Fantasy Football Draft Recap

I took part in a fantasy football draft. 12 team league, snake draft, standard scoring except quarterbacks get 6 points per touchdown.

Here is a recap of my team. Let me know what you think. I had the ninth pick in the draft.  This is a serious league with an end of the season payout.

QB: Cam Newton, Jay Cutler, Tim Tebow

RB:  Adrian Peterson, Darren Sproles, Kevin Smith, Jacquizz Rodgers, Rashard Mendenhall

WR: Hakeem Nicks, Vincent Jackson, Jeremey Maclin, Kenny Britt, Rueben Randle

TE: Brandon Pettigrew, Dustin Keller

Defense: Bengals

Kicker: Matt Prater

Below I’ll quickly recount my thought process for each round.

I started the draft looking to go quarterback in the first round–quarterbacks getting six points per touchdowns means they will be the most valuable players in the league. I was targeting Rodgers, Brady, or Brees picking 9th. Unfortunately all three of those quarterbacks were gone by that point. Foster, Rice, McCoy, and Forte were also gone. I was debating between Cam Newton, Stafford, and Calvin Johnson. I went with Newton over Johnson because he plays the position that will score the most points in this league, and over Stafford because I was worried about his ability to stay healthy behind  a subpar offensive line .

The second round was another tough decision of mine. I knew I wanted to go running back here–I would have gone Andre Johnson if I could count on him staying healthy. The two most viable running back options to me here were Run DMC and Adrian Peterson. Both injury concerns. I went with Peterson coming off an injury as opposed to waiting for Mcfadden to suffer an injury–perhaps owning Mcfadden the last two years swayed me against him.

Third round-I’m looking WR or running back here. The best running backs available were Ryan Matthews and Steven Jackson. Jackson age concerns me and Ryan Matthews is hurt often. I was leaning towards WR–Hakeem Nicks, Wes Welker, Brandon Marshall, and Jordy Nelson were the most appealing to me. I think Nicks is the best WR here, but I”m also a homer. I was hoping Brandon Marshall would fall to me in the next round.

Fourth round- not looking at any specific position just aiming to take the best player available. I chose the versatility of Darren Sproles (return touchdowns are worth 6 points in this league as well), over Jordy Nelson. I also thought Sproles was the only running back available I really wanted to spend an early draft pick on even though he’s in a large time share in New Orleans.

Fifth round-I now had a QB and two running backs and wanted to fill out my roster with WR. I think Vincent Jackson is a terrific player and this was a no brainer pick for me.

Sixth round-I took the upside of Maclin over Eric Decker, Dwayne Bowe, Percy Harvin, and Donald Brown. I was going to select Bowe and changed my mind at the last second. We’ll see if that’s a mistake later.

Seventh round-at this point I’m okay with my starting running backs, but hate the depth. I love my starting three WR  and decide to focus on making sure my depth at RB is solidified. I took Kevin Smith because of Leshoure’s suspension and the fact that Jahvid Best will miss the first six weeks.

The 8th round I had a computer glitch. It went to auto pick for whatever reason. I ended up with Kenny Britt. I probably would have taken Fred Davis or Justin Blackmon.

9th round-I like to have a good backup QB incase of injury–even at the expense of depth to my skill position players. I took Jay Cutler. Do’h. He has the same bye week as Cam Newton.

10th round-I really need a TE now. I’ll take the for sure thing with Brandon Pettigrew over the promising Coby Fleener.

11th round-I’ve always been a big Jacquizz Rodgers fan. I reach for him here. I think if Turner gets hurt this is a huge steal. He’ll outplay Jason Snelling and be the #2 RB soon.

12th round-Rashard Mendenhall–This pick might be a steal. Mendenhall just came off the physically unable to perform list and looks like he’ll be full go by mid-season. If he’s the same reliable Mendnhall it’s terrific value in the 12th round. If not whoopy doo I didn’t grab another back up WR or TE.

13th round-It’s sleeper time. I wanted to take a player I expected would be better later in the season than early on. Unless Ramses Barden steps up for the Giants, Randle should be the #3 WR by the middle of the season. In the recent past, the #3 WR option for the Giants has posted good numbers. Randle is also insurance if Hakeem Nicks gets hurt.

14th round-Dustin Keller might be the best offensive player on the Jets. He doesn’t have anyone to throw him the ball, but he’s a viable fill in for Pettigrew on the bye week. He might actually put up better numbers than Pettigrew .

15th round-Knowing that I have both Cutler and Newton on bye’s week  6 I had to find a spot starter QB. By week 6 it’s possible that Tebow is the starting QB of the Jets and even if he’s not he’ll get some wild cat opportunities. Maybe I get lucky and he runs for two goal line touchdowns that week. As a bonus my Fantasy Team’s Name is “Tebow’s Throwing Coach” had to  pick him.

16th-Big points in the league for 50 plus yard field goals. Broncos offense should put up more points and Prater nails some long field goals.

17th-Bengals or Chiefs defense? Went with Bengals.

Thoughts?