Perfect Draft: 14th in a 14-Team Yahoo! Half-PPR League

Sep 03, 2020

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There are pros and cons about drafting at the turn, and all of them are all the more exasperated when you’re in a league deeper than typical 10 and 12-teamers. The most glaring con; not only are you never going to get any of the top-tier running backs, you might not get to sniff the second tier, either. The problem compounds on itself when you also miss the top-tier of wide receivers, too.

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It’s not all bad, though. On the bright side, you get to start positional runs when you have back-to-back picks and if you’re looking to stack teammates with similar ADPs you can more or less combine them into one big mega-pick.

In this edition of the series, I'll be walking through a perfect draft from the 14th slot in a 14-team Yahoo half-PPR 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, 1TE, 1K, 1DEF, (no flex) 6 bench spots
No TEs between rounds four and eight: The first tier of tight ends (Travis Kelce, George Kittle, Mark Andrews) are their respective teams’ number one pass-catcher and give you a clear advantage at the position, but the second and third tiers are just not as valuable as the running backs and wide receivers you can get in that range.
No K’s or DSTs until the last two rounds: I want to use every possible pick to add depth or take dart throws at the skill positions. Using resources like streaming articles at 4for4 will make picking defenses and kickers week-to-week easier.
2 QB, 2 TE if I don’t find elite options: In this deeper 14-team league, it’s going to be more difficult to stream all of the onesie positions, and while I believe in my ability to pick from the heap as needed for kickers and defenses, I’d like to be able to play match-ups with my quarterbacks and tight ends, unless I get a top-two or top-three guy.

For a comprehensive tutorial on setting up Draft Hero for your league, read our Draft Hero Walkthrough.

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

Round 1, Pick 14 (14) - RB Aaron Jones, Packers

I wanted to take one running back from the first two tiers before the long abyss between my second and third pick. The decision is made all the easier with teams ahead of me taking Davante Adams, Julio Jones, and Tyreek Hill, presenting a clear tier break at the wide receiver position.

I’ve been avoiding Aaron Jones for most of the summer and I wanted to know what it felt like leaving a draft with him as my RB1. I have to admit it’s not that bad. Even though he is sure to score fewer than the 19 touchdowns he did in 2019, he is still a workhorse regardless of the drafting of A.J. Dillon.

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 selected.

My Top Alternative: Travis Kelce

Round 2, Pick 1 (15) - TE Travis Kelce, Chiefs

I’ve been a big proponent of aiming for either one of Travis Kelce or George Kittle in the second rounds of full and half-PPR leagues this year and this may be a bit of a reach, but I would prefer to guarantee dominance at a position than go the conventional route with RB/RB at the turn. Kelce offers a positional value of +107 points; more than George Kittle (+95) and much more than the next tier(s) of tight ends, Mark Andrews (+64), Zach Ertz (+45), Darren Waller (+34).

Having Kelce through the year will free up a bench spot since there will be no need to stream the position, and that will help since the waiver wire will be a little drier than it would in a 12-team league.

Suggested Alternatives: Patrick Mahomes, George Kittle, Kenyan Drake, Miles Sanders

My Top Alternative: Kenyan Drake