If you are drafting from the 12th spot, you may feel like you got cheated. Everyone else gets to pick a player in Round 1 before you. The Round 2 first pick doesn't seem to make up for it. Well, I'm not too sure. Some of my favorite teams this season have been drafted from the corners, and I think there is a pretty good reason for that. Drafting on the end sets you free from ADP. You don't have to worry about whether someone will be there next round because next round is always either one pick or 20+ picks away. You are free to take the guys you want, which is exactly what I did below. It also happens to be a pretty good place to draft with whatever strategy you prefer. Balanced, Hero RB, Bully RB, Zero RB -- they are all available. Check out how the balanced version looks and see if it is for you.
This is our 12-part, pick-by-pick series where me, Jamey Eisenberg, Dan Schneier, Dave Richard, and Jacob Gibbs all took part in a six-person mock draft. We each built two of the 12 teams in this 14-round draft to show you a different strategy from each spot.
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).
Here's how my team came together from the 12th pick:
1.12 De'Von Achane, RB, Dolphins
2.01 Drake London, WR, Falcons
3.12 Tetairoa McMillan, WR, Panthers
4.01 Colston Loveland, TE, Bears
5.12 Cam Skattebo, RB, Giants
6.01 Marshawn Lloyd, RB, Packers
7.12 Jayden Daniels, QB, Commanders
8.01 Alec Pierce, WR, Colts
9.12 RJ Harvey, RB, Broncos
10.01 Chuba Hubbard, RB, Panthers
11.12 Deebo Samuel, WR, 49ers
12.01 Jared Goff, QB, Lions
13.12 Brian Robinson, Jr., RB, Falcons
14.01 Keenan Allen, WR, Colts
Achane is one of the biggest swing plays of this season. He was over 20 PPR Fantasy points per game on a mediocre offense last year but many people are worried that this Dolphins team is so bad that he's going to bust. Pairing him with a couple of high-volume receivers in London and McMillan gives the team a much more reasonable feeling floor in this format. One thing I talked about on a recent podcast is that at the three-four turn I feel much better about the receivers and Loveland than I do about the running backs. Others are more worried that running backs will run out when you get to the next turn.
As you can see in this draft, I doubled up on running backs at the five-six turn. Skattebo may not fall this far in your draft; he still has a Round 4 ADP in CBS drafts. I will not draft him in early Round 4, but I felt pretty good about getting him at 60 overall. While Skattebo may not be there at this pick, Lloyd pretty much always is. He should be the lead back for as long as Josh Jacobs is out, and could absolutely be a top 24 running back.
In the second half of the draft, I landed my two QBs and built some depth at running back and receiver. Pierce is moving back up draft boards now that he is healthy, and fits the mold of a WR3 that I like. He may not be consistent, but he should give me a handful of wins with his spike weeks. Samuel and Allen aren't exciting, but I do think they are in line for a lot more touches than their ADP suggests. Hubbard may turn into the best pick in the draft. He's back from his hamstring injury, trending towards playing Week 1, and still regularly falling into the double-digit rounds. We all want Jonathon Brooks to win that job, but Brooks hasn't sealed the deal yet.
Favorite pick: Jayden Daniels
The allure of Daniels' upside is irresistible to me in the middle of the draft. He projects to lead all quarterbacks in rushing yards and has the best group of pass catchers he's ever had after the team added Stefon Diggs and Chigoziem Okonkwo in the offseason. The Commanders' offensive line could be a big problem, but could also lead to even more Daniels' rushing as he scrambles to avoid pressure. He has a legitimate chance to throw for 3,600 yards, run for 900 yards, and total more than 30 total touchdowns. His upside is significantly higher than that. If you are worried about the line or the injury risk you can just draft a high floor QB in the double digit rounds like I did with Jared Goff in this draft.
Pick I might regret: De'Von Achane
If all the bust concerns prove true about Achane, I will feel like I just stuck my head in the sand and ignored them. Here is why I am still taking the risk: Even if I project a 20% decline in PPR FPPG from last year, Achane would project as the pick here. If he stays healthy it sure sounds like the Dolphins plan to give him as much work as anyone and I find it hard to believe that his rush average will get significantly worse with Malik Willis next to him in the backfield, That rush average, by the way, is 5.6 yards per carry for his career. Also, as to the concerns about Willis throwing to his running back, they don't have a proven wide receiver on the team and our Dave Richard went to camp and saw Willis making a concerted effort to work on throwing it to Achane at practice. Still, the warning signs are there and I will regret it if Achane is the bust many expect him to be.
Player who could make or break my team: Colston Loveland
Loveland is my TE2, ahead of Trey McBride. He is not that far behind Brock Bowers in my projections. He had 48 targets in his last four games, including the playoffs. He could be worth a first-round pick if he leads the position in targets and maintains the incredible efficiency he showed last year. At the same time, Caleb Williams is one of the most inaccurate passers in the NFL and the Bears went very run heavy in the second half last year. That could be a recipe for disappointment and I could wish that I had just waited two rounds and drafted Sam LaPorta and Kyle Pitts.
