Najee Harris on Dalvin Cook?

Najee Harris, Pittsburgh Steelers. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

Run through a new Fantasy Football Mock Draft for a 12-team PPR league number 4. Round 1 faces a big running back decision.

Whether you’re the most seasoned fantasy football manager in the world researching since the Super Bowl final whistle, or a newbie trying to cut your teeth in the wild world, it can feel extremely daunting to get into one Fantasy football draft entry task.

Who am I drawing at this point? I’m worried about this player, but is this pick too valuable to pass over? WHY IS EVERYONE YELLING?!

Look, it’s stressful. But one of the best things you can do to prepare for your draft is try to get a feel for how things might play out, and a fantasy football mock draft is a great way to do that . You can see how other managers draft and what players might be available to you.

So we will give you that too with a little insight. This fantasy football mock draft was actually completed with other managers trying to prepare and I made my selections in 12 team PPR format for this league for which I will be making my case with fourth overall in a snake draft. Let’s dive in, starting with an internal debate in the first round.

Note: This mock draft was compiled with FantasyPros’ Draft Wizard mock draft lobby and was completed with 11 other users and myself to best simulate a real fantasy football draft.

Fantasy Football Mock Draft for 12-Team PPR League: Pick No. 4 Snake Draft

Fantasy Football Mock Draft Round 1

• Team 1 (1.01): Jonathan Taylor, RB, Colts
• Team 2 (1.02): Christian McCaffrey, RB, Panthers
• Team 3 (1.03): Austin Ekeler, RB, Chargers
• Team 4 (1.04): Najee Harris, RB, Steelers
• Team 5 (1.05): Justin Jefferson, WR, Vikings
• Team 6 (1.06): Dalvin Cook, RB, Vikings
• Team 7 (1.07): Cooper Kupp, WR, Rams
• Team 8 (1.08): Derrick Henry, RB, Titans
• Team 9 (1.09): Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Bengals
• Team 10 (1.10): Joe Mixon, RB, Bengals
• Team 11 (1.11): Travis Kelce, TE, Chiefs
• Team 12 (1.12): D’Andre Swift, RB, Lions

Aware of the arguments against taking Najee Harris, I went with that choice. I trusted my gut and went with the Steelers, who passed either Viking, Justin Jefferson, or Dalvin Cook.

Jefferson has more arguments to make the choice here than Cook, I think. For starters, there’s the volume the wide receiver should be getting in Kevin O’Connell’s offense, and we’re talking PPR. More importantly, Cook was arrested while still in training camp, which has been an annoying trend for fantasy executives in recent years.

I understand the downside to Najee Harris. Last season he averaged just 3.9 yards per carry and the offensive line hasn’t improved that much. At the same time, he still had 1,200 rushing yards and 74 receptions for 467 yards to finish with 10 total touchdowns.

I expect given the relative mess at quarterback he’ll be a checkdown option just as often and still get the volume to be a 1,200-yard rusher again, so I’m counting on that as the cornerstone of this list .