Draft Position

[Brentastic]

Obviously, anybody can win from any spot, if they draft well and catch a few breaks. All I'm saying is this... If you're in the top six, you're going to get somebody you want, whether it be one of the "big four" RB's, Andre Johnson, Gore, or whoever. If I'm not going to get one of those six guys, I'd rather be picking 12, or as close to it as possible. I've done a number of drafts this year, and the 8- and 9-slots are somewhat uncomfortable, in the sense that your first pick feels like it could make or break your draft. I realize that's not the case... one pick can't make or break anything, but those draft slots are tough spots to be in. Essentially, you could go three different positions with those picks (depending on scoring), and going the wrong way could cost you big time. It's a risk/reward type of decision. With the first 5-6 spots, on the other hand, you really can't go wrong with the guy you take... almost a no-brainer.

 

PPR or not has nothing to do with it... The 7-10 spots have a slightly different feel to them. Not sure what you're going to get on the way back, so you really have to pick that first player carefully. I'm not saying you can't win from those spots... I just think those spots cause me the most stress.

Personally, I'd take the 9 (or 8 or 7 or 10). If the first 8 picks go like this:

 

CJ

ADP

MJD

Gore

Rice

AJ

Moss

Austin

 

I'm perfectly fine taking Roddy White, Calvin Johnson, Reggie Wayne or Greg Jennings with the middle/late round pick. Then I would come back with one of those WRs still available (adding DeSean Jax, Larry Fitz, Brandon Marshall) or a Ryan Matthews, DeAngello Williams etc...

 

That's just me though.

 

PPR matters because it spreads out the available talent in the draft.

[APinMN]

I have the 5th pick, woulda prefered the 4th pick to get in on the top 4, hoping someone takes AJ earlier than they should but figuring on taking Gore (maybe Turner) then a WR in the 2nd...unless Matthews somehow drops, i like him in that SD system.

[Gopher]

Personally, I'd take the 9 (or 8 or 7 or 10). If the first 8 picks go like this:

 

CJ

ADP

MJD

Gore

Rice

AJ

Moss

Austin

 

I'm perfectly fine taking Roddy White, Calvin Johnson, Reggie Wayne or Greg Jennings with the middle/late round pick. Then I would come back with one of those WRs still available (adding DeSean Jax, Larry Fitz, Brandon Marshall) or a Ryan Matthews, DeAngello Williams etc...

 

That's just me though.

 

PPR matters because it spreads out the available talent in the draft.

I think you just helped prove my point, in a sense... If I had to choose between the 7-slot and the 12-slot, why would I take a chance on a guy like Moss at #7, when I can get an arguably equally talented WR at 11 or 12, and have first choice of players in the 2nd round? That's all I'm saying... Right around the #7 spot seems to be where you have a dropoff, from first-tier guys in the top six overall, to a bunch of WR's that can be had anywhere between mid/late first round and early/mid 2nd round. It seems like AJ is the consensus #1 WR... after that, there is a cluster of about 6-8 guys that are fairly equal, each having some upside and some risk. Looking at WR's like Moss, Calvin, Fitz, and Marshall... I'm satisfied if I land them at the turn, and pretty much thrilled if they fall to the middle of the 2nd. If those are the guys I'm looking at with a pick in the 7-9 range (of the 1st round), though, I'm not too happy (or thinking about trading down a few spots).

 

But, like you said, all of this is a matter of opinion, so I don't think there is a right/wrong answer. Personally, I've just found the 7-10 spots (in 12-teamers) to be challenging. On the other hand, that's where most of my drafting this year has been from, so maybe it's just a matter of the "grass being greener" in the spots I don't have. If I had the 2 or 3 spot in most of my drafts, I would probably be talking about what a tough decision it is to draft from THAT spot.

[FantasyDream]

Obviously, anybody can win from any spot, if they draft well and catch a few breaks. All I'm saying is this... If you're in the top six, you're going to get somebody you want, whether it be one of the "big four" RB's, Andre Johnson, Gore, or whoever. If I'm not going to get one of those six guys, I'd rather be picking 12, or as close to it as possible. I've done a number of drafts this year, and the 8- and 9-slots are somewhat uncomfortable, in the sense that your first pick feels like it could make or break your draft. I realize that's not the case... one pick can't make or break anything, but those draft slots are tough spots to be in. Essentially, you could go three different positions with those picks (depending on scoring), and going the wrong way could cost you big time. It's a risk/reward type of decision. With the first 5-6 spots, on the other hand, you really can't go wrong with the guy you take... almost a no-brainer.

 

PPR or not has nothing to do with it... The 7-10 spots have a slightly different feel to them. Not sure what you're going to get on the way back, so you really have to pick that first player carefully. I'm not saying you can't win from those spots... I just think those spots cause me the most stress.

 

 

Great post man....Everything you said is tottally true. I drafted from the 9th spot in a 10 man ppr league and ended up going WR/WR the 1st two rounds and then steve smith fell 2 me at 3.9 so I went WR/WR/WR That's the 1st time I had every done that. I see after the big four RB, qb and wr there a drop off in every catagory....WR are pretty Equal 5-10 this year... I'm drafting from the 5th spot in my main money keeeper league next week and debating on going with Moss,Brees or taking rice and then picking up brady in the 2nd round....I have some decisions to make wish me luck brother

[Whiskey Pimp]

Great post man....Everything you said is tottally true. I drafted from the 9th spot in a 10 man ppr league and ended up going WR/WR the 1st two rounds and then steve smith fell 2 me at 3.9 so I went WR/WR/WR That's the 1st time I had every done that. I see after the big four RB, qb and wr there a drop off in every catagory....WR are pretty Equal 5-10 this year... I'm drafting from the 5th spot in my main money keeeper league next week and debating on going with Moss,Brees or taking rice and then picking up brady in the 2nd round....I have some decisions to make wish me luck brother

 

He's pretty much taken at 3 or 4 every draft, who are you thinking is jumping into the first 4 that usually isn't in there?

[Brentastic]

I think you just helped prove my point, in a sense... If I had to choose between the 7-slot and the 12-slot, why would I take a chance on a guy like Moss at #7, when I can get an arguably equally talented WR at 11 or 12, and have first choice of players in the 2nd round? That's all I'm saying... Right around the #7 spot seems to be where you have a dropoff, from first-tier guys in the top six overall, to a bunch of WR's that can be had anywhere between mid/late first round and early/mid 2nd round. It seems like AJ is the consensus #1 WR... after that, there is a cluster of about 6-8 guys that are fairly equal, each having some upside and some risk. Looking at WR's like Moss, Calvin, Fitz, and Marshall... I'm satisfied if I land them at the turn, and pretty much thrilled if they fall to the middle of the 2nd. If those are the guys I'm looking at with a pick in the 7-9 range (of the 1st round), though, I'm not too happy (or thinking about trading down a few spots).

 

But, like you said, all of this is a matter of opinion, so I don't think there is a right/wrong answer. Personally, I've just found the 7-10 spots (in 12-teamers) to be challenging. On the other hand, that's where most of my drafting this year has been from, so maybe it's just a matter of the "grass being greener" in the spots I don't have. If I had the 2 or 3 spot in most of my drafts, I would probably be talking about what a tough decision it is to draft from THAT spot.

Yeah, I hear ya man and I agree basically. I guess I approached the question with a little bit of moxie but I will clarify. If I was hand picking, sure, I tend to lean toward the 11/12 pick and I think I mentioned that in my initial post. My point is that the first two rounds are basically all tier 1 QB, RB, WR and TEs. And the further you get from the 1.01 draft position, the further you are from expectations (of the draft). In the end I'm saying sure, 1st/2nd or 11th/12th pick are ideal but outside of that, they're all the same and it doesn't/shouldn't really matter.