Starting your draft with two receivers, two running backs, or one of each is on the table when you pick from the 11th spot in PPR Fantasy Football drafts. But those should be the only options unless you're in a Superflex league.
No quarterbacks. No tight ends. And you probably shouldn't draft anyone from those two positions unless one falls into your lap.
And wouldn't you know it? One did in my draft. It meant adapting to the draft and not sticking with a strategy.
But before that happened -- and before the draft happened -- I ranked my top 15 players before the draft began knowing I was guaranteed two of them. And my heart was set on at least one receiver with my first two picks. When I was up, three running backs and seven wideouts were taken.
My options were as follows:
- take the best-available receiver and land one of Jonathan Taylor, Saquon Barkley, Jahmyr Gibbs, or Kyren Williams in Round 2.
- take the best-available running back and hope for one of Marvin Harrison Jr. or Puka Nacua to make it to you in Round 2.
Going by the numbers the safer route is to take the receiver because you're promised a very good running back after the turn. But in the unlikely event that the team at pick 12 double-dips on receivers, you could end up with an absolute powerhouse combo at running back.
I chose the running back option with Taylor. And if the team at pick 12 had taken both Harrison Jr. and Nacua, I would have been totally fine with Barkley on the way back. But the picker at 12 took Barkley with Harrison, leaving Nacua for me at 14th overall.
That's how my first two picks went down. My third pick changed everything. See for yourself below:
1.11 Jonathan Taylor, RB, IND
2.02 Puka Nacua, WR, LAR
3.11 Sam LaPorta, TE, DET
4.02 Derrick Henry, RB, BAL
5.11 Calvin Ridley, WR, TEN
6.02 CJ Stroud, QB, HOU
7.11 Diontae Johnson, WR, CAR
8.02 Brian Robinson Jr., RB, WAS
9.11 Jordan Addison, WR, MIN
10.02 Romeo Doubs, WR, GB
11.11 Elijah Mitchell, RB, SF
12.02 Dontayvion Wicks, WR, GB
13.11 Pat Freiermuth, TE, PIT
14.02 Mike Williams, WR, NYJ
So in late Round 3, Trey McBride went off the board at 33rd overall. That was the soonest I had seen McBride picked in any draft this preseason. And Travis Kelce went with the very next pick.
I could have had Derrick Henry, DK Metcalf, DJ Moore, but I felt like taking LaPorta as the third tight end off the board and still well within his average draft position made so much sense. Plus, I didn't want the team picking at 12th to have two shots at him. So I took the value.
At 38th overall I got my mitts on Henry. That was my consolation pick after taking LaPorta. More on him below.
Taking one receiver with my first four picks definitely left me in a tight spot. Did I cry about it? No. I know that receiver is the deepest position in Fantasy and as long as I had a top-10 receiver and a top-three tight end (maybe the No. 1 tight end) I could make it work.
My receivers weren't awesome but they are good enough to keep me solid in a PPR league. I am digging the new Titans offense and expect Ridley to lead the way there -- he looked explosive this preseason. So too did Diontae Johnson in Carolina, I expect him to lead that team in all receiving stats, and I took chances on Jordan Addison, Romeo Doubs, and his teammate Dontayvion Wicks along with one-time Fantasy hero Mike Williams as Aaron Rodgers' No. 2 guy with the Jets. Between them, I need two or three starters from week to week, depending on how productive Brian Robinson Jr. is at running back.
It's not a perfect build, and maybe it would have been better had I not taken LaPorta in Round 3 (I would not have taken McBride, I might have taken Kelce).
I couldn't resist a rusher with the upside he has, especially in the Ravens offense. Henry had finished as a top-5 Fantasy running back in a per-game basis in PPR in each of four seasons until last season when the Titans minimized his snaps, didn't use him in blowout losses, and stuck him behind a bad offensive line. All three of those factors figure to flip in Henry's favor this year. Plus, his average draft position is much higher than this, making him another bargain.
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I couldn't resist a rusher with the upside he has, especially in the Ravens offense. Henry had finished as a top-5 Fantasy running back in a per-game basis in PPR in each of four seasons until last season when the Titans minimized his snaps, didn't use him in blowout losses, and stuck him behind a bad offensive line. All three of those factors figure to flip in Henry's favor this year. Plus, his average draft position is much higher than this, making him another bargain.
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What if LaPorta regresses big time? Doesn't catch a slew of passes and doesn't catch a boatload of touchdowns? It always stings when early-round picks don't work out but it's a double-sting when it's a tight end. So hopefully, like with Stroud, he's worth the third-round price tag.
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