Fantasy Football 2012: ‘Regular’ Draft Results

No two fantasy leagues are exactly alike. Not to mention most hardcore fantasy owners spend a lot of time checking out other mock drafts. Almost all the mock drafts on the web will involve a bunch of writers. The fundamental problem is that about 95 percent of leagues will have at least a couple people who either aren’t entirely prepared or just fly off the handle on reaching for guys.

Last night I had an interesting draft. About half of the owners in this league knew what they were doing, but the other half probably didn’t spend too much time on their research. It was an IDP league, so the lack of research can really present itself when it’s time to grab sleepers.

Here are the roster settings: 2 QB, 3 RB, 3 WR, 1 RB/WR, 1 WR/TE, 2 DL, 2 LB, 2 DB, 2 DP, 1 K and 8 bench.

The scoring was PPR with bonuses of three points at 100 rushing/receiving and 300 passing yards.

The asterisk indicates my selection

I took Ray Rice here, which was a calculated gamble. I knew I’d have no shot to get an elite QB (Tom Brady, Matt Stafford or Drew Brees) on the way back, so I pretty much made my bed that I’d have to hope for some QBs to slip into the fourth round or later -- like say Matty Ice.

There wasn’t really anything special here outside of MJD going way too early for my taste.

Murray was the pick here because I felt there was a fairly sizable drop once he comes off the board at back. I was thinking about going with a WR, but with so many elite options still there, I felt it was a good gamble to see either Andre, Johnson, Julio Jones or Roddy White make it back to me.

Raiders’ running back Darren McFadden was such a steal here. Conversely, it was mildly surprising to see Michael Vick fly off the board since the pick took place about 45 minutes after his rib injury on MNF. One other thing of note is that there wasn’t a pressing need to grab a tight end in this league since there is a WR/TE position and no TE position.

It was either Andre or Julio here and I went with Andre in the PPR. Maybe Andre’s catch this weekend persuaded me a bit, but I still think he’s worth the risk.

Not a surprise to see Julio go off the board as the next WR behind AJ. Just to be clear, you should not be expecting to see Julio available at 28 in your one-QB league. Cutler was a little bit of a reach and RG3 was an even bigger one.

The value was just too good to pass on Mathews at this point. This league starts three backs and having Rice, Murray and Mathews gives me a huge advantage. Plus, two of the three owners behind me had two QBs and I was confident I’d be able to pull Rivers in round 5.

Matt Ryan should have been off the board in the third round. Especially over RG3 and Cutler. Crazy talk. I also thought Brandon Marshall was an excellent pick in this PPR.

Great success. I’m not exactly a huge Rivers fan, but to get him as the 12th QB felt pretty good. My plan seemed like it was coming together at this point.

It was going to be Maclin or Percy, so the gentleman before me made my decision for me. Once again, I was confident I’d be able to get Big Ben on the way out.

This was a solid round by all. Obviously, Bush and Martin shouldn’t have been there in the sixth round in a PPR league that starts three running backs.

I love it when a plan comes together. By my estimation, there is a huge drop in value after Ben at quarterback. This pick gave me the greatest feeling of any in my draft.

The Law Firm has one of the best nicknames ever, but his talent is at the other end of the spectrum. I also really like Ryan Williams as a sleeper, but he pretty much loses his value when he’s coming off the board this soon. Antonio Brown was a great pick in a PPR.

When it gets past the seventh round, upside guys tend to grab my attention more than their safer counterparts. Demaryius is far from safe, though.

Funny thing here: The owner that took Royster told me I reached for him when I took him in the ninth round in a draft from Sunday night. Sometimes it can be a pain to do multiple drafts with the same person.

I really wanted Donald Brown in this spot. He has plenty of upside and I liked him more than any back selected in rounds seven, eight and nine.

The IDP guys start to go off the board here. The scoring is a bit weird because solo tackles are basically two points, which is a heck of a lot compared to only three points for sacks.

With the scoring the way it is (mentioned after round 8), I really wanted to grab an elite Mike backer. The scoring also made me absolutely sure that I’d be grabbing middle linebackers for my DP spots.

I thought Reggie Wayne had fantastic value at this spot and he was clearly the best WR left on the board.

I may have reached a little on Locker here, but since I have a lower-level tandem at QB (Rivers and Ben), I felt like I couldn’t risk letting him sit out there for 12 picks.

Only Titus Young and Jason Pierre-Paul struck me as good picks in this round. Aaron Hernandez also, but since there’s no need to start a TE, I wouldn’t feel the need to grab one.

I almost took Kenny Britt three times to be my WR/TE, but I couldn’t let him go past me again. He’s worth the risk at this point.

I couldn’t see myself drafting any other player in this round.

It’s all about upside. Wilson is running with the first team right now and he’s looked pretty good in the preseason so far.

LaFell is probably my favorite sleeper at any position. Love him.

Fred Davis had some nice value here and this round was loaded with defense.

I had to pounce on another 4-3 Mike and McCarthy could lead the league in tackles this year. He was the cover boy for my IDP rankings from last month.

Shane Vereen was a good value at this point for his upside. He had a nice game on Monday. Kuechly looks like a fantastic and he’s going to be taken early in quite a few drafts. That said, there were better LBs on the board.

I was eyeing Kam “Bam Bam” Chancellor, George Wilson or Eric Berry here, but there was a huge run of seven DBs in eight picks. I’ll gladly take Rashad Jennings and wait until there’s value at the position again.

Kam, Wilson and Berry are at the top of my DB board. Karlos Dansby was also a solid pick right here, too.

While teams were loading up on D, I thought I might grab another sleeper in Quizz. Turner looks like he aged quite a bit in the offseason.

Tebow! It’s actually not a bad pick in a two-QB league. I really like Greg Little.

Roman Harper won’t have as many sacks in the new system, but he should still be a true DB1.

Nobody else in this round seems like a player I’d be targeting.

I was going to draft Bethea, but I had to settle for Barron.

Darrius Heyward-Bey was one of the biggest steals of the draft. Not every owner had five WRs, so a few people made a major mistake to let him fall this far. Pettigrew also was a wonderful value here, too.

4-3 Mike? Yep. Sheppard could have a big year with Buffalo.

A lot of owners came to the realization they needed another back, but only Scott and Hunter are guys I’d consider targeting in the later rounds.

Mendy in the 21st was too good to pass up to be my eighth back. The eight bench spots make him a nice stash.

Davone Bess in a PPR is someone to think about.

The tackle-heavy format makes DTs a little more attractive. Know your format, guys.

Kendall Wright was a nice selection here.

Alshon ran some crisp routes over the weekend and could be the most value rookie WR in fantasy.

Someone always has to grab T.O. and there was some solid value here. Rubin was also a great pick in this format.

Now that Ruud is in New Orleans, it’s all systems go on Wagner. Get on the bandwagon. He’s a top-15 LB in most formats.

Amendola and Hankerson were picks that I could see myself taking, but I had six WRs already.

Kicker time. I’m just going to cut him once waivers clear to pick up another WR or RB.

Emmanuel Sanders was a major steal here.

Suh will probably be cut to add more depth at WR or RB, too.

I like T.J. Ward to bounce back this year.

Thanks for reading and you can follow some other draft-related tips on Twitter @MikeSGallagher