My Week One Fantasy Team - Paddi Cooper

As I play a lot fantasy football, I like to mix up my drafts in terms of league size, scoring and draft strategies. I got into this league at late notice and with the knowledge that it was only a 10-team league, I decided on strategy to go for only skill position players. I figured that there would be a number of inexperienced players that would try to make balanced rosters, and so there would be a high likelihood there would strong options all the way through the rounds, plus a good option at quarterback available on waivers. I also never draft kickers or defenses as well, preferring to stream those weekly based on match ups.

In terms of the draft itself, I found myself drafting third and had the pick of all of the top five players based on current ADP so was able to take the top player on my board for 2018 in Ezekiel Elliot. From then on I felt I was in a good place to take a lot of the top players on my board. I got Keenan Allen 3 spots lower than he is on my board, Jordan Howard a massive 18 spots lower and Derrius Guice 14 spots. The last two came after I reached a bit for Travis Kelce early in round 3. I continued to focus on value picks, with the only real sting coming when I saw Brandin Cooks go two picks ahead of me at pick-61. I have Cooks as my 45th ranked player in 2018. Players like Dion Lewis, Sammy Watkins, Tyler Lockett and Nick Chubb I have been targeting later in all my drafts so far and so to get all of them was very satisfying.

I’ve already placed my waiver request for my quarterback, as there were three solid options available, and looking at the defences and kickers available, I’m happy with the streaming options.

Overall, I’m happy with the draft. I don’t think I’d use the same strategy in deeper leagues moving forward, but I am confident I’ll be competitive.