Fantasy Football 2012: Twelve Person League Flex Draft

I recently drafted in a 12 team league. The draft format was online. My team is listed below:

QB: Tony Romo

RB:Darren McFadden, Reggie Bush

WR: Julio Jones, Eric Decker

TE: Rob Gronkowski

RB/WR: Kevin Smith

Kicker: Stephen Gostkowski

Defense: Buffalo

Bench: Rashad Jennings, Joe Flacco, Lance Moore, Laurent Robinson, Coby Fleener

My team won the Yahoo medal for having the best draft. I am currently predicted to go 13-1. Aside from how the season plays out I am extremely happy with my draft. I drafted using the program from MaxPPG. http://www.maxppg.com The program allowed me to quickly enter drafted players. Using the programs formula, players are listed by predicted points per game. The program also suggests who to draft. The league I drafted in offers 4 points for a passing TD, and minuses 1 for an interception. This is different then my other league. This does not make QB's as overpowered as they are in some leagues. I made a key decision in this draft that I believe allowed me to draft as powerful of a team  as I drafted. I had the 8^th pick in the draft.

 With my first pick I took Darren McFadden. My second pick was Rob Gronkowski. My key picks came in the second, third and fourth round, I will outline those below by explaining the situations in each round round.

First Round

1. Arian Foster
2. Aaron Rodgers
3. Ray Rice
4. Lesean McCoy
5. Calvin Johnson
6. Tom Brady
7. Drew Brees
8. Darren McFadden
9. Cam Newton
10. Chris Johnson
11. Matt Forte

With my first pick I drafted Darren McFadden. I felt like he was the best runningback on the board when I picked 8^th. He is a key player on the Raiders, they are definitely going to give him many touches this year. I would have considered taking Rodgers or Brady, however they were both drafted. By the end of the first round the players taken are as follows:

• 4 Quarterbacks
• 6 Runningbacks
• 1 Wide Receiver

Second Round

1. Larry Fitzgerald
2. DeMarco Murray
3. Trent Richardson
4. Ryan Mathews
5. Rob Gronkowski
6. Jimmy Graham
7. Marshawn Lynch
8. Jamal Charles
9. Matthew Stafford
10. Adrian Peterson
11. Hakeem Nicks
12. Steven Jackson

I thought about taking Matt Stafford or another runningback. I then determined that Rob Gronkowski would be the most beneficial pick. MaxPPG reaffirmed my theory. Rob Gronkowski produces points that are the most difficult to duplicate. The difference between Matt Stafford and Tony Romo is not as drastic as the point difference between Rob Gronkowski and the other Tight Ends. Gronk is truly a remarkable point producer.

• Quarterbacks 1
• Runningbacks 7
• Wide Receivers 2
• Tight End 2

Total Drafted

• Quarterbacks 5
• Runningbacks 13
• Wide Receivers 3
• Tight Ends 2

Third Round

1. Michael Vick
2. Fred Jackson
3. Andre Johnson
4. A.J. Green
5. Victor Cruz
6. Brandon Marshall
7. Roddy White
8. Julio Jones
9. Wes Welker
10. Greg Jennings
11. Jordy Nelson
12. Michael Turner

By the time I picked 14 runningbacks had been drafted. I did not feel like any of the remaining runningbacks warranted a draft pick in the round. Six quarterbacks were drafted before I picked. I examined the point differences between the remaining QB's. The difference between drafting Eli Manning versus Tony Romo was not significant. Therefore I chose to draft Julio Jones. Some predict him to have a great year, and I was happy to draft him as my first wide receiver.

• Quarterbacks 1
• Runningbacks 2
• Wide Receivers 9

Total Drafted

• Quarterbacks 6
• Runningbacks 15
• Wide Receivers 12
• Tight Ends 2

Fourth Round

1. Eli Manning
2. Matt Ryan
3. Mike Wallace
4. Percy Harvin
5. Reggie Bush
6. Doug Martin
7. Vincent Jackson
8. Jeremy Maclin
9. Darren Sproles
10. Steve Smith
11. Ahmad Bradshaw
12. Antonio Brown

At this point in the draft I selected Reggie Bush. At this point 15 runningbacks had been drafted. It was important to me to grab my 2^nd runningback. I could have drafted another receiver or selected a quarterback. However wide receivers have incredible fantasy depth, and I could still wait on a quarterback as the people who already drafted a quarterback would not pick from the ones left over. Reggie Bush gives me a solid second runningback option.

• Quarterbacks 2
• Runningbacks 4
• Wide Receivers 6

Total Drafted

• Quarterbacks 8
• Runningbacks 19
• Wide Receivers 18
• Tight Ends 2

These first few rounds or drafting were key. They gave me the foundation for my fantasy team. I was able to grab a good quarterback, and a solid second wide receiver in the latter rounds. I will display my remaining picks below.

Round 5 Tony Romo

Round 6 Eric Decker

Round 7 Kevin Smith

Round 8 Stephen Gostkowski

Round 9 Buffalo Defense

Round 10 Rashad Jennings

Round 11 Joe Flacco

Round 12 Lance Moore

Round 13 Laurent Robinson

Round 14 Coby Fleener

By considering value, using my own draft strategy, as well as Max PPG, I was able to make good decisions. I believe I drafted my first few rounds magnificently. I was able to build a solid team, and am projected to have the best record in both of the leagues I drafted in. I believe it is very important to consider who other people may draft, and to have several ideas on who you make pick if your first priority player is taken. I have enjoyed writing about my draft strategies this year, and hope those who read them could glean some useful information, or at least enjoyed them Hopefully I have success in both of my leagues. Romo had a great game on Wednesday, hopefully the rest of my players can perform on Sunday. Good luck to everyone this year, it should be a great season of football!