I have a clear top-tier of five players in my 2025 Fantasy rankings, so picking sixth makes me nervous. In this draft, I lucked out and was able to land Jahmyr Gibbs. I hoped to pair him with a stud WR in Round 2, but seven of the next 12 picks were at the wide receiver position. This left me with a tough choice: do I go RB-RB to start, or do I grab Brock Bowers and roll the dice on putting together the RB and WR positions over the rest of the draft? I decided to pencil Bowers in as a safe PPR pick with the upside to be a weekly positional edge, and then I played the waiting game at RB.
This is our 12-part, pick-by-pick series where me, Dan Schneier, Dave Richard, Jamey Eisenberg, Thomas Shafer, and Heath Cummings 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).
My draft from No. 6 overall:
1.6 – Jahmyr Gibbs
2.7 – Brock Bowers
3.6 – Ladd McConkey
4.7 – George Pickens
5.6 – Travis Hunter
6.7 – Matthew Golden
7.6 – Chris Olave
8.7 – Jordan Mason
9.6 – Rhamondre Stevenson
10.7 – Dylan Sampson
11.6 – Drake Maye
12.7 – J.J. McCarthy
13.6 – Kyle Monangai
14.7 – Kyle Williams
Favorite pick: Ladd McConkey
Leaving Round 2, WR was my top priority. Landing Ladd McConkey in Round 3 felt like a gift! I have concerns about the Chargers offense’s likelihood to lean run-heavy, and maybe Keenan Allen cuts into McConkey’s target rates. Even as recently as 2024, Allen has demanded targets at a much higher rate than Josh Palmer. McConkey is so good that I honestly don’t sweat the team-level concerns when considering him as a Round 3 pick. Omnipresently open and paired with a QB who can make any throw on the field, McConkey is a threat to go for 200 yards any given week. This is an absurd talent pairing, and I’d expect the chemistry to be stronger after the first full offseason working together. The last time that we saw them in action, McConkey accounted for 197 of 242 receiving yards produced by Justin Herbert. Even if the offense doesn’t pass a ton, McConkey can crush for Fantasy.
Pick I might regret: Travis Hunter
I hoped to land Tony Pollard in Round 6, but my astute podcasting partner, Dan Schneier, sniped me. I hoped to then land Jaylen Warren in Round 8, but Heath Cummings snatched him up four picks before I could. And so, I ended up with a highly questionable RB2 spot and five awesome receivers. I definitely would have better served – from a team-building standpoint – to take James Conner ahead of Travis Hunter. It’s a full-PPR league with three starting WR spots, and I’m immensely excited for what Liam Coen’s Jaguars offense could look like with the number two overall selection added to the mix. But dang it, James Conner is just such a rock-solid Round 5 pick. My excitement got the best of me, and now I have a problem to solve at RB2.
Player who could make or break my team: Brock Bowers
The reason I fell behind the eight ball in the first place at RB/WR was my Round 2 Brock Bowers selection. I then hammered WR for five-straight rounds, because I really don’t like leaving the first two rounds without a WR who brings league-breaking upside. And then I missed out on the RB2 options that I liked later in the draft. So, I need Bowers to be worth it. I need Bowers to provide a true positional edge. He needs to score much more than the seven touchdowns posted as a rookie. I need the Raiders defense to be bad and the offense to be good and shootouts to ensue. I need huge production from the stud Year 2 TE, because I passed up on Chase Brown and Bucky Irving to place a bet on him.