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Andy Richardson

Best-Ball Draft

First eight rounds, from the 9 spot

I like to participate in best-ball drafts this time of year. It's a good way to see how other fantasy coaches actually view players, better than ADP data. Granted the information from drafts can be skewed by one or two incompetent drafters, but it's better than nothing.

I'm doing one at myffpc.com, one of my preferred national sites. The payouts are good, and I like the scoring system, which is PPR with TE-premium; tight ends get 1.5 points per catch. It's 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE-PK-Defense, with 2 flex spots that can be RB-WR-TE; starting multiple tight ends is advised. I drew the 9th spot in a slow draft with a 2-hour clock. Here's how it's gone so far.

FFPC DRAFT
PickPlayerPos
1.01Christian McCaffreyRB
1.02Tyreek HillWR
1.03Breece HallRB
1.04CeeDee LambWR
1.05Bijan RobinsonRB
1.06Justin JeffersonWR
1.07Ja'Marr ChaseWR
1.08Amon-Ra St. BrownWR
1.09Jahmyr GibbsRB
1.10Garrett WilsonWR
1.11Jonathan TaylorRB
1.12Puka NacuaWR
2.01Travis KelceTE
2.02A.J. BrownWR
2.03Marvin HarrisonWR
2.04Sam LaPortaTE
2.05Drake LondonWR
2.06Trey McBrideTE
2.07Saquon BarkleyRB
2.08Chris OlaveWR
2.09Kyren WilliamsRB
2.10De'Von AchaneRB
2.11Derrick HenryRB
2.12Mark AndrewsTE

I don't love picking at the end of the draft order this year. I think there are about 7-8 elite options, and then you're looking at guys not much different from the next dozen or so picks. In this case, I was hoping Amon-Ra St. Brown would be there for me, he went one pick before. This happened to me a lot, actually; guys I wanted going one or two picks before. So I would have liked to be picking 6th or 7th. Oh well.

Gibbs should be the lead back in one of the league's very best offenses. It's a tandem with David Montgomery, most likely, but this is one of the few teams where there should be enough to go around. The only other player I considered was Puka Nacua, and I thought there was a chance he'd make it to me in the 2nd.

I would have liked to go WR with that 2nd pick, but Drake London and Chris Olave didn't really excite me. Given the TE-premium scoring, LaPorta made sense; I think he's a level of above the league's other TEs, including Kelce frankly. Go Lions.

Marvin Harrison, 15th overall. Love the guy. but that is nuts.  

FFPC DRAFT
PickPlayerPos
3.01Jaylen WaddleWR
3.02Josh AllenQB
3.03Nico CollinsWR
3.04Davante AdamsWR
3.05Brandon AiyukWR
3.06Jalen HurtsQB
3.07Dalton KincaidTE
3.08Isiah PachecoRB
3.09DeVonta SmithWR
3.10Travis EtienneRB
3.11Deebo SamuelWR
3.12Mike EvansWR
4.01Josh JacobsRB
4.02Michael PittmanWR
4.03James CookRB
4.04Rachaad WhiteRB
4.05Kyle PittsTE
4.06Malik NabersWR
4.07Cooper KuppWR
4.08DJ MooreWR
4.09Evan EngramTE
4.10DK MetcalfWR
4.11Alvin KamaraRB
4.12Lamar JacksonQB

I would have liked Nico Collins to make it back to me, and in some drafts he would. Not here. I went with DeVonta who's actually in a clump of wide receivers I value similarly, including him, Evans, Kupp, Davante and Waddle. I did consider Kupp, but instead opted for the younger player in an offense that I believe will be passing more this season.

Rachaad, who we currently have as the 8th running back in PPR leagues, was a pretty easy pick as the 14th running back off the board. I would definitely have taken him over Etienne, Jacobs and Cook, all of whom play for teams that either could or will use a second back a lot more than Tampa Bay will. Do you know how concerned I am about Chase Edmonds, Sean Tucker, or Bucky Irving replacing White very often? I am none concerned, that's how much.

FFPC DRAFT
PickPlayerPos
5.01Stefon DiggsWR
5.02Christian KirkWR
5.03C.J. StroudQB
5.04Joe MixonRB
5.05Patrick MahomesQB
5.06George KittleTE
5.07Zay FlowersWR
5.08George PickensWR
5.09Amari CooperWR
5.10Tee HigginsWR
5.11Anthony RichardsonQB
5.12Kenneth WalkerRB
6.01David NjokuTE
6.02Calvin RidleyWR
6.03Jake FergusonTE
6.04Joe BurrowQB
6.05Tank DellWR
6.06Keenan AllenWR
6.07James ConnerRB
6.08David MontgomeryRB
6.09Aaron JonesRB
6.10Terry McLaurinWR
6.11Chris GodwinWR
6.12Rhamondre StevensonRB

We're going to be either very right or very wrong on Cooper. I got him here as the 28th wide receiver off the board, and needless to say we have him ranked a lot higher than that. There is no need to take him as early as we have him ranked, clearly. If we're being honest, I'd have probably taken Zay Flowers here, had he not been selected two picks earlier.

Burrow is a top-3 quarterback on our board, so I elected to take him 6th at the position. It was hard for me not to go with Tank Dell, wanting another wide receiver and a piece of the Houston passing game, but Burrow's lofty ranking and my desire to get that top starting quarterback nailed down forced my hand. Better depth at wide receiver, and let's face it, we know that Dell could wind up being a No. 3 in an offense that spreads it around.

FFPC DRAFT
PickPlayerPos
7.01Christian WatsonWR
7.02Zamir WhiteRB
7.03D'Andre SwiftRB
7.04Dak PrescottQB
7.05Hollywood BrownWR
7.06Raheem MostertRB
7.07Brock BowersTE
7.08Jayden ReedWR
7.09Rashee RiceWR
7.10Diontae JohnsonWR
7.11Jonathon BrooksRB
7.12Zack MossRB
8.01DeAndre HopkinsWR
8.02T.J. HockensonTE
8.03Jaylen WarrenRB
8.04Dallas GoedertTE

My plan was to select Jayden Reed here. He went one pick before. I'm a little wary of Rice, given the whole likely suspension thing, but he's Kansas City's best wideout and any suspension 1) might not be long and 2) might not be in 2024. As the 38th wide receiver drafted, he was worth the risk. Hopkins was the other consideration. A week ago, I'd have taken Zack Moss here, but the talk of Chase Brown getting a majority of first-team reps made me unwilling to go that route. If Brown is there next pick, I'll consider him.

The running backs and wide receivers on the board at 8.04 were all pretty similar in my eyes, while Goedert is our No. 7 tight end in PPR leagues, and this is a league where it's desirable to start two of them. Goedert is another guy we clearly like more than most. I don't really know why. He caught at least 5 passes seven times in his 11 fully healthy games last year. Seems like a nice option in TE-premium leagues.

I'll post another update later this week or next on how things went the rest of the way.

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