I wanted to be a little different this season in showing you the players that I like the most. So I’m going to break down my draft targets in two different ways.The first way is building out a team, and I chose the No. 10 spot in the first round to avoid the obvious names of Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson and Ja’Marr Chase. I used the CBS Sports Average Draft Position data as of Aug. 9, and we’ll see if this roster works for you in a 12-team, PPR league.
The other way I listed “my guys” is by the players that I’ve taken early (Rounds 1-5), middle (Rounds 6-10) and late (Rounds 11-plus) in most of the drafts that I’ve done already. These are the players I hope will lead me (and you) to a championship this season.
Here is a roster that I would love from No. 10 overall:
1.10: Chase Brown, RB, CIN (CBS Sports ADP: 12)
2.03: Kenneth Walker III, RB, KC (CBS Sports ADP: 22)
3.10: DeVonta Smith, WR, PHI (CBS Sports ADP: 37)
4.03: Colston Loveland, TE, CHI (CBS Sports ADP: 43)
5.10: D.J. Moore, WR, BUF (CBS Sports ADP: 63)
6.03: Christian Watson, WR, GB (CBS Sports ADP: 70)
7.10: Parker Washington, WR, JAC (CBS Sports ADP: 84)
8.03: Trevor Lawrence, QB, JAC (CBS Sports ADP: 96)
9.10: Jonathon Brooks, RB, CAR (CBS Sports ADP: 106)
10.03: Josh Downs, WR, IND (CBS Sports ADP: 111)
11.10: Chris Rodriguez Jr., RB, JAC (CBS Sports ADP: 131)
12.03: Jalen Coker, WR, CAR (CBS Sports ADP: 151)
13.10: Keaton Mitchell, RB, LAC (CBS Sports ADP: 157)
14.03: Ray Davis, RB, BUF (CBS Sports ADP: N/A)
Lawrence and Justin Herbert are the two quarterbacks I want to draft the most this season, and Lawrence is cheaper than Herbert based on their CBS Sports ADP (83). I love waiting for Lawrence in Round 8, and he averaged 30.2 Fantasy points per game in his final eight outings last season, including the playoffs. Also, the last two quarterbacks Liam Coen coached (Baker Mayfield in Tampa Bay in 2024 and Lawrence in 2025) set career highs in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns that season.
Brown and Walker are stud running backs. Brown averaged 22.3 PPR points in his final six outings in 2025 — all when Joe Burrow was healthy — and was at 20.6 PPR points per game in his final eight games in 2024. Walker is expected to be a three-down back for the Chiefs, and he might surprise you as a receiver this season. In 2024, he was on pace for 71 catches in Seattle, which would be amazing if he could do that in Kansas City.
Brooks will see his ADP rise — skyrocket? — as he continues to take hold of Carolina’s backfield. I love him as a high-end flex, and hopefully he can stay healthy after sitting out 2025 following the second ACL tear in his right knee in 2024. And Rodriguez, Mitchell and Davis are the type of running backs I like to stash on my bench with late-round picks.
Rodriguez appears poised for a short-yardage role in tandem with Bhayshul Tuten in Jacksonville, but Rodriguez could be a top-20 running back if Tuten were to miss any time. Mitchell should have a role in the passing game while playing in tandem with Omarion Hampton, and Mike McDaniel coveted Mitchell once he got to the Chargers. And Davis is the type of lottery ticket you want to stash on your bench because he would be a starter in all leagues if James Cook were to miss any time.
I love all the receivers on this team, starting with Smith, who has breakout potential now that A.J. Brown is gone. It’s a small sample size, but Smith played three games over the past two seasons without Brown, and Smith averaged 16.6 PPR points over that span. More importantly, he averaged 9.7 targets per game, and he should see plenty of opportunities from Jalen Hurts.
Moore is earning rave reviews in Buffalo during training camp, and he should be great as the new No. 1 receiver for Josh Allen. Also, Joe Brady was Moore’s offensive coordinator in Carolina in 2020 and 2021, and Moore averaged at least 13.9 PPR points in each of those two seasons.
Watson missed the first seven games of the season in 2025 while recovering from a torn ACL, but he was fantastic to close the year. From Weeks 11-17, Watson averaged 15.1 PPR points per game, and he should be a focal point of the passing game with Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks now gone.
Everyone loves Washington this season, and for good reason. He gets glowing reports out of training camp on a daily basis, and he closed 2025 with an average of 22.3 PPR points per game in his final four outings, including the playoffs. I doubt his ADP stays here, and I would draft him as early as Round 5.
