Position Size Summary Through July
Now that I've completed a "larger" odd number of drafts, I can break down my position size of held players from my leather-bound imaginary Fantasy Portfolio. It even has an imaginary brass buckle.
The round numbers after finishing ten leagues seemed so... well, round. Seemed too novice sounding. These position sizes with decimal points after them seem much more professional. Wink-wink.
I added the quotation marks around the word larger because I realize that compared to guys I follow on Twitter like @FFLinx , @draftaddict , @208858740 , @chadsch23 , or @evansilva who may teeter on that edge of maxing out allowable entries by the time kickoff weekend rolls around...my portfolio is Rinky Dink.
That said, I have managed to invest in a cool thirteen leagues so far, with all of them in that roughly $300 entry price point. From May 12th (ahhh, the values to be had back then!) through July 31st I've purchased a Rotowire Online Championship, a Scout Online Championship, and eleven FootballGuys Players Championship teams. Still having the draft frenzy month of August to go, we'll see where that number ends up.
After gently laying all of my rosters down on an excel file, I got to see with more clarity just who I'll be screaming loudest for this season when they get a touchdown that survives review!
It goes without saying that in leagues where I received draft slots toward the end of the first round, many players were simply not available. The same can be said when gifted with an early draft slot, as my round two targets dried up closer to the middle of the second round. Them's the breaks.
Some players I felt I had "loaded up on" were a bit light when actually counting them up. On the other side of the spectrum, I was pleasantly surprised to see I had more shares of other players than I thought, going off of memory.
Having a million shares of a player that on average may go undrafted doesn't mean too much, so the higher a player's ADP, the more it hurt to select them, as there may have been plenty of other juicy options seducing your clicking finger at the time.
So keep all of that in mind as I unfold a portion of my Master Plan for taking home the monies in 2018!
"After further review, the ruling on the field stands. TOUCHDOWN!!!"
Position Size for players drafted in the first four rounds:
In general for 2018, I'm strongly leaning toward drafting running backs early until the ones I am targeting dry up. In a perfect draft, I'd have four before switching gears to other positions, namely wide receiver.
69% Rashaad Penny RB SEA
46% Christian McCaffrey RB CAR
38% Dalvin Cook RB MIN
38% Joe Mixon RB CIN
38% Ronald Jones RB TB
30% Ezekiel Elliott RB DAL
30% Allen Robinson WR CHI
15% David Johnson RB ARI
15% LeSean McCoy RB BUF
7% Saquon Barkley RB NYG
7% DeAndre Hopkins WR HOU
7% Odell Beckham WR NYG
7% Mike Evans WR TB
7% Davante Adams WR GB
7% Amari Cooper WR OAK
7% Rob Gronkowski TE NE
Ahhh, the serendipitous reward for drafting a player in nine leagues. It creates such a beautiful number when dividing thirteen times. As you can see, I pounded running back as often as I could early on, but when a stud wide receiver or tight end fell a bit, I flipped script and pounced. Recently I have also made the wise attempt to diversify my player investment as to not get financially crushed by a single injury due to an oversized position.
Position Size for players drafted in rounds five through eight:
After drafting my share of running backs to the point of satiation, my focus turns to wide receivers (in general) heading onward from the fifth round. While my leaguemates are now chasing RB after starting WR or TE heavy, I am picking off wideouts with abandon. As the weeks go by, the quality of wide receivers typically falling to these rounds has been shrinking, causing me to reinforce my belief in early season drafting.
69% Brandin Cooks WR LAR
61% Sammy Watkins WR KC
61% D.J. Moore WR CAR
46% Corey Davis WR TEN
46% George Kittle TE SF
38% DeVante Parker WR MIA
7% Kerryon Johnson RB DET
7% Jordan Reed TE WAS
My strategy for drafting in 2018 could have been completely different. I may have settled on a nice blend of RB/WR/TE in the first four rounds, but when draft board after draft board posted on Twitter by those mentioned earlier kept showing these highly talented wideouts consistently falling into this 5th-to-8th round range, my strategy crystallized as is.
In my mind-movie, I can imagine a season where many of these WR's command 100+ targets each for their newly minted roles. I'm fully aware that most high stakes drafters are uber-cautious with the unknown and keep hitting the brakes like shitty drivers in light traffic.
As Jocko Willink might say: GOOD.
Position Size for players drafted in rounds nine through twelve:
After shoring up my running back and wide receiver stables to contentment, this is where my focus shifts to quarterback. In past seasons I have run the gamut on how I felt comfortable attacking the quarterback position in high stakes fantasy football. From going after a stud early, to being the last one to draft a QB. From only drafting a single one across leagues, to what I have settled on this year, drafting somewhere between two and three.
There is something to be said about the calmness of not having to chase or stream quarterbacks. To kick your feet up and be able to send out a stud QB that sends shivers through your opponent's spine. Another advantage to seeing bigger money draft boards in early May. Things have tightened up a bit with the news coming across the wire, but in general, QB's are a flat out bargain the higher you go up in stakes. It is borderline crazy how little respect they are getting this year.
GOOD.
100% Jameis Winston QB TB
92% Patrick Mahomes QB KC
69% Andrew Luck QB IND
53% Eric Ebron TE IND
46% Aaron Jones RB GB
46% Dez Bryant WR (???)
30% Anthony Miller WR CHI
23% Jacksonville Jaguars Defense
23% Kenny Golladay WR DET
7% Tarik Cohen RB CHI
For some strange reason, people think three games and one bench spot are too pricey to roster Jameis. GOOD. Mahomes is a guy I'm very high on for fantasy football this year. One team beat me to the punch out of 13 leagues. Surprised, I actually fumed over that for a moment. With the positive news coming out surrounding Luck, I'd imagine if things continue to progress, he'll be pulling some Zen Master shit as he floats up the draft board in Full Lotus position.
Late rounders I'm scooping up:
These are the players that fall and can be drafted at will pretty much any time during the second half of drafts. You hope things break right for these types, and they don't become your first few cuts as you make room to add new gems off the waiver wire.
69% Dallas Goedert TE PHI
53% Mike Gesicki TE MIA
46% Chris Godwin WR TB
38% Jeremy McNichols RB SF
30% Michael Gallup WR DAL
30% Josh Doctson WR WAS
30% Chase Edmonds RB ARI
30% Kenneth Dixon RB BAL
23% Frank Gore RB MIA
23% Jaylen Samuels RB PIT
15% Christian Kirk WR ARI
15% James Washington WR PIT
I wish I scooped up even more Dallas Goedert shares. Strong gut feeling being backed up by nice reports out of camp. I like what I'm hearing about Gallup, Godwin and Edmonds as well.
That's a wrap for my breakdown of how I've attacked drafts so far this season.
I'm looking forward to planning out a few paths with the 1.02 draft slot I received for the FFPC Live Main Event! Awesome!
I just yesterday booked Thursday through Monday at Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas for Kickoff Weekend! If you are going to be in Vegas for the first weekend of the NFL season, I'd enjoy meeting you and buying you a cold beverage! I'll be the tall, slightly non-sober one in the Drafting Lounge, Sportsbook or pool.
No, the other one!
This article paints a clear picture of how I'm going to WAR in 2018 redraft. I could talk a good game about every single NFL player, but seeing how much Skin in the Game I have on the players listed here leaves no room for doubt.
I hope you found this beneficial, and I'd enjoy introducing myself in Vegas if you wind up there in a few more weeks!
Thanks again for reading.