Perfect Draft Series: Drafting 8th in a 12 Team PPR League
How do you best draft from the 8th seat in a 12 team PPR draft? I was curious myself, so I invested some time into coming up with the perfect way to draft from that seat. Have you heard of my friend, PC Drafter? She has a web version buddy, golddrafter.com, but I used the good ‘ol PC Drafter program for this project. I love 12 team leagues, and I always play in leagues with 3 WRs. For this league the roster setup is 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, 1TE, 1 Flex, 1K and 1DEF.
Here are the scoring settings I used for this league:
Passing Touchdowns = 4 Points
Rushing/Receiving/Return Touchdowns = 6 Points
Passing Yards = 1 Point every 25 Yards
Rushing/Receiving Yards = 1 Point every 10 Yards
Receptions = 1 point
Interceptions = -2 Points
Fumbles = -2 Points
2 Point Conversions = 2 Points
The default scoring rules for Team Defenses are:
Defensive/Special Teams Touchdowns = 6 Points
Interceptions/Fumble Recoveries = 2 Points
Sacks = 1 Point
Safeties = 2 Points
Shutouts = 5 Points
1-10 Points Allowed = 7 Points
11-20 Points Allowed = 1 Points
21+ Points Allowed = -4 Points
Pick 1.08: Jimmy Graham
Over the last three years, Graham has averaged a line of 5.75-74.6-0.77 per game. Only Gronkowski has shown an ability to put up top numbers like that, and Gronk is coming off multiple surgeries over the last couple years. This leaves Graham standing alone at the top of the tight end food pyramid as the unquestioned most desirable TE in any format. When he falls to the 8th pick, it just may be time to draft this stud, sit back, and enjoy the ride.
Pick 2.05: Antonio Brown
Brown is a verifiable PPR stud. Last year Brown used his reception and yardage totals to finish as the 3rd WR on the year, with only 8 TDs. He offers a great weekly floor, and showed us his massive weekly and seasonal ceiling last year. In our first two picks, we’ve squared away two players who will never leave our lineup, and will generally always score us a nice baseline of points. We’re off to a great start.
Pick 3.08: Shane Vereen
Vereen missed eight games last year, and still finished as RB35 in PPR leagues. Catching an average of nearly 6 balls a game certainly helped. Even if he shares the backfield with Stevan Ridley or someone else, Vereen should maintain the stranglehold over passing down work. This makes him the only Patriot RB we can feel confident about in drafting and starting every week. When you wait a couple rounds on a RB in PPR leagues, this is exactly the type of player you should be targeting.
