Dꦑo you have a plan for your fantasy football draft? Because if you have a plan, just a singular plan, you’re doing it wrong.
Every draft is a series of 𝓀contingencies. If Team A picks Player X, then you make Player Y your target. But if Team B goes next and takes Player Z, well, then maybe you shift to Player Q and so on and so forth. It’s the ABCs o💧f drafting.
The point is: Going into a draft with a very specific plan is a bad plan. You don’t want to decide beforehand that you want, say, wide receivers with your first two picks, or that you’re getting a quarterback in the fi✤fth round, or that you’re going to go Zero RB.
You need to be fluid and ready to adjust as picks are made. If the best WRs are gone but the best RBs are left, you don’t stick to the “take two WRs” plan. If there are still good Flex players in Round 5, don’t take a QB — in fact, don’t even make a plan to draft a QB that early.
And whatever you do: Don’t plan on Zero RB. If you end up doing so, it should be because of a series of dumb-luck scenarios in which there was no good value at RB when you picks caܫme up the first several rounds.
For the sake of clarity, we’ll define Zero RB as going the first five rounds without drafting an RB. Instead, you stock up with three or f🔜our WRs, plus a tight end, ♔possibly a QB.
The premise of Zero RB Theory is that RBs are more volatile. They stand a greater 🌜risk of injury, some are too touchdown dependent, workloads can be unpredictable, etc. WRs are more reliable, and a higher number of them score higher in PPR leagues.
All of this is true, but your draft shouldn’t be built on these ideas alone. ಌFirst, because you don’t want to pass up a top💎 RB for a second-tier WR. That just doesn’t make economic sense when it comes to draft capital.
Second, later-round RBs are even more unreliable💜 than early-round options. So by waiting, you are elevating the risk you have multiple RB busts on your roster. Also, it puts too much pressure on you to get every valuable waiver claim at RB. Because chances are you are going to spend a big chunk, if not all of the season scrambling to strengthen your RB corps.
If you go Zero RB, and wait until at least the sixth round to take your first, take a look at some of the n🐼ames who might would be around to be your RB1: Najee Harris, Tony Pollard, Zamir White, Raheem Mostert, Javonte Williams, Nick Chubb and Zack Moss.
We don𝐆’t mind having some of these guysཧ on our rosters, but as an RB1? More likely, we look at them as RB3-4. These guys have largely the same injury risks as early-round guys. Yeah, they’re cheaper, but th🦋ey also have less chance of big production. Plus, they have workload questions that normally aren’t attached to more sought-after names.
Fantasy Football DVQ Explainer
Hop out of the pool, unpack your vacation suitcase, boot up your laptop and get ready, becau💜se fantasy football season is back.
The Fantasy Ma🎶dman has returned with the latest iteration of his DVQ.
The Draft Value Quotient is a player rating system that a🌼ssigns one universal number for every player. This value projects the point in the draft at which a player’s projected production will match the estimated draft pick value.
Since there is a wider separation among production at the t🐲op, so too is there a wider gap between DVQ values at the top of the rankings.
The player projections takes into account playing time, expected use/💮touches, coaching tendencies, part performanc🍒e and injury history. The DVQ measures these projections against a player’s schedule and factors in positional depth and value above replacement.
These ratings are updated regularly.
What happens when Harris’ touches are limited by a split — like offensive coordinator Arthur Smith did as Falcons head coach with the superior talent Bijan Robinson? Similarly, what if Tyjae Spears performs better than Pollard? Can White score enough playing on a bad offense and with little PPR boost?
Will ꦉMostert keep up his otherworldly TD production? Will Williams return to rookie form another year removed from an ACL injury? Will Moss be able to hold off Chase Brown?
When will Chubb return? And will he be effecti✃ve when he does? Or get a full workload?
And remember, you won’t get to pick aꦺ🌠nd choose at will from these secondary options. Other teams will still be hunting for RBs in this realm too.
The reasons to perform a Zero RB draft are exactly one: Because you got trapped. The draft didn’t break your way early, no good RBs made sense when i🔜t came time for you to pick.
If you do it for any other reason, you’re doing it wrong.&nbs🦹pꦡ;