Photo: Ron Chenoy, USA Today Sports

This year I will be putting together a few articles in a series called "Method to the Madness," where I will look at different approaches to fantasy drafts.  This particular article, "7-11 Drafting," looks at a different perspective on planning your Draft Day strategy. 

Today is the day - Draft Day. You've prepped all offseason - you know who you are picking in the first round. It doesn't matter what draft spot you get tonight, because you are tuned in and you have read everything on Footballguys.com about Adrian Peterson, C.J. Spiller, Trent Richardson and Ray Rice. You have your stud running backs ranked from 1 to 12 and you are set to go once the draft order is announced. Bring on the draft!

Pssst. Did you remember that you have 19 more rounds to go?

Wow, did you forget about the rest of the draft? Are you too focused on which stud running back to take first that you haven't had a chance to run a mock draft and see who to take next?

Well, maybe this is not a good description of you. You have already run 20-30 mock drafts and you know who goes in which round this year. You know your ADPs better than your ABCs. You have a list of 40-50 guys to target and two dozen different sleepers that are begging to be picked for your team. But wait - is that too many? How am I going to get all that talent on my roster?

OK - don't panic. I got you covered. It is called 7-11 Drafting.

I know what you are thinking.  Jeff, seriously, I love your articles and all, but I think you might be a little frazzled with all those Perfect Drafts you are pulling together.  What does a Slurpee have to do with my fantasy draft plan?  Allow me to explain.

What I am proposing to you is to plan out your draft strategy a little backwards.  Not quite Matt Waldman’s Upside Down Draft plan, but I am asking you to look at Rounds 7-11 with some fresh eyes and decide who you want to take in those rounds.  By knowing your plans for the middle of the draft – the point at which many fantasy owners’ eyes start to roll back in their heads, ask for a break in the draft, or head for the bathroom, beer fridge or both – you will be far ahead of the competition.  Trust me here, and let’s get started.

Rounds 7-11

The first thing to do is to take a look at the current ADP data for Rounds 7-11.  I used the 2013 PPR Data from Footballguys, but the same strategy will work with standard, non-PPR data.  My assumption here is a standard PPR league, where you start 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 K and a defense.

Looking over the players that are likely to be picked in Rounds 7-11 (Picks 73 through 132), I can start to plan my strategy.  With 60 players to select from (and possibly a few more, if I look into Round 12), I have the ability to decide what positions I will address in these rounds.  That information will guide my decision-making process for Rounds 1-6 and help me to build the best team possible.  It will also allow me to confirm or question my overall strategy for how to set up my team overall. 

Normally, in a 1-2-3-1-1-1 league, I would like to have my skill position starters addressed plus one backup after 11 rounds.  That means I want to first think about having two quarterbacks, three running backs, four wideouts and two tight ends by the end of Round 11. That is not always the case for every league, but it is my starting point for my planning process.  The next step is to look over the players I will use to get to that point – or to consciously decide to deviate from that basic strategy.  Either way, I will have more information and a better plan before I ever make my first pick.

Let’s start the process, position by position.

Quarterbacks

Taking a look at the players that will be available in Rounds 7-11, Picks 73-132, I see that eight quarterbacks are going to go off the board in most drafts.  These players represent QB9 through QB16, which tells me I have three options:

1.  I can do the Perfect Draft approach for 2013, which means to wait until 10 QBs are gone and take either Russell Wilson, Andrew Luck or Tony Romo as my starter.  That means I should count on one QB pick in Rounds 7-11, likely an 8^th or 9^th round selection.
2. If I want a stud quarterback this year (QB1-8), I need to act on that in Rounds 1-6.
3. I can wait even further and do a QBBC approach, but that means I will be likely committing two picks in Rounds 7-11