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USATSI

There hasn't been much debate over who should be the No. 1 overall pick this season, but Chris Towers has said he likes Christian McCaffrey ahead of Jonathan Taylor. He backed that up in our latest 12-team, 0.5-PPR mock when he selected McCaffrey with the first pick.

I don't mind it considering McCaffrey has more upside than Taylor, but you know the risk with McCaffrey by now. He's played 10 games over the past two seasons due to multiple injuries, and that has Fantasy managers concerned.

Taylor, 23, is considered safer and will hopefully replicate his production from 2021 when he had over 2,000 total yards and scored 20 total touchdowns. Austin Ekeler and Derrick Henry could also be in the conversation for the No. 1 overall pick, and you might even consider Cooper Kupp if you want the best receiver.

We debated the top five running backs on our latest podcast Wednesday, and I like Taylor at No. 1, followed by McCaffrey, Ekeler, Henry and Najee Harris in PPR and 0.5 PPR. In non-PPR, I have it ranked Taylor, Henry, McCaffrey, Ekeler and Joe Mixon.

In this mock draft, it went McCaffrey, Taylor, Henry, Kupp and Ekeler with the top five picks, followed by Harris, Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, Mixon, Travis Kelce, Ja'Marr Chase and Alvin Kamara to round out the first round. And now that it's late June, we're starting to see what the first round will likely look like in the majority of leagues.

There are expected to be eight running backs, three receivers and one tight end drafted in the first 12 overall picks. We could see Stefon Diggs or Davante Adams knock out one of the running backs, or maybe Kelce slips into Round 2. But our first round is starting to take shape, and Fantasy managers should be prepared.

I had the No. 2 overall selection and went with Taylor. This is a three-receiver league, so I drafted Mike Evans and A.J. Brown next, and I love this start. I didn't like the running backs available in Round 4 -- the top options were A.J. Dillon, Elijah Mitchell and Miles Sanders -- so it was easy to pivot to Darren Waller and Terry McLaurin next.

This is how I like to start my team in any league that rewards you for receptions, with one running back and multiple pass catchers through five rounds. Now, it was time to draft running backs with high upside, which included Kareem Hunt (Round 6), James Cook (Round 8), Alexander Mattison (Round 9), Kenneth Gainwell (Round 10), Rachaad White (Round 11) and D'Onta Foreman (Round 13).

Hunt will be my Week 1 starter as of now, and we'll see what kind of role Cook and Gainwell have with their respective teams. Should Hunt, Cook, Gainwell, Mattison, White or Foreman get the chance for a featured role at any point this season, all of them have league-winning upside, and these are the types of running backs you should target on Draft Day with mid- to late-round picks.

I drafted Allen Lazard in Round 7, and he'll be my flex. Matthew Stafford fell into my lap in Round 12, and I drafted Jakobi Meyers as a fifth receiver. So far, this has been one of my favorite mock drafts 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 per reception. And we feature a starting lineup of QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE, K and FLEX (RB/WR/TE) with six reserves for a 14-round draft.

Our draft order is as follows:

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