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USATSI

Is RB-RB a good strategy to use in a 12-team, 0.5-PPR league where you start three receivers and a flex? Let's find out.

On Thursday, we held our first 12-team, 0.5-PPR mock draft with members of our CBS Sports staff since free agency. Brandon Howard, one of our Fantasy editors, had the No. 10 overall pick, and he started his team with Kyren Williams and Saquon Barkley.

Those two running backs have the chance to be special. Williams was awesome last season with the Rams at 19.2 0.5-PPR points per game, and he should be great again in 2024. And I love Barkley going to the Eagles with the upgrade in talent around him, especially on the offensive line.

Brandon passed on A.J. Brown and Garrett Wilson to draft Williams, and Brandon took Barkley ahead of receivers like D.J. Moore, Chris Olave and Nico Collins. I'm fine with both of those selections in 0.5-PPR, but I might have gone with the receivers in PPR.

The tricky part for Brandon after those picks is what receivers he would be able to get. And he did well with Brandon Aiyuk, Tee Higgins and Terry McLaurin with his next three picks.

While those receivers have some flaws (Higgins wants to be traded and McLaurin doesn't have a quarterback as of now), that's an amazing trio to pair with Williams and Barkley. Brandon also was able to get Chris Godwin in Round 7 as a fourth receiver, and that was sandwiched between Joe Burrow and Evan Engram. I love this starting lineup.

His bench has a lot of upside plays in Brock Purdy, Jerome Ford, Elijah Mitchell, Marvin Mims, Jalin Hyatt and Andrei Iosivas. But I like his starting group, and this is a good roster with a RB-RB start.

While that's not my favorite strategy -- I prefer Hero RB with one running back in the first five or six rounds -- Brandon made it work. You just have to hope you get four receivers as he did with Aiyuk, Higgins, McLaurin and Godwin after starting RB-RB.

I planned to go Hero RB from the No. 5 spot, and I started my team with Tyreek Hill and Josh Jacobs, who should be excellent with his move to the Packers. But in Round 3, a gift landed in my lap with De'Von Achane, so I changed my strategy.

I still wanted to focus on my receiving corps, so I drafted Tank Dell in Round 4, and I love that. But I felt like I got another gift with Mark Andrews in Round 5, which was too good to pass up.

My third receiver ended up being Marquise Brown in Round 6, and I expect him to be a top-30 Fantasy option with his move to the Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes will hopefully bring out the best in Brown, and we'll see if he can challenge Rashee Rice to be the No. 1 receiver in Kansas City.

The next two picks I made were all about value with Nick Chubb in Round 7 and Austin Ekeler in Round 8. I actually think both are busts if they're going ahead of these rounds, but if Chubb (knee) is healthy for Week 1 and Ekeler can remain the lead rusher in Washington, these could be steals. And I just need one to be my flex.

In Round 9, I had my toughest decision of the draft with Kyler Murray vs. Chase Brown. At this point, I was one of three managers without a quarterback, and I knew Murray wouldn't make it back to me. But I love Brown, and I expect him to challenge Zack Moss to be the best running back in Cincinnati this season.

I went with Murray given the construction of my roster, and I don't regret it. Unless, during the season, Brown turns out to be the best Bengals rusher this year.

The rest of my team includes Tua Tagovailoa, A.J. Dillon, Jahan Dotson, Rashid Shaheed and A.T. Perry. I like this team a lot, especially with the value I got for guys like Achane, Andrews, Chubb and Ekeler.

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 for every reception. We feature a starting lineup of QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE and FLEX (RB/WR/TE) with six reserves for a 14-round draft.

