Fantasy Football Draft Strategy – A Look Back
By Jake Bridges
Fantasy Football Draft Strategy: A Look Back at Last Season
Looking back on the 2016 draft season there were many different strategies being discussed. First there was the “zero RB” fantasy football draft strategy which was to essentially load up on all the other positions specifically receiver, while waiting to get high upside RB2’s. Then there was what I call the ‘Gronk’ strategy which was picking Rob Gronkowsi as your Tight End knowing another skill position was going to suffer.
Lastly there was also the strategy of either drafting an elite QB early or waiting to get one after the rest of your roster was filled. Depending on who you talk to, the only true elite quarterback ones heading into the 2016 season were: Cam Newton, Aaron Rogers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Andrew Luck, and maybe Ben Roethlisberger. Looking forward to this year the list is even shorter of ‘elite’ quarterbacks. This year the list is basically Rodgers, Brady and Brees so with that in mind your draft strategy could depend on where or not you feel you need one of the top three QB’s.
Looking at all of my leagues from last year, only two of the quarterbacks mentioned above were on a team that made the playoffs, Brady and Wilson. The team with Wilson, however, had him on the bench. So what does that tell you? That everyone has a down year? It just so happens that all of the ‘elite’ quarterbacks had one in the same year? Or does it tell you that the gap between number one and say, number twelve isn’t as big as we originally thought?
Proof is hard to deny
The top five or six quarterbacks went within the first 3-5 rounds in almost all of my drafts except Tom Brady. He was taken between rounds 5-7. Players that were able to take Brady later were able to load up on other valuable skill positions. Others were drafting a quarterback and then scooped up someone like Marcus Mariota or Matthew Stafford to fill in for his suspension. Both ended up being quarterback ones and were going undrafted in most cases.
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Waiting on a quarterback and still being able to land Brady is an anomaly. But, having a championship caliber team without spending a high pick on a quarterback isn’t. Matt Ryan who went undrafted in most leagues finished as the second overall quarterback. Newton, who more often than not was taken as the second quarterback off the board didn’t finish as a quarterback one.
Fantasy is a very unpredictable game with a lot of strategies involved. Last year more than ever solidified the value of the skill position players regardless of format. Each player is free to choose their strategy to construct their team, and that’s what makes it so great. Reflecting on last year, I am glad I waited on quarterback. I was able to join others who shared the same strategy, in the championship game.
Next: Fantasy Football Preview - Marcus Mariota
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