Team: Malo's Broncos
Manager: Dr. Mohammed S. Alo
You can read about how I prepared for my draft here. Then come back and see how I did. In all my mock drafting and research, I realized that this year you could wait on a QB and TE and still do very well and have a tremendous team. That was my plan going into the draft. Other then the top 2-3 TEs and QBs, the rest were fairly interchangeable and you could get some later round guys that could easily finish in the top 5.
We start 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 1 Flex (WR/RB/TE), 1 PK, 1 DEF. All touchdowns are 6 points, 0.25 points per reception. As you can see, our league heavily favors running backs and diminishes WRs. Keep that in mind while reading this.
Going into the draft I thought I would do as follows: (after extensive mocking)
Round 1: Frank Gore
Round 2: Greg Jennings
Round 3: J. Charles or Pierre Thomas
Round 4: CJ Spiller or the top TE
Round 5: A. Bradhsaw
Round 6: Arien Foster or Eli Manning
Round 7: Zach Miller
Round 8: Malcolm Floyd
Round 9:Kareem Huggins
Round 10: Kyle Orton
Round 11:Jabar Gaffney
Round 12: Any Kicker
Round 13: Whatever defense is available
Round 14: Miles Austin (my keeper)
That was my plan. I mocked and mocked and I found this combination of players to be my favorite. I thought that the top 5-7 QBs were going to go way too high and that I don't want them. I also found the TE class was really deep. You could get Cooley and Miller really late, and I don't think they'd be that far behind the top guys in production. I was going to wait till the very end to draft my QB and TE and I had two in mind that I thought would really perform well. I know the Broncos and the Raiders well. I know Orton will surpass his ADP by many, many rounds and will end up being a top 8 QB. I spent a lot of time debating whether I would wait and take Orton at the end or follow my usual strategy and get a guy like Romo earlier or take guys like Mannig and Palmer in the mid rounds. This decision drove me insane after a while, and I decided that I will follow my gut and just wait and grab Orton later on. Zach Miller is Jason Campbell's favorite target and last year he finished way ahead of many others and he was catching passes from 5 different QBs. He is a steal this late.
So how did my draft go? Better than I ever expected!
Here is what happened:
Round 1: Frank Gore
Round 2: Jamal Charles
Round 3: Larry Fitzgerald
Round 4: CJ Spiller
Round 5: Philip Rivers
Round 6: Hakeem Nicks
Round 7: Zach Miller
Round 8: NYJ Defense
Round 9: Laurence Maroney
Round 10: Kareem Huggins
Round 11: Larry Johnson
Round 12: Kyle Orton
Round 13: Denver Defense
Round 14: Miles Austin (my keeper)
I think I made out like a bandit. People were snapping up running backs like crazy! My semi-sleeper, Arien Foster, who I was planning on drafting in round 6, got snapped up in round 2. I was targeting Greg Jennings in round 2, thinking people would be snapping up top WRs. Guess what? I ended up with LARRY FITZGERALD in round 3! The third best WR overall made it to me in round 3! That was unbelievable. What's even more bizarre the guy drafting just before me in round three made some insanely crazy trade to move up a few spots and snag Marques Colston. No one was going to draft Colston. But he paid some later round picks for it. So anyways, this really made my day. I ended up with two top 20 RBs and a top 3 WR! This was definitely something I wasn't anticipating! I was really thrilled at this point. And my keeper is Miles Austin for a 14th round pick! I could do almost anything and had lots of options.
Other bizarre happenings in the first few rounds, the first QB off the board wasn't Aaron Rodgers, but rather Drew Brees. And it was a guy with a late first round pick, pick 9 or so. He could have taken an awesome running back, and right on the turn taken Drew Brees. The first QB being drafted by everyone was Rodgers. No one was really QB-happy! He could easily have gotten Brees on the turn. That's why you really gotta know your ADPs and do some mocking. The guy was ill prepared, or way to high on Brees.
I was also stunned that Arien Foster went way before round 6. I guess people are paying attention. But seeing how people were snapping up RBs left and right, you can't blame them. I was planning on snagging him in one of the later rounds.
Round 4 comes along, and CJ Spiller was staring me in the face. That's who I was planning on taking here. And I did. I felt like I was on track at this point. He is very explosive and is going to really do well this year. In college he had 21 touchdowns of over 50 yards. He was the first running back drafted, and looks to be the most agile and explosive of the RBs up in Buffalo.
