"Positional runs" are a common drafting best practice. And it sounds pretty easy, maybe because "positional runs" rolls off the tongue better than most fantasy phrases. Or maybe because when it works, a positional run feels like magic. With a click on your keyboard or a tap on your phone, we've upped the anxiety levels of at least some opponents, instilling in them a sense of urgency. And when it comes to drafting or roster management in general, urgency and thoughtfulness often don't mix. Simply put, we want to keep competitors off-balance.
I'm currently doing my first and only Best Ball draft of the season. It's a slow draft, which means I can see how much my typing hands have aged since we started. And slow drafts soften urgency levels, because folks usually have hours to make a pick. So a round might take a day or two to complete.
Still, given my draft position, I decided to try and start a run on RBs. It's a QB-friendly league: QB-RB-RB-WR-WR-TE-Flex-Flex-Superflex (QBs included). I picked at the 12-13 turn. Somehow I also started the third round, and not sure if that was some way for the commissioner to "help" me and others who picked near the end of the first round, or if it was an online error. Or maybe we've reached the Modern Age of Fantasy Drafting, and I'm still living in the past.
Regardless, I have two primary objectives in this draft. The first is to target elite talent in at least two positions. In Best Ball, we want as many guys with 30+ point potential as possible. Nyheim Hines is nice and Tyler Boyd gets the job done. But I don't want to have to rely on 10-point guys to keep me afloat. Last season there were 3.8 weekly 30+ point flex performers (RB-WR-TE). There were also 22.2 weekly 20+ point flex performers--equating to 400 total 20+ point efforts, not including QBs. If I can land the most players with realistic weekly 20-point upside, I'll like my odds.
My second objectve is to remain patient, knowing that there x number of players I can fall back on later in the draft. These "x" players are all undervalued (I believe). So if I don't get a TE I want early, there are guys I can still feel excited about many rounds later.
To achieve both objectives, I want to start as many positional runs as possible. In any given draft, there might be only a couple positional runs. They're hard to come by. But every time it's my turn, I'm assessing not only what's best for my team in that moment, but how my decision might impact how my opponents draft. I'm eyeing who they have and which positions they need. If I take the TE1, how many will follow that next round down to the TE5? If I go with Justin Jefferson, will that signal to others that there isn't much time left to lock down an elite wideout?
Since it's essentially a two-QB league (Superflex), and since I picked last in the first round, I was already in the hole at quarterback my turn came up. Jonathan Taylor, Cooper Kupp, and nine QBs were off the board. I debated taking Jalen Hurts and Derek Carr, or Hurts and Stafford, or Hurts and another positional player. Maybe I should have. But I talked myself out of it because I wanted to put pressure on my opponents while simultaneously locking down elite value at my first position. Because of the weirdness of picking 12th and 13th, and then 25th (the start of the third round), I ended up with Najee Harris, Derrick Henry, and Dalvin Cook.
After my third-round pick, four of the next five guys off the board have been RBs. Maybe that would've happened if I'd taken Tua Tagovailoa or Kirk Cousins instead, or a top 8-10 WR. But by landing three top-10 RBs, I've put pressure on my opponents to hurry up and get the remaining high-upside backs before they're gone. Picking at the turn helps spur runs, because drafting two guys at a position is more likely to generate anxiety than drafting only one.
Who knows if this strategy will work. At this rate, I'll find out by mid-August when we've reach round 22. But for now, there are about 16 fairly certain starting RBs remaining the board. And every time an opponent drafts one of them these next few rounds, my odds of landing a 20+ point QB or WR will increase.
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Sign up for my 2022 Fantasy Draft Rankings ("PFN Pass") or 1:1 Advisory Services ("Touchdown Pass"):
https://pass.profootballnetwork.com/
I'm currently doing my first and only Best Ball draft of the season. It's a slow draft, which means I can see how much my typing hands have aged since we started. And slow drafts soften urgency levels, because folks usually have hours to make a pick. So a round might take a day or two to complete.
Still, given my draft position, I decided to try and start a run on RBs. It's a QB-friendly league: QB-RB-RB-WR-WR-TE-Flex-Flex-Superflex (QBs included). I picked at the 12-13 turn. Somehow I also started the third round, and not sure if that was some way for the commissioner to "help" me and others who picked near the end of the first round, or if it was an online error. Or maybe we've reached the Modern Age of Fantasy Drafting, and I'm still living in the past.
Regardless, I have two primary objectives in this draft. The first is to target elite talent in at least two positions. In Best Ball, we want as many guys with 30+ point potential as possible. Nyheim Hines is nice and Tyler Boyd gets the job done. But I don't want to have to rely on 10-point guys to keep me afloat. Last season there were 3.8 weekly 30+ point flex performers (RB-WR-TE). There were also 22.2 weekly 20+ point flex performers--equating to 400 total 20+ point efforts, not including QBs. If I can land the most players with realistic weekly 20-point upside, I'll like my odds.
My second objectve is to remain patient, knowing that there x number of players I can fall back on later in the draft. These "x" players are all undervalued (I believe). So if I don't get a TE I want early, there are guys I can still feel excited about many rounds later.
To achieve both objectives, I want to start as many positional runs as possible. In any given draft, there might be only a couple positional runs. They're hard to come by. But every time it's my turn, I'm assessing not only what's best for my team in that moment, but how my decision might impact how my opponents draft. I'm eyeing who they have and which positions they need. If I take the TE1, how many will follow that next round down to the TE5? If I go with Justin Jefferson, will that signal to others that there isn't much time left to lock down an elite wideout?
Since it's essentially a two-QB league (Superflex), and since I picked last in the first round, I was already in the hole at quarterback my turn came up. Jonathan Taylor, Cooper Kupp, and nine QBs were off the board. I debated taking Jalen Hurts and Derek Carr, or Hurts and Stafford, or Hurts and another positional player. Maybe I should have. But I talked myself out of it because I wanted to put pressure on my opponents while simultaneously locking down elite value at my first position. Because of the weirdness of picking 12th and 13th, and then 25th (the start of the third round), I ended up with Najee Harris, Derrick Henry, and Dalvin Cook.
After my third-round pick, four of the next five guys off the board have been RBs. Maybe that would've happened if I'd taken Tua Tagovailoa or Kirk Cousins instead, or a top 8-10 WR. But by landing three top-10 RBs, I've put pressure on my opponents to hurry up and get the remaining high-upside backs before they're gone. Picking at the turn helps spur runs, because drafting two guys at a position is more likely to generate anxiety than drafting only one.
Who knows if this strategy will work. At this rate, I'll find out by mid-August when we've reach round 22. But for now, there are about 16 fairly certain starting RBs remaining the board. And every time an opponent drafts one of them these next few rounds, my odds of landing a 20+ point QB or WR will increase.
---
Sign up for my 2022 Fantasy Draft Rankings ("PFN Pass") or 1:1 Advisory Services ("Touchdown Pass"):
https://pass.profootballnetwork.com/