Fantasy Football Draft Prep 2023: Drafting from the No. 7 overall slot in a PPR league
Here's how it played out picking from the seventh position
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3 min read
Be flexible. That's the best advice I can tell someone on Draft Day. You never know what direction a draft will go, and you want to be prepared when something unexpected happens.
This team at No. 7 overall is a great example of that in a PPR league. I wasn't surprised to get Bijan Robinson in the first round because this is the range he should go, and I like him better than Travis Kelce, Saquon Barkley and Stefon Diggs, who were the three players selected after Robinson.
However, in Round 2, I was faced with the dilemma of drafting Davante Adams for the first time this season. I love Adams as a talent, and he's had an amazing career. I'm just concerned this is the year he starts to fade with his production, and thus, I have been fading him in my leagues.
But Adams was my next ranked receiver, and I wasn't going to draft Derrick Henry at No. 18 overall after selecting Robinson in Round 1. So, despite my concerns, I drafted Adams, and hopefully it will work out OK.
I haven't been inclined to draft a running back in Round 3, but I couldn't pass up Rhamondre Stevenson when he was on the board. Again, you don't have to follow a script when good players land in your lap, and Stevenson has top-10 upside this season, even with the addition of Ezekiel Elliott in New England.
I wanted to focus on receivers next, and I was thrilled with my next three selections of Amari Cooper, Jahan Dotson and George Pickens. I can start all three with Pickens in the flex, and these first six picks felt like an excellent build for my roster.
This is our 12-part, pick-by-pick series where me, Adam Aizer, Dave Richard, Heath Cummings, Chris Towers and Dan Schneier all took part in a six-person mock draft. We each built two of the 12 teams in this 14-round draft to show you a different strategy from each spot.
This is an outline that you can follow if you pick from No. 7 overall in your league. The key is to study the strategy and not necessarily the players to see if this works for you.
Once we got to Round 7, I just kept taking the best-player available, which happened to be Cam Akers followed by Zay Flowers and then Roschon Johnson. I love all three of these guys at their value here, and this team was falling into place rather well.
As a reference point, all touchdowns in this league are worth six points, and we award one point for every 10 yards rushing and receiving and one point for every 25 yards passing. We also award one point for every reception. We feature a starting lineup of QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE and FLEX (RB/WR/TE).
Here's my team from No. 7 overall:
1.7: Bijan Robinson, RB, Falcons
2.6: Davante Adams, WR, Raiders
3.7: Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, Patriots
4.6: Amari Cooper, WR, Browns
5.7: Jahan Dotson, WR, Commanders
6.6: George Pickens, WR, Steelers
7.7: Cam Akers, RB, Rams
8.6: Zay Flowers, WR, Ravens
9.7: Roschon Johnson, RB, Bears
10.6: Deshaun Watson, QB, Browns
11.7: Sam LaPorta, TE, Lions
12.6: Juwan Johnson, TE, Saints
13.7: Tyler Allgeier, RB, Falcons
14.6: Kyren Williams, RB, Rams
With a strong running back and receiver corps, it was time to focus on quarterback, and Watson is a great consolation prize if you wait on the position until Round 10. He's been a little sloppy this preseason, but he still has top-10 upside, and this felt like a steal in this spot.
I also waited on tight end, but I like the duo of LaPorta and Johnson. Both have plenty of upside, and hopefully one can become a consistent starter. It's not a bad idea to double up on a pair of tight ends like this if you don't draft one of the top-tier options earlier.
I'm not always inclined to handcuff my running backs, but it just worked out that Allgeier was available in Round 13 and Williams in Round 14. Both might also have standalone value without an injury, but when you have roster spots to play with, backing up your top running backs isn't a bad idea.
Favorite pick
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Dotson has been flying up draft boards all summer, especially after Terry McLaurin injured his toe. This was actually the first draft I've done in a while where McLaurin went ahead of Dotson (two spots in Round 5), but I like Dotson better given his health and upside. Last season, despite missing five games with a hamstring injury, Dotson still led the Commanders with seven touchdowns. And he seems to have a solid rapport with Sam Howell already as well. I would have been fine with Dotson as my No. 2 receiver, but to put him with Adams and Cooper was fantastic. My co-favorite pick was Pickens in Round 6, and he also looks like a sophomore breakout.
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Pick I might regret
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This has nothing to do with Stevenson as a talent, and I hope people are silly enough to fade him because of the addition of Elliott. There will be plenty of rushing production to go around in New England for both running backs, and Stevenson should remain the focal point in the passing game. But the reason I put Stevenson in this category was because I passed on Mark Andrews, which I might regret. While I'm fine with my tight end duo of LaPorta and Johnson, those two combined might not score as many points as Andrews. That could be a move that costs me as the season goes on.
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Make or break player
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As you probably guessed from reading the top of this story, Adams falls into this category. I still expect him to be productive, otherwise I wouldn't rank him as a second-round pick. But I don't expect him to perform at the same level as he did last year (19.7 PPR points per game), and I'm concerned his age (30) and quarterback (Jimmy Garoppolo) will drag down his production, even slightly. I would have preferred other receivers like Amon-Ra St. Brown, CeeDee Lamb, A.J. Brown or Garrett Wilson instead of Adams, but all of those receivers were drafted right in front of me. Hopefully, if Adams does fall off a little bit, it isn't dramatic, and he could still be the No. 1 receiver this team needs.
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