Recently, the DFF crew gathered for our annual redraft championship league. We took part in a 17-round PPR draft, with 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, 2Flex, 1TE, 1D/ST as starters, and a 7-player bench. A bunch of us hopped on Zoom because there’s nothing better than seeing the face of the person you just sniped a pick from. I drafted from the 10 spot and was faced with the brutal task of picking next to our lead Redraft Ranker, @DFF_Karp. Let’s take a look at how my team came out!
OVERALL STRATEGY
The key to this draft was to stay flexible. With a bunch of sharks picking, it was going to be tough to find any value late. I had to start off strong and stay ahead of any runs. The only “strategy” that I could say I use is starting off with two running backs. The safety and upside that the top 14 running backs offer this year are way too much to pass up for a wide receiver.
ROUNDS 1-4
Sticking to form, I went with Austin Ekeler at 1.10. I’m a huge Ekeler fan, and it’s hard not to be when he finished as a top-five running back last year while splitting most of the season with Melvin Gordon. He’s got the backfield to himself now and even if Joshua Kelley or Justin Jackson take touches, Ekeler should still be a value as the 10th RB off the board.
Back-to-back running backs for me as I took Aaron Jones at 2.03. There were only two of the top tier running backs left, Jones and Mixon, and with concerns of a holdout for Mixon at the time, Jones was the clear pick. Jones was the number two RB in PPR last year and despite the addition of AJ Dillon, not too much has changed in the Packers backfield. Regression will come in the touchdown department, but he may see an increase in targets with no additional help added at receiver.
At the back of the third round, I was aiming for a high upside RB in Jonathan Taylor or a high upside receiver. Taylor didn’t make it so this was my opportunity to buy into the Calvin Ridley hype. If Ridley breaks into the top ten this year like a lot of people are projecting, he’s going to be a steal.
After taking Ridley, I wanted to go with someone that I thought had a high floor and Robert Woods was the right man for that job. There were a bunch of other high ceiling WRs available like A.J. Brown, DJ Chark, D.K. Metcalf, and even Woods’s teammate Cooper Kupp. But, I felt Woods was the safest option to finish as a top 24 receiver.
ROUNDS 5-8
At the end of the 5th round, I took Stefon Diggs who is being faded way too harshly right now. He was the 27th WR off the board and hasn’t finished worse than WR24 since 2016 when he finished as WR30. People see Josh Allen as a downgrade at the QB position, but even if that’s true, Diggs becomes the unquestioned number one target in Buffalo. At 6.03 I made a bad pick. I took Ronald Jones, who at the time was the main guy in TB’s backfield. But, with the addition of Leonard Fournette, that pick looks way worse. Even worse is that I really wanted Raheem Mostert there, but he was sniped the pick before me…
At 7.10, I felt it was a good time to grab my favorite middle-round tight end, Tyler Higbee. People are torn on his potential this year, but I’m a believer and so is @DFF_Karp. I didn’t want to risk him taking the value before my next pick. Four picks later I chose Diontae Johnson over Ceedee Lamb. I love Lamb, but I didn’t want my dynasty brain to make the pick here. Johnson has a shot to surprise this year if Big Ben is fully healthy.
ROUNDS 9-12
Starting with the prior round, I was going after players with big upside. I took Chase Edmonds at the back of the 9th round. The Cardinals starting running back Kenyan Drake was banged up in the preseason and Edmonds showed last year that he can be a great fantasy player if given the opportunity.
In the 10th round, I went with WR Darius Slayton of the New York Giants. He established a connection last year as a rookie with Daniel Jones. If they can build on that connection, and Slayton can push for more consistent targets, the big-play threat can be a great flex option this year.
The backup RB in Philly, Boston Scott, was my next pick. I’m grabbing Scott in almost every draft I’m in. He’s a talented scatback with excellent receiving chops. If Miles Sanders is hurt, Scott is an autostart. Even as a backup, Scott has upside in PPR leagues.
Backup tight end usually isn’t something I go after in redraft leagues, but in a league full of sharks, I wanted to cover my bases. T.J. Hockenson isn’t a player I had any shares of so I grabbed him here, after hearing some good reports out of training camp. If he’s still bugged by injuries, the 12th round pick is an easy one to drop.
THE FLIER ROUNDS
When it comes to picks after the 13th round, you have to stay unattached. You need to be ready to drop them at any time for the next big waiver wire pickup. So, anyone that is a “wait and see” type of player is more of a trap to avoid. With that in mind, I went with Breshad Perriman of the New York Jets. That WR group looks rough. I want to see if there’s any immediate connection between the fifth-year wideout and Sam Darnold. If I’m not seeing anything early on, it’s an easy drop.
At 14.3 I went with Steven Sims Jr. from Washington. He’s one of my favorite late-round fliers. He has a connection with Haskins and is the clear number two option in that offense. Opportunity is a map to breakouts this late in the draft.
In rounds 15 and 16 I finally drafted my quarterbacks. Daniel Jones and Gardner Minshew may not be the most talented options in the league but, with bad defenses, there should be plenty of opportunities to build up their stats. It’s also nice to have weapons like Saquon Barkley to dump the ball off to. Minshew has DJ Chark and Laviska Shenault, both players I’m expecting to perform above ADP this year which bodes well for the gunslinger at the helm.
I haven’t looked at defenses in a long time. Dynasty is my main focus so as the last turn came around, I went to google to see who had the worst opponent of the remaining week one defenses. Philly gets to play Washington. I love Terry McLaurin. I like Steven Sims. But let’s not pretend they won’t be near the top of the draft order next April.
END RESULT AND FINAL THOUGHTS
QB: Daniel Jones, Gardner Minshew
RB: Austin Ekeler, Aaron Jones, Ronald Jones II, Chase Edmonds, Boston Scott
WR: Calvin Ridley, Robert Woods, Stefon Diggs, Diontae Johnson, Darius Slayton, Breshad Perriman, Steven Sims Jr.
TE: Tyler Higbee, T.J. Hockenson
D/ST: Eagles
I loved my first five picks, but the Leonard Fournette signing really dampers my 6th round pick, Ronald Jones. I have a really young team and I think it’s going to be tricky to figure out my flex spots throughout the year and during my bye weeks. But, if I can get one wide receiver to breakout, I should be able to find my team finishing in the top half by season’s end. I’m also set up to be very disappointed if some of my favorite dynasty receivers don’t perform at the level I expect them to this year.
Join us this season as we update on the DFF Redraft Championship! Hit me up @DFF_JoeMem on twitter to let me know what you think of my team. Be sure to sign up for the DFF monthly subscription so you can have access to my Dynasty Rankings and always be one step ahead of the competition!
