Fantasy football average draft positions are very sharp, regardless of the platform you use. Obviously, player selection is important but the only way to truly differentiate your team is through your roster construction. Don’t make these common mistakes in your fantasy football drafts.
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Don’t Draft Late Round Rookie Wide Receivers
Alabama’s Jameson Williams runs with the football.
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It can be very tempting to draft the new, hot rookie wide receiver in our drafts. Many fantasy managers play dynasty style leagues and invest a lot of time researching these players. This can create a natural bias with drafting. Recent seasons have also seen massive breakouts from players such as Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson. The ADP market is very sharp at identifying potential breakouts so taking a player such as Drake London at his ADP of 70 (WR 34) is a fair bet. Drafting speculative wide receivers late in your draft without a clear path to workload can be a wasted pick. Often times you should look elsewhere such as drafting “one-injury-away” running backs or veteran wide receivers with defined roles. Examples include James Cook (ADP 108, RB 31) or Jakobi Meyers (ADP 134, WR 62).
Rookie Wide Receivers To Avoid Drafting
The Lions rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams is being drafted at 124 overall (WR 58). Williams is only 21 years old and could have been the first WR taken in the 2022 NFL draft had it not been for the ACL injury in the National Championship game. He averaged an eye popping 19.9 yards per catch in 2021. Williams also performed well against strong competition including a 7-184-2 line against Georgia in the SEC Championship. He is for real but is not expected to be ready for camp and will miss valuable reps as a rookie. This will inevitably slow his development in his rookie season.
The Colts rookie wide receive Alec Pierce is being drafted at 160 overall (WR 71). The opportunity cost is very low for Pierce but he will still have to out perform players such as Parris Campbell and Ashton Dulin to work in as a starter. Pierce has reasonable NFL draft capital of 2.21 but we believe he was over drafted. Pierce is very athletic but never produced notable numbers in college. He never accrued more than 900 receiver yards in a season though he did put up 8 TD as a senior. Pierce is not worth drafting in traditional leagues.
Rookie Wide Receivers We Advocate Drafting
There are some rookie wide receivers that we like drafting at their ADP’s as great upside plays. Chris Olave is being drafted at 99 overall (WR 48). Michael Thomas continues to rehab his ankle while Olave is impressing in OTA’s. Olave has early round 1 NFL draft capital and is a smooth route runner that can create separation. He also had a nose for the endzone in college.
Jahan Dotson is being drafted at 135 overall (WR 63). Dotson is a precise route runner with a bigger catch radius than his size would suggest. He profiles similar to players like Tyler Lockett and TY Hilton and should have a starting role along side Terry McLaurin.
Don’t Draft Two Elite Quarterbacks
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The quarterback position is deep every single year. The 2022 season is no different. You can get solid weekly starters such as Matthew Stafford and Derek Carr as the QB12 and QB14, respectively. One strategy to differentiate your team is to draft an elite quarterback early. This would include Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes or Kyler Murray. Drafting two elite quarterbacks is a common mistake in traditional, one-quarterback leagues. Especially in best ball.
The only argument for drafting two elite quarterbacks in best ball is a massive floor every week. The opportunity cost is simply too high to justify. Historically we find the majority of our league-winning running backs and wide reivers in rounds one to six. This represents around upwards 8-9+ ppr points every single week vs replacement level players. Drafting two elite quarterbacks will only differentiate around 5-6 points every week versus replacement level players. In addition, multiple running backs and wide receivers can score for your lineup where only a single quarterback can score any given week. You are immediately putting your team at a disadvantage if you draft two elite quarterbacks in your fantasy football drafts.
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Itching for other great content from DFS Army?
Drafting Rookies in 2022 Fantasy Football Drafts– by Shane Seeley
Best Ball Quarterbacks With The Most To Prove In 2022– by Shane Seeley
Best Ball NFL Wide Receivers to Fade in 2022 Underdog Fantasy Football Drafts– by Shane Seeley