Before you know it, it will be fantasy football draft time. During the next month or so, I will be conducting several mock drafts. During the drafts, I will pick in all 12 positions, with all sorts of scenarios.
As a rule, I prefer to draft three starting running backs within the first four rounds. It is a tried-and-true strategy, which has done me well for 20-plus years. The mock drafts I do will all assume 12 teams are in the league (unless otherwise noted) with the following positions: quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, tight end, a flex (running back, wide receiver or tight end), kicker, team defense and six bench spots. It is a 16-round snake draft.
Here is a 10-team-league scenario. (See also: Scenario No. 1, Scenario No. 2, Scenario 3, Scenario 4, Scenario 5, Scenario 6, Scenario 7, 16-team scenario and superflex scenario.)
I have the 10th overall pick. Let’s see how it all works out. In this format, I am playing in a half-point-per-reception league (0.5 PPR), which means that every reception is worth a half-point.
You can see the entire draft by clicking here.
Here is my roster:
Round 1, Pick 10: Tyreek Hill, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
Round 2, Pick 1: Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs
Round 3, Pick 10: J.K. Dobbins, RB, Baltimore Ravens
Round 4, Pick 1: David Montgomery, RB, Chicago Bears
Round 5, Pick 10: Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
Round 6, Pick 1: Kenny Golladay, WR, New York Giants
Round 7, Pick 10: JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers
Round 8, Pick 1: Chase Edmonds, RB, Arizona Cardinals
Round 9, Pick 10: Damien Harris, RB, New England Patriots
Round 10, Pick 1: Jarvis Landry, WR, Cleveland Browns
Round 11, Pick 10: Michael Carter, RB, New York Jets
Round 12, Pick 1: Marquise Brown, WR, Baltimore Ravens
Round 13, Pick 10: Joe Burrow, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
Round 14, Pick 1: Washington Football Team DST
Round 15, Pick 10: Harrison Butker, K, Kansas City Chiefs
Round 16, Pick 1: Alexander Mattison, RB, Minnesota Vikings
Some Observations:
My overall strategy in a half-PPR league is to treat it like a PPR league. You get a slight bonus for players who are double-digit touchdown players, but not enough to overhaul the rankings a bunch. Derrick Henry-type players may get an uptick in this format, for example.
Every time I look at a 10-team league, my first thought is that everyone has a great team. Two fewer picks per round may not seem like much, but players seem to fall to spots you never can get in a larger draft.
I tried something new for me and did not go RB-RB to start off. Instead, I took a WR1 in Tyreek Hill and a TE1 in Travis Kelce. I mean, getting the top two pass-catchers on the top offense can’t be a bad start, right?
Breaking out in a sweat, I had to address running back in the next couple rounds and was able to acquire J.K. Dobbins and David Montgomery. OK, I have my 13th- and 18th-ranked backs. Not terrible.
Then the fifth round put me under pressure as Kyler Murray was still on the board and was the last of my Tier 1 quarterbacks … could I grab him and still field a solid team?
Well, turns out I could. I passed up a ton of receiver talent earlier but was still able to draft Kenny Golladay and JuJu Smith-Schuster with my next two picks.
The rest of the way I went a bit running back-heavy with Damien Harris, Chase Edmonds, Michael Carter and Alexander Maddison. If nothing else, I have some trade bait to upgrade my receiver corps.
I didn’t take another tight end. When you have Kelce or Darren Waller, why would you waste a spot on a player you will only hopefully play once?
I like this team … maybe the receivers are a bit light, but I have WR1, so how bad is it really?
So what do you think of this team? Let me know at @FansFantasy.
Please try a mock yourself as practice makes perfect. You can mock in minutes by clicking here.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox
Ken Zalis ranked No. 3 in FantasyPros’ 2019 Fantasy Football Draft Accuracy Rankings.
