Perfect Fantasy Football Draft: 3rd in a Yahoo! 12-Team Half-PPR League

Aug 16, 2022

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The Perfect Draft series is back with another edition, this time looking at what a draft may look like from the third spot in a 12-team half-PPR Yahoo! league. I'll be using our Draft Hero application to optimize draft results. There are many different fantasy football strategies that can be implemented and while there are specific league settings and draft spots that are more optimal for specific strategies, I won't be attempting to implement any certain strategy here. Instead, I'll simply be looking for the best value and optimizing Draft Hero's recommendations.

More Perfect Drafts: 6th in a 12-Team ESPN PPR League | 1st in a 12-Team Superflex League | 2nd in a 12-Team ESPN PPR League | 1st in a 12-Team Yahoo! Half-PPR | 9th in a 12-Team ESPN PPR League

Draft Hero Settings

Roster Settings: 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 Flex (RB/WR/TE), 1 TE, 1 Defense, 1 Kicker, 6 Bench Spots
Don't Draft a Kicker or Defense Early: These two positions should not be drafted until the last two rounds of your draft. There's no reason to bypass possible lottery tickets for positions you're likely going to end up streaming throughout the season.
Draft for Upside: To win your fantasy football league, it takes hitting on players who significantly outplay their ADP. Don't be afraid of swinging and misses.

Jump to Pick: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Recap

Round 1, Pick 3 (3) – RB Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers

Draft Hero and I were in agreement here when Christian McCaffrey fell to pick No. 3. There may be some fantasy managers who are concerned about McCaffrey's injury history, but I am not among them. He didn't tear his ACL or his Achilles. By all accounts, his injuries have been minor and certainly unfortunate, but that doesn't change just how high his fantasy ceiling is when he's healthy. He averaged 15.6 PPG last year and was the RB7 in half-PPR PPG. However, in 2020, he averaged 27.3 PPG and in 2019, he was at 25.8. This is the kind of upside fantasy managers should want to chase.

By all accounts, the Panthers have upgraded their quarterback position with the acquisition of Baker Mayfield and they drafted left tackle, Ikem Ekwonu in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. After two injury-plagued seasons, one might have expected the Panthers to put more resources into their backup running back spot in an attempt to lessen the burden on CMC to keep him healthy. Carolina hasn't really done that. They only added D'Onta Foreman who has been a journeyman running back his entire career. Going into this draft, I was hoping for CMC to fall otherwise I was going to select Justin Jefferson. Luckily, I didn't need to make that choice, and Draft Hero was in agreement.

Suggested Alternatives: Cooper Kupp, Justin Jefferson, Austin Ekeler, Dalvin Cook

Top Alternative: Justin Jefferson