Perfect Draft: 11th in a 12-Team Yahoo Standard League

Aug 22, 2019

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On the backend of a draft, I’m most likely going to target an elite WR in the first round, unless one of the top RBs happens to fall. One disadvantage of being on the turn is the chance to get stuck on the wrong side of a positional run, so evaluating opportunity cost is paramount in these first few rounds. A positive is the ability to implement game theory in this draft, meaning you can look at the manager’s roster in the 12 spot and put off say a QB or TE for another round if they’ve already fulfilled that particular position.

Editor's Note: Click here for all articles in the perfect draft series.

In this edition of the Perfect Draft Series, I'll be walking through a perfect draft from the 11th slot in a 12-team Standard Yahoo league. Each pick was optimized using projections and value-based rankings from the 4for4 Draft Hero tool.

Draft Hero Settings

Roster settings: 1QB, 2RB, 3WR, TE, K, DEF, (no flex) six bench spots.
No QBs before the seventh round: I’m not going to even think about the QB position until the seventh round, as I’ll miss out on potential points from position players that are difficult to make up if they are skipped in those beginning rounds.
No TEs between rounds four and seven: I may use an early pick on one of the elite TEs, Travis Kelce, George Kittle or Zach Ertz, so I want to keep them open for recommendations. However, I’ll pass on that next tier and wait until at least the eighth round to consider drafting a TE.
No K’s or DSTs until the last two rounds: I prefer to stream both positions and would rather draft depth for my bench than select either a kicker or team defense before the last two rounds.

Jump to Pick: 1| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15

Round 1, Pick 11 – Odell Beckham, Browns

I came into this draft wanting an elite WR at the start and Beckham certainly fits the description. Drafting Travis Kelce crossed my mind, but in a standard league, Beckham is projected to post 1,432 yards and 9.1 TDs to Kelce’s 1,268 yards and 7.2 scores. I went with the player who’ll get me the most points to anchor this roster.

There are injury concerns with OBJ, but hopefully, that’s behind him and he’ll thrive once again in his new home in Cleveland. He’s certainly getting an upgrade at QB and when on the field, Beckham’s scored double-digit fantasy points in 62.5% of his games since 2016.

Each round, Draft Hero suggests the top available suggestion along with four alternatives, as shown at the top of this section. Throughout the rest of the article, I will note those suggestions as well as my top alternative to the player that I actually selected.

My Top Alternative: Travis Kelce

Round 2, Pick 2 – Nick Chubb, Browns

I normally go with a second WR when I’m in spots 10-12, but decided to mix it up and take Chubb in this draft. Aside from my UGA bias, he had the highest VBD or value-based draft score of the recommended players other than Tyreek Hill, which means he’s projected to score +59 more points than the lowest starting RB on the board. Since there is a larger drop off at RB than wideouts, I feel that I can get a solid WR2 at the next turn.

With Duke Johnson now in Houston, Chubb’s workload is guaranteed that of a lead back and in a non-PPR format, his lower volume of receptions compared to some of the other top RBs doesn’t impact his draft value here. Chubb should be a solid RB1 for my squad and having both a top WR and RB leaves me in a great spot for the 3/4 turn.

Suggested Alternatives: Tyreek Hill, Joe Mixon, Todd Gurley, T.Y. Hilton

My Top Alternative: Tyreek Hill

Round 3, Pick 11 – Marlon Mack, Colts

I really like all three WRs offered to me here, but since I’m so close to picking again I decided to grab my RB2 knowing at least one of the recommended trio of Julian Edelman, Tyler Lockett or Chris Godwin will be available in just two picks.

Mack’s 194 fantasy points are the highest projected of any non-QB left on the board and I like what he brings to the table in standard leagues. He averaged 12.1 fantasy points in 2018 and should see an improvement in his third year in the league. He’s the clear early-down back in Indy and is currently ranked as RB14 by John Paulsen.

Suggested Alternatives: Derrick Henry, Julian Edelman, Tyler Lockett, Chris Godwin

My Top Alternative: Tyler Lockett