DFS Army’s CEO Kevin Alan (The Geek), Gthom and break down their best ball draft results. This draft featured all three staff members. The format was a 12-Team league (non-tournament), half-PPR, with a starting roster of 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, TE, FLEX.
1. Kevin Alan (The Geek)’s Team Analysis – Pick Position 3
Draft Strategy
I was really happy with how my draft came together. I attack leagues like these very differently from how I would draft for a tournament. I’m not looking to stack teams or any correlation. I’m also taking fewer chances with speculative players. I’ve been talking up the “WR early” strategy of focusing WR in the first few rounds and I got a chance to use that in this draft.
Jefferson vs. McCaffrey at 1.3
At the 3 spot I had a choice of Justin Jefferson (WR, MIN) or Christian McCaffrey (RB, CAR). I love them both but because this is a 12 person league I’m better off reducing my injury risk by going with Jefferson here. After picking up 3 elite WR’s in the first three rounds I shifted my focus to the RB position and picked up 2 RB’s that I think can be workhorses in J. K. Dobbins (RB, BAL) and David Montgomery (RB, CHI). I was able to handcuff Montgomery with Khalil Herbert (RB, CHI) which raises the odds that I will have at least 1 of my RB spots covered with production for the full season.
QB’s
At QB my standard approach is to get one of the top 12 ranked QB’s and pair them up with just one other QB. I was able to get Tom Brady (QB, TB) in the 8th round when the run on QB’s happened and paired him up with Tua Tagovailoa (QB, MIA). A third QB felt like a waste so I went with a 3 TE build instead. That is generally my preferred approach because 2 QB’s is enough to ensure weekly production from the QB spot.
Draft Regrets
If there was one pick I could take back it would be passing on Allen Lazard (WR, GB) for Drake London (WR, ATL) in round 7. Lazard could be dominant this season with Aaron Rodgers (QB, GB) peppering him with targets. London has some serious upside but in this scenario it would have been smarter to take the safer pick with locked in production.
I like my chances to finish in the money in this league. My superior firepower at the WR position should lead the way.
2. Shane Seeley Team Analysis – Pick Position 5
The Case for CMC
Player values were presented that could not be passed up in my draft. Round 1 started with Christian McCaffrey (RB, CAR) falling to me at 5. I am typically targeting an upside wide receiver such as Ja’Marr Chase (WR, CIN) in that range but McCaffrey normally doesn’t fall that far. He holds risk related to past injuries but also presents massive upside as the overall number 1 player in fantasy football.
Picks 2 – 4
I then took Leonard Fournette (RB, TB) at value in round 2 knowing I could land a solid WR1 in round 3. I took Keenan Allen (WR, LAC) with that round 3 pick knowing he was a lock for 8-10 targets per game but understanding his upside was capped. Ideally I was aiming for another wide receiver in round 4 but didn’t love the available players and locked in Breece Hall (RB, NYJ) as my RB3. I was now done with RB for a while.
1st QB & TE Selected
We generally recommend waiting on quarterback in these drafts but Justin Herbert (QB, LAC) fell almost a round behind his ADP so I decided to pair him with Allen to lock in that correlation. I then filled out my WR 2 with Amari Cooper (WR, CLE) who will get a ton of targets even if DeShaun Watson (QB, CLE) misses time. I then took TJ Hockenson (TE, DET) at value as he could easily out perform his ADP this season.
Value & Targeting Upside Players
In round 8 Jalen Hurts (QB, PHI) was available 30 slots behind his ADP. Drafting two elite QB’s was not the plan but getting them a combined 40 slots behind their ADP’s was a solid reason to be nimble. I then filled out the rest of my team targeting upside players such as Rachaad White (RB, TB), who also locks up that Tampa Bay backfield.
Late Round Favorites & Overview
Some of my favorite late round players who I landed included Chris Olave (WR, NO), DJ Chark (WR, DET) and Cole Kmet (TE, CHI). My team is weaker at WR but I have two anchor players in Allen and Cooper and the later round upside players should be able to fill out the WR3 position on a weekly basis.
I finished the team taking 2 QB, 5 RB, 9 WR and 2 TE.
3. GThom Team Analysis – Pick Position 11
Strategy
For best ball 10-or-12-team leagues I treat them similar to redraft except I am hunting for players with upside. I focused on RB’s early (which is contrary to most of my best ball drafts, normally I go WR-heavy) and planned to grab my QB’s and TE’s around the double-digit rounds.
RB’s
With my first two picks I grab Dalvin Cook (RB, MIN) and Joe Mixon (RB, CIN)… Love this combo. Five rounds later I select Rashaad Penny (RB, SEA). Penny will be featured in this offense and he carries upside, but he likely competes for touches with a promising rookie. I round this RB group out with:
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- Darrel Williams (RB, ARI) – 11.11
- Gus Edwards (RB, BAL) – 12.2
- Jamaal Williams (RB, DET) – 15.11
These players don’t carry a ton of upside but they should be getting enough work to supplement my top-heavy RB’s.
WR’s
Round three was when I decided to pull the trigger on a receiver. Courtland Sutton (WR, DEN) and Marquise Brown (WR, ARI) were both poached back-to-back, thus I draft Diontae Johnson (WR, PIT) as my first receiver off the board. With DJ carrying the risk he has, the next four picks were also receivers.
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- Jerry Jeudy (WR, DEN) – 4.2
- Darnell Mooney (WR, CHI) – 5.11
- Russell Gage (WR, TB) – 6.2
- Allen Lazard (WR, GB) – 7.11
Most of these players are hopeful breakouts which should come to fruition given their current depth charts. I honestly love all four of them too. Lastly I grab a rookie, Jalen Tolbert (WR, DAL). I love Tolbert as a low-risk player inside of a high scoring and high paced offense, who needs players to target early in the season.
QB’s
Heading into my ninth pick I am needing a quarterback and I am drooling over Trey Lance (QB, SF) coming back to me but he is poached. I land Aaron Rodgers (QB, GB) at 107, a decent value that I can still hang my hat on. Rodgers does slightly scare me this season so I target a backup that should supplement this position group nicely, Matt Ryan (QB, IND). I like that Ryan is going this late too. He can easily finish within the top-12 QB’s. With my last pick of the draft I grabbed Jared Goff (QB, DET) with hopes that he can put together a better season in year-two and because both my QB’s were on BYE in Week 14.
TE’s
I love my Zach Ertz (TE, ARI) pick in round 10. With the suspension of DeAndre Hopkins (WR, ARI), Ertz will operate as the presumed second-best pass catcher. For my second tight end I target Austin Hooper (TE, TEN) who should see work in his offense. I love grabbing Hooper this late because he has a chance to be in the top-12 at his position. Cade Otton (TE, TB) is my final pick at tight end. This was purely speculative that Cameron Brate (TE, TB) loses the 1st-string TE job to Otton.