Our draft order is as follows:

1. Daniel Schneier, Senior Fantasy Editor

2. Thomas Shafer, FFT Podcast Producer

3. Zach Brook, FFT Social Media Coordinator

4. Heath Cummings, Senior Fantasy Writer

5. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer

6. Adam Aizer, FFT Podcast Host

7. Meron Berkson, CBS Sports HQ Producer

8. Rob Thomas, FFT Facebook Moderator

9. Joel Cox, CBS Sports VP Business Development

10. Brandon Howard, Fantasy Editor

11. Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer

12. R.J. White, Managing Editor, SportsLine and CBS Fantasy

Round By Round
Round 1
Pos Team Player
1 Dan Schneier J. Chase WR CIN
2 Meron Berkson B. Robinson RB ATL
3 Heath Cummings S. Barkley RB PHI
4 Rob Thomas J. Jefferson WR MIN
5 Joel Cox J. Gibbs RB DET
6 Brandon Howard C. Lamb WR DAL
7 Jake Grogins A. Jeanty RB LV
8 Jamey Eisenberg D. Achane RB MIA
9 Adam Aizer N. Collins WR HOU
10 R.J. White P. Nacua WR LAR
11 Dave Richard M. Nabers WR NYG
12 Thomas Shafer C. McCaffrey RB SF
Round 2
Pos Team Player
13 Thomas Shafer A. St. Brown WR DET
14 Dave Richard D. Henry RB BAL
15 R.J. White B. Thomas Jr. WR JAC
16 Adam Aizer A. Brown WR PHI
17 Jamey Eisenberg D. London WR ATL
18 Jake Grogins B. Irving RB TB
19 Brandon Howard J. Taylor RB IND
20 Joel Cox B. Bowers TE LV
21 Rob Thomas L. McConkey WR LAC
22 Heath Cummings T. Higgins WR CIN
23 Meron Berkson K. Williams RB LAR
24 Dan Schneier J. Jacobs RB GB
Round 3
Pos Team Player
25 Dan Schneier T. Hill WR MIA
26 Meron Berkson J. Smith-Njigba WR SEA
27 Heath Cummings T. McBride TE ARI
28 Rob Thomas C. Brown RB CIN
29 Joel Cox B. Hall RB NYJ
30 Brandon Howard J. Williams WR DET
31 Jake Grogins J. Allen QB BUF
32 Jamey Eisenberg J. Cook RB BUF
33 Adam Aizer J. Mixon RB HOU
34 R.J. White K. Walker III RB SEA
35 Dave Richard D. Adams WR LAR
36 Thomas Shafer M. Evans WR TB
Round 4
Pos Team Player
37 Thomas Shafer M. Harrison Jr. WR ARI
38 Dave Richard C. Hubbard RB CAR
39 R.J. White O. Hampton RB LAC
40 Adam Aizer R. Harvey RB DEN
41 Jamey Eisenberg T. McLaurin WR WAS
42 Jake Grogins G. Wilson WR NYJ
43 Brandon Howard T. Henderson RB NE
44 Joel Cox L. Jackson QB BAL
45 Rob Thomas D. Moore WR CHI
46 Heath Cummings A. Kamara RB NO
47 Meron Berkson D. Metcalf WR PIT
48 Dan Schneier R. Rice WR KC
Round 5
Pos Team Player
49 Dan Schneier C. Sutton WR DEN
50 Meron Berkson X. Worthy WR KC
51 Heath Cummings J. Daniels QB WAS
52 Rob Thomas G. Kittle TE SF
53 Joel Cox D. Smith WR PHI
54 Brandon Howard J. Hurts QB PHI
55 Jake Grogins C. Ridley WR TEN
56 Jamey Eisenberg T. Hunter WR JAC
57 Adam Aizer J. Burrow QB CIN
58 R.J. White J. Conner RB ARI
59 Dave Richard J. Jeudy WR CLE
60 Thomas Shafer P. Mahomes QB KC
