So you wanna know how I’d draft if I had everything go my way from rounds one through whatever in a ten team PPR you say? Oh, you didn’t say that? Oh well, it’s what you’re gonna get anyways today! Keep in mind, I’m simply going by their projected ranks not current ADP listings, hence the perfect draft concept where everyone I want falls to me in the given round I’m in. Since this is a standard league, I’m looking at a roster of QB/WR/WR/WR/RB/RB/TE/DEF/K and six bench spots. To keep things in line with how we’re doing our 2012 Razzball Football Commenter Leagues through Yahoo this year, I’m going to use their rankings and rounds to determine how my team pans out. Oh, you don’t know about our RCL’s? Well, that original link will guide you to where all the current leagues are posted that you can join while our RCL Update post tells you about how winning it just got a bit sweeter this year. We want you in that lavish attire holding that trophy just as much as you do, but that means you have to join a league or build one if one isn’t available to get in. Alright, I think that’s enough RCL pimping for now, let’s take a look at what myself as a yahoo can do in a Yahoo draft of my dreams for a standard ten teamer for fantasy football.
Rd 1: Ray Rice, Projected #2 Pick – He’s number one in my 2012 Fantasy Football Rankings this year (An update about which will be out later this morning. Giggity!), so suffice to say this is a no-brainer for me. I don’t know if you can really go wrong with the top three RBs, but I trust Rice’s health over Arian Foster and his asserted #1 offensive force for his team compared to LeSean McCoy who might be ceding some of those touchdowns to Michael Vick this year.
Rd 2: Jimmy Graham, Projected #14 Pick – Yep, I took a Tight End in the second round. Deal with it. In looking over the projected rankings, Graham just made sense here given all the health issues of the other Running Backs currently projected to go in the second round.  Adrian Peterson, Darren McFadden, and Trent Richardson are all worrisome right now so I’m looking at top end production from my TE over question marks at my RB2. If this were a PPR league, I might consider Michael Forte with pick 20 but since it’s not, I had my eyes set on the running back right after him…
Rd 3: Marshawn Lynch, Projected #21 Pick – Like I said, this isn’t a PPR league. Marshawn won’t catch many passes but he definitely can pound the turf as my RB2 any day in a standard league. Again, I know I’m dreaming as I see his ADP rising into the second round in Yahoo leagues but dreams aren’t about being reasonable. Just think about that one you had involving Kate Upton and a pool full of jello pudding. I mean, seriously, that’s a lot of pudding. No way you could afford that!
Rd 4: Julio Jones, Projected #32 Pick – I have big thoughts about Julio this year which you’ll be able to see from my later draft picks. I have hopes of a double digit touchdowns and near 1200 all-purpose yards here. I have Roddy White and Julio pretty tightly knit together in my rankings so having Julio in the fourth round feels like a steal to me.
Rd 5: Marques Colston, Projected #43 Pick – This was tough as this round had a lot of value plays at wide receiver and I was in need. Could’ve gone with Jeremy Maclin at #41 or even Brandon Lloyd at #50 but I chose to stick with my guns as I have Marques in my top ten wide receivers for the season. Hard to be mad about having two top end targets for Drew Brees to throw to.
Rd 6: Ahmad Bradshaw, Projected #52 Pick – This pick was a value pick. I would’ve aimed for a wide receiver but because I’m going by rounds I would’ve had to stretch to get one that I was comfortable with. In Bradshaw, I have a Running Back who should score me 10+ touchdowns as long as he stays healthy. Nothing wrong with hedging your Running Backs early if you can afford it. Of course, now I still have that pesky third receiver to deal with but with how deep the position is, I should have no problem finding some value here shortly.
Rd 7: Antonio Brown, Projected #67 Pick – Well, that was quick. Normally I wouldn’t go after Brown in a standard league because of those touchdown numbers from last season. However, I think there’s a good chance for improvement on his TDs from last year whether or not Mike Wallace comes back. TDs are fickle things. If he posted the same line last year with 7 or 8 touchdowns, he’d be drafted up near where I got Julio.
Rd 8: Matt Ryan, Projected #76 Pick – I’ve been saying all off-season that Matty Ice was being undervalued everywhere and that trend has not really changed. I have him tiered with Romo and Rivers who are going two rounds ahead of him. Too many weapons at his disposal this season and they’re really going pass-heavy with their offense in 2012. You tell me what’s not to like?
Rd 9: Pierre Garcon, Projected #86 Pick – Since Robert Griffin, III is skyrocketing up the draft charts, I have no chance of nabbing him so Pierre would be my consolation piece of the pie. I have him projected as a WR3 so having him on my bench at this point is a luxury.
Rd 10: Denarius Moore, Projected #96 Pick – Still fleshing out my bench and throwing Denarius on there in case Carson Palmer and him rekindle what they started last year. Would’ve preferred Darrius Heyward-Bey for that purpose but he was in round nine. If I haven’t cheated yet, why start now?
Rd 11: Ben Tate, Projected #108 Pick – I’m sure the imaginary Foster owner in my imaginary draft is angry at me right now. Even if Foster plays a full 16 games, Ben will still get his touches in Houston’s run-first offense, especially if they keep up their winning ways. Fourth quarters are golden for back-up running backs on winning, run-heavy teams.
Rd 12: Josh Freeman, Projected #116 Pick – I had to take a back up quarterback at some point and felt the best way to approach it was to go with upside. Palmer and Andy Dalton were available in this round but Freeman does have a top 10 fantasy season at his position under his belt as recently as 2010. I’m comfortable with Matt so taking the risk with Freeman just makes sense.
Rd 13: Toby Gerhart, Projected #127 Pick – I must really like handcuffs. This goes back to my sleeper post about Toby and to the fact that you can never count on the health of a Running Back, especially one coming off of season ending surgery on both their MCL and their ACL. Brent Celek was available in this round but you don’t really need a bye week Tight End in a ten team league. If all goes according to plan, all my Toby value will be used up by week 5 anyway so I could have an empty roster spot when bye weeks start hitting.
Rd 14: San Francisco Defense, Projected #145 Pick – At this point in the draft, I’m simply picking a defense. Why not make it the top ranked one? Again, these are dreams, people, dreams!
Rd 15: Mason Crosby, Projected #207 Pick – Well we all knew these last two rounds would be boring, didn’t we? He’s a great kicker for a great offense. Nuff said.
To wrap up, I’m all for the strategy in this small of a league to be taking skill players with my last two picks until you know more. There’s always a kicker or a defense out on waivers in this type of league that will prove to be useful enough for you to be successful. Taking a player like Rashad Jennings or Emmanuel Sanders at the tail end of a draft like this makes sense when teams are still dealing with holdouts. Of course, eventually someone must go to make up for the DEF/K need but I wanted to show a dream draft that is actually rosterable for a season and I feel I’ve done that quite well. This team makes me feel all warm and gooey inside as it should as it’s my Yahoo Dream Team for a standard 10 team league.
