Andy Richardson

June 08, 2024

Best-Ball Draft, Part 2

Rounds 9-16

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.

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