Round 6
Pos Team Player
61 Thomas Shafer D. Montgomery RB DET
62 Dave Richard C. Godwin WR TB
63 R.J. White Z. Flowers WR BAL
64 Adam Aizer I. Pacheco RB KC
65 Jamey Eisenberg S. LaPorta TE DET
66 Jake Grogins G. Pickens WR DAL
67 Brandon Howard M. Andrews TE BAL
68 Joel Cox J. Waddle WR MIA
69 Rob Thomas A. Jones RB MIN
70 Heath Cummings D. Swift RB CHI
71 Meron Berkson T. McMillan WR CAR
72 Dan Schneier T. Pollard RB TEN
Round 7
Pos Team Player
73 Dan Schneier K. Johnson RB PIT
74 Meron Berkson T. Kelce TE KC
75 Heath Cummings C. Kupp WR SEA
76 Rob Thomas T. Tracy Jr. RB NYG
77 Joel Cox C. Olave WR NO
78 Brandon Howard M. Golden WR GB
79 Jake Grogins J. Warren RB PIT
80 Jamey Eisenberg Q. Judkins RB CLE
81 Adam Aizer J. Addison WR MIN
82 R.J. White R. Odunze WR CHI
83 Dave Richard B. Robinson Jr. RB WAS
84 Thomas Shafer J. Jennings WR SF
Round 8
Pos Team Player
85 Thomas Shafer R. Pearsall WR SF
86 Dave Richard D. Njoku TE CLE
87 R.J. White T. Hockenson TE MIN
88 Adam Aizer S. Diggs WR NE
89 Jamey Eisenberg K. Shakir WR BUF
90 Jake Grogins T. Spears RB TEN
91 Brandon Howard J. Blue RB DAL
92 Joel Cox J. Meyers WR LV
93 Rob Thomas D. Samuel WR WAS
94 Heath Cummings J. Downs WR IND
95 Meron Berkson J. Williams RB DAL
96 Dan Schneier J. Reed WR GB
Round 9
Pos Team Player
97 Dan Schneier M. Pittman WR IND
98 Meron Berkson R. Stevenson RB NE
99 Heath Cummings L. Burden III WR CHI
100 Rob Thomas B. Mayfield QB TB
101 Joel Cox Z. Charbonnet RB SEA
102 Brandon Howard S. Williams WR GB
103 Jake Grogins M. Brown WR KC
104 Jamey Eisenberg C. Skattebo RB NYG
105 Adam Aizer E. Engram TE DEN
106 R.J. White N. Harris RB LAC
107 Dave Richard T. Etienne RB JAC
108 Thomas Shafer D. Mooney WR ATL
Round 10
Pos Team Player
109 Thomas Shafer A. Ekeler RB WAS
110 Dave Richard C. Williams QB CHI
111 R.J. White K. Murray QB ARI
112 Adam Aizer T. Harris WR LAC
113 Jamey Eisenberg K. Coleman WR BUF
114 Jake Grogins W. Robinson WR NYG
115 Brandon Howard I. Likely TE BAL
116 Joel Cox B. Aiyuk WR SF
117 Rob Thomas E. Egbuka WR TB
118 Heath Cummings J. Bech WR LV
119 Meron Berkson B. Nix QB DEN
120 Dan Schneier R. White RB TB
Round 11
Pos Team Player
121 Dan Schneier C. Loveland TE CHI
122 Meron Berkson D. Prescott QB DAL
123 Heath Cummings T. Bigsby RB JAC
124 Rob Thomas J. McMillan WR TB
125 Joel Cox B. Tuten RB JAC
126 Brandon Howard B. Allen RB NYJ
127 Jake Grogins E. Mitchell RB KC
128 Jamey Eisenberg J. Mason RB MIN
129 Adam Aizer C. Kirk WR HOU
130 R.J. White J. Smith TE PIT
131 Dave Richard I. Guerendo RB SF
132 Thomas Shafer K. Williams WR NE
Round 12
Pos Team Player
133 Thomas Shafer T. Allgeier RB ATL
134 Dave Richard J. Wright RB MIA
