We did a mock draft the week after the Super Bowl. These draft picks actually happened:
Jordy Nelson, who didn't even play last year, was picked ahead of Cam Newton.
Ezekiel Elliott, a running back who doesn't even have an NFL team yet, was picked ahead of Aaron Rodgers.
C.J. Anderson, roundly considered a 2015 bust (and now a bounce-back candidate), was picked ahead of Andrew Luck and Tom Brady.
Melvin Gordon, a 2015 rookie who couldn't find 10 Fantasy points a game if you spotted him seven, was picked ahead of Ben Roethlisberger.
Andy Dalton, who ranked second in consistency and fifth in Fantasy points per game, was taken at 112th overall.
This isn't crazy. It's not fantasy in a Fantasy Football world. It's real. The general lack of respect for Fantasy quarterbacks is real. And it's oh so fantastic!
It's not because of anything else other than supply and demand. You're probably in a league that starts one quarterback, and there's anywhere from eight to 12 owners in the league. Well, the NFL is loaded with a bunch of quarterbacks who can rack up stats. Last year's Top 12 quarterbacks averaged nearly 23 Fantasy points per game, and sixteen starting quarterbacks landed at least 20 Fantasy points in over 50 percent of their games (Tom Brady was the leader with 20-plus in 81.3 percent).
Point is, you can find at the very least a "good" Fantasy quarterback at just about any point in the draft.
In past years I've hammered home the concept of "You reach, you lose." Now it's more like "You nudge forward even a little bit, you lose." With so many great quarterbacks, you can kick off your season with, and many more you can add as a backup choice, why in the world would you rush to take a quarterback?!
Unless you've got googly eyes for someone specific, be prepared to wait for a passer on Draft Day. When you do draft a quarterback, it has to feel like a I-cannot-believe-I-got-this-guy-at-that-pick bargain.
Even if Cam Newton goes in Round 1 and Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady follow soon thereafter, practice patience and thrift (which is also halfway decent life advice). The rest of your roster should make up for it.
