Early last week I posted the first eight rounds of a best-ball draft I'm currently participating. Here are now are the next eight rounds, which are arguably just as important. It's selecting the mid-round guys who might dramatically exceed their projections that sometimes wins in fantasy.
Here's the link to the first eight rounds. I'm drafting out of the 12 spot, and it's a 1-QB PPR league that starts 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE and 2 RB-WR-TE flex spots. It's TE-premium, so those players get a 1.5 points per reception.
My first eight players will ideally all be starters or strong backups: Jordan Love at quarterback, Derrick Henry, Isiah Pacheco and Zamir White at running back, Puka Nacua-Devonta Smith-Zay Flowers as my top 3 WRs, and Dallas Goedert at tight end. Here's how the next eight rounds went; my picks in bold.
| Pk | Player | Pos |
|---|---|---|
| 9.01 | Tony Pollard | RB |
| 9.02 | Brian Robinson | RB |
| 9.03 | Christian Watson | WR |
| 9.04 | Caleb Williams | QB |
| 9.05 | Jared Goff | QB |
| 9.06 | Tyjae Spears | RB |
| 9.07 | Tua Tagovailoa | QB |
| 9.08 | T.J. Hockenson | TE |
| 9.09 | Jameson Williams | WR |
| 9.10 | Jaxon Smith-Njigba | WR |
| 9.11 | Trey Benson | RB |
| 9.12 | Cole Kmet | TE |
| 10.01 | Jayden Daniels | QB |
| 10.02 | Keon Coleman | WR |
| 10.03 | Jerome Ford | RB |
| 10.04 | Trevor Lawrence | QB |
| 10.05 | Devin Singletary | RB |
| 10.06 | Justin Herbert | QB |
| 10.07 | Chase Brown | RB |
| 10.08 | Blake Corum | RB |
| 10.09 | Ladd McConkey | WR |
| 10.10 | Tyler Conklin | TE |
| 10.11 | Rashee Rice | WR |
| 10.12 | Gus Edwards | RB |
Kmet (pictured) was by far the highest tight end on my board; seems pretty underrated in drafts this year. Chicago has three good wide receivers but they're still going to put a tight end on the field and I think Caleb Williams is going to look for him. Speaking of rookie quarterbacks, Jayden Daniels is a perfect pick in this format at this point of the draft. I've got my starting quarterback, but now I've got a No. 2 who, with his rushing potential, can win weeks without my having to predict when those huge rushing games are coming. At this point in the draft, I don't think there are many (any?) players at other positions likely to offer the potential that Daniels might. Anthony Richardson is a similar kind of player with only 3 more games worth of an NFL experience and he was selected 5 rounds earlier.
| Pk | Player | Pos |
|---|---|---|
| 11.01 | Matthew Stafford | QB |
| 11.02 | Nick Chubb | RB |
| 11.03 | Kirk Cousins | QB |
| 11.04 | Brian Thomas | WR |
| 11.05 | Kendre Miller | RB |
| 11.06 | Tyler Lockett | WR |
| 11.07 | Ezekiel Elliott | RB |
| 11.08 | Aaron Rodgers | QB |
| 11.09 | Jakobi Meyers | WR |
| 11.10 | Curtis Samuel | WR |
| 11.11 | Courtland Sutton | WR |
| 11.12 | Jaylen Wright | RB |
| 12.01 | Noah Fant | TE |
| 12.02 | Mike Williams | WR |
| 12.03 | Will Levis | QB |
| 12.04 | Romeo Doubs | WR |
| 12.05 | Rashid Shaheed | WR |
| 12.06 | Zach Charbonnet | RB |
| 12.07 | Khalil Shakir | WR |
| 12.08 | Deshaun Watson | QB |
| 12.09 | Baker Mayfield | QB |
| 12.10 | Joshua Palmer | WR |
| 12.11 | MarShawn Lloyd | RB |
| 12.12 | Jerry Jeudy | WR |
As noted, this is a TE-premium league with two flex spots, and Fant is a guy we like a lot as a second (or third, in this case) tight end this season. Seattle shipped out its two other involved tight ends and gave Fant a big contract. I won't need to draft any more tight ends, most likely. Jaylen Wright enters a crowded situation in Miami but has the talent and big-play potential to hit in this best-ball format, and I don't need to worry when the big games are coming. Miami didn't select him to ride the bench, and neither Mostert nor Achane has shown to be especially durable. I did consider Shakir at this spot (I'm a little thin at wide receiver) and Lloyd, who should be the No. 2 in Green Bay immediately (AJ Dillon not a good player).
| Pk | Player | Pos |
|---|---|---|
| 13.01 | Gabe Davis | WR |
| 13.02 | Rico Dowdle | RB |
| 13.03 | Ray Davis | RB |
| 13.04 | Luke Musgrave | TE |
| 13.05 | Brandin Cooks | WR |
| 13.06 | Dontayvion Wicks | WR |
| 13.07 | Josh Downs | WR |
| 13.08 | Jahan Dotson | WR |
| 13.09 | Adam Thielen | WR |
| 13.10 | Kimani Vidal | RB |
| 13.11 | Cade Otton | TE |
| 13.12 | Darnell Mooney | WR |
| 14.01 | Antonio Gibson | RB |
| 14.02 | Justin Tucker | PK |
| 14.03 | Geno Smith | QB |
| 14.04 | Jermaine Burton | WR |
| 14.05 | Hunter Henry | TE |
| 14.06 | Ty Chandler | RB |
| 14.07 | Juwan Johnson | TE |
| 14.08 | Adonai Mitchell | WR |
| 14.09 | Tyler Allgeier | RB |
| 14.10 | Ja'Lynn Polk | WR |
| 14.11 | Daniel Jones | QB |
| 14.12 | Isaiah Likely | TE |
| 15.01 | Brandon Aubrey | PK |
| 15.02 | BAL Team Defense | DF |
| 15.03 | Ben Sinnott | TE |
| 15.04 | Roschon Johnson | RB |
| 15.05 | Ricky Pearsall | WR |
| 15.06 | Jaleel McLaughlin | RB |
| 15.07 | Chigoziem Okonkwo | TE |
| 15.08 | Jelani Woods | TE |
| 15.09 | Roman Wilson | WR |
| 15.10 | Xavier Legette | WR |
| 15.11 | Marvin Mims | WR |
| 15.12 | Chuba Hubbard | RB |
| 16.01 | Bo Nix | QB |
| 16.02 | Harrison Butker | PK |
| 16.03 | Quentin Johnston | WR |
| 16.04 | Derek Carr | QB |
| 16.05 | Ka'imi Fairbairn | PK |
| 16.06 | J.J. McCarthy | QB |
| 16.07 | Bucky Irving | RB |
| 16.08 | Braelon Allen | RB |
| 16.09 | Younghoe Koo | PK |
| 16.10 | Jonnu Smith | TE |
| 16.11 | Michael Wilson | WR |
| 16.12 | DAL Team Defense | DF |
Wrote about Mooney here the other day. The Falcons are paying him $13 million a year. That seems crazy, but it indicates he'll definitely be Kirk Cousins' No. 2. There was a run on wide receivers before this pick; I also had Jahan Dotson and Dontayvion Wicks in my queue as possibilities. Kimani Vidal, a potential starter for the Chargers, was another possibility consideration. When he went, I was glad to select Antonio Gibson, who will be the No. 2 on a New England team that definitely wants to run the ball. Gibson a strong pass catcher as well and could have that job with the Patriots. Even if Rhamondre stays healthy, I expect Gibson to put up starting numbers some weeks, and is a very nice pick at this point.
I've written here before that I don't think much of Chuba Hubbard and never have. But it's the 15th round and Carolina's other options at running back are Jonathon Brooks (who tore his ACL last November) and Miles Sanders (who Hubbard decisively outplayed last year). I really don't care that Brooks declares he'll be ready for training camp. Hubbard will be starting in Week 1 and maybe the first half of the season. He should not be available in Round 15.
Nix is the 26th quarterback off the board, and I feared not getting a third starter if I didn't take one here. (Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson will not be keeping Nix on the bench.) The other remaining quarterback situations are all ones where multiple quarterbacks might start half the season -- Pittsburgh (though I did consider Russell Wilson), Minnesota, New England, Las Vegas. And Derek Carr, who I view as being safer but with less potential upside than Nix.
We've now entered the kicker and defense and backup running back portion of the draft. It's possible I'll run another post to wrap things up next week, but I also understand that 28 rounds is quite a bit for most and involves players who will not be drafted in most leagues. Questions and comments welcome.
