Perfect Draft Series: Drafting 12th in a 12 Team League
Fantasy football drafting, to me, is all about comfort.
No matter how long you’ve been drafting, one questionable pick gets in your head and next thing you know you’re scrambling for the rest of the draft.
If you read my first installment in 4for4.com’s Perfect Draft Series, drafting 5th in a 10-team league, you’ll know I was pretty much out of my element with the process I took to beat nine other PC Drafter teams. Like anything, though, perfect practice makes perfect. And despite taking a WR and a TE with my first two picks in that mock, I was able to accomplish my goal in the end.
This assignment is already a bit easier as I was assigned to draft 12th in a 12-team, PPR league. Picking last has always been something viewed as a negative. However, I think any great fantasy GM should be used to picking last, because it means you’ve won your league the year before. I also think picking last can sometimes be an advantage depending on the projected year. And, I believe this is one of those years.
We all know the top-three picks in most drafts will be RBs Arian Foster, LeSean McCoy and Ray Rice – in some order. Whether you feel those are the top picks or not, having a top-three selection pretty much makes you feel obligated to go the RB route. When I picked fifth in my Perfect Draft article, I wasn’t sure what direction to go, and you don’t get a lot of time to decide. Picking last, you can let the first 11 picks dictate your selections.
As I stated above, this mock is set up as a PPR league featuring 12 teams. I’m using Performance 2 in PC Drafter for the point system. The draft is 15 rounds and my starting lineup will contain: 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 flex (RB/WR/TE), 1 TE, 1 D and 1 kicker.
Let’s see how things work out…
Round 1, Pick 12
Picking last, there’s also no biting finger nails hoping a guy like Foster or Aaron Rodgers slips to you. It likely won’t happen and you can get it out of your mind. But if it does, it’s just a pleasant surprise. In this mock, most of the usual suspects are off the board and there are no surprises: the top-three RBs, Rodgers and Brady at QB, WR Calvin Johnson and other RBs like Trent Richardson, Ryan Mathews, Chris Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden.
Another benefit to picking last is you can think about your picks in groups of two if your draft is serpentine, and that makes it easier for planning ahead. That was an approach I took in this mock. I always tend to lean toward a running back first, but at 12th, I was open to taking any position. Matt Forte and Darren Sproles were both on the board and were PC Drafter’s top selections. But I went with Forte, who is just designed to do more as a workhorse back.
My Pick – Matt Forte, RB
Round 2, Pick 1
I was tempted to take a second RB, like Sproles, I have to admit. Larry Fitzgerald was also there and he was also someone I thought about. But, with Drew Brees available, it’s nice to get one of the top-three QBs who managed to hang around. Now my hope is another solid running back will fall when it comes back for my third pick. Because WR is deep this year, I figure I should be able to also get a good one with my next set of picks.
My Pick – Drew Brees, QB
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