In the part one of the NFFC Draft Champions recap (here), I detailed the format of the league and the first five draft picks I have made. My current roster is as follows:
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
- Marshawn Lynch (2.04)
- Justin Forsett (3.04)
- C.J. Spiller (5.04)
Wide Receivers
- Demaryius Thomas (1.09)
- Julian Edelman (4.09)
Tight Ends
Kickers
Defensive / Special Teams
Below is an ongoing diary of my draft for rounds six through 13.
6.09 Matt Ryan (quarterback/Atlanta) – I was fortunate and was able to get the last quarterback in what I refer to as “the second tier” options (Peyton Manning, Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger and Ryan); this justified my selection of running back C.J. Spiller in the previous round. Assuming Ryan was gone, I was hoping to snag Allen Robinson (wide receiver/Jacksonville) with this pick, but he was selected two picks before me; I am not sure what would have happened if I was staring at both Robinson and Ryan here, but I may have passed on Ryan and settled on Eli Manning next round instead.
7.04 Martellus Bennett (tight end/Chicago) – Although I needed a third wide receiver at this spot, there did not appear to be much value available to pick here. When I drafted Matt Ryan, I had thoughts of taking Roddy White to pair with him at this spot, but that was nixed when Team 12 selected White with the last pick of the sixth round. Bennett is a PPR beast, recording 90 receptions last season; with Brandon Marshall gone, I think he can improve on his lofty 2014 numbers. After Greg Olsen was selected in the late fifth round, and Zach Ertz was selected at the end of the sixth, grabbing Bennett seemed like a strong move…now I just have to hope I can get some wide receiver value in the eighth and ninth rounds.
8.09 Eric Decker (wide receiver/New York Jets) – My plan to wait on a third wide receiver left me with a decent amount of options, such as Michael Floyd, Steve Smith, Torrey Smith, Kevin White and Decker. I am not overly excited about this selection, but Decker offers a relatively safe floor as a low end third wide receiver, whereas the rest of the options brought with them inconsistent play and lower reception totals. Even though the Jets added Brandon Marshall in the offseason, a new coaching staff and offensive scheme, plus some potential improvement by quarterback Geno Smith gave Decker the slight edge here.
9.04 Kendall Wright (wide receiver/Tennessee) – Michael Floyd and Torrey Smith were selected around the turn, but Steve Smith and Kevin White were still available here when I decided to grab Kendall Wright. I took Wright considerably ahead of his ADP of 117, but my next selection is at #117 and did not want to risk missing him. I am a firm believer that Wright is one of the most under-drafted wide receivers in 2015 PPR drafts now that he has Marcus Mariota throwing passes to him.
10.09 Steve Smith (wide receiver/Baltimore) – Well, that worked out strangely; this would probably would look much more normal had I taken Smith in the ninth round and Wright at this pick. I do not expect Smith to repeat his 2014 numbers, but with the loss of wide receiver Torrey Smith and tight end Owen Daniels, whom are being replaced by rookies Breshad Perriman and Maxx Williams, Steve Smith is going to be the focal part of the receiving corps from the onset of the season.
11.04 Danny Woodhead (running back/San Diego) – I would have taken Woodhead at 10.09 had Steve Smith not been on the board, so I was ecstatic to get both players. Melvin Gordon will be the main running back on first and second downs in San Diego, but Woodhead should continue to be a third down PPR weapon as he was prior to his leg injury last season. Had I missed out on Steve Smith or Woodhead, I would have targeted a backup quarterback, such as Joe Flacco, Sam Bradford or Carson Palmer.
12.09 Joe Flacco (quarterback/Baltimore) – This draft is going well for me, I actually had a choice of Flacco or Carson Palmer at this selection. After checking out the schedule it became apparent who was the best fit — during the week ten bye week for Matt Ryan, Palmer is on the road in Seattle while Flacco is home against Jacksonville, checkmate.
13.04 Dwayne Bowe (wide receiver/Cleveland) – I have learned over the past few years that wide receiver depth is extremely valuable in this format; that being said I was dead red on adding Doug Baldwin (wide receiver/Seattle) at this pick but he was selected three spots in front of me. Bowe does not offer enormous upside, but I feel he has been overlooked due to a strange season where his quarterback routinely bypassed wide receivers in the red zone for the safety of his underneath running back and tight end options. At 6’2”, Bowe offers new Cleveland quarterback Josh McCown the tallest wide receiver target in the starting lineup, with 5’7” Andrew Hawkins and 5’8” Taylor Gabriel likely manning the other two lead wide receiver roles. If you ignore touchdowns in the 2014 wide receiver fantasy rankings, Bowe clocks in at 45th with 60 receptions for 754 yards; I feel he can repeat those numbers, plus an additional 12 to 15 red zone targets (targeted only six times in the red zone last season). These additional targets should bump him up into the range of 68 receptions for 850 yards with a half dozen touchdowns – those numbers would have been good enough for the #26 spot in the wide receiver rankings last season.
In the third part of the recap, I will highlight my selections in Rounds 14 through 23.
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