Tuesday, September 8, 2015

My last draft of the season, from the 3 hole

It's almost here, Fools! Thursday night's kickoff is just hours away! How awesome is that?

I just had my final draft of the preseason last night. It's a 10-team PPR league, and I had the 3rd overall pick. Here's what I did, for better or worse...

Pick 1.3: Jamaal Charles, RB, Chiefs. The #2 RB on my board, after AP. Especially lethal in PPR leagues.

Pick 2.8: A.J. Green, WR, Bengals. Missed Megatron by "that much." Love AJG, but he's no Mega, OBJ or Dez. Hopefully he can stay healthy and Dalton kicks it up a notch.

Pick 3.3: Justin Forsett, RB, Ravens. Love him as a third-rounder, especially in PPR leagues. He should be targeted for a lot more passes in Mark Trestman's offensive scheme.

Pick 4.8: Davante Adams, WR, Packers. The receivers were getting very thin, so I had to pounce. Only 2 QBs off the board so far (Luck and Rodgers). Adams is a nice sleeper, but I'd like him more as my WR2.

Pick 5.3: Drew Brees, QB, Saints. I could have taken Peyton or Russell Wilson, but decided to stick to my guns and roll with a perennial Top 3 fantasy QB. Given the reaction of my league-mates, I might have pulled the trigger a round early, but probably not. Four QBs went off the board before my next pick, including Brady and Romo.

Pick 6.8: Todd Gurley, RB, Rams. You know I'm fixated on him this season. I was planning to take Jarvis Landry here and gamble that Gurley would make it back around, but the Dolphins WR was scooped up at 6.6. So it made this call easier.

Pick 7.3: DeSean Jackson, WR, Redskins. Foiled again! The plan was to take Arian Foster here, but he left the board at 6.10. Dangit! If I had taken Arian, would Gurley have survived the swing? We may never know. D-Jax is a solid WR3.

Pick 8.8: Jordan Cameron, TE, Dolphins. I was sweating this one as several tier-2 TEs were coming off the board in rapid succession. Not everyone feels like I do about Cameron, though. Love his upside. Just hoping he doesn't get his bell rung again.

Pick 9.3: Isaiah Crowell, RB, Browns. Crowell has never figured in any of my draft scenarios, but Michael Floyd was taken at 9.1 and I needed another healthy back. With Terrance West shipped off to Tennessee, and 3-4 beers in my system, Crowell seemed like the right call. Also felt too early to take Charles Sims or Alfred Blue, both of whom I was holding out for.

Pick 10.8: Marques Colston, WR, Saints. Old reliable, he's a solid bye-week or injury fill-in to pair with my QB.

Pick 11.3: Sam Bradford, QB, Eagles. I've talked myself into taking him in two drafts now. I'll probably regret it the next time he falls on his shoulder, but there's a lot to like about the Eagles' offense. I also made this selection here because my buddy picking at 11.5 had yet to grab a QB and I knew he was eyeing Bradford. Sometimes one man's pain is another man's gain.

Pick 12.8: DeVante Parker, WR, Dolphins. Consolation for missing out on Landry, Parker could actually develop into a more valuable fantasy commodity as the season goes on. Probably not, but it's possible. Blue was selected at 12.1 and Sims at 12.4. Dangit.

Pick 13.3: Knile Davis, RB, Chiefs. Arguably the most important handcuff in Fantasyland, Davis can nearly match Jamaal's production should the starter go down.

Pick 14.8: Rams defense/special teams. The run on defenses started late but was well underway by the time I picked. I grabbed the top DST on my board just in time.

Pick 15.3: Brian Quick, WR, Rams. Sticking with the Missouri theme, I love Quick's sleeper potential after he flashed his skills briefly in 2014.

Pick 16.8: Brandon McManus, K, Broncos. Hard to go wrong investing in the mop-up guy for Peyton's offense.

Pick 17.3: Antonio Gates, TE, Chargers. I'm perfectly content waiting until he has served his four-game penance. But I didn't realize till after the fact that his bye week is the same as Cameron's. Doh!

There you have it. I'm ready to send these guys off to battle on behalf of the Fantasy Fools.

It's time to dominate!

6 comments:

  1. Ladd,

    I drafted LeVeon Bell, Carlos Hyde, LaGarrette Blount and Jonas Gray as my RBs. With Bell and Blount suspended and Gray cut, I am in need of a one week fill-in. Not a ton of options but who do you like from this list:

    DeAngelo Williams @ NE
    Devonta Freeman vs Phi
    Tre Mason vs SEA
    Duke Johnson @ NYJ
    Woodhead vs Det
    David Johnson vs NO
    Charles Sims vs Ten
    Terrence West @ TB
    Knile Davis @ HOU
    Fred Jackson @ STL

    I would appreciate any help you could provide.

    Thanks,

    Rick

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Of those, your best choice is DeAngelo. He's the only starter of the group that isn't hurt (like Tre Mason).

      Delete
  2. Ladd, I purchased your rankings but having difficulty printing them in time for my draft. Can you assist and let me know how I can print them? thx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry I just saw this. Hopefully you're one of the Fools who emailed me and I sent the lists to directly. Assume it's too late otherwise.

      Delete
  3. Hopefully you see this...I actually managed to draft alshon and mike evans...would you roll with them if they play...or I could start in place of them stevie johnson, mike wallace or ameer abdullah...just not sure what to do...please let me know what you think is best...Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  4. Looks like you'll be safe starting Alshon. He's almost certainly active. As for Evans, too soon to say. If he's sidelined today, I'd take my chances with Wallace on MNF. Good luck

    ReplyDelete