Perfect Fantasy Football Draft: 1st in a 12-Team Yahoo! Half-PPR League
The first overall pick in fantasy drafts is one of the most high-pressure situations a fantasy owner can face. There is a saying that you can't win your draft with your first pick, but you can certainly lose it. But it's not just this one pick, of course. How will your roster shape up as you sit and wait for the board to come back to you, with two consecutive picks? Will you be chasing the field, or setting the pace? Intense isn't it? But you need not go in alone and unprepared. Let us help you plan your approach.
In this article, I am going to take you all the way through a perfect draft with the No.1 overall pick in a 12-team, half-PPR format such as the default settings for Yahoo. Each pick was optimized using projections and value-based rankings from the 4for4 Draft Hero tool, plus a few changes I made along the way.
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
Draft Hero Settings
- Roster Settings: 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 Flex (RB/WR/TE), 1 TE, 1 Kicker, 1 DEF, 6 bench spots
- No restriction on bench makeup - I'm not someone who generally takes more than one player at the onesie positions, but I know some people swear by the practice. So, with those folks in mind, I did not place a limit on how many of each position were required on the bench
Jump to Pick: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Draft Recap
Round 1, Pick 1 (1) - RB Jonathan Taylor, Colts
This was pretty much a no-brainer for me, especially with the half-PPR scoring on Yahoo. I nearly hit the draft button straight away, before realizing that the reader may appreciate some added context. Jonathan Taylor was of course a beast running the ball in 2021, leading the league in carries, yards and touchdowns. But he has also caught 76 passes in 32 career games. Matt Ryan assuming the quarterback duties in Indy only adds to Taylor's appeal, as Falcons' backs saw a target share of 16.9% over the last five seasons. Sure, Nyheim Hines will catch a few balls, but I'm not letting Hines be the reason I pass on Taylor at the 1.01 in these formats. Not happening.
Suggested Alternatives: Cooper Kupp, Christian McCaffrey, Derrick Henry, Austin Ekeler
My Top Alternative: Christian McCaffrey
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