135 R.J. White J. Higgins WR HOU
136 Adam Aizer R. Davis RB BUF
137 Jamey Eisenberg C. Tillman WR CLE
138 Jake Grogins D. Douglas WR NE
139 Brandon Howard R. Bateman WR BAL
140 Joel Cox D. Sampson RB CLE
141 Rob Thomas R. Shaheed WR NO
142 Heath Cummings K. Allen WR CHI
143 Meron Berkson T. Warren TE IND
144 Dan Schneier B. Purdy QB SF
Round 13
Pos Team Player
145 Dan Schneier D. Kincaid TE BUF
146 Meron Berkson M. Mims WR DEN
147 Heath Cummings A. Richardson QB IND
148 Rob Thomas T. Benson RB ARI
149 Joel Cox D. Goedert TE PHI
150 Brandon Howard D. Hopkins WR BAL
151 Jake Grogins K. Mitchell RB BAL
152 Jamey Eisenberg J. Fields QB NYJ
153 Adam Aizer J. Dobbins RB DEN
154 R.J. White N. Chubb RB HOU
155 Dave Richard T. Kraft TE GB
156 Thomas Shafer K. Pitts TE ATL
Round 14
Pos Team Player
157 Thomas Shafer J. Ferguson TE DAL
158 Dave Richard J. Goff QB DET
159 R.J. White J. McLaughlin RB DEN
160 Adam Aizer T. Lawrence QB JAC
161 Jamey Eisenberg D. Maye QB NE
162 Jake Grogins J. Johnson TE NO
163 Brandon Howard J. Milroe QB SEA
164 Joel Cox C. Ward QB TEN
165 Rob Thomas B. Corum RB LAR
166 Heath Cummings Z. Moss RB CIN
167 Meron Berkson X. Legette WR CAR
168 Dan Schneier C. Stroud QB HOU
Team by Team
Dan Schneier
Rd Pk Player
1 1 J. Chase WR CIN
2 24 J. Jacobs RB GB
3 25 T. Hill WR MIA
4 48 R. Rice WR KC
5 49 C. Sutton WR DEN
6 72 T. Pollard RB TEN
7 73 K. Johnson RB PIT
8 96 J. Reed WR GB
9 97 M. Pittman WR IND
10 120 R. White RB TB
11 121 C. Loveland TE CHI
12 144 B. Purdy QB SF
13 145 D. Kincaid TE BUF
14 168 C. Stroud QB HOU
Meron Berkson
Rd Pk Player
1 2 B. Robinson RB ATL
2 23 K. Williams RB LAR
3 26 J. Smith-Njigba WR SEA
4 47 D. Metcalf WR PIT
5 50 X. Worthy WR KC
6 71 T. McMillan WR CAR
7 74 T. Kelce TE KC
8 95 J. Williams RB DAL
9 98 R. Stevenson RB NE
10 119 B. Nix QB DEN
11 122 D. Prescott QB DAL
12 143 T. Warren TE IND
13 146 M. Mims WR DEN
14 167 X. Legette WR CAR
Heath Cummings
Rd Pk Player
1 3 S. Barkley RB PHI
2 22 T. Higgins WR CIN
3 27 T. McBride TE ARI
4 46 A. Kamara RB NO
5 51 J. Daniels QB WAS
6 70 D. Swift RB CHI
7 75 C. Kupp WR SEA
8 94 J. Downs WR IND
9 99 L. Burden III WR CHI
10 118 J. Bech WR LV
11 123 T. Bigsby RB JAC
12 142 K. Allen WR CHI
13 147 A. Richardson QB IND
14 166 Z. Moss RB CIN
Rob Thomas
Rd Pk Player
1 4 J. Jefferson WR MIN
2 21 L. McConkey WR LAC
3 28 C. Brown RB CIN
4 45 D. Moore WR CHI
5 52 G. Kittle TE SF
6 69 A. Jones RB MIN
7 76 T. Tracy Jr. RB NYG
8 93 D. Samuel WR WAS
9 100 B. Mayfield QB TB
10 117 E. Egbuka WR TB
11 124 J. McMillan WR TB
12 141 R. Shaheed WR NO
13 148 T. Benson RB ARI
14 165 B. Corum RB LAR
Joel Cox
Rd Pk Player
1 5 J. Gibbs RB DET
2 20 B. Bowers TE LV
3 29 B. Hall RB NYJ
4 44 L. Jackson QB BAL
5 53 D. Smith WR PHI
6 68 J. Waddle WR MIA
7 77 C. Olave WR NO
8 92 J. Meyers WR LV
9 101 Z. Charbonnet RB SEA
10 116 B. Aiyuk WR SF
11 125 B. Tuten RB JAC
12 140 D. Sampson RB CLE
13 149 D. Goedert TE PHI
14 164 C. Ward QB TEN
Brandon Howard
Rd Pk Player
1 6 C. Lamb WR DAL
2 19 J. Taylor RB IND
3 30 J. Williams WR DET
4 43 T. Henderson RB NE
5 54 J. Hurts QB PHI
6 67 M. Andrews TE BAL
7 78 M. Golden WR GB
8 91 J. Blue RB DAL
9 102 S. Williams WR GB
10 115 I. Likely TE BAL
11 126 B. Allen RB NYJ
12 139 R. Bateman WR BAL
13 150 D. Hopkins WR BAL
14 163 J. Milroe QB SEA
Jake Grogins
Rd Pk Player
1 7 A. Jeanty RB LV
2 18 B. Irving RB TB
3 31 J. Allen QB BUF
4 42 G. Wilson WR NYJ
5 55 C. Ridley WR TEN
6 66 G. Pickens WR DAL
7 79 J. Warren RB PIT
8 90 T. Spears RB TEN
9 103 M. Brown WR KC
10 114 W. Robinson WR NYG
11 127 E. Mitchell RB KC
12 138 D. Douglas WR NE
13 151 K. Mitchell RB BAL
14 162 J. Johnson TE NO
Jamey Eisenberg
Rd Pk Player
1 8 D. Achane RB MIA
2 17 D. London WR ATL
3 32 J. Cook RB BUF
4 41 T. McLaurin WR WAS
5 56 T. Hunter WR JAC
6 65 S. LaPorta TE DET
7 80 Q. Judkins RB CLE
8 89 K. Shakir WR BUF
9 104 C. Skattebo RB NYG
10 113 K. Coleman WR BUF
11 128 J. Mason RB MIN
12 137 C. Tillman WR CLE
13 152 J. Fields QB NYJ
14 161 D. Maye QB NE
Adam Aizer
Rd Pk Player
1 9 N. Collins WR HOU
2 16 A. Brown WR PHI
3 33 J. Mixon RB HOU
4 40 R. Harvey RB DEN
5 57 J. Burrow QB CIN
6 64 I. Pacheco RB KC
7 81 J. Addison WR MIN
8 88 S. Diggs WR NE
9 105 E. Engram TE DEN
10 112 T. Harris WR LAC
11 129 C. Kirk WR HOU
12 136 R. Davis RB BUF
13 153 J. Dobbins RB DEN
14 160 T. Lawrence QB JAC
R.J. White
Rd Pk Player
1 10 P. Nacua WR LAR
2 15 B. Thomas Jr. WR JAC
3 34 K. Walker III RB SEA
4 39 O. Hampton RB LAC
5 58 J. Conner RB ARI
6 63 Z. Flowers WR BAL
7 82 R. Odunze WR CHI
8 87 T. Hockenson TE MIN
9 106 N. Harris RB LAC
10 111 K. Murray QB ARI
11 130 J. Smith TE PIT
12 135 J. Higgins WR HOU
13 154 N. Chubb RB HOU
14 159 J. McLaughlin RB DEN
Dave Richard
Rd Pk Player
1 11 M. Nabers WR NYG
2 14 D. Henry RB BAL
3 35 D. Adams WR LAR
4 38 C. Hubbard RB CAR
5 59 J. Jeudy WR CLE
6 62 C. Godwin WR TB
7 83 B. Robinson Jr. RB WAS
8 86 D. Njoku TE CLE
9 107 T. Etienne RB JAC
10 110 C. Williams QB CHI
11 131 I. Guerendo RB SF
12 134 J. Wright RB MIA
13 155 T. Kraft TE GB
14 158 J. Goff QB DET
Thomas Shafer
Rd Pk Player
1 12 C. McCaffrey RB SF
2 13 A. St. Brown WR DET
3 36 M. Evans WR TB
4 37 M. Harrison Jr. WR ARI
5 60 P. Mahomes QB KC
6 61 D. Montgomery RB DET
7 84 J. Jennings WR SF
8 85 R. Pearsall WR SF
9 108 D. Mooney WR ATL
10 109 A. Ekeler RB WAS
11 132 K. Williams WR NE
12 133 T. Allgeier RB ATL
13 156 K. Pitts TE ATL
14 157 J. Ferguson TE DAL