Be elite. That's the goal of every Fantasy manager in every league. But it's not always easy to achieve in 12-team leagues and larger. In those formats, you're likely going to have some holes on your roster, at least on Draft Day.
That shouldn't be the case in 10-team leagues or smaller -- if you do it right. In a shallow league, where every manager has an all-star roster, you want to find a way to stand out. And there are a few ways to make that happen.
We held a 10-team, half-PPR mock draft Friday on our Fantasy Football Today podcast. I had the No. 6 overall pick, and I tried to make my roster elite.
My approach was to be aggressive at quarterback and tight end, and I did that with Brock Bowers in Round 2 and Josh Allen in Round 4. I probably wouldn't draft those positions so close together in a 12-team league, but I knew I could pass on running backs and receivers there and still recover with quality talent.
By drafting Bowers and Allen, I have what should be a positional advantage. And I still built a standout receiving corps (Amon-Ra St. Brown, Drake London, Garrett Wilson, Matthew Golden and Jalen Coker) with quality running backs (Cam Skattebo, David Montgomery, Jonathon Brooks, Jaylen Warren, Mike Washington Jr., Kaelon Black and Emmett Johnson).
Now, you can argue that my running backs are weak, which is fair in a 10-team league. But if Allen, Bowers and my top three receivers perform as expected, I should be fairly successful in this format.
Keep in mind that not everyone will be able to land the best quarterback and tight end on the same roster, and I would prefer to target the top tight ends since quarterback is so deep. For example, I like the build from Clinton Derouen, who had the No. 3 overall pick.
His quarterback is Lamar Jackson, and the tight end is Colston Loveland (he also drafted Mark Andrews). At running back, Derouen has Saquon Barkley, Travis Etienne, Tony Pollard, Woody Marks and Jonah Coleman. And the receivers are Ja'Marr Chase, Nico Collins, Rome Odunze, Brian Thomas Jr., Josh Downs and Makai Lemon.
Derouen got Loveland in Round 4 and Jackson in Round 6, and he did that at fair value. His talent at running back and receiver is impressive, and Derouen should have a playoff-caliber roster.
You can also load up at running back and receiver and hope you're just better than everyone else. Dark Link did that from the No. 2 spot with Bijan Robinson, Javonte Williams, Bhayshul Tuten, Kenneth Gainwell, Tank Bigsby and Braelon Allen at running back. And Link has Justin Jefferson, Malik Nabers, Luther Burden III, Chris Godwin and Quentin Johnston at receiver. Link's quarterback is Jalen Hurts, and the tight ends are Dallas Goedert and Isaiah Likely.
I like that roster a lot, even if he has a mid-tier quarterback and fallback options at tight end. His talent elsewhere should carry him into the playoffs.
Take a look at all of these rosters and see which build you like best. Just remember that in a 10-team league, you want to stand out as much as possible since all of these teams are filled with all stars. Your goal is to be elite.
As a reference point for this mock draft, all touchdowns are worth six points, and we award one point for every 10 yards rushing and receiving and one point for every 25 yards passing. We also award 0.5 points for every reception. We feature a starting lineup of QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, TE and 2 FLEX (RB/WR/TE) with six reserves for a 14-round draft.
Our draft order is as follows:
1. Michael Villafana, Podcast Listener
2. Dark Link, Podcast Listener
3. Clinton Derouen, Podcast Listener
4. Chris Harrington, Podcast Listener
5. Stephen Diephuis, Podcast Listener
6. Jamey Eisenberg, Senior Fantasy Writer
7. Matt Frasco, Podcast Listener
8. Jonathan Slusser, Podcast Listener
9. Thomas Denardo, Podcast Listener
10. James Leonard, St. Jude donor
