So you got the 12th pick in your startup draft. Now what? In the next few paragraphs, I’m going to be explaining why you should be cheering. Every year, ADPs and values change, and this year, especially with third-round reversal, or 3RR, the 10th-12th picks in your startup drafts contain amazing value on a ton of high-end players.
So far this offseason, I’ve done two 3RR startup drafts, one from the 1.10 and the other from the 1.11, and both of these spots have led to me constructing some of my favorite post-startup teams yet. I’m going to be highlighting the first five of my picks in each of those drafts, and then give some players I like at each of the first five spots in both 3RR and non-3RR drafts. While I can’t give full analytical profiles for every player I mention, otherwise, this article would become a dictionary, I’ll be leaving small blurbs as to why I like the player. For more in-depth analytical looks into the players mentioned, go to the DFF search bar and type in any of their names, almost every current NFL player has a profile with us.
Team 1.10
Pick 1: Lamar Jackson (QB – BAL) @ 1.05
- I decided to get aggressive with my first pick of the draft and trade up from the 1.10 for Jackson, the compensation being a reasonable one-round trade back from 6.10 to 7.10. In my eyes, moving up for an elite quarterback in the first round, and attaining one in general is the number one priority, and for the price I got I was satisfied.
Pick 2: Deshaun Watson (QB – CLE) @ 2.03
- Letting the board fall to me, I became one of only two or three managers in the league with two elite QBs. Think what you’d like regarding Watson, but when he’s playing at his best, he’s a top-five quarterback on Earth. Fantasy-wise, his scrambling ability seems to have continued as he has posted solid rushing numbers coming off of his two-year hiatus.
Pick 3: Mark Andrews (TE – BAL) @ 2.09
- I decided to get aggressive again and secure the dynasty TE2 by making a small trade up from 3.03 to 2.09 by moving back from 4.10 to 5.09, which I find very fair compensation. I cannot quantify how important having an elite TE is in fantasy football, and landing a relatively young one in Mark Andrews was fantastic.
Pick 4: Austin Ekeler (RB – LAC) @ 5.03
- I was not letting the RB one from the previous season fall past 5.03. Regardless of how you view his age, his falling to 5.03 was a travesty. If your league-mates are ageist, zig when they zag.
Pick 5: Javonte Williams (RB – DEN) @ 5.09
- The result of my trade-up for Andrews landed me in prime territory to snag the young star at the end of the fifth round. I love Javonte’s pass-catching ability and think he is well-priced at his current value. I decided that I would draft an RB whose value should only go up from his ACL tear last season since I drafted Ekeler, an RB whose value will probably stay stagnant or decrease.
Team 1.11
Pick 1: Deshaun Watson @ 1.11
- I’m heavily buying all the Watson I can, as shown by these two teams. Based on how this board was going, as the only non-QB selected so far was Justin Jefferson, I needed to draft a QB now or never. I’m still happy taking Watson at 1.11 or 2.03.
Pick 2: Kyle Pitts (TE – ATL) @ 2.02
- Going off of my above logic: an elite TE is one of the most important things in fantasy. Pitts posted a target share of 27% last season, the second-highest in the league, and all his other peripherals were incredible. Buy Kyle Pitts.
Pick 3: Trey Lance (QB – SFO) @ 3.02
- Linked here is my Trey Lance article, so if you know me you know that I’m big on Trey Lance, and you should be too! I go into much more detail in the article, but now with Brock Purdy being out for an unknown amount of time with his UCL tear (I never really thought he was a threat, personally), it’s Lance’s job.
Pick 4: D’Andre Swift (RB – DET) @ 4.11
- I discuss D’Andre Swift a bit in this article, but I believe that his pass-catching ability alone makes him a buy candidate, and I love the value I got at 4.11. Give the article a read for my full thoughts on why I think Swift is a buy!
Pick 5: Marquise Brown (WR – ARZ) @ 5.12
- I acquired this pick by trading back almost a round for a total of three rounds of trade-up from the late eighth to the beginning of the seventh and the end of the twelfth to the beginning of the twelfth. Not super consequential, just didn’t love the spot I was in and decided to acquire some value. Whenever you don’t love the players who fell to you, get some value however you can. Brown was on pace for an amazing season last year before his knee injury, and I believe he’ll still post solid target shares going forward. A lot of question marks are there in Arizona, but I think Marquise is a solid young high-end WR2 going forward.
Players I like at each pick, 3RR. Players listed are in order of how I perceive their value:
1.12/2.01 – Kyler Murray (QB – ARZ), Deshaun Watson, Dak Prescott (QB – DAL), Kyle Pitts, Rookie Pick 1.01. You can’t exactly go wrong with your first pick here, just take a QB, elite TE, or RB of the future and go for it.
3.01 – Trey Lance, Christian McCaffrey (RB – SFO), Mark Andrews, Garrett Wilson (WR – NYJ), Rookie Pick 1.02. I’d be jumping for joy if you could get a second elite QB here like Lance, however, I love the value of CMC and Andrews here. Wilson is a young receiver who looks to be a budding star, however, I just fundamentally view WR as the most replaceable production in fantasy football, but he should continue to hold his tremendous value for at least another year.
4.12/5.01 – D’Andre Swift, Josh Jacobs (RB – LV), Treylon Burks (WR – TEN), Najee Harris (RB – PIT). There’s a reason I traded out of this spot, not a ton of players I love here. As I’ve already spoken on Swift, I’ll speak on the others. I believe Jacobs and Harris to be two other young RBs who should maintain their value or production in the coming season. Remember – Josh Jacobs is only 25! Treylon Burks had some great peripherals during his rookie season but was mostly held back due to injury and offensive ineptitude.
6.12/7.01 – Dallas Goedert (TE – PHI), Nick Chubb (RB – CLE), Jerry Jeudy (WR – DEN), Rookie Pick 1.11. All of these are fine picks here now that we’re moving into the later rounds. Goedert is one of the last TEs on the board who has a solid chance to give you top-five TE production, although I don’t see him breaking into that top-three tier of TE with Devonta Smith (WR – PHI) and A.J. Brown (WR – PHI). Chubb is one of the most consistent and talented RBs in the game who certainly still has a few more years of production left, and at the seventh-round turn, I’m totally fine taking him despite his lack of pass-catching. I’m not clairvoyant, but I think Russell Wilson positively regressing with Sean Payton this year will bring good things for Jerry Jeudy, the most talented WR in Denver. Finally, this rookie pick will only continue to increase in value until the draft, and the rookie you select will only increase in value until the NFL season. A purely liquid asset.
Players I like at each pick, non3RR. Players listed are in order of how I perceive their value:
1.12/2.01 – see above
3.12/4.01 – Saquon Barkley (RB – NYJ), Tyreek Hill (WR – MIA), Travis Kelce (TE – KC), Rookie Pick 1.04. I think all of these guys are no-brainers at this spot. I believe Barkley can easily be the RB one on your team taken at the discount of the end of the third round. Hill is coming off of one of his best seasons ever and his ADP is still the same as it was last season, and he’s still only 28! Kelce’s age may scare people, but he is head and shoulders producing more fantasy points than any other tight-end. He is a league-winning pick with the right roster build. As for the pick, you can’t go wrong with selecting a stable and liquid asset.
5.12/6.01 – Russell Wilson (QB – DEN), Javonte Williams, George Kittle (TE – SF), Chris Godwin (WR – TB), Marquise Brown. Wilson is my biggest positive regression candidate this year; you’re getting a potential high-end QB at the end of the fifth. That’s upside you can’t replicate. Williams may start the season a little slow coming off of his ACL tear, but the pass-catching weapon should be a target for this range of drafts. Kittle is the last tight end on the board who should be locked in for a top-five finish but has the potential to be in the top-three finish range. For the wide receivers, Godwin and Brown are two young target earners I’ve been trying to acquire all off-season who should both hold their value and continue producing this season. While both of their QB situations are a little murky, they’re good bets to hold value.
Thanks so much for reading! For other informative dynasty articles, make sure to stay tuned at dynastyfootballfactory.com. If you liked this article, follow me on Twitter @716DFF, and the whole DFF team @DFF_Dynasty. Check out this thread for some other dynasty tips, and click here for all of my other articles! Have an amazing day! Cheers!
