It’s officially crunch time for fantasy football drafts. The Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos will kick off the new season Thursday night with a Super Bowl rematch. It leaves just a handful of days to select a team you hope will capture a championship in four months’ time.
There are no shortage of different tactics for building a roster this year after an extended period where running backs completely dominated the first few rounds. The added variety has made drafting more unpredictable and entertaining.
With that in mind, let’s check out a couple tables to help with final draft preparation, including a full potential roster. That’s followed by a recap of some key picks. All information for average draft position (ADP) is courtesy of ESPN.
First-Round Mock Draft
Ideal Squad Based on ADP
Notable Selections
Adrian Peterson (Round 1)
As mentioned, the fantasy landscape has slowly changed over the past few years. There are now more wide receivers, tight ends and quarterbacks taken in the first few rounds. But finding a rock-solid No. 1 running back is still crucial to success.
Some managers may prefer Todd Gurley over Peterson, and that’s fine. Gurley has the higher ceiling, but Peterson has the higher floor, which is always a factor when drafting a cornerstone. Either way, using your first pick on a top-tier RB feels like the right move given the lack of three-down players.
PFF Fantasy Football highlighted how important the Minnesota Vikings’ starter is to the team’s success:
Minnesota will continue to lean heavily on Peterson to lead the offensive attack and take as much pressure as possible off quarterback Shaun Hill, following the injury to Teddy Bridgewater. That equates to plenty of touches and the perfect start to a fantasy team.
Greg Olsen (Round 4)
When you should take a tight end depends on how far you believe the second tier extends. Rob Gronkowski is in a class by himself, worthy of a pick in the latter stages of Round 1. It gets more complicated after that with nobody else from the position likely getting taken until Rounds 3 or 4.
Olsen and Jordan Reed are part of that second wave. They are worth a pick in the fourth round if you believe that’s the end of the next group. Other fantasy owners might think Travis Kelce and Delanie Walker possess around the same value, at which point they can wait an extra round or two.
The Panthers TE is a safe choice because he’s coming off back-to-back seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards and at least six TDs. He also understands the important role he must fill as a veteran leader with the Panthers looking toward another playoff run, per Bill Voth of the Black And Blue Review.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Olsen said. “We take this very seriously. This is too hard to come out and just half-assed and find ourselves 1-4 asking, ‘What’s going on?’ We’re not going to allow that to be the problem, and that all starts with our preparation here at camp.”
So expect Olsen, who started slow last year with just seven catches and no scores over the first two weeks, to come out strong in 2016. He should parlay that into another successful campaign at a position with a limited number of reliable assets.
Tyrod Taylor and Jameis Winston (Rounds 10-11)
Every fantasy owner must sacrifice somewhere during a draft. There simply isn’t enough depth to finish a draft loaded at each position in a 12-team league. While some people may proverbially punt at tight end due to the lack of depth or rely heavily on sleepers at RB or WR, QB may present the best value.
Sure, neither Taylor nor Winston is guaranteed to shine. But they both ranked inside the top 16 at the position last season and should be on the ascent after receiving a full offseason to prepare as an NFL starter, with Taylor having previously been a backup and Winston a rookie.
Eric Moody of RotoViz pointed out the Buffalo Bills’ signal-caller actually scored quite well in 2015 despite not receiving much hype:
By taking two high-upside quarterbacks in the middle rounds, a fantasy owner will be able to play the matchups and should be able to grind out top-eight production in the aggregate. It’s the best route to maximizing output from each position on the roster.
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