About 5-6 picks later, I had another pick. Looking at my overall board and my draft software, Philip Rivers was still available. His ADP (average draft position) was around 35 or so. The picks are currently into the 40s. I had a decision to make. I could either try to find some sort of running back, or pick a very, very good QB. I was planning on taking Ahmad Bradshaw here and then Arien Foster the next round. Both were gone! So, rather than taking an RB that will never see the playing field or a back up WR, I went ahead and took Philip Rivers. He nearly always finishes in the top 5, and I thought this was tremendous value. So I took him. (even though he plays Denver twice per year!) This kinda threw off my "wait till the end and draft Orton" strategy, but in a good way. You have to be flexible. I don't know why people weren't drafting Rivers and were picking up backups to backups... but whatever, my gain!
At this point guys were just drafting very randomly. There was no plan or strategy. Staring at cheatsheets till only a few seconds were left, then just yell out a random name. It really pays to be prepared and know exactly who you are going to draft in each round and who the alternates are. Having good draft software really helps with the decision making as well. This is where mocking is huge!
Round 6 came along, and I took Hakeem Nicks. His bye week didn't conflict with the other two WR, so I am all set at the WR position. With Fitz, Austin, and Nicks I should have a nice group. We only start 2, so it's plenty.
Round 7 came along and I was planning on drafting Zach Miller. By most ADPs I had seen, he looked like he should be gone by now. People are onto the fact that he can finish in the top 5, but he is also a name you don't think of when you think of TEs. It was my plan to take him, so I did. A couple of people grumbled and were surprised, but hey... if they did some research and planned ahead, they'd know why I chose him. One educated member of the audience was touting him as a top 10 TE. So, at least one person knew his stuff.
The farther away from the first few rounds, the more bizarre the drafting becomes. Someone drafted Chaz Schillens, an Oakland WR that is out for the year. Someone drafted Braylon Edwards, who you could have got off waivers, someone drafted Brandon Jacobs about 3 rounds before he should have been drafted who may never even play. Strange picks all across the board. But very entertaining. As educated and smart of a group that these guys are, it's sometimes perplexing to see what happens in the later rounds and how poorly prepared people are. I don't think many of them mocked and had a round by round plan in place with alternates. You have to do this if you want to win!
Round 8, I have completely filled out my roster. All my starters and flex player were selected. The WR I wanted, Floyd, was already drafted. I was planning to take a late QB here, like Manning or so. But I already had a QB, so there was no reason to take one here. The obvious pick was to take the best defense available. Having the top defense usually gives you a 2 point advantage per week. So I took the Jets defense. We'll see if they end up being the best.
Round 9, the only player left that looks like he may play and actually see the field a lot was Laurence Maroney. Figured I'd pick him up. Can't hurt. I don't think New England cares to run the ball much, unless they are grinding out games, but that's not often. I could easily drop him if he doesn't pan out. Or New England may decide that this is the year to start running, who knows.
Round 10, I took Kareem Huggins, as I had planned. He's a phenom in Tampa Bay, if Cadillac gets hurt, he should be huge. We'll have to see. Trade value to the Caddy owner too.
Round 11, I took Larry Johnson. He's Portis backup. Could be huge if Portis gets hurt.
Round 12, I took Kyle Orton. I think he is going to be a top 10 (if not higher) QB this year. Could be the pick of the year! He is in the second year of this offense, and is finally healthy. He is going to pick defenses apart. He is the new Tom Brady. Last year he was the 14th highest fantasy player OVERALL. He can only go up!
Round 13, my last round, I took Denver's defense. I think they are going to be good this year. Plus their first game is against Jacksonville, whereas my first defense is NYJ and their first game is against Baltimore. It's up in the air. I think I'll just cut them and pick up a kicker.
Round 14 is the last round and I have Miles Austin in this round. If you decide to keep a player, you lose the round he was drafted in in the following draft. If he was a free agent, you lose your last pick (14). So this is huge. His ADP is about round 2 or 3, so I am getting a 2nd round guy and losing a 14th round pick. Awesome! This gave me a lot of flexibility in the first few rounds.
My final team:
QB: Rivers, Orton
RB: Gore, Charles, Spiller, Maroney, L. Johnson, Huggins
WR: Austin, Fitzgerald, Nicks
TE: Z. Miller
PK: I'll pick up Prater
Def: Jets
Can't beat that or ask for a more well rounded team! I think I did a fine job! Most websites that rank or evaluate your draft results have me ranked top overall or in the 99th percentile. That's pretty good. I haven't felt this good about my team in a while. I think this team can really play well this year and do some damage. Go Malo's Broncos!
Final Thoughts:
I think this year my strategy was much more better than previous years and much more well thought out. I knew exactly who I wanted in each round, and I waited on my QB. The past few years I drafted QBs early in rounds 2 and 3, and that really hurt my RB depth. If my first round RB didn't pan out, I was really weak and floundered all year long trying to find RBs.
I hope you enjoyed my draft and my thoughts, you can use this strategy too in your draft!
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