Picking First in Fantasy Football
Category: Sports
Published: 09/04/2009 03:41 a.m.
I had my fantasy football draft last night at David's house. Somehow I ended up with the first pick. This is wonderful in the sense that I get Adrian Peterson, who is the best player in the league. The downside to first pick is that there isn't much value drafting.
Value drafting is when you pickup a guy that has fallen a couple rounds because the other drafters are picking names earlier than their worth. Some of the big name QB's and TE's are drafted much earlier than expected. For someone in the normal draft order, this means that you can pickup a value player, an unknown name, who is a starter #2 receiver somewhere much later than they should go. But if you are picking first, it doesn't work that way.
Picking first means that you get pick first, but your next picks are 24 and 25. Then again back-to-back in another 24 picks. It is frustrating in the sense that most of the people you want will not likely fall to your next pick, due to other people picking them or the auto-draft for those not participating live. So, you have to scan a list of about 15 players who will all be drafted before your next two picks and pick from that group. You can't just grab from the top.
Overall I am very happy with my team. I got a couple of value players, and while I am a bit weak at RB, I have some guys with promise. Below is my team and pick order number.
(1) Adrian Peterson - RB - Very happy with this pick. (24) Aaron Rodgers - QB - The QB's were flying and I had to grab one. (Rivers was still on the board). (25) Steve Smith - WR - He's an oldie but he will get the ball thrown his way. (48) Chad Ochocinco - WR - He had an off year last year, but I believe in him. (49) Marshawn Lynch - RB - I'm surprised he fell this far. He will come in handy in the playoffs. (72) DeSean Jackson - WR - A great value at 72 and a decent guy to rotate in and out. (73) Greg Olsen - TE - A top tier TE who will be worth a few points consistently. (96) Felix Jones - RB - A first in line backup. (97) Percy Harvin - WR - Great person to fill the RB/WR spot. Took him over Hester. (120) Julius Jones - RB - Another solid backup worth 50 yds and maybe a TD. He only gets 10 touches a game. (121) Brett Favre - QB - A top tier backup to Rodgers. Favre, Harvin and AP could make for a dynamic trio. (144) Packers - D/ST - They create points, which counts big in fantasy. And they are in the Lions division. (145) Stephen Gostkowski - K - The top kicker in the league. Good for 7 points a week no doubt. (168) Glen Coffee - RB - I love this pick. Solid upside and could score big on the others' bye weeks.
As you can see by the numbers, there are huge gaps in picking. The last person who goes 12/13 is in a similar position. They get two first rounders, and I get AP. Probably a fair trade, but I get the upper hand later on. There are only a couple of teams in the league I am really concerned about. The Packers play the Vikings twice, which sucks because I have competing offense and defense there, but it isn't much of an issue. I am not sure how the trading will go, but I could easily pick up another back for Favre or maybe Lynch, if Buffalo turns out to be a bust (again). I will probably go 3 WR and 2 RB for the first few weeks. Normally this isn't favorable, as RB's tend to get more points on average, but I have to top receivers in Smith and Ochocinco, and Harvin could grow to be a #2. Both Smith and Ochocinco have old guys as their #2 (M. Muhammed and L. Coles), which makes them even more valuable. It isn't a Larry Fitzgerald/Anquan Boldin situation.
This is the second time I have drafted in one of the top two positions, and I am much happier with this go-round than last time. I can't wait til Sunday.