Darryl Talley
Footballguy
No experience with this. I'm guessing go RB heavy in the early rounds?
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16-team draft: What strategy to go with? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Darryl Talley
- Start date
Charlie Batch
Footballguy
whats with all the 16 tm leagues i keep seeing? why would anyone play this? wth happens if someone drafts 3 qbs, someone is going to only have 1? stupid.
well anyway, i'd be drafting qbs early, maybe even 3. so u arent the one getting #### on.
well anyway, i'd be drafting qbs early, maybe even 3. so u arent the one getting #### on.
KCitons
Footballguy
Quality, thought provoking post?
One post every year for five years and this is what you break your silence for?
Can't wait to see what you post next year.
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massraider
Footballguy
opensourcebeer
Footballguy
Need to know the starting requirements. The 16 team dynasty league I'm in only requires 1 RB to start, but can flex 2 additional RBs. This does devalue the RB 2/3 guys a fair amount.
Don't sleep on getting a QB. If you get caught at the end of a run when other owners start taking their QB2 and you haven't bothered to even take your QB1 yet, you'll be in a massive world of hurt.
Don't sleep on getting a QB. If you get caught at the end of a run when other owners start taking their QB2 and you haven't bothered to even take your QB1 yet, you'll be in a massive world of hurt.
BillyJoeBob
Footballguy
Larger leagues like this reward owners who are prepared and have done their research. Having a solid starter at each position can be a big challenge, but is very important.
Being able to identify these and acquire before the other owners separates the field. Generally, roster spots are of too valuable for someone to hoard QBs.
LarryAllen'sJockstrap
Footballguy
It all depends on league roster requirements and scoring rules.
I'm playing in the FFA league and that one is a 16 teamer. The scoring and roster requirements are odd , so giving you a list of what positions I drafted in what round probably wouldn't help much.
In general, I'd say a few general things about 16 team leagues are:
- You can't completely minimize risk, but I'd shy away from a lot of early round risky players. In a 16 team league, if you lose a couple of guys that you drafted to start or they are extremely inconsistent, you're going to struggle to find adequate replacements. For example, I took Marshawn Lynch, Drew Brees and Wes Welker with my first 3 picks.
- You aren't going to like your team; unlike 10 and 12 team leagues, most likely you're not going to have a top player and every position. Look at my first 3 picks above, WRs are a prime commodity in this league and I forced myself into a corner by not grabbing one with my first 2 picks. By the time my 3rd pick came around (46th overall), Welker was the best WR left on my board (PPR - can start up to 4 WRs). How many fantasy owners want to say their best WR is Wes Welker. That was the tradeoff for getting a top RB and a top QB.
- Runs will happen. Don't get caught up in them, but don't get to the point where teams are drafting their backups at a position before you have a starter. I did this last year at both QB and TE. I think I had the 20th QB off the board and 19th TE. Josh Freeman and Coby Fleener cost me an 0-7 start.
- If there is a player you really like, don't be afraid to draft them if they are on the board. This year, I found Gronk still on the board at my 4th round pick. I knew he would not last the 28 picks till my 5th, so I grabbed him.
- Try to get some reliable guys in the middle rounds; by round 5, you'll be down to guys like Chris Ivory, Shane Vereen, TY Hilton... I'd target guys that you fully expect to get touches or start for their respective teams.
- In the late rounds, I'd look for high-upside backups or players behind starters that have question marks. Lance Dunber, Mike LeShoure, Jacoby Jones... A 16 round, 16 team draft will take 64 players more than a 16 round, 12 team league. That would be like adding 5+ extra rounds to that 12 teamer. A lot of junk players will get drafted.
- Take two defenses; you can't play the WW for Ds every week if you take only one and they underperform.
- Draft your kicker in the last or 2nd to last round.
I'm playing in the FFA league and that one is a 16 teamer. The scoring and roster requirements are odd , so giving you a list of what positions I drafted in what round probably wouldn't help much.
In general, I'd say a few general things about 16 team leagues are:
- You can't completely minimize risk, but I'd shy away from a lot of early round risky players. In a 16 team league, if you lose a couple of guys that you drafted to start or they are extremely inconsistent, you're going to struggle to find adequate replacements. For example, I took Marshawn Lynch, Drew Brees and Wes Welker with my first 3 picks.
- You aren't going to like your team; unlike 10 and 12 team leagues, most likely you're not going to have a top player and every position. Look at my first 3 picks above, WRs are a prime commodity in this league and I forced myself into a corner by not grabbing one with my first 2 picks. By the time my 3rd pick came around (46th overall), Welker was the best WR left on my board (PPR - can start up to 4 WRs). How many fantasy owners want to say their best WR is Wes Welker. That was the tradeoff for getting a top RB and a top QB.
- Runs will happen. Don't get caught up in them, but don't get to the point where teams are drafting their backups at a position before you have a starter. I did this last year at both QB and TE. I think I had the 20th QB off the board and 19th TE. Josh Freeman and Coby Fleener cost me an 0-7 start.
- If there is a player you really like, don't be afraid to draft them if they are on the board. This year, I found Gronk still on the board at my 4th round pick. I knew he would not last the 28 picks till my 5th, so I grabbed him.
- Try to get some reliable guys in the middle rounds; by round 5, you'll be down to guys like Chris Ivory, Shane Vereen, TY Hilton... I'd target guys that you fully expect to get touches or start for their respective teams.
- In the late rounds, I'd look for high-upside backups or players behind starters that have question marks. Lance Dunber, Mike LeShoure, Jacoby Jones... A 16 round, 16 team draft will take 64 players more than a 16 round, 12 team league. That would be like adding 5+ extra rounds to that 12 teamer. A lot of junk players will get drafted.
- Take two defenses; you can't play the WW for Ds every week if you take only one and they underperform.
- Draft your kicker in the last or 2nd to last round.
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Just signed up for my first-ever 16-teamer today (most I've ever done is 12). Did a few mock drafts at 1, 8 and 16 to get a feel. Here are some initial observations (which I totally reserve the right to change my mind on as I dig into this more):
- I generally like to go in the middle of any draft, but it's especially valuable in a league this big. Waiting 32 picks is going to be awful, and will leave you either reaching way too early for guys or else cursing yourself for not reaching.
- If you're in a later position, the 3rd round is absolutely brutal. If you go RB/RB you'll be looking at Jordy Nelson, SSmith or Decker as your WR1. If you go RB/WR, we're talking Lacy/McFadden/Sproles as your RB2.
- I feel like it's worth either grabbing a top TE or else rolling the dice on a high-upside sleeper like Cameron or Sudfeld (and yes, I know that Cameron may no longer qualify). Short of that, you probably just need to grab one of the middle-class TEs and just live with the uneven production.
- This might be dumb, but I found myself simply not drafting RBs by the later rounds. When the options are Jonathan Franklin, Stephens-Howling and Ryan Williams, I have a really hard time picturing them ever being meaningful fantasy contributors. I'd much rather take a chance on a WR like Randle, Jeffery or Roberts to be the next Cecil Shorts.
- Still deciding on the backup QB question. I generally don't draft them in 12-teamers, but it seems like you could end up getting stuck with some real dregs if your guy goes down. Probably even more important if you take one of the less proven guys like Wilson, Kaep and of course RG3.
- Holy crap, should i also think about drafting a backup TE? I can't, I just can't.
- I'm already preparing myself for that bye week where I'm starting Marcel Reese and Isaac Redman.
Mr. Irrelevant
IBL Representative
/ thread
In general, start by choosing a position where you're resigned to picking from whatever scraps are left and just ignore it until the 8th or 9th round (just before everyone else starts choosing backups). My recommendation is TE, since the group between 7-16 is virtually interchangeable this year anyway, but if the scoring is PPR or receiver-heavy then QB is a viable option. There are worse things in a 16-teamer than hitching your wagon to Andy Dalton.
Get as many half-decent RB's as you can handle in the early rounds. Then grab another one, just in case. Seriously: RB's thin out waaaaaaaay sooner than WR's in a 16-team league. Hell, in FBG's (16-team) PDSL I got Jason Avant with my last pick at 20.01 - 305th overall - and he's a decent bet to put up 100 fantasy points in PPR this year. Show me a 20th-round RB who you'd ever be able to say that about.
Draft your backup QB, K, and D around the 22-24 spot, even if you have a stud as your #1. Every NFL starter at these positions will be rostered, and you'll want backups who are just competent enough to not be in danger of losing their jobs. If your starting QB goes down in week 7, you'd much rather have the consistent mediocrity of Schaub than a zero at QB because you waited too long and took Gabbert, who got benched for Henne in the meantime.
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rockaction
Footballguy
I play in a sixteen-teamer. RBs are the way to go, IMO. You won't like your team at WR at first, but there's always one or two WRs that come out of nowhere to grab if you're paying attention during the year. Laurent Robinson, Cecil Shorts, and Danario Alexander are a couple of guys that come to mind over the past few years.
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I've been going back and forth on the RB/RB vs RB/WR question. I'm starting to wonder if I just need to lower my expectations for RB2. Maybe instead of a Forte or Ridley, I should just be happy with a Bernard, Wilson or Lacy, if that gets me a top-line WR1 like Fitz or White.
BTW, an additional wrinkle in my league that I recently realized is that we only have 4 bench spots. That makes me less likely to draft a backup QB or TE. Especially given that we effectively have to start 3 WRs (technically, there is a WR/TE flex, but I doubt I'll ever start a second TE), I can't see any point in stockpiling a guy I'm only going to use for one week. More likely, I'll use 2 or 3 of my bench spots on WRs, and the others on RBs.
BTW, an additional wrinkle in my league that I recently realized is that we only have 4 bench spots. That makes me less likely to draft a backup QB or TE. Especially given that we effectively have to start 3 WRs (technically, there is a WR/TE flex, but I doubt I'll ever start a second TE), I can't see any point in stockpiling a guy I'm only going to use for one week. More likely, I'll use 2 or 3 of my bench spots on WRs, and the others on RBs.
msudaisy26
Footballguy
So if you are one of the teams stuck with only 1 quarterback you will have one crappy week when he is on a bye, if you draft 3 quarterbacks early you will suck every week because you are starting guys like Bryce Brown as your running back 2