The day we did this pick-by-pick exercise, Miles Sanders surfaced on the Eagles injury report with a lower-body injury. That was enough to make me not want to take an unnecessary risk in Round 1. So I did the safe thing and drafted a Bengals player.
Seriously, Mixon was sensational to end last season (over 15.0 non-PPR Fantasy points per game in his final eight), and I expect him to keep it up now that the offense around him is better and his coaching staff figured out how to utilize him properly.
But the other reason I took Mixon was because I knew I would get one of Sanders, Davante Adams, Nick Chubb, Tyreek Hill and Kenyan Drake in Round 2. Simple math guarantees this since those who possess pick No. 10 also have pick No. 15 in a snake draft. I knew I'd have a great second-round pick, and it came to fruition when Hill slipped into my lap.
Do yourself a favor before you draft and make a quick top-15 rank list. You're promised two of those 15 and it'll help you make good decisions with your first two picks.
As a reference point, all touchdowns in this league are worth six points, and we award one point for every 10 yards rushing and receiving and one point for every 25 yards passing. We feature a starting lineup of QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE and FLEX (RB/WR/TE).
Here's my team from No. 10 overall:
- 1.10: Joe Mixon, RB, Bengals
- 2.3: Tyreek Hill, WR, Chiefs
- 3.10: Lamar Jackson, QB, Ravens
- 4.3: Tyler Lockett, WR, Seahawks
- 5.10: Stefon Diggs, WR, Bills
- 6.3: D'Andre Swift, RB, Lions
- 7.10: Jordan Howard, RB, Dolphins
- 8.3: Darren Waller, TE, Raiders
- 9.10: Anthony Miller, WR, Bears
- 10.3: Tarik Cohen, RB, Bears
- 11.10: Breshad Perriman, WR, Jets
- 12.3: Tom Brady, QB, Buccaneers
- 13.10: Austin Hooper, TE, Browns
- 14.3: Giovani Bernard, RB, Bengals
- 15.10: Lamar Miller, RB, Patriots
Non-PPR Pick-by-Pick Guide: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
Another favor you could do for yourself is pay attention to the needs of the drafters at Picks 11 and 12. When they need a position you need, you should jump on it before they pick in the odd rounds. When they don't need a position you need, you can risk waiting until your even-round selections to get them after they've picked. This worked to my advantage multiple times in our draft: I took Stefon Diggs when I needed D'Andre Swift, and I got Swift anyway a round later, then I picked up Darren Waller in Round 8 (that's kind of close to where I was drafting him last year!) after splurging on Jordan Howard in Round 7. Admittedly, Waller was an easier guy to pass on since I could have wound up with Hunter Henry or Evan Engram in Round 8 anyway.
Why did I end up with Tom Brady when I already had Lamar Jackson? Maybe the better question is, Why was Brady there in Round 12?! I will never ever call a pick terrible in Round 12 (except maybe kickers), but when they're Hall of Fame quarterbacks playing in an aggressive offense, they're gems. I bet I can trade Brady for someone taken with a top-100 pick later this year.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
I guess now's a good time to mention that I draft with dummies. No, not really. I draft with really bright people who love football as much as I do, but they somehow let Lamar Jackson slide to me in Round 3. I can't explain it, I can only smile and draft him and thank my league mates later. I suspect Jackson will be available when you pick in Round 2, but that's a little too soon for him when you can find quarterbacks later on at incredible values. If he's there when you're up in late Round 3 for whatever reason, don't ask questions, just draft him.
| ||||||||||
Lions running backs don't exactly set the Fantasy Football world on fire. Swift could be different — he was a dynamic three-down back in college and could be the versatile weapon the Lions have longed for in their backfield. But the coaching staff really insists on using multiple players from week to week. His ceiling might be 1,100 total yards and six touchdowns, which makes him a low-end No. 2 Fantasy running back. I wonder if I should have taken someone else sooner.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
I'm a big fan of his talent and an even bigger fan of the Bengals' offseason improvements. But if Mixon regresses in any way, he's going to end up costing me because my running back depth behind him isn't very impressive. At the very least, I picked up Giovani Bernard just in case Mixon misses playing time. He's done moderately well whenever called upon. Locking up the Bengals backfield is like locking up a coupon for the grocery store, but in a league this deep, it needed to be done.
So what Fantasy football sleepers should you snatch in your draft? And which WR1 candidate can you wait on until late? Visit SportsLine now to get cheat sheets from the model that was all over Derrick Henry's huge season, and find out.