Downs is dealing with a groin injury in practice, but I’m hoping he’s back in action soon. When healthy, he will hopefully perform like the player we saw in 2024 when he averaged 13.1 PPR points per game. Michael Pittman and his 111 targets are gone, and Alec Pierce (ankle) remains out in training camp.
Coker is one of my favorite late-round targets, and he was great at the end of last season. He averaged 14.1 PPR points per game and 6.0 targets per game in his final five outings, including the playoffs, which was better than Tetairoa McMillan (9.8 PPR points and 6.2 targets per game) over that span.
Everyone loves Loveland, and his value would skyrocket if Luther Burden III (groin) is going to miss extended time. Loveland scored at least 10.1 PPR points in six of his final nine games last season, including the playoffs. And in his final four outings, Loveland averaged 19.9 PPR points per game, with at least 10 targets per game in all four contests. He also averaged seven catches and 94.5 yards per game, with two touchdowns.
Now, here are several players that I’m targeting this season at different points in the draft:
Quarterbacks
Early (Rounds 1-5): Joe Burrow
Middle (Rounds 6-10): Justin Herbert and Trevor Lawrence
Late: (Round 11-plus): Malik Willis
Burrow averaged 24.8 Fantasy points in his final six outings last season. That would have made him the No. 2 quarterback in 2025 if he did that over a full year.
I love Herbert this season with McDaniel as the offensive coordinator and hopefully with a healthy Rashawn Slater (knee) and Joe Alt (ankle). Herbert averaged 25.1 Fantasy points per game in the six games Alt appeared in 2025. And the Chargers averaged 25.3 points per game with Alt last season compared to 18.3 points per game without him.
We love quarterbacks who run, and Willis could lead the position in rushing yards. He has played at least 64 percent of the snaps in eight games since 2022 with Green Bay and Tennessee, and Willis has rushed for at least 40 yards in six of them, with four rushing touchdowns. To put that in perspective, only six quarterbacks in NFL history with a minimum of 10 games played have averaged more than 40 yards rushing per game.
Running backs
Early (Rounds 1-5): Chase Brown, Kenneth Walker III, Omarion Hampton, D’Andre Swift and Quinshon Judkins
Middle (Rounds 6-10): Tony Pollard, Jonathon Brooks, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Jordan Mason and Kenneth Gainwell
Late (Round 11-plus): Tyrone Tracy Jr., Chris Rodriguez Jr., Keaton Mitchell, Ray Davis and MarShawn Lloyd
We’ll see how Hampton splits touches with Mitchell and potentially Kimani Vidal, but I expect Hampton to be dominant with McDaniel and a healthy offensive line. If Hampton is heavily involved in the passing game then he has top-five upside, and I would draft him in Round 2.
Swift will continue to share touches with Kyle Monangai, but that’s why you’re drafting Swift after Round 4. He still scored at least 13.9 PPR points in 10 of 18 games, including the playoffs, and he’s a great No. 2 Fantasy running back to target in most leagues.
Judkins has shown no ill effects from last year’s broken leg, and he should be the centerpiece of Todd Monken’s offense. As a rookie in 2025, Judkins had eight games with at least 15 carries, and he scored at least 13.9 PPR points in six of them. I love drafting Judkins as early as Round 4.
In his final five games last season, Pollard averaged 15.5 PPR points per game, including four outings with at least 95 total yards and three outings with over 100 rushing yards. He should be in a better offense this season under coordinator Brian Daboll, and I love drafting Pollard in Round 7.
Long-time Commanders beat writer Ben Standig recently noted that Croskey-Merritt “is flashing enough as a pass catcher to position himself for the largest role in the backfield,” and hopefully that happens. Rachaad White will play on passing downs, but Croskey-Merritt getting added work as a receiver will only increase his stock. I like drafting him in Round 8 or later.
Mason will share work with Aaron Jones and potentially Demond Claiborne, but Jones is 31 and Claiborne is a sixth-round rookie. Mason likely won’t play much on passing downs (he has 28 career catches in four seasons), but he has averaged 5.1 yards per carry in his career. In 2025, he had nine games with at least 10 carries, and he averaged 10.5 PPR points over that span. And in five games without Jones, Mason averaged 13.5 PPR points per game.
I’m expecting Gainwell to have a big role in the passing game, and SportsLine projects him for 60 catches for 439 yards on 71 targets. Last year, Gainwell had 73 catches for 486 yards and three touchdowns on 85 targets in Pittsburgh. Since 2021, 44 running backs had at least 50 catches and 38 of them averaged at least 13 PPR points per game. Over that same span, 80 running backs had at least 40 catches and 68 of them averaged at least 11 PPR points per game. If Gainwell does well as a receiver in tandem with Bucky Irving then Gainwell should still be a solid Fantasy option at his ADP in Round 9.
