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As the preseason begins winding down, many of us are starting our draft preparation in earnest. Between cheat sheets and mock drafts, everyone wants to find the master plan that will win them their draft, their league, and the eternal glory that implies. The bad news is, there is no one foolproof strategy that will win a draft. There are too many good players in this league to allow for only ONE correct draft.
The good news is that there are TONS of strategies that can make your draft great. You just need to know how to use them. Luckily for you, that's why we're here. What will follow are multiple draft scenarios for 8-to-12 man leagues, and you can pick and choose the approach you like the most. However, remember that you will need to be flexible: your dream scenario likely won't fall right into your lap. Be ready to think on your feet come draft day.
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PPR Draft Strategy - 2015 Fantasy Football
8-Man League: Antonio Brown in the First Round
If you're picking any higher than 4th you should be taking one of the Charles/Bell/Lacy triumvirate, but if you're at 1.4 or 1.5, Antonio Brown is probably your best pick. Picking Brown at 1.5 usually means that you can pick up LeSean McCoy, C.J. Anderson or Matt Forte at 2.4, and while that doesn't give you truly elite RB1 play, Brown's reliability and high ceiling should be enough to make up the difference. After your running back in round 2, I like taking Andrew Luck or Aaron Rodgers in the third round and following up with one of T.Y. Hilton, Mike Evans or DeAndre Hopkins in the fourth round. With backs like C.J. Spiller, Joseph Randle, Melvin Gordon, and Ameer Abdullah available in later rounds, I believe there is a lot of sleeper potential at the RB position this year and you can afford to spend on an elite quarterback.
12-Man League: Antonio Brown in the First
He may fall as far as 1.6, and if he does you might be lucky enough to land any of the tier two RBs still available, but you're most likely looking at someone like Jeremy Hill or maybe LeSean McCoy, if your luck holds out. Personally, I think Brown is good enough for you to take that risk, but it is significant. Proceed with caution.
Any League: RB/WR Start
I believe that most people will start this way in their drafts, if only because the truly elite RBs will be gone halfway through the first round. In a 12-man draft, drafting someone like Eddie Lacy at 1.4 and following up with an A.J. Green type at 2.9 will give your team a reliable RB1 and WR1 option. This will also give you the flexibility to consider picking up a quarterback in the third round if for some reason Luck or Rodgers has fallen through the cracks. In an 8-man draft, you can pick up an elite RB1 and WR1 and almost be assured a quarterback or WR in the third round. Personally, I'd rather have Luck or Green in the third round than any of the RBs that typically fall to that spot.
8-Man: RB/RB Start
If you are picking early enough in an 8-man league, you can get away with starting RB/RB, due to the WR talent still available to you in the third round. Green, Jordy Nelson, and Randall Cobb should all be available to you around picks 25-29. This should allow you to take a gamble on someone like C.J. Anderson, knowing that you have elite RB1 talent ahead of him and elite WR1 talent behind him. However, if you aren't picking until 1.6 or later, you'll likely miss on the leading wideouts and be picking from Alshon Jeffery/Mike Evans/T.Y. Hilton as your WR1. Be very careful with an RB/RB open. I don't like RB/RB in a 12 man league, because you're cutting yourself off from the true WR1s and hoping you can draft guys to make up the difference.
Any League: WR/WR Start
There is only one reason to do this: you've drafted Antonio Brown and Dez Bryant has fallen to you in the second round somehow. That is legitimately the only scenario in which you can draft WR/WR. Do NOT do this otherwise. I mean it.
Any League: Drafting Gronk
Someone in your league will do it. Personally, I don't want him in the first round. The Patriots' legal situation is still up in the air at the time of writing this, meaning there is a nonzero chance that Gronkowski has Jimmy Garoppolo throwing to him, which will most likely deflate his value. If you can get him in the second, though, you've essentially drafted a WR1 at tight end, and he will be the focus of New England's passing game. Just make sure you have someone dependable lined up in rounds 1 and 3, because he is an injury risk.
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