The fifth round is approaching in the Fanex Analysis Draft, and nobody seems to want to draft quarterbacks. We’re 43 picks in, and the only ones who’ve been drafted are Andrew Luck and Aaron Rodgers. Peyton Manning and Drew Brees making it to the fifth round? Maybe.
Luck and Rodgers both went in the second round.
Some of this can be attributed to format. Teams in this league are required to start a combined six running backs and wide receivers, versus just one quarterback. So there’s some supply and demand at work because of the rules. QBs are also getting only 4 points for TDs in this format (and losing 1 point for interceptions).
There’s also the reality that there are a lot of pretty comparable quarterbacks after those big two. How much better are Brees and Manning than all those other good quarterbacks – Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, Ben Roethlisberger, Tony Romo, etc. Is Manning even the best member of his family – Eli Manning was pretty great in the second half of last year.
This is also a best-ball league, so if you can get two of the top 15 or so, you’re set up pretty well.
I’m part of this group. I just passed on both Brees and Manning. I’ve gone with two running backs and two wide receivers with my first four picks. By my board, I should have selected either three or even four wide receivers so far, but I’ve gone with running backs in rounds two and four to five myself a little more positional flexibility. It’s guesswork, but if I had gone with a wide receiver in the second or fourth round, I might have been forced to select a pretty mediocre running back in the sixth or seventh round, when there might be a falling player at wide receiver, quarterback or tight end there.
C.J. Spiller was my last pick, at No. 43 overall. This is a PPR format, so if you can get players who catch passes, you tend to be set up pretty well. The Saints pass to running backs more than any other team. Four years in a row, they’ve caught over 110 passes. Spiller might not catch quite like Darren Sproles, but he (Spiller) is the only New Orleans back with much receiving ability. If he stays healthy, I imagine he’ll catch 70-80 passes, making him solid gold in this format. Mark Ingram will run for more yards and probably score more touchdowns, but if Spiller I think will be slightly more productive in this format.
This draft is ongoing, and if you want to follow along, and you see the strategy remarks of each participant after their picks.
| FANEX ANALYSIS DRAFT | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pick | Pos | Player |
| 1.01 | RB | Eddie Lacy |
| 1.02 | RB | Jamaal Charles |
| 1.03 | RB | LeVeon Bell |
| 1.04 | RB | Adrian Peterson |
| 1.05 | RB | C.J. Anderson |
| 1.06 | WR | Antonio Brown |
| 1.07 | RB | Marshawn Lynch |
| 1.08 | TE | Rob Gronkowski |
| 1.09 | WR | Dez Bryant |
| 1.10 | RB | Arian Foster |
| 1.11 | RB | LeSean McCoy |
| 1.12 | RB | Matt Forte |
| 2.01 | WR | Demaryius Thomas |
| 2.02 | RB | Melvin Gordon |
| 2.03 | RB | DeMarco Murray |
| 2.04 | WR | Odell Beckham Jr. |
| 2.05 | WR | Julio Jones |
| 2.06 | QB | Andrew Luck |
| 2.07 | RB | Jeremy Hill |
| 2.08 | WR | Randall Cobb |
| 2.09 | WR | Mike Evans |
| 2.10 | WR | Calvin Johnson |
| 2.11 | WR | A.J. Green |
| 2.12 | WR | Jordy Nelson |
| 3.01 | QB | Aaron Rodgers |
| 3.02 | WR | Alshon Jeffery |
| 3.03 | WR | T.Y. Hilton |
| 3.04 | RB | Ameer Abdullah |
| 3.05 | WR | Emmanuel Sanders |
| 3.06 | WR | Julian Edelman |
| 3.07 | RB | Justin Forsett |
| 3.08 | WR | Brandin Cooks |
| 3.09 | WR | DeAndre Hopkins |
| 3.10 | RB | Frank Gore |
| 3.11 | TE | Jimmy Graham |
| 3.12 | RB | Mark Ingram |
| 4.01 | WR | Kelvin Benjamin |
| 4.02 | RB | Todd Gurley |
| 4.03 | WR | Jordan Matthews |
| 4.04 | RB | Alfred Morris |
| 4.05 | RB | Carlos Hyde |
| 4.06 | WR | Keenan Allen |
| 4.07 | RB | C.J. Spiller |
—Ian Allan