Drafting from the seventh spot opens up virtually all of the possibilities. In theory, you could start RB-RB, WR-WR, or more balanced. At least some of that is going to be determined by whether Bijan Robinson and Breece Hall last to the seventh pick. In this draft, they didn't, so I started my draft with Amon-Ra St. Brown, one of four wide receivers I took in the first five rounds. I prefer that method in full PPR over half PPR, but when you can start four wide receivers, I wouldn't shy away from a start like this.
Here's my squad from the first pick:
1.07: Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, DET
2.06: James Cook, RB, BUF
3.07: Cooper Kupp, WR, LAR
4.06: Amari Cooper, WR, CLE
5:07: Christian Kirk, WR, JAC
6.06: Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, NE
7.07: Kyler Murray, QB, ARI
8.06: Jonathon Brooks, RB, CAR
9.07: Jake Ferguson, TE, DAL
10.06: Ezekiel Elliott, RB, DAL
11.07: Antonio Gibson, RB, NE
12.06: Jakobi Meyers, WR, LV
13.07: Ray Davis, RB, BUF
14.06: Keaton Mitchell, RB, BAL
Fantasy Football Today Newsletter
Know What Your Friends Don't
Get tips, advice and news to win your league - all from the FFT podcast team.
Thanks for signing up!
Keep an eye on your inbox.
Sorry!
There was an error processing your subscription.
My only running back in the first five rounds was James Cook, who will probably be one of my most rostered running backs this season. His ADP suggests you may be able to wait until Round 3 to draft Cook, but I wouldn't want to try that unless I had a pick in the first half of the round. I expect him to average 20-plus touches per game and I expect him to set a career-high in touchdowns. I would not be surprised if he finishes this season as a top-five running back.
The rest of my backfield is going to be a puzzle. To start the year, Rhamondre Stevenson will be my RB2 and I expect that he'll have his best year as a rusher even if he takes a step back on passing downs. I hope that by midseason rookie Jonathon Brooks is 100%. If he is, he has both workhorse and top-12 upside.
I was thrilled with the value I got at QB with Kyler Murray and tight end with Jake Ferguson. Both are dark horses to finish top five at their position, but I don't believe anyone should be surprised if Murray does it. Multiple times in his career he's shown that type of upside and the arrival of Marvin Harrison Jr. gives him a true number one wide receiver again.
Ferguson is a third-year tight end, a common breakout year for the position and he's almost guaranteed to finish second on his team in targets, which also often leads to a top-five season. We saw the upside in the second half of last year when he had 56 catches for 617 yards and six touchdowns in his final 11 games including the playoffs. Considering the Cowboys lack of offseason additions, he'll have a chance to match those over a full season in 2024.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
Like Kupp, Cooper is on the wrong side of 30 and could go over the hill. While he's not an injury concern, his quarterback certainly is at this point. Taking Cooper over younger wide receivers with more stable QBs like Tee Higgins and DeVonta Smith could certainly come back to bite me.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
On one hand, Kupp has shown as much upside as any wide receiver in Fantasy Football. Even last year, he topped 19 PPR Fantasy points in four of his 11 healthy games. Of course, the other side is that Kupp is a 31-year-old wide receiver who only played 11 healthy games and now has to battle Puka Nacua for targets. If Kupp is 100% healthy and takes his WR1 role back, this was a steal and my team is a monster. If he's hurt or ineffective I may not have a WR2.
| ||||||||||||||||||||
