The fantasy season is almost upon us which means it's time to bring back my yearly article about how to approach your fantasy draft depending on where you are drafting. I will write two more versions of this article where I draft from the No. 6 spot, and another where I have the No.1 pick. For this exercise I will draft from No. 12 but with a bit of a twist. This is a standard draft that I participated in and I did not take a running back until the third round. I wanted to see if I could build a team I would like without taking a running back early. My advice to everyone is to attack running back in the first two rounds if possible, but if you don't like who's left on the board, you do have options. Try to get at least one of these running backs with one of your first two picks.
McCaffrey, Barkley, Elliott, Kamara, Cook, Sanders, Edwards-Helaire, Jacobs, Ekler, Henry, Chubb. (If you're in a standard league I would take Henry right after Cook).
Here's what my team looked like when I avoided running back in the first 2 rounds. Keep in mind this is a standard draft, which is unusual for me. My next 2 mocks will deal with PPR. Let's get started!
1. D. Adams WR
2. T. Hill WR
3. J. Conner RB
4. J. Taylor RB
5. K. Hunt RB
6. A. Green WR
7. H. Henry TE
8. M. Mack RB
9. M. Ryan QB
After my 9th pick I put my team on autodraft, but this gives you a good picture of what a team drafting in the No. 12 spot could look like. This team is actually pretty solid. Adams and Hill are great in standard leagues because of big play ability and TD production. Since I took receivers with my first 2 picks, I knew I would target the running back position next. Getting Conner with the last pick of the 3rd round felt like a steal, and I love Jonathan Taylor's upside. I think he could breakout like Zeke Elliott did as a rookie, but with the COVID-shortened offseason, these rookies may take a while to get going. I don't expect him to put up Zeke's rookie year numbers, but I think their talent is similar. Because of the unusual offseason, I made sure to draft Marlon Mack in the 8th round. I can roll with him until Taylor takes off. If I didn't take Taylor in Round 4, Melvin Gordon, Le'Veon Bell, and Ronald Jones would have been my other options. Gordon is the only other back I would have considered there, but I like Taylor better than Gordon.
This league starts 1QB, 2RBs, 2WRs, 1Flex, 1TE, 1 Defense and a Kicker. So having either A.J. Green or Kareem Hunt as my flex is pretty nice. In Round 10 I would likely have drafted Hayden Hurst. This is a good year to take a couple of TEs and see which one works out best. Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers were both available at the end of Round 9, so there's no need to reach for a QB.
Okay, that's all I have for this edition of Mock My Mock. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments or hit me up on Twitter.
@JoshJordan975 is where you can find me. Or you can catch Jerry Bo and me on MoneyLine, Sundays 10-noon on ESPN 97.5 FM. You can also watch the show on Twitch.
