There is a clear Elite Eight in Fantasy Football this season, so in many cases, the first difficult decision will come with the ninth pick in the draft. Once Christian McCaffrey, CeeDee Lamb, Tyreek Hill, Breece Hall, Bijan Robinson, Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase and Amon-Ra St. Brown (in some order) are off the board, what should you do with the ninth pick? I've drafted from this spot multiple times recently and it is always an agonizing decision between A.J. Brown and Jahmyr Gibbs. I don't like starting my team with two RBs, so I lean Brown here to avoid the possibility of having a Gibbs/Kyren Williams or Gibbs/Saquon Barkley start to my team.
If you're OK with RB/RB, then take Gibbs or Jonathan Taylor in the first round (I think it's too early for Kyren or Barkley). You may even end up with Puka Nacua or Marvin Harrison Jr. in the second round which would still give you an elite WR. From my experience, I don't see Nacua or Harrison Jr. lasting until pick 16 and I'm not going to reach for a guy like Chris Olave there. That's why I am taking Brown 9th overall. I paired him with Barkley and bought Eagles season tickets after this draft was over.
If one of the Top 3 QBs is available in Round 3 (33rd overall), I'm probably taking him. I was thrilled to get Patrick Mahomes on my team, and with this being a 3-WR league, I spent my next two picks on George Pickens and Chris Godwin. I followed those picks up with James Conner, Jake Ferguson and Ladd McConkey, thus filling out my starting lineup after eight picks. It's a solid starting lineup, but what's the best way to fill out the bench?
My RBs are old and injury prone. If Barkley gets hurt, I'm in trouble. If Conner gets hurt, I'm OK because I drafted Trey Benson in Round 9 with the thought that while I may not have great RB depth (I added Nick Chubb later who could pay off down the stretch), at least I'll be able to start Barkley and a Cardinals RB every week. I think that Conner will be very good when healthy, and if he gets hurt Benson should be worth starting.
Here is my team from the ninth pick:
1.09: A.J. Brown, WR, PHI
2.04: Saquon Barkley, RB, PHI
3.09: Patrick Mahomes, QB, KC
4.04: George Pickens, WR, PIT
5.09: Chris Godwin, WR, TB
6.04: James Conner, RB, ARI
7.09: Jake Ferguson, TE, DAL
8.04: Ladd McConkey, WR, LAC
9.09: Trey Benson, RB, ARI
10.04: Nick Chubb, RB, CLE
11.09: Caleb Williams, QB, CHI
12.04: Gabe Davis, WR, BUF
13.09: Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB, NYG
14.04: Isaiah Likely, TE, BAL
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QB feels pretty deep this year, but that doesn't mean you have to shy away from the best QB in the NFL if he falls to you in Round 3. Mahomes will put an underwhelming 2023 season behind him (I guess it wasn't so bad. He won the Super Bowl) and get back to Fantasy stardom.
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I took Conner ahead of Aaron Jones, Zamir White and David Montgomery. There is a glut of similar RBs going in this range, and whether or not you pick the best one will likely come down to luck. Conner's age and injury history are obvious concerns, but I still believe he'll be a difference maker when healthy.
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There is so much upside here. Pickens feels like the kind of player that could be a Top 10 WR or barely crack the Top 24. He is a high aDOT guy who has been dependent on the big play and has yet to be a consistent threat in the red zone or end zone, but with Diontae Johnson now in Carolina, opportunity knocks for Pickens. In four games without Johnson in 2023, Pickens had a 28.9% target share and a 26.4% target per route run rate and put up big numbers. Add in the QB upgrade and you've got a lot of reasons to be excited about Pickens.
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