Draft Philosophy
When looking at drafting in 2024, I have a couple of things that I cannot stress enough before you enter your draft rooms.
1. Come with a plan but be prepared to blow it up.
The second your draft starts, you have a zero percent chance of predicting exactly what will happen. It’s important to be prepared for all of your top options to be gone at one point or another. In those instances, you can make or break your team, depending on how you react. At the start of every round, you should evaluate who is off your board, gauge what your top tiers at each position look like, and be prepared with a couple of names from each position that you are confident drafting.
2. Know Your League
This can be looked at in a number of different ways. First and foremost, know your league mates’ tendencies. Are they homers, and do they draft all your local team’s players? Do they love rookies? The tendencies of your league mates will always provide you with opportunities if you know them in advance. Second is how active your league is. Are you going to be able to make trades if you go with the best player available and load up on a specific position? If so, then more doors are open to you each round; if not, then you need to be more strategic in the middle rounds. Finally, and the most obvious, know your scoring. There are so many new and innovative ways that fantasy football is scored, and any small scoring detail can turn into a significant advantage or disadvantage.
3. Rounds 1, 2, 6 and 10
These rounds have been instrumental in all of my drafts thus far. Rounds one and two set the tone and an overarching strategy for the rest of your draft. My strategy in these two rounds is either double-tapping the wide receiver position or going with one running back and one wide receiver. In the second round, specifically, if Marvin Harrison Jr. falls to you, you take him. Round 6 is one of the final premier player rounds in the draft. It is a great round to course correct before you head into the abyss of handcuffs, late-round quarterbacks, tight ends, and dart throws. What I mean by course correct is evaluating your roster and finding your most significant need. Is it a position you waited too long on (Quarterback or tight end), or is it depth? Round six is where you can fix those things. Finally, round ten. Round ten is full of potential league-winners, players with high ceilings at a value price. It’s a great round to get your guy and take some risk.
Read The Notes
I took the time to provide a writeup on every single player, so if you’re going to argue (which is allowed and encouraged), at least try to get some idea of why I ranked the player where I did or what I generally feel about them. Take some time to read them, see where you agree or disagree, and jot down thoughts to bring to your drafts with you.
These rankings talk about what I generally project for a player, but these rankings are not projections. They include projections but also take into account performance risk, injury risk, team context, ceiling, and floor.
These rankings and write-ups will be updated two more times before the start of the season.
Now, let’s dive in!