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Although I’ve done plenty of mock drafts this season, the Razzball Writers’ League was my first “real” fantasy football draft of the 2013 season.  I don’t think Yahoo has the best rankings in the world, but I did get the only “A” draft grade from Yahoo of the bunch and I’ve got to say, I agree with them there.

When drafting in a PPR league, your strategy has to change significantly.  Getting one full point for every reception is a bigger deal than a lot of people will admit when drafting their team.  My strategy going into the draft was to make sure I had a pass-catching RB out of the gate and then focus on value picks after that.  You can start 2 running backs in this league with a RB/WR/TE flex position as a potential third so although I think RB is my ultimate weakness due to a lack of depth, I concentrated on upside and potential long term value.

LeSean McCoy averaged 4.5 receptions per game in a season where he missed four full games and had others cut short due to injuries.  In Chip Kelly’s fast-paced offense, Vick is going to be looking to McCoy frequently when various options don’t play out so I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets close to 100 receptions this season.  To get him in the 5 spot is a steal as far as I’m concerned.

After that, I probably would have taken a gamble on MJD if he hadn’t been taken right before me so instead I went with A.J. Green and crossed my fingers that Sproles would still be there for round 3, which he was.  Sproles isn’t a flashy RB on paper, but he is a reliable target for Brees and had 75 receptions in only 13 games last season.

I love the Bowe and Welker picks because they’re both in new offensive situations.  Bowe has Andy “Throw It” Reid running the offense now and Welker went from one elite QB to another.  In short, both of them should see a healthy number of targets worthy of 4th and 5th round selections.

Gronkowski in the 6th in a PPR league might just turn out to be the steal of the draft.  With Welker and Aaron Hernandez gone, Gronk should be an absolute monster once he’s back.  Knowing I will likely have to survive at least two games without him, I picked up Brandon Myers in the 11th round; a TE who averaged nearly 5 receptions a game in 2012.

My QB situation is an attractive one too.  Stafford should have another nice year this year, but with very little RB value on the board in the 9th, I decided to grab Michael Vick as my backup.  If they both explode, I might be able to trade one of them away for a solid RB2/RB3, but I’m not counting on it.  Stafford is still my week to week QB, but if he’s facing a tougher matchup, having Vick available is a great option.

Once I had my starting lineup set (except for DEF and K which should ALWAYS be saved for last), I started playing the lottery.  Daniel Thomas, Marcel Reece, and Shonn Greene are all just an injury away from solid RB2 status.  Reece is probably still the best fill in I have for bye weeks based on his 73 targets in 2012, but only time will tell there.  5 is a pretty great spot to draft in this year so I lucked out there and had some players fall into my lap along the way, but anything can happen.