Getting the invite to a Dynasty Football Factory redraft league with 11 other fantasy football writers was intimidating, to say the least. But, you have to play with the big boys if you want to get better. We have some of the smartest minds in fantasy football in this league and I think I came away with a pretty decent team. Join me as I take you through the thought process of my first nine picks in this 12-team redraft PPR league.
1.07
Picking out of the 7th slot in this 12-team league has me in an interesting spot. The league went exclusively running back for picks 1.01-1.06. My philosophy of not taking a wide receiver in the first round was tested with Michael Thomas still sitting on the board. Given the fantasy skills of this league, I knew there may not be a great group of running backs left if I went WR here, so, I took Derrick Henry. While Henry leaves a little to be desired in the passing game, he is a dark horse candidate to be RB1 on the year. He is coming off of a 300+ carry season with over 1,500 yards on the ground. A new four-year deal gives me confidence that he will continue to be the focal point of that offense. Henry could very well wind up as the RB 1 on the year and I have been actively targeting Henry in every format this season.
2.06
Reading the tea leaves with where running back would be by the time I get to pick again at 3.07, I went ahead and grabbed my second starting running back with Todd Gurley. If this were a dynasty league, I would have waited on Gurley a little longer due to the 1-year contract and his questionable injury situation. Since this is redraft, I love Todd Gurley this season. Signed to a 1-year deal in the offseason, Gurley has Ito Smith, Brian Hill, and Qadre Ollison behind him… not a murders’ row to say the least. The Falcons have hinted that Gurley could be in the 15-25 touch range throughout the season. If Gurley can garner that level of touches he could see a resurgence and be an RB 1 for Atlanta.
3.07
The philosophy that I have been riding with all offseason of not drafting wide receivers early pays off again. This time it is with Mike Evans. Rounds 3-5 are my ideal rounds to stock up on wideouts. The position is so saturated with talent that you can get WR1 numbers from these rounds with surprising regularity. Evans finds himself in a lineup that is chock-full of playmakers. Tom Brady has come to town and brought his favorite target out of retirement in Rob Gronkowski. Evans will also need to compete with Chris Godwin for Brady’s attention as well as the fleet of running backs and stable of tight ends. None the less, Mike Evans should be in line for a low-end WR1, high-end WR2 season. He has a chance to be the first player in NFL history to start his first seven seasons with 1,000 yards receiving in each season. I feel great about Evans’ chances this season with Brady under center.
4.06
Rounds 3-5 and beyond are wide receiver friendly, every time. With 4.06 I grabbed Tyler Lockett. Prior to his leg injury in Week 10, Lockett was WR 3 on the season. Lockett’s ceiling is a top-five fantasy wide receiver. During that same time frame, Russell Wilson was QB1. The casual fan will write these two off as being fading assets on a run-heavy team. Well, we’ve seen what other QB/WR combos on “run-heavy” teams can do (see Tannehill, Ryan, and A.J. Brown). I have high hopes for Lockett this season and think he remains the alpha in that offense for at least one more season.
5.07
T.Y. Hilton scares me a little bit here, but he has a very high ceiling. If Hilton can build some early season rapport with new QB Philip Rivers, the sky is the limit. In 2016, Hilton was WR5, in 2018 Hilton was WR14. Hilton is the riskiest of my picks to this point, but having your third wide receiver be risky with high upside is exactly the type of player I target in these spots. If Hilton remains healthy he should find himself in the WR2 discussion.
6.06
The wide receiver run (for me) continues. In the sixth round, I took Michael Gallup. I feel that Gallup can be elite. He showed his skills last season, but certainly, the addition of CeeDee Lamb in the first round of the draft gives me some concern. The hope is that Gallup’s connection with Dak Prescott has grown and perhaps Lamb will take some time to get used to the speed of the NFL. Again, banking on a guy who could put up north of 1,000 receiving yards as your fourth wide receiver is a fun gamble to take on what should be a very fun offense to watch.
7.07
I may be taking my wide receiver strategy a little too far. There was just too much talent to pass up. This was me continuing to find who I felt was the best player available. I have been a vocal cheerleader for Jamison Crowder this offseason. He had 122 targets last season and that number could go up. In a PPR league, Crowder could be the steal of the draft. Crowder was the 38th wide receiver taken in our draft. Over the last four seasons, in years where he has played at least double-digit games, Crowder has finished at worst at WR 33.
https://twitter.com/DFF_Ztrain/status/1291457751063830528?s=20With no significant competition added to siphon targets away, look for Crowder to remain Darnold’s safety blanket all season long. Crowder is one of the guys that I have planted my flag with this season as a receiver who will destroy his current ADP. He could be a mid-to-low WR2 this season… book it.
8.06
With seven other tight ends taken, I decided now was the time for me to jump on Hayden Hurst. I was a late addition to the Hurst bandwagon, but now I’m the conductor. Arguably a more talented tight end than Austin Hooper, Hurst comes to a team that throws more than any other team in the league. The Falcons targeted their tight ends 18.5% fo the time last season and Hooper finished as TE6 on back to back seasons. I see Hurst finishing somewhere between TE5-TE7. The volume should be there and his floor is higher than most at this point at the tight end position.
9.07
Tom Brady time. I never thought I would be happy that I drafted a 43-year-old quarterback who just changed teams with no preseason, but… here we are. Brady has walked into a terrific situation in Tampa Bay. He will be throwing to the best weapons he has ever had and offseason reports have him looking very sharp. I typically like to wait on quarterbacks in a 1QB redraft league but he was the 8th quarterback off the board and that seems about right. I wanted to lock in a potential top 5 quarterback now and grab depth the rest of the way.
Best of the Rest
I grabbed Duke Johnson and Nyheim Hines in rounds 12 and 14 respectively. Banking on each of them carving out a fair enough role in their teams passing game to be serviceable for bye weeks. At 15.07 I drafted Larry Fitzgerald. Not the sexiest pick in the draft but one that should yield results. Fitzgerald quietly had a nice season last year. With DeAndre Hopkins coming in to take some of the attention away, and Christian Kirk on the verge of a breakout, Fitz should have a nice role in the slot. Fitzgerald finished 2019 as WR35. Getting him this late seems like a very nice upside play.
Full Team:
QB: Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford
RB: Derrick Henry, Todd Gurley, Damien Harris, Ryquell Armstead, Duke Johnson, Nyheim Hines, Darrel Williams.
WR: Mike Evans, Tyler Lockett, T.Y. Hilton, Michael Gallup, Jamison Crowder, Larry Fitzgerald
TE: Hayden Hurst, Irv Smith
Follow me on twitter @DFF_Ztrain and let me know what you think of my team! Love chatting about fantasy football, so hit me up!
