Fantasy Football Draft Strategy 2017: PPR League Advice and 2-Round Mock Draft

On November 6, 2016, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs caught 13 passes for 80 yards in a 22-16 overtime loss to the Detroit Lions. It was a productive day for the second-year pro.

On the fantasy side, however, Diggs either had a great game or a merely pedestrian one.

In full-point point-per-reception leagues, Diggs scored 21 points: one for each reception (13), plus one per 10 yards gained (eight).

In standard leagues, however, Diggs only accrued eight points from his yardage. Remarkably, that's just 1.9 more than Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph's standard fantasy production on that day, and he only managed one touchdown catch for one yard.

Wideouts like Diggs and the New England Patriots' Julian Edelman are valuable in point-per-reception leagues, as they'll churn out 10-catch, 90-yard performances and still accrue fantasy points without finding the end zone. In standard leagues, however, Diggs and Edelman fall down the fantasy pecking order since they don't accrue points for their catches.

Therefore, it's important to keep players in mind who are more valuable in PPR leagues when drafting for them.

Here's a look at the first two rounds of a mock draft conducted on Yahoo Sports and advice as you navigate PPR drafts.

Mock Draft

Round 1

1. Arizona Cardinals RB David Johnson
2. Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell
3. Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown
4. Buffalo Bills RB LeSean McCoy
5. Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones
6. New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr.
7. Atlanta Falcons WR Devonta Freeman (my pick)
8. Cincinnati Bengals WR A.J. Green
9. Miami Dolphins RB Jay Ajayi
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans
11. Dallas Cowboys WR Dez Bryant
12. San Diego Chargers RB Melvin Gordon

Round 2

13. Green Bay Packers WR Jordy Nelson
14. Chicago Bears RB Jordan Howard
15. Tennesse Titans RB DeMarco Murray
16. New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas
17. Oakland Raiders WR Amari Cooper
18. Carolina Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (my pick)
19. Dallas Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott
20. Jacksonville Jaguars RB Leonard Fournette
21. New England Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski
22. Seattle Seahawks WR Doug Baldwin
23. New Orleans Saints WR Brandin Cooks
24. Indianapolis Colts WR T.Y. Hilton

Advice

1. Check the Targets

Naturally, if a player isn't receiving many targets, his value decreases on the PPR side. Check the number of targets a player received last year, and if you have time, read news from the beat reporters to see if they think certain players are due for more attention this year.

For example, Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans was first in the league in targets last year with 173. It wouldn't be that much of a surprise if he ends up being the most productive fantasy receiver in the league, simply because he's clearly the top scoring option in Tampa Bay. The same could be said for wideout Odell Beckham Jr. in New York.

As far as more under-the-radar players go, consider Philadelphia Eagles tight end Zach Ertz, who should be playing in a better passing offense under improved second-year quarterback Carson Wentz. Last year, Ertz piled up the targets with 106. Expect a total above the century mark yet again.

2. Check the Rosters

Building off the last point in the previous section, in the funny world of fantasy, sometimes an NFL player's real-life teammates can be a fantasy player's worst enemy.

We've all been in situations where a player on your fantasy team gets a touchdown stolen away by one of his teammates.

Therefore, keep an eye on red-zone targets to see which players are getting a lot of attention right before the goal line. Last year, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson lapped the field by receiving 29 red-zone targets, and this was coming off missing the 2015 season with a torn ACL.

No current wide receiver in the NFL had more than 21, and Nelson is back, healthy and looks poised for a Super Bowl run with quarterback Aaron Rodgers. It wouldn't be that much of a shock to see him as one of the top five fantasy producers overall this year.

3. Check the Schedules

This one is a bit hard to predict, as the projections we make about teams don't always translate to the regular season.

However, we can make educated guesses about how teams will do this year (for example, it's not hard to project that the New York Jets offense is in line for a poor season), and based off that, we can make sharper fantasy decisions.

Back to Diggs for a moment: If you take a look at last year's passing defense stats, the Vikings' three NFC North rivals (Green Bay, Detroit and the Chicago Bears) were all in the bottom 10 in pass-defense rating last year. The Vikings play each of those opponents twice, so Diggs could be in line for another year with plenty of targets, perhaps even more than last year's 112.

Also take a look at Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey, who will be used often in the passing game this year out of the backfield. He'll get to face two high-powered offenses in the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints twice, and the Panthers are going to need to pass a lot to keep up with them.