“Why did you take that player when that other guy was still on the board?
“How early would you consider a quarterback?”
“What do you do if there’s a big run on a position?”
These are questions I get asked all the time. So, what better way to answer them than to bring you into the draft room and talk through my decisions as I’m making them? I’m a value drafter at heart, which is something you’ll probably find out along the way, though there are times where you have to balance out your roster with some upside. Let’s walk through this draft together, pick by pick.
Complete early mock drafts using our free draft simulator 
This mock draft was done inside Draft Wizard as a 12-team half PPR league with these positions: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, W/R/T, W/R/T, and six bench spots. I’ll be drafting against composite ADP, which is a combination of ADPs across the industry. You can draft against experts, ADP, rankings, etc. Heck, you can even draft against me in there! The randomizer gave me pick No. 11 in the draft, which is an area I don’t typically like to be, as it forces me to reach on some players that I want, but we’re going to make the best of it. I’ll also let you know who the experts thought I should draft at each pick.
1.11 Clyde Edwards-Helaire (RB – KC)
Some of you may be wondering, “How did he fall to the 11th pick?” There will be others who are saying, “Why are you taking a rookie in the first round?” It’s either you’re okay with rookies or you aren’t, and that’s why Edwards-Helaire’s price has been kept somewhat in check in public leagues. I’m willing to select him at No. 8 overall in drafts, so getting him at No. 11 is a gift. He was my No. 1 running back in this year’s draft class and will now go to a system that’s consistently churned out RB1s.
ECR Suggested Pick: Clyde Edwards-Helaire (RB – KC)
2.02 Kenyan Drake (RB – ARI)
This is where things got tough. I love Julio Jones with all my heart and would love to get him in the second round, but it’s so tough to pass on Drake here. Why? Well, if I pass on running back here, I’ll likely be looking at someone like Le’Veon Bell or Melvin Gordon at my next pick. Not that they’re bad or anything, but I happen to like a few wide receivers in that range a lot more. Guys like Calvin Ridley and D.J. Moore. If I were to take Jones here, I could end up with both him and Ridley on my team, which isn’t the end of the world, but also not something I aim for.
ECR Suggested Pick: Julio Jones (WR – ATL)
3.11 James Conner (RB – PIT)
I did not think James Conner would be on the board at the end of the third round, so now it has me thinking again. The Draft Wizard’s pick predictor says there’s a 47 percent chance that Conner will be taken before my next pick (there’s just two picks in between). It’s also telling me that there’s just a 29 percent chance that Calvin Ridley will be drafted. Can I get both of them? Robert Woods would be my backup plan if Ridley fell, which doesn’t seem so bad. Because of that, I’ll take Conner, who’s a top-12 running back when on the field.
ECR Suggested Pick: Robert Woods (WR – LAR)
4.02 Calvin Ridley (WR – ATL)
It worked out like we’d hoped. Both A.J. Brown and Mark Andrews came off the board at the turn, allowing me to snag Ridley. He reminds me so much of Chris Godwin last year, it’s not even funny. The way they’ve risen up draft boards. The way they’re both the No. 2 option in a high-volume offense. The way some are scared to have them as their WR1. I’m not saying there’s no risk, but Ridley saw 49 targets in the six games he played without Sanu, which would amount to 131 over an entire 16-game season. That’s enough for him to finish inside the top 10.
ECR Suggested Pick: Robert Woods (WR – LAR)
5.11 D.K. Metcalf (WR – SEA)
There’s zero chance I thought Metcalf would fall to me at the end of the fifth round, but he does in this scenario. Realistically, I figured I’d be taking A.J. Green or Tyler Boyd as my No. 2 wide receiver, but landing the ascending Metcalf is a blessing. He has been working out with Russell Wilson this offseason on Wilson’s private field and the two have reportedly built a brotherly bond. Metcalf was building momentum throughout the season and highlighted that setting a rookie record with 160 receiving yards in a playoff game. He’s ideally your WR3 with true top-12 upside, but knowing how stacked our running back unit is, we can afford to take him on as our WR2.
ECR Suggested Pick: D.K. Metcalf (WR – SEA)
6.02 A.J. Green (WR – CIN)
I swear that my draft boards don’t typically look this consistent with positions, but I’m taking the players who’ve fallen into my lap. Green is someone I have ranked as my No. 23 receiver, though I’m constantly getting him as my WR3 because his ADP is in the sixth round. Is he guaranteed to be on the field for all 16 games? No, nobody is. But is he guaranteed to produce like a WR1/WR2 when he’s on the field? Yep. You can’t say that about many players being drafted in this range. The only other consideration here was David Montgomery, as he’s a steal in the sixth round, but knowing we have three workhorse running backs, we need to continue attacking value upside plays at wide receiver.
ECR Suggested Pick: A.J. Green (WR – CIN)
7.11 Ronald Jones (RB – TB)
This is a tough pick to make, as I have three players I’m considering with this pick. Ronald Jones, Diontae Johnson, and Hayden Hurst. I have three running backs and three wide receivers, but don’t forget this league has two flex spots, so one is still open. The pick predictor is saying there’s just an 11 percent chance Hurst will be selected before my next pick, so I’ll leave him for next round to occupy my tight end slot. So, it comes down to which player I want to start in my second flex spot. When in doubt, take the starting running back tied to a top-10 scoring offense. I love Johnson this year, but we can’t pretend there aren’t questions surrounding Roethlisberger and that he’s the No. 2 option behind JuJu Smith-Schuster.
ECR Suggested Pick: Matt Ryan (QB – ATL)
8.02 Hayden Hurst (TE – ATL)
The pick predictor is still telling me there’s just a 35 percent chance that Hurst gets picked before my next pick, though I don’t believe it. You always have to prepare for worst case scenario. The worst case is that both Hurst and Tyler Higbee come off the board, leaving me with some poor selections at the position. There are quite a few wide receivers I like who should be available for my next two picks, so I’m passing on Diontae Johnson to take Hurst here.
ECR Suggested Pick: Matt Ryan (QB – ATL)
9.11 Jalen Reagor (WR – PHI)
As mentioned last round, there were a few wide receivers I really liked in this range, and two of them are still on the board. Reagor is someone who’s been skyrocketing up my draft board, as it’s very likely he leads the Eagles wide receivers in targets, yards, and maybe touchdowns. I like Anthony Miller quite a bit, but there’s no way he surpasses Allen Robinson. I’ve also thought about Carson Wentz, but after a quick look at the draft board, I can see that “Cam-Nam Style”, the team making two picks after me, already has Deshaun Watson, so they aren’t picking a quarterback, which means I can wait.
ECR Suggested Pick: Carson Wentz (QB – PHI)
10.02 Anthony Miller (WR – CHI)
I made a mistake almost selecting Carson Wentz here. Remember when I looked at the team selecting behind me in the draft and they had a quarterback? Well, after looking at the draft board this time around, I noticed everyone has a quarterback but me. Now, there are some teams who will take two quarterbacks, but not in the 10th or 11th round, right? Because of that, I’m going with Miller, who surely won’t be here next time around.
ECR Suggested Pick: Carson Wentz (QB – PHI)
11.11 Carson Wentz (QB – PHI)
I finally select my quarterback here in the 11th round and I’m ecstatic about it. Wentz is one of two quarterbacks who’ve posted QB1-type numbers in 50-plus percent of his games over each of the last three years. Now you add the explosive Jalen Reagor to the offense? That’ll only help. I really wanted to wait until my next pick to take him, but I’m walking on dangerous land if “Cam-Nam Style” were to take a second quarterback on the turn. Now, if you’ll look, the expert voting would’ve had me take Wentz back in the ninth round. Just exploring the draft board, you’re able to snag players like Jalen Reagor and Anthony Miller for free.
ECR Suggested Pick: Carson Wentz (QB – PHI)
12.02 Antonio Gibson (RB – WAS)
If you’ve listened to the podcast, you’d know that I’m not crazy high on Gibson due to the lack of scoring in this offense combined with the fact that he has less than 80 touches since high school. Still, I can’t ignore him in the 12th round. He’s 6-foot-0, 228 pounds, and runs a 4.39-second 40-yard dash. With Derrius Guice gone, there’s touches to go around. He’s an upside pick for my bench.
ECR Suggested Pick: Antonio Gibson (RB – WAS)
13.11 Allen Lazard (WR – GB)
This is where upside is all that matters, and Lazard is walking into the season as Aaron Rodgers‘ No. 2 receiver. Did you know Rodgers has supported multiple top-32 wide receivers on 10 separate occasions? Lazard flashed a bit down the stretch and has reportedly looked great during training camp.
ECR Suggested Pick: DeAndre Washington (RB – KC)
14.02 Parris Campbell (WR – IND)
The Draft Wizard keeps flashing at me, letting me know that DeAndre Washington is there and that he’s my handcuff to Clyde Edwards-Helaire, but I’m not in a rush to snag more running backs, as I feel I’m really strong at the position. On top of that, the wide receiver I wanted here (Campbell) won’t last until my next pick. There’s true breakout potential with last year’s second-round pick.
ECR Suggested Pick: DeAndre Washington (RB – KC)
15.11 DeAndre Washington (RB – KC)
What do you know? Washington fell to me anyway. Experts are clearly higher on him than the general public. I don’t aim to have the handcuffs to my own running backs, but in a weird season, it might make slightly more sense.
ECR Suggested Pick: DeAndre Washington (RB – KC)
FINAL ROSTER
QB: Carson Wentz
RB: Clyde Edwards-Helaire
RB: Kenyan Drake
WR: Calvin Ridley
WR: D.K. Metcalf
WR: A.J. Green
TE: Hayden Hurst
W/R/T: James Conner
W/R/T: Ronald Jones
BENCH: Jalen Reagor
BENCH: Anthony Miller
BENCH: Antonio Gibson
BENCH: Allen Lazard
BENCH: Parris Campbell
FINAL GRADE: 88 out of 100 (B+), Projected 4th place finish
TAKEAWAYS
I love this team, as you can obviously tell from the draft grade I received from… myself. Despite waiting at wide receiver, I feel confident in the group I assembled. Even if someone doesn’t pan out, I have quite a bit of upside receivers on my bench. Doing mock drafts help you understand what you’re comfortable with at the end of the day, and by going RB/RB to start the draft out of the 11 hole, I feel confident moving forward. Every spot is different, though. Now get out there and practice some drafts inside our award-winning Draft Wizard software from a variety of different draft slots. Click here to get started.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.
