Cheyenne Roche: Top 5 fantasy football draft tips
Aug. 24—After watching my husband make terrible choices for two years in our friend group's fantasy football league, I decided I wanted a chance to show him up.
Initially, there was pushback from some of the guys. I'd be the only girl in the league. "You could just share Patrick's team," one person told me. As if the two of us could agree on who to start or sit.
But in the end, the majority of them didn't have any problem allowing me into the league. That was in 2015. I ended up getting third that year in a soul crushing semi-finals loss of less than a point.
Last year I finally got my first season championship, and we're up to two women in the league now.
I've done a lot of research leading up to this year's draft, and I'm ready to share my top draft tips of 2022.
Do a mock draft
I cannot stress how important it is to practice your plan. With my win last year, I get the first pick of this year's draft. In the snake-style draft, I won't get my second and third picks until 24 and 25. I thought I had a solid plan to get Saquon Barkley at 24 and Mike Evans or Stefon Diggs at 25. In my mock draft, Diggs went in round one and Barkley and Evans went in round two. I had to completely forgo my plan and make a split-second decision without the chance to do some research. Now I know I may need to look into Ezekiel Elliott or Mark Andrews in those picks.
They're wrong about Derrick Henry
Experts will tell you Derrick Henry isn't worth a top four pick this year. They're wrong. The man missed NINE games last year and still finished in the top 10 for rushing yards. He was on pace to easily hit 2,000 rushing yards. Jonathan Taylor, Christian McCaffrey and Henry should be the top three picks in the draft. I read a stat that said there hasn't been a running back in the top five in a points per reception (PPR) league over the age of 27 in the last five years. That shouldn't dissuade you. Henry isn't your typical running back and his age isn't going to stop him from having another explosive season.
Consider the Russell Wilson ripple
This is not the year to draft Seahawks players. Russell Wilson single-handedly held that team together. It's easy to get desperate for a starting running back when they aren't as easy to find as a starting receiver, but Rashaad Penny is not one to take a chance on. Similarly, a player like DK Metcalf, who I have been a huge fan of, isn't worth what he was with Wilson at quarterback. The same can be said for Tyler Lockett.
On the contrary, a player like Jerry Jeudy increases value significantly with Wilson taking up the helm in Denver. Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick would also be great choices for a third wide receiver or flex player.
Don't draft a QB early
Unless you're getting Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes, it makes no sense to draft a quarterback in the first six rounds. I'm in a 12 team league which is fairly large. The difference in projected points between the third best quarterback and the 12th best quarterback comes out to 2.5 points per game. There are so many better moves you can make in those middle rounds to set yourself up. Ending up with Joe Burrow, Derek Carr or Mac Jones isn't detrimental if you set yourself up with a great group of running backs and receivers.
Don't be influenced by others' picks
It's easy to panic when you see four other people draft quarterbacks or defenses early. Have a plan for the earliest round you'll draft a quarterback, defense and kicker and stick to it no matter what anyone else does. Honestly, defense and kicker should wait until the last two rounds. You can always embrace the rotating defense strategy where you pick up the defense of whoever is playing the worst team in the league that week. And really, draft the kicker last. You would much rather have extra receivers to stash on your bench than a better kicker.
The name of the game for a successful fantasy draft is preparation. Pull up some average draft position rankings and plot out who you'd like to take each round. Then have a plan B, plan C and probably plan D because some of these drafters throw out wild picks in early rounds. Good luck and happy football season!
