You may hear the word “inverted” several hundred times this month as you prepare for your concept drafts, and while inverted drafting is vital, don’t overlook safe options that provide consistent production. . If you’re drafting second, you know you have upside in Christian McCaffrey.
No player will be better than CMC on a per-game basis, and this knowledge will shape the rest of your draft by allowing you to take some safer options. In Round 2, for example, I picked the somewhat boring but incredibly reliable Mike Evans over the emerging Michael Pittman and electrifying Debo Samuel. Fortunately, I was able to draft Samuel in Round 3 and lay a great foundation for my squad. I tried to correct the safety and reverse balance. Finally, I think I succeeded.
Another goal of mine in this format (three wide receivers, full PPR) is to be good at wide receiver. It can be difficult to find receivers worthy of starting late in the draft, so I drafted a wide receiver with three of my first five picks. It’s not ideal to have two of those three on the Bucs, but hey if you’re going to draft two wide receivers from the same team, Tampa Bay is a good team to do it!
Here is my squad from no. 2 Overall Choices:
1.2: Christian McCaffrey, RB, Panthers
2:11: Mike Evans, WR, Buccaneers
3.2: Deebo Samuel, WR, 49ers
4:11: JK Dobbins, RB, Ravens
5.2: Chris Godwin, WR, Buccaneers
6:11: Dalton Schultz, TE, Cowboys
7.2: Elijah Moore, WR, Jets
8:11: Devin Singletary, RB, Bulls
9.2: Trey Lance, QB, 49ers
10.11: Alexander Mattison, RB, Vikings
11.2: Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR, Chiefs
12:11: D’Onta Foreman, RB, Panthers
13.2 Aaron Rodgers, QB, Packers
4:11: Terrence Marshall, WR, Panthers
15.2: Van Jefferson, WR, Rams
I feel good about this team and don’t see any glaring weaknesses. I definitely have a lot of injury risk with McCaffrey, plus the combination of Dobbins and Godwin coming back from serious knee injuries. When players come back from a major injury, you hope to get them at a discount. I could say that Godwin was discounted, but Dobbins was not.
At quarterback, I absolutely love Tre Lance this season. He doesn’t have to be a good NFL quarterback to be an elite fantasy option. He primarily played 2.5 games at quarterback last season, and in those 10 quarters, he was on pace for 1,095 rushing yards per 17 games. He has that kind of urgency. And if that doesn’t work out, I’ll just turn to the reigning MVP, Aaron Rodgers.
Favorite Pick: Dalton Schultz
Dalton Schultz is in a league of his own this season. You can’t justify drafting him beyond the top five tight ends, but I see plenty of separation between Schultz and the next tier of TJ Hockenson and Dallas Goedert. I like his condition. He should be second on the team in targets and a red zone threat for Dak Prescott. It’s incredibly rare for a tight end to finish in the top five at the position without finishing first or second on his team in targets, so keep that in mind on draft day.
I May Regret Pick: Christian McCaffrey
It’s all about the injury, of course. You can’t ignore the fact that McCaffrey has played ten games over his last two seasons, but I would point out that even if McCaffrey misses a large chunk of games, you can still be competitive. . Your season is not over. I drafted D’Onta Foreman as a tight end at CMC and I think he’ll be a good flex option if he ends up being the starter. Let’s hope we don’t have to find out!
Player who can make or break my team: Debo Samuel
Deebo Samuel is a top 20 pick in both FantasyPros and NFC Average Draft Position. I’m not really interested in Debo this early because Trey Lance’s passing numbers will certainly be lower than Jimmy Garoppolo’s, and Debo did most of his damage last season when George Kittle was injured and Brandon Awick was injured. were in the doghouse. But Round 3? This is a steal! I couldn’t make it to 26th overall. He is clearly one of the best playmakers in football. I was very happy to draft him in the third round.
