot, but I don't want to draft both Bengals receivers with two of my first three picks. I'm also not opposed to going RB-RB with these selections as well.

I was thrilled with how it worked out here with Jacobs as my Round 2 selection and McConkey in Round 3, and I now have two of my top 12 receivers and a top-10 running back. And since Hero-RB is my favorite draft strategy, I was on my way with this roster.

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). 

My draft from the No. 1 overall pick:

1.1: Ja'Marr Chase, WR, Bengals

2.12: Josh Jacobs, RB, Packers

3.1: Ladd McConkey, WR, Chargers

4.12: D.J. Moore, WR, Bears

5.1: Alvin Kamara, RB, Saints

6.12: Kaleb Johnson, RB, Steelers

7.1: George Pickens, WR, Cowboys

8.12: Travis Kelce, TE, Chiefs

9.1: Darnell Mooney, WR, Falcons

10.12: Dak Prescott, QB, Cowboys

11.1: Rachaad White, RB, Buccaneers

12.12: Dylan Sampson, RB, Browns

13.1: Braelon Allen, RB, Jets

14.12: Keenan Allen, WR, Free Agent

Round 4 is really where the draft starts to get interesting if you pick at No. 1 overall, at least for me. I know the player pool I'll be choosing from with my first three selections, but you never know who will fall to you at No. 48 overall. You might get lucky and someone like Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts or George Kittle could be available, but most likely those players will be drafted, which happened here.

Ideally, if Burrow, Hurts and Kittle are gone, I'd like to draft two receivers to join Chase and McConkey, and I just missed on Courtland Sutton, who went at No. 47 overall to Adam Aizer, who was clearly using my rankings (thanks Adam). I ended up with Moore, who will hopefully be the best receiver for the Bears, and then I decided to pivot in Round 5.

While receivers like Xavier Worthy, Travis Hunter and Jerry Jeudy were enticing selections, I went with Kamara instead as my No. 2 running back. He makes me nervous given his age (he turns 30 this month), and the Saints could be terrible this season with the uncertainty at quarterback. But he also offers huge upside in this format based on role in the passing game, and I felt he was the best player on the board in this spot.

At the next turn, I was also met with some tough choices in Rounds 6 and 7. I had no quarterback or tight end, and I had plenty of choices since only six quarterbacks (Jackson, Allen, Jayden Daniels, Hurts, Burrow and Patrick Mahomes) and four tight ends (Brock Bowers, McBride, Kittle and Sam LaPorta) were drafted at that point.

I decided to wait on those positions and went with the best-players available, which were Johnson and Pickens. Now, I do have Chris Olave ranked ahead of Pickens, and Olave was on the board. But I didn't want to draft two Saints, at least as of now, because of the potential of New Orleans just being an offensive disaster.

My next three picks were probably my favorite selections in Kelce, Mooney and Prescott. While Kelce is past his prime (he turns 36 in October) and now faces significant competition for targets from Rashee Rice, Worthy and Marquise Brown, this felt like a steal. Kelce still averaged 12.2 PPR points per game in 2024, and he was third among tight ends in targets (133) and receptions (97) and fifth in yards (823). If he can score more than the three touchdowns he had last season then Kelce could be a top-five tight end once again.

You can read about Mooney below, and I loved getting Prescott in Round 10. Unless I get a bargain on Draft Day at quarterback like Burrow or Hurts in Round 5, I'm almost always going to wait on the position, and Prescott offers top-10 upside this season. 

He missed nine games last season due to a hamstring injury, but he's healthy now. And prior to 2024, he averaged at least 24.7 Fantasy points per game in four of the previous five seasons. The addition of Pickens to go with CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson gives Prescott a standout receiving corps, and the run game in Dallas could be awful. Prescott is one of my favorite late-round quarterbacks to target this year.

My final four selections for this roster were all about upside, and I like my reserve running backs in White, Sampson and Braelon Allen. We could see Sampson's value rise if Quinshon Judkins is suspended in Cleveland, and White and Allen are lottery tickets if an injury occurs.

Keenan Allen remains unsigned at the time of publication, but he could end up as a No. 3 Fantasy receiver this year depending on where he signs. He could be a steal with this pick, but he's also easy to drop if the right player emerges on the waiver wire during the season.

Favorite pick: Darnell Mooney

Last year, Mooney had 64 catches for 992 yards and five touchdowns on 106 targets in his first year in Atlanta. He had eight outings with at least 13.2 PPR points, and he did well as the No. 2 receiver for the Falcons opposite Drake London. Mooney only had one healthy game with Michael Penix Jr. in Week 16 against the Giants, and Mooney finished with five catches for 82 yards on six targets. There's a lot to like about Mooney as a Fantasy receiver this season, especially his value in Round 9 here. He could easily be a starter on this team.

Pick I might regret: D.J. Moore

There are a lot of moving parts in Chicago's passing game with Moore, Rome Odunze and Cole Kmet back, Keenan Allen gone and the addition of rookies Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III. With Ben Johnson calling plays and a revamped offensive line for Caleb Williams, there's a lot to like about all of these guys. Moore will hopefully be the best pass catcher of the bunch, and I love him as the No. 3 receiver on my roster. But if Moore is not the Bears best receiver and takes a step back from the 14.0 PPR points he averaged last season then this pick is a problem. And I'll regret not taking another receiver instead like Xavier Worthy, Travis Hunter or Jerry Jeudy.

Player who could make or break my team: Alvin Kamara

Kamara was the No. 5 running back last season in PPR points per game at 18.9. He led all running backs in targets with 89 despite missing three games, and he was second to only De'Von Achane in receptions (68) and receiving yards (543). Kamara also has just one season on his resume with fewer than 17.8 PPR points per game in eight years. We'll see if he can defy Father Time in his age 30 season, and hopefully the offense in New Orleans isn't terrible with either Tyler Shough or Spencer Rattler as the starting quarterback. Kamara played four games with Rattler in 2024, and he scored at least 17 PPR points in three of those outings and averaged 15.3 PPR points over that span. If he remains an elite PPR running back then Kamara is a steal in Round 5. But if there's a dip in his production then I could be scrambling at running back, which isn't ideal given the investment with a top 50 overall pick.