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USA Today

We always like to hold our first mock draft for the next season right after Week 18 ends. It's a fun exercise to see what we just learned from the 17 games we just watched. And that's what we did Tuesday with our first 12-team, PPR mock draft for 2025.

A lot will change between now and August when most real drafts start happening, including free agency and the NFL Draft. Rosters will look different, and coaching changes will alter offenses.

But we can still have fun doing mock drafts now. And what I wanted to see with this mock draft was what would happen in Round 1.

Ja'Marr Chase was the No. 1 overall pick, which makes sense. He just won the Triple Crown by leading the NFL in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708) and receiving touchdowns (17).

Saquon Barkley went No. 2 and Bijan Robinson was No. 3, and those two running backs will be debated all offseason about who should be drafted first. As of now, I lean toward Robinson over Barkley based on their age when next season kicks off (23 and 28).

Justin Jefferson, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Amon-Ra St. Brown were the next three selections, and I like all of them as top seven overall picks. I would draft Puka Nacua ahead of St. Brown as of now, and Nacua fell to No. 10 overall here.

Christian McCaffrey went at No. 7 overall, and it will be interesting to see where he gets drafted in 2025. He'll be 29 in June, and he only played four games in 2024 due to Achilles and knee injuries. But, as we know, when healthy he can still be dominant, and hopefully that's the case next season.

De'Von Achane went No. 8, CeeDee Lamb went No. 9, Bucky Irving went No. 11 and Malik Nabers went No. 12. The biggest surprise of this group was Irving, who should be drafted in Round 2 and not Round 1.

I had the No. 12 pick, and I was torn on three players for two selections with Nabers, Nico Collins, and Brian Thomas Jr. I decided on Nabers and Collins, but all three of these receivers have top-five upside in 2025.

I went with a Hero-RB strategy with this team when I drafted Rashee Rice in Round 3 and Kenneth Walker III in Round 4. Rice will hopefully come back from his knee injury at 100 percent and be the No. 1 receiver for the Chiefs, and he averaged 21.3 PPR points in three healthy games in 2024.

Chris Godwin could be a steal in Round 5 depending on where he plays next season since he's an unrestricted free agent. He'll be 29 in February and coming off an ankle injury, but he averaged 19.1 PPR points in seven games in 2024 and looked like a star.

I hope I can draft George Kittle in Round 6 in every league next season (he led all tight ends with 15.8 PPR points per game), and I got one of my favorite breakout candidates for 2025 in Round 7 with Ricky Pearsall. You'd think I'm a 49ers fan after this draft.

My quarterback is Kyler Murray, who I drafted in Round 11, and my final two picks were Kayshon Boutte and Jalen Coker. Both of those guys could be sleepers in 2025, especially if the Patriots get the right coaching staff to help Drake Maye.

The fun thing about this roster will be figuring out my running back corps behind Walker. I took a chance on Travis Etienne in Round 8, and hopefully, the new coaching staff in Jacksonville will get him back on track. He was among the biggest busts in 2024 as a Round 2 pick, but he still has the potential to be a top-20 running back in the right system.

The other three running backs on this roster are Isaac Guerendo, Trey Benson, and Jordan Mason, and hopefully one of them becomes a featured running back in 2025. Guerendo and Mason -- more 49ers -- should compete for the No. 2 job behind McCaffrey, and we know that's a valuable role. And Mason is a restricted free agent this offseason, so he could be on a different team with the chance to start.

Benson did little as a rookie in 2024 behind James Conner, and Conner will return to Arizona in 2025. But he also turns 30 in May, and Benson could emerge as a significant playmaker for the Cardinals if Father Time catches up to Conner next season.

I hope you enjoy the results of this first mock draft for 2025. Get ready for many more mock drafts to come, in different formats as well. We're just getting started to prepare you to dominate your Fantasy leagues next season.

As a reference point for this mock draft, 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 one point 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. Heath Cummings, Senior Fantasy Writer
2. Joel Cox, CBS Sports VP Business Development
3. Dan Schneier, Senior Fantasy Editor
4. Adam Aizer, FFT Podcast Host
5. Brandon Howard, Fantasy Editor
6. Robert Thomas, FFT Facebook Moderator
7. Jake Grogins, CBS Sports HQ Production Staff
8. Jacob Gibbs, SportsLine Fantasy Analyst
9. Meron Berkson, CBS Sports HQ Producer
10. Dave Richard, Senior Fantasy Writer
11. Austin Ramos, CBS Sports HQ Production Staff
12. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer

