Two hours till the draft… hope you are all ready !!
I have my draft list set up, with tweaks to accommodate the specific scoring and rosters of this league. As last year, I have scribbled down my draft plan - I will post it on here as soon as the last draft pick is made. If anyone else is around to post thoughts on how their draft went, I’d love to see it 
…also: once the draft has finished, I will hit the randomise button on the league fixtures. So we will know straight after the draft exactly who is playing who
Compared to standard scoring, I have tried to balance out the positions a little with the Fun League settings. For starters, both Defence and Kicker scoring has improved enough that I think it is worth making the effort to try to get a good one of each.
For Defence, I’d like to get one of those teams that could make a lot of big splashy plays (picks and sacks) - the ones I think are under-priced are Arizona, Carolina, Denver, GB and KC, so I will aim to get one of those.
For Kickers, the big boost to point-after-touchdown scores means that a good kicker on a good team should be a more reliable source of points than is usual in most scoring formats – I think maybe Mason Crosby, Dustin Hopkins or Phil Dawson might be the play. Gostkowski of course if he drops to me, but he’ll always be popular.
Only having to start one running back worked last year to calm down the mad over-drafting of RBs, so I have kept that in the Fun League again this year. If I get a top 2 pick I will still pick DJ or Leveon – but with any draft spot after that I reckon I will look to get a couple of good WRs early, and then wait around for a few later upside RBs – CJ Prosise, Duke Johnson, Kareem Hunt, Paul Perkins all on my watch list – plus Zeke would be tempting if he drops far enough (I’m counting on the ban getting reduced…)
Unless everyone waits for QBs and somehow a big hairy stud like Brady or Rodgers drops to me cheaply (last in round 3 maybe?), then I will wait and try to get two decent-ish guys that I can pick and choose between – perfectly happy if I get a QB like Dalton, Rivers or Stafford.
Two hours till the draft… I will put these notes to one side and get myself psyched up !!
Ugh. Immediate thought is – why did I draft a QB and TE so high? Love Brees and Kelce, but that put me behind where I wanted to be on other positions…
OK… less immediate thought is: I got 3 of my shortlisted RBs, and also a Kicker and Defence off my shortlist. Plus a great QB, great TE and two great WRs. Didn’t feel good at the time I was drafting, and it’s not quite the team I was expecting, but it might be OK
Plans are hard to stick to when you have 2 players pencilled in at a position you want when it comes to your pick and they get nabbed just beforehand lol. I felt like that was happening so at the time felt it was all going pear shaped but the team you drafted is your baby: you gotta love it
I went the other way to u Jon and went heavy enough on rbs after Mike Evans cos u can play 3 this year instead of 2 max last year.
Would’ve liked to pair big Mike with Jameis but he went very early so happy enough with Cousins. As an Oakland fan went with my heart and hitched the wagon to Marshawn in 2nd. He looks too baddass in the silver and black. It’s gonna be fun and I’m good with it lol. Like where I got Gostkowski but should’ve pulled the trigger on the Carolina D when I had the chance. Hard to know how the def pts. work out.
Think Hunter Henry makes a leap this year and love watching Jamison Crowder make plays. Without DJ and Garçon hoping he sees a lot of targets. Carlos Hyde sounding like he’s healthy and may fulfil potential under Shanahan. Bilal Powell might be Jets best runner and receiver. A few dart throws…who knows?
A lot of ifs and buts but aye, loved my first draft of the year and thanks for setting it up again Jon.
Nice one, sounds like you have several players you are going to enjoy rooting for, which is a big plus. Enjoy the season!
Interesting stuff Jon, always good to see the different draft strategies players use. Personally it doesn’t seem to matter how much I prepare, I always get the feeling I’ve made a right horlicks of it all by about Round 6!
I’m glad you clarified the kicker PAT situation as I began to doubt myself when Justin Tucker went at Pick 92! For what it’s worth these would have been the top 12 point scorers from last season:
Tucker had 66 total attempts, everyone else on the list had at least 72.
The basement dwellers, total attempt-wise, were Zuerlein (45 - count 'em!), CLE (52), NYG (53), Barth (55) and Dawson (55). The Browns and Giants used more than 1 kicker, Dawson should be a bit busier this year with the Cards!
Enjoyed the draft, first one of the season so good to get back into the swing of it. Pretty happy overall, time will tell whether passing over Julio/OBJ for McCoy will pay off from the #4 spot but given the RB woes this year and the lower number of starting WR’s I figured i’d take the shot.
Some good teams out there too though will be an interesting season ahead!
Interesting posts guys! I’m glad I took Bryant after reading the kicker list (I didn’t, I was trying to work out whether to take a back up QB or TE and ran out of time so it auto drafted Bryant)!
Also interesting re McCoy. I’ve got 4th pick in another league and am sure the top 3 will go the way this draft do - and am not overly keen on Julio or OBJ. I was considering McCoy as well so if it turns out bad, we can both be disappointed!
Quite happy with my starting team, maybe reliant on the Panthers running game but a lot of upside with my WR’s. That’s if Watkins can get on the pitch! I took D and K early so my bench isn’t strong but there aren’t too many injuries in the NFL, right?!
Wow nice effort with the stats - you’ve done more homework than me. Definitely want to make kickers at least relevant. Could be crucial in a Monday night game when the difference between scoring a kick (+3) and missing (-2) is a five point turnaround which could decide a tie
Yeah it seems we have got some very different views on how important the different positions are. I love tinkering with the scoring system as it means people can’t rely on standard draft lists and have to make their own calls - some players went very early or very late (based on my list… what do I know?!)
I was surprised to see 3 of the first 4 picks to be RB
I was picking 5th, it was a toss up between OBJ or Mike Evans, I had OBJ last year so decided to stick with him as he did good enough for me last year. I was surprised how late some guys lasted - Zek, Hopkins and Cooper off the top of my head surprised me the most
Res seemed to get taken quickly and couldn’t justify taking any of the ones left
Happy with the Olsen pick he’s always a good target for Cam, Hill I targeted purely for points on returns (likewise for Lockett too) Was happy with getting Winston as QB. Hill and Blount were my RBs I took and then Conner as a back up. Not sure on any of these so time will tell
is the draft getting posted?