Saturday night was my first "Beat Jeff Erickson" draft for the NFFC's RotoWire Online Championship. If you're unfamiliar with the format, the draft is part of an overall contest, where we're competing in 12-man leagues. It's a PPR league, with third-round-reversal in the draft format. Passing touchdowns are worth six points, and we start three wide receivers and a flex spot. The rosters are 20-deep. I drew the second draft slot, meaning that my picks were 1.2, 2.11, 3.11, 4.2, etc ... Here are the results.
Here's the full draft, followed by my picks:
1.2 - Saquon Barkley: My first pick was pretty easy - I had settled between Barkley and Christian McCaffrey, having ruled out Zeke Elliott due to his holdout. I really despise having to add "holdout analysis" to the fantasy toolbox. Don't get me wrong - I'm firmly pro-player in these disputes. But because of the league-wide devaluation of running backs, plus last year's experience with Lev Bell, I have to take every RB holdout seriously, especially when picking at 1.2. The opportunity cost of taking a holdout here is so high, plus you're waiting so much longer in this format to get your second and third picks relative to the field.
2.11 - Todd Gurley: I put together a list before the draft, sketching out who I hoped to get for the first five rounds. I kept landing on Gurley as the most likely option, assuming that there was no way Nick Chubb, Dalvin Cook or Mike Evans would make it. Sure enough, they didn't make it. A week ago, I would have put Damien Williams in this slot, or maybe even Aaron Jones. But both Williams and Jones are dealing with hamstring injuries (though I'm less wary of Jones at this point) - if I'm going to have to take a chance at this spot, why not go after the highest upside? Without the recent positive news coming out of Rams camp, I wouldn't have made this pick.
3.11 - Stefon Diggs: I was one pick away from beginning with three running backs, as I'm really high on Kerryon Johnson. Instead, I started a run of four consecutive wide receivers for me. I really like the class of receivers in this tier - in addition to the four I got, I like all three Rams, Julian Edelman, Chris Godwin, D.J. Moore, Allen Robinson and Tyler Boyd as well.
4.2 - Kenny Golladay: I understand the OC concerns in regards to volume, but Golladay is going to be the top option for Matthew Stafford, and I think that will be plenty enough targets with a pretty high upside.
5.11 - Calvin Ridley: Ridley's hamstring makes this a little scary pick, but as my WR3, a risk worth taking.
6.2 - Corey Davis: A little bit of a vanity pick, and it came at the cost of Kenyan Drake and Tevin Coleman as my RB3. I think Davis is going to break out this year, however, and I don't want it to be on anyone else's watch. That's putting a lot of trust in (a) Marcus Mariota and (b) the Titans' coaching staff. I waited until the final second before pulling the trigger here.
7.11 - Darrell Henderson: Having taken four receivers in a row, it was time to start stocking up on lottery ticket running backs. I infrequently handcuff my starting backs, but I think Gurley is an obvious exception - there's a known risk with him, the upside in having the guy behind him is really high, and Henderson is the clearly identified handcuff. Moreover, I think I got a reasonable price for him.
8.2 - Miles Sanders: I think that Sanders starts by midseason, even though Jordan Howard is taking the first-team snaps in training camp right now.
9.11 - David Njoku: I'm stealing my own Twitter joke here:
9.11 - David Njoku: Get up, get down, hopefully 9-1-1 won't be an Njoku in my town.
10.2 - Ronald Jones: Hope springs eternal. I'm probably oversaturated with my ownership percentage of Jones, but I think he earns a significant role this year.#BJE
— Jeff Erickson (@Jeff_Erickson) August 4, 2019
10.2 - Ronald Jones: See above for the analysis.
11.11 - Devin Singletary: Singletary is already getting first-team reps in training camp. Not gonna lie, I was pumped about this pick. He probably will be a healthy scratch in Week 1, knowing how much I like him.
12.2 - N'Keal Harry: I agonized over this pick, as I probably shouldn't be this heavy in rookies, but Harry is my only rookie wideout, and my WR5. The Pats used a first-rounder on him, to boot.
13.11 - Lamar Jackson: This draft was strange. Take a look at the draft grid above and see all the early pink spots. Pat Mahomes went in the first round with the seventh overall pick. Many teams went with two quarterbacks early, including the Mahomes owner, who also took Mitchell Trubisky in the ninth round. I took the opposite approach, waiting until the 13th round to take Jackson, who I *love* this year. He's going to run a ton, he's got a new-age offensive coordinator, and the Ravens have added more options in the passing game. He was the 20th QB taken in the draft, though - and that's probably new for me to wait this late. I'm pretty happy with it. Especially because I have some stability with my second QB.
14.2 - Tom Brady: What has this guy ever done, anyhow? Is it affront that I took Lamar Jackson before Brady? Maybe so, especially in a league where passing touchdowns are worth six points. If the Pats' new options in the passing game pan out, this will be a steal. If not? Eh, it's a 14th round pick and QBs are still almost always available on the waiver wire. Only three more QBs went after Brady.
15.11 - Darwin Thompson: If you're going to start fading Damien Williams, albeit begrudgingly, why not take a chance on one of his potential backups? Thompson has looked good in camp so far (though ... who doesn't?), and even though Carlos Hyde is ahead of him, I like Thompson's possible potential as a three-down back if he ever gets the job.
16.2 - Kyle Rudolph: I waited awhile for my first tight end, and Njoku has occasionally been overlooked in the Browns' offense, so I wanted a little stability.
17.11 - Harrison Butker: If you don't find a running back or wide receiver you love here, go ahead and take a kicker or defense ahead of most of the pack. Plus, Butker has a Week 12 bye.
18.2 - Quincy Enunwa: I was hoping to get Mohamed Sanu here, but Enunwa is a decent consolation prize, especially in a PPR league.
19.11 - Eagles defense: You're essentially streaming defenses when you wait to get a defense this late, and the Eagles are at home against the Redskins in Week 1. Sure, sign me up.
20.2 - John Ross: Hope springs eternal! Even with Ross battling a sore hammy in camp, he has a lot of speed and will have extra opportunities early on with A.J. Green hurt. But ... will I have the opportunity to take advantage of that? I just didn't see a RB that I wanted here.
Here's my full roster by position:
QB - Lamar Jackson, Tom Brady
RB - Barkley, Gurley, Darrell Henderson, Miles Sanders, Ronald Jones, Devin Singletary, Darwin Thompson
WR - Diggs, Golladay, Ridley, Corey Davis, Harry, Enunwa, Ross
TE - Njoku, Rudolph
K - Butker
DEF - Eagles
What do you think? Hit me up on Twitter or e-mail me (jeff@rotowire.com).