Round By Round
Round 1
Pos Team Player
1 Dave Richard
2 Rob Thomas
3 Brandon Howard
4 Meron Berkson
5 Adam Aizer
6 Daniel Schneier
7 Joel Cox
8 Jamey Eisenberg
9 Heath Cummings
10 Jake Grogins
11 Jacob Gibbs
12 Austin Ramos
Round 2
Pos Team Player
13 Austin Ramos
14 Jacob Gibbs
15 Jake Grogins
16 Heath Cummings
17 Jamey Eisenberg
18 Joel Cox
19 Daniel Schneier
20 Adam Aizer
21 Meron Berkson
22 Brandon Howard
23 Rob Thomas
24 Dave Richard
Round 3
Pos Team Player
25 Dave Richard
26 Rob Thomas
27 Brandon Howard
28 Meron Berkson
29 Adam Aizer
30 Daniel Schneier
31 Joel Cox
32 Jamey Eisenberg
33 Heath Cummings
34 Jake Grogins
35 Jacob Gibbs
36 Austin Ramos
Round 4
Pos Team Player
37 Austin Ramos
38 Jacob Gibbs
39 Jake Grogins
40 Heath Cummings
41 Jamey Eisenberg
42 Joel Cox
43 Daniel Schneier
44 Adam Aizer
45 Meron Berkson
46 Brandon Howard
47 Rob Thomas
48 Dave Richard
Round 5
Pos Team Player
49 Dave Richard
50 Rob Thomas
51 Brandon Howard
52 Meron Berkson
53 Adam Aizer
54 Daniel Schneier
55 Joel Cox
56 Jamey Eisenberg
57 Heath Cummings
58 Jake Grogins
59 Jacob Gibbs
60 Austin Ramos
Round 6
Pos Team Player
61 Austin Ramos
62 Jacob Gibbs
63 Jake Grogins
64 Heath Cummings
65 Jamey Eisenberg
66 Joel Cox
67 Daniel Schneier
68 Adam Aizer
69 Meron Berkson
70 Brandon Howard
71 Rob Thomas
72 Dave Richard
Round 7
Pos Team Player
73 Dave Richard
74 Rob Thomas
75 Brandon Howard
76 Meron Berkson
77 Adam Aizer
78 Daniel Schneier
79 Joel Cox
80 Jamey Eisenberg
81 Heath Cummings
82 Jake Grogins
83 Jacob Gibbs
84 Austin Ramos
Round 8
Pos Team Player
85 Austin Ramos
86 Jacob Gibbs
87 Jake Grogins
88 Heath Cummings
89 Jamey Eisenberg
90 Joel Cox
91 Daniel Schneier
92 Adam Aizer
93 Meron Berkson
94 Brandon Howard
95 Rob Thomas
96 Dave Richard
Round 9
Pos Team Player
97 Dave Richard
98 Rob Thomas
99 Brandon Howard
100 Meron Berkson
101 Adam Aizer
102 Daniel Schneier
103 Joel Cox
104 Jamey Eisenberg
105 Heath Cummings
106 Jake Grogins
107 Jacob Gibbs
108 Austin Ramos
Round 10
Pos Team Player
109 Austin Ramos
110 Jacob Gibbs
111 Jake Grogins
112 Heath Cummings
113 Jamey Eisenberg
114 Joel Cox
115 Daniel Schneier
116 Adam Aizer
117 Meron Berkson
118 Brandon Howard
119 Rob Thomas
120 Dave Richard
Round 11
Pos Team Player
121 Dave Richard
122 Rob Thomas
123 Brandon Howard
124 Meron Berkson
125 Adam Aizer
126 Daniel Schneier
127 Joel Cox
128 Jamey Eisenberg
129 Heath Cummings
130 Jake Grogins
131 Jacob Gibbs
132 Austin Ramos
Round 12
Pos Team Player
133 Austin Ramos
134 Jacob Gibbs
135 Jake Grogins
136 Heath Cummings
137 Jamey Eisenberg
138 Joel Cox
139 Daniel Schneier
140 Adam Aizer
141 Meron Berkson
142 Brandon Howard
143 Rob Thomas
144 Dave Richard
Round 13
Pos Team Player
145 Dave Richard
146 Rob Thomas
147 Brandon Howard
148 Meron Berkson
149 Adam Aizer
150 Daniel Schneier
151 Joel Cox
152 Jamey Eisenberg
153 Heath Cummings
154 Jake Grogins
155 Jacob Gibbs
156 Austin Ramos
Round 14
Pos Team Player
157 Austin Ramos
158 Jacob Gibbs
159 Jake Grogins
160 Heath Cummings
161 Jamey Eisenberg
162 Joel Cox
163 Daniel Schneier
164 Adam Aizer
165 Meron Berkson
166 Brandon Howard
167 Rob Thomas
168 Dave Richard
Team by Team
Dave Richard
Rd Pk Player
1 1
2 24
3 25
4 48
5 49
6 72
7 73
8 96
9 97
10 120
11 121
12 144
13 145
14 168
Rob Thomas
Rd Pk Player
1 2
2 23
3 26
4 47
5 50
6 71
7 74
8 95
9 98
10 119
11 122
12 143
13 146
14 167
Brandon Howard
Rd Pk Player
1 3
2 22
3 27
4 46
5 51
6 70
7 75
8 94
9 99
10 118
11 123
12 142
13 147
14 166
Meron Berkson
Rd Pk Player
1 4
2 21
3 28
4 45
5 52
6 69
7 76
8 93
9 100
10 117
11 124
12 141
13 148
14 165
Adam Aizer
Rd Pk Player
1 5
2 20
3 29
4 44
5 53
6 68
7 77
8 92
9 101
10 116
11 125
12 140
13 149
14 164
Daniel Schneier
Rd Pk Player
1 6
2 19
3 30
4 43
5 54
6 67
7 78
8 91
9 102
10 115
11 126
12 139
13 150
14 163
Joel Cox
Rd Pk Player
1 7
2 18
3 31
4 42
5 55
6 66
7 79
8 90
9 103
10 114
11 127
12 138
13 151
14 162
Jamey Eisenberg
Rd Pk Player
1 8
2 17
3 32
4 41
5 56
6 65
7 80
8 89
9 104
10 113
11 128
12 137
13 152
14 161
Heath Cummings
Rd Pk Player
1 9
2 16
3 33
4 40
5 57
6 64
7 81
8 88
9 105
10 112
11 129
12 136
13 153
14 160
Jake Grogins
Rd Pk Player
1 10
2 15
3 34
4 39
5 58
6 63
7 82
8 87
9 106
10 111
11 130
12 135
13 154
14 159
Jacob Gibbs
Rd Pk Player
1 11
2 14
3 35
4 38
5 59
6 62
7 83
8 86
9 107
10 110
11 131
12 134
13 155
14 158
Austin Ramos
Rd Pk Player
1 12
2 13
3 36
4 37
5 60
6 61
7 84
8 85
9 108
10 109
11 132
12 133
13 156
14 157