Recently, the DFF crew gathered for our annual redraft championship league. We took part in a 17-round PPR draft, with 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 2 Flex, 1 TE, 1 D/ST as starters, and a 7-player bench. I don’t think I’ve ever drafted in as tough of a room, as there were almost no bad picks, and I felt like I was getting sniped throughout the draft. Many of us jumped onto a Zoom call, so we got to trash talk each other live, which was extremely fun. Let’s get into how my team shaped up from the 11 slot.
Overall Strategy
As usual, I didn’t enter the draft with a set strategy, although I had done some mock drafts beforehand. However, as always, the real draft didn’t go anything like any of the mocks I did. Therefore, the most critical takeaway is continuously adapting to the draft room and the draft board, allowing you to stay flexible and make the best picks as you go.
Rounds 1-4
In almost every mock draft, I ended up with two running backs in the first two rounds. However, Michael Thomas fell to me at the 1.11 selection. I couldn’t pass up the value on the top receiver in all of fantasy football, who was #4 overall on my draft board.
After picking Thomas at the 1.11, I knew I needed to take a running back at the 2.02. I decided to go with Kenyan Drake, who was the highest on my board at the time. I would have picked Joe Mixon if the draft were today, but I was still concerned with his holdout during the draft.
At the 3-4 turn, I figured that I would pick two wide receivers since the value almost always seemed to be at that position during my mock drafts. I was correct in that assumption, and I selected Odell Beckham Jr. at 3.11. I have been high on Beckham Jr. throughout the offseason, so it’s no surprise that he joined my squad.
After Beckham Jr., I decided to pick Amari Cooper over the available running backs in Melvin Gordon, Le’Veon Bell, and David Johnson. I don’t particularly care for any of those options, and I thought that filling my final wide receiver spot was a strong move. I might have done it differently if we only started two receivers, but in a 3WR league, picking Cooper was a pretty easy choice.
Rounds 5-8
At 5.11, I couldn’t resist taking Zach Ertz. The Eagles continue to struggle with injuries to their pass-catchers, and I expect Ertz to be a target monster again in 2020. I followed that pick up with Raheem Mostert at 6.02. The draft room disliked that selection, but I feel that Mostert is the clear favorite for touches in the 49ers’ run-first offense. I also needed some guaranteed volume for my RB2 spot, which Mostert offers.
Coming back around at 7.11, I decided to select James White. White provides a nice PPR floor and solidifies my slightly weak running back room. Sometimes, safe picks are okay, especially in the middle rounds. In contrast, I went with Phillip Lindsay with my next choice. I think Lindsay will get some carries in a timeshare with Melvin Gordon, but he also provides handcuff value if Gordon goes down. As Gordon has struggled with injuries throughout camp, I felt great about grabbing Lindsay in the eighth round.
Rounds 9-12
After Round 8, I had filled out my starting lineup outside of the quarterback position. Therefore, I looked for upside and depth in the rest of my draft. At 9.11, I selected Henry Ruggs. Even though this draft happened before Tyrell Williams went on injured reserve, I still expected Ruggs to be the Raiders’ WR1 in 2020. Now, I like that pick even more than I did at the time.
Unfortunately, I panicked in the 10th round. I wanted to take Jerry Jeudy, but he went one pick before me. I eventually decided to take Sony Michel at 10.02, a selection that I regret. I don’t like Michel at all in 2020, and I see that Damien Harris is coming for his job. I wish I’d gone in a different direction with that pick.
However, I like my two picks at the 11-12 turn. Darrell Henderson and John Brown both provide depth and upside. I expect Henderson to challenge for touches in the Rams’ backfield if healthy, and he could even compete with Cam Akers for the starting role. Brown played well in 2019 with Josh Allen, although he now has Stefon Diggs to take touches away. Either way, Brown has an excellent matchup in Week 1 against the Jets, so he provides a bit of early-season streaming value if nothing else.
The Flier Rounds
The rest of the draft was all about fliers. In the 13th round, I picked Robby Anderson. I don’t think he’ll have much value, but he might return some good weeks if he can establish himself as the WR2 in Carolina. I then picked Ke’Shawn Vaughn in the 14th round. At one point, fantasy players felt that Vaughn would take over the starting running back position from incumbent Ronald Jones. While Vaughn has had a terrible training camp, Buccaneers’ head coach Bruce Arians is fickle, giving Vaughn some long-term upside.
In the final three rounds, I employed some exciting strategies. First, I selected Giovani Bernard in the 15th round because Mixon had threatened to hold out. However, since the draft and Mixon’s new contract extension, I’ve already dropped Bernard. As always, it’s vital to make transactions continuously.
I decided to select the Steelers in the 16th round as my Week 1 D/ST option. As I write a weekly D/ST streaming article, I only care about the weekly matchups for D/STs. The Steelers were one of the best fantasy D/STs in 2019, and they face off against the Giants and turnover-prone Daniel Jones in Week 1.
In the final round, I decided to go with Alshon Jeffery. In this league, we have four injured reserve spots. I knew that I could slide Jeffery into my IR and immediately pick up a quarterback after the draft. In such a deep league, Jeffery might have some fantasy value when he returns to the field. After moving Jeffery to IR, I decided to add Tyrod Taylor as a Week 1 streamer against the Bengals.
End Result and Final Thoughts
QB: Nobody (Tyrod Taylor)
RB: Kenyan Drake, Raheem Mostert, James White, Phillip Lindsay, Sony Michel, Darrell Henderson, Ke’Shawn Vaughn, Giovani Bernard
WR: Michael Thomas, Odell Beckham Jr., Amari Cooper, Henry Ruggs, John Brown, Robby Anderson, Alshon Jeffery
TE: Zach Ertz
D/ST: Steelers
Overall, I’m pretty happy with this team. I wish I hadn’t picked Sony Michel, but I don’t regret any of my selections other than that pick. I felt that I accumulated value throughout the draft, and I built a balanced team.
Thanks for reading this article. You can find me on Twitter at @DFF_Karp. I love to interact with anyone in the community, so reach out at any time! I take fantasy questions and help with all formats, so keep sending those questions my way.