When you get to the end of your draft, target running backs who could be league winners if an injury occurs, and two of my favorite guys are Tracy and Lloyd. Tracy scored at least 16 PPR points in four of his final seven games last season after Cam Skattebo (ankle) was hurt, and Tracy should contribute in tandem with Skattebo this year.
Lloyd has been plagued by injuries over the first two seasons of his career, but he’s healthy now and should be No. 2 on the depth chart in Green Bay behind Josh Jacobs (groin), who is hurt in training camp. If Jacobs were to miss any time then Lloyd could be a league-winner in all formats.
Wide receivers
Early (Rounds 1-5): DeVonta Smith, Emeka Egbuka, Tee Higgins, Ladd McConkey and D.J. Moore
Middle (Rounds 6-10): Parker Washington, Christian Watson, Carnell Tate, Chris Godwin and Josh Downs
Late: (Round 11-plus): Jayden Reed, Jalen Coker, Jalen Nailor, Caleb Douglas and De’Zhaun Stribling
With Mike Evans gone, Egbuka should be the No. 1 receiver in Tampa Bay, and he was great last season to start his rookie campaign with an average of 20.5 PPR points per game in his first five outings. He has immense upside, and Evans averaged 7.8 targets per game. I like Godwin also — he’s a steal in Round 8 and getting positive reviews in training camp — but I’m willing to draft Egbuka in Round 3 in all leagues.
I would draft Higgins in Round 3, but his CBS Sports ADP puts him in Round 4. He has scored 21 touchdowns in his past 27 games, and he’s fantastic when Burrow is healthy.
McConkey should benefit with the addition of McDaniel and a healthy offensive line, as well as Keenan Allen being gone. That should allow McConkey to play like he did in his rookie campaign. In 2024, McConkey looked like a star with 82 catches for 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns on 112 targets, and he averaged 15.1 PPR points per game. I’m hopeful we see that version of McConkey again this year.
Cam Ward threw three touchdowns in practice Sunday. Tate caught all three of them. He should be the No. 1 rookie receiver this season, and his ADP should continue to rise from Round 7.
There are three Packers that I want to draft this season — Watson, Reed and Tucker Kraft. I haven’t drafted Kraft much yet, which is why he’s not listed below, but Watson and Reed are easy targets at their ADP. You can get Reed in Round 11, and he should smash that value. He has 23 games in his career, including the playoffs, with at least five targets, and he has scored at least 13.5 PPR points in 15 of those outings and averaged 16.1 PPR points per game over that span.
Nailor has reportedly separated himself as the No. 1 receiver in Las Vegas, which means he should be second on the team in targets behind Brock Bowers. Nailor didn’t do much during his time with the Vikings, but he had four games in 2025 with at least five targets and scored at least 19.5 PPR points in two of them. I’m excited to see what he can do in an expanded role with the Raiders.
Two receivers I like taking late-round fliers on are rookies in Stribling and Douglas. The 49ers just lost Ricky Pearsall (knee) for the season, and Mike Evans (quadriceps) and Christian Kirk (calf) are banged up. George Kittle (Achilles) also remains on the PUP list, and Stribling could play a prominent role in 2026.
Douglas is having a strong training camp, and he could be the No. 1 receiver for the Dolphins this year. He currently doesn’t have an ADP on CBS, but I expect that to change by the end of August.
Tight ends
Early (Rounds 1-5): Colston Loveland
Middle (Rounds 6-10): Sam LaPorta and Isaiah Likely
Late (Round 11-plus): Chigoziem Okonkwo
LaPorta will hopefully be a focal point in new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing’s scheme in Detroit. LaPorta has 33 games in his career with at least five targets, including the playoffs, and he scored at least 13.3 PPR points in 21 of those outings. Only four tight ends averaged more than 13.3 PPR points per game in 2025 (Trey McBride, Brock Bowers, George Kittle and Tucker Kraft).
Ideally, Likely will be second on the Giants in targets behind Malik Nabers, and we’d love to see Likely average at least six targets per game. In his four-year career with the Ravens, Likely has nine games with at least six targets. He scored at least 12.5 PPR points in eight of them and averaged 16.6 PPR points over that span.
I was more excited about Okonkwo before the Commanders signed Stefon Diggs, and now Okonkwo will likely be third on the team in targets at best behind Terry McLaurin and Diggs. That mentioned, Okonkwo will hopefully be a good replacement for Zach Ertz. Jayden Daniels loved Ertz in 2024 when he averaged 10.4 PPR points per game with 66 catches for 654 yards and seven touchdowns on 91 targets. Okonkwo is still worth a late-round flier in all leagues.
