Perfect Draft Series: Drafting 4th in 12 Team PPR league
In my two previous Perfect Draft articles, I admitted I wanted to challenge myself a bit. In the first I picked 5th, hoping it would give me practice taking a WR first – it didn’t. But, it was still a tough first-round decision which changed the outcome of my team.
In my most recent piece, I picked 12th in a 12 team league to see if I could beat the 11 other teams – taking what came to me in the draft. It actually wasn't an easy task and I just barely came out on top.
For this Perfect Draft article, I wanted to take the easy way out. So, I chose picking fourth in a 12 team PPR draft.
I already knew who my pick is going to be, so that’s a good start. Not to spoil the ending too much, but this mock went fairly smoothly and I didn’t really feel challenged – just the way I like it in real life. A lot of PC Drafter’s selections were ones I ended up going with myself, and I felt we were both on the same page much of this mock.
As for some background, I picked Performance 2 setting, which automatically defaults to a PPR league with six points for QB TDs. My starting lineup consists of 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 flex (RB, WR, TE), 1 K and 1 defense. I again made sure computer teams wouldn’t take more than 2 QBs and 1 K and 1 defense. It seems to produce the most accurate results.
May as well jump right in and see how this goes…
Round 1, Pick 4
I knew this pick as soon as I selected the draft spot to write about… Taking a WR in the first round has been a stress on me this season, so I was happy to grab RB Matt Forte here. Forte is our number-two PPR running back and projected for 72 catches, more than any other back. I was always a little gun-shy of Forte in the past, but last year I owned him in a couple of leagues after I read the Bears were going to make it a priority to include him in the passing game. He’s a very good back in any format, but this is a bit of a bargain for a PPR league. This was also a PC Drafter selection.
The Pick – Matt Forte, RB
Round 2, Pick 9
My pick here was also a PCD selection. After studying the numbers a bit and also reading some comments on our Discuss Your Team forum from some subscribers, I began to realize it’s time to talk about Antonio Brown in the same breath as some other WR1s going early in drafts. For example, we project Brown for slightly more points than Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery this year in PPR formats. In this mock, Marshall was taken with pick 2.1. Landing Brown here at 2.9 was a pretty easy call. My only temptation was to take Andre Ellington, but with just six picks coming off the board before my next selection, I was pretty comfortable I’d get a capable RB2 if I still wanted one with the next pick.
The Pick – Antonio Brown, WR
Round 3, Pick 4
I’m thrilled to see Ellington still on the board as only Doug Martin went ahead of him. I know there are many on the Martin bandwagon this season, but as someone who had him last year, panicked and then traded him right before his injury, I’m scared to death of him. Meanwhile, Ellington is getting all kinds of positive press and there’s talk every day about his increased workload. My only fear is can he handle it after the Cards were afraid to give it to him last year…
The Pick – Andre Ellington, RB
