When it comes to Fantasy Football, it's your job to be prepared. Every year, it's our job to help you prepare, which is why Jamey Eisenberg and I take part in a two-man draft. It's to give you an example of what you might (and might not) expect when it comes to drafting in your 12-team non-PPR league.
Naturally, there are picks that we love, some we hate and some we wish we could have had. By the time you're done reading this you should at least have a baseline of what we'd recommend doing from your draft slot.
Here is my team at No. 7 overall in a standard format ...
- 1.7 David Johnson, RB, Cardinals
- 2.18 Doug Martin, RB, Buccaneers
- 3.31 Brandon Marshall, WR, Jets
- 4.42 Jordan Reed, TE, Redskins
- 5.55 Doug Baldwin, WR, Seahawks
- 6.66 Danny Woodhead, RB, Chargers
- 7.79 Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Cardinals
- 8.90 Blake Bortles, QB, Jaguars
- 9.103 Vincent Jackson, WR, Buccaneers
- 10.114 LeGarrette Blount, RB, Patriots
- 11.127 Chris Johnson, RB, Cardinals
- 12.138 Andy Dalton, QB, Bengals
- 13.151 Rams DST
- 14.162 Mason Crosby, K, Packers
Picking seventh guarantees either a Top 4 rusher, a Top 3 receiver or Rob Gronkowski. That makes the pick pretty attractive, plus you're promised another Top 20 player in Round 2. I've become smitten with Cardinals second-year running back David Johnson, so he was the pick over Gronk. Like the other elite-tier backs, Johnson should get his mitts on 20 touches per game with goal-line duties, and he'll be the back on the field to close out Cardinals wins (which there should be a bunch of). There's a stigma with second-year backs but I suspect Johnson will be just fine.
My game plan from there was to take two receivers with my next two picks. That went out the window when Allen Robinson was taken just before my spot in Round 2. So I went with Doug Martin instead. I don't expect Martin to have a sensational year but he should still be good enough to finish as a Top 12 rusher, which would be just fine with me since he'd be my No. 2 guy.
After that pick I refocused on receiver and gladly settled for Brandon Marshall in Round 3. Then, I swiped Jordan Reed in Round 4 -- but it wasn't really by choice. The four picks before mine were receivers I would have taken, so I settled for Reed at 42nd overall.
Those two picks in Rounds 2 and 4 stung as I saw receivers get taken in front of me. It meant having to splurge a little on wideouts in Round 5 (Doug Baldwin), Round 7 (Larry Fitzgerald) and Round 9 (Vincent Jackson). All of my receivers are on the wrong side of 25 years old. That can't be good.
I made up for the old pass catchers with some great bargains at quarterback. Blake Bortles was an absolute steal in Round 8 and Andy Dalton was the same in Round 12. It's great value for a pair of passers who each had nine games with 22 or more Fantasy points last season and should continue to post big numbers in 2016.
Overall, the team could have been better but it should be stable and competitive given the track records of everyone I drafted. I'll have to be vigilant on waivers, especially when it comes to improving the depth of my running backs.