Huddler Ladder draft strategy stats through 7 rounds

[Thews40]

I thought this was interesting in the Huddle Ladder draft. The draft started before the pre-season did, so most of these picks were early. Note that I won't talk about anything that hasn't already happened, as there are drafts still ongoing.

 

5 leagues of 12 (60 teams), WCOFF scoring, 420 total picks in the first 7 rounds. QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, Flex RB/WR/TE.

 

Through 7 rounds - 46 QB's (11%) / 45 TE's (10.7%) / 155 RB’s (37%) / 171 WR’s (40.7%)

17 teams did not draft a QB (28%).

20 teams did not draft a TE (33%).

3 teams didn't draft a QB or TE (5%).

3 teams drafted 2 QB's (3%) and 5 teams drafted 2 TE's (8%).

8 teams went WR/WR (13%)

8 teams went WR/RB

13 teams went RB/RB (21%)

15 teams went RB/WR (25%)

At the end of the 7^th round, 11 teams had 4 WR’s (18%), compared to 3 teams that had 4 RB’s (5%) including one team that had 5 RB’s.

 

QB Observations:

Seems like every year people say that QB’s are deep. This year I think that’s true, as the QB’s you could have in the 8^th round are pretty good. Drew Brees’ ADP was 3.02 and he went 3.4, 3.2, 3.2, 3.1 and 3.6. In a nutshell, unless you have the 1-6 slot, you’ll probably have to reach to draft him. Peyton Manning’s ADP was 2.07 and he went 1.12, 2.8. 2.3, 1.3 and 1.7, so people did reach. Aaron Rodger’s ADP was 2.11 and he went 2.2, 3.6, 3.3, 3.9 and 3.8, so the chances of him falling seem pretty good.

 

TE Observations:

Where the top TE’s were drafted:

Graham (ADP 1.07) - 2.1 1.12 1.9 1.5 1.8

Gronk - (ADP 2.12) 3.2 2.12 2.11 2.3 2.4

J. Thomas – (ADP 3.04) 2.10 3.4 3.5 3.3 3.9

The Gronk KoolAid is strong this year and it’s something I don’t get. JMHO, but getting “Gronked” was when Brady was at the top of his game with a much better supporting cast and Gronk was healthy and had Hernandez as a bookend. Brady’s ADP is 8.06 and Julian Edelman’s ADP is 6.03, so that doesn’t say a lot about NE’s passing game. Too much risk there, but I could be wrong. I think Jimmy Graham is an excellent pick anywhere in the top 12.

 

RB Observations:

I typically tank my RB2 slot and pick up the scraps in the middle of the draft. This didn’t work as well as it usually does this year. In years past rookie RB’s didn’t go that high, but they’re going higher now. Young legs are great, but a few missed blocks and a couple of fumbles can keep a guy on the bench… we’ll see.

Edited August 9, 2014 by Thews40

[davesworld23]

How does 1 get involved with the ladders

[irish]

How does 1 get involved with the ladders

 

 

The League/s are obviously full this year but every single year there is turnover like all leagues and the Huddle Ladder (BoTH) league usually needs 6-10 new owners. Check back next July.

[Avernus]

I might hop back in next year methinks. ..

[Gopher]

I've done a number of drafts, and it does seem like you CAN get decent QB value late. I took Brady at 10.06 in the Ladder Hall of Fame draft, and I'm very happy with that. I think he bounces back this year. Not that he was terrible last year... But he wasn't a typical top 3-5 QB like he normally is. I think he can approach that range again this year. A healthy Gronk will certainly help (IF he can stay healthy), but the rest of the WR group having a year under their belts will help as well. Not to mention, having Vereen back as the #1 option out of the backfield. I think last year had little to do with Hernandez being gone, other than that his absence contributed to the overall lack of experience. Brady looked, at times, like he was throwing to a bunch of D-1 guys, and you could see the frustration on his face. I am assuming he will be more in synch with the younger guys this year.

 

Back on topic... Guys like Rivers, Cutler, and Romo can be had late. In most drafts, you can wait until every other team has a QB, and be assured of getting one of those guys (or maybe even someone like Brady). Even Matt Ryan is being undervalued somewhat, in my opinion. With Julio healthy, there's no reason he can't jump back into that second tier (after the top three).

 

As for TE, I've been all over the board, in my various drafts. In the Ladder (7th pick overall), I just felt like I would be reaching to take either Graham or Manning with that pick. Ironically, they both went at the turn (1.12 and 2.01). Same with my second pick (2.06)... Thought about Julius Thomas, but felt it would be reaching slightly, so I passed. I did take Jordan Cameron at 4.06, and Greg Olsen at 8.06 (two guys I'm personally high on this year), so I am liking my TE situation just fine. Outside of having one of the top three (Gronk included), I think those are about as good as I could hope for.

 

On the other hand, I think there is depth at TE this year, in the sense that, if you don't get a guy in the top five (Graham, Julius, Gronk, Cameron, Vernon), you can wait. Not sure there's all that much difference between the likes of Pitta/Reed/Rudolph/Olsen and guys like Ertz/Allen/Bennett/Clay. Heck, I think you can even go a tier deeper, and be OK with someone like Walker, Miller or Graham (in deep leagues).

 

Obviously, some will disagree, and I'm fine with that. That's what makes this fun, and that's what makes certain players "fall" while others are drafted too soon, IMO. Regardless, I'm looking forward to finishing draft season (still have a few to go), and getting the season underway.

[irish]

I might hop back in next year methinks. ..

 

 

I like that idea!

[MikesVikes]

I might hop back in next year too. It is a great place to play. Plenty of competition based on how I get beat up every year.

 

Seems like every year it takes longer to get excited about getting into the swing of FF. I dropped way down in leagues this year.

Edited August 22, 2014 by MikesVikes

[Rileyrott]

Seems like every year it takes longer to get excited about getting into the swing of FF. I dropped way down in leagues this year.

 

 

I dropped way down last year and kinda took a break. I'm ramping it up somewhat this year, but not to the level of 2 years ago, when I had 15 teams (which almost became a full-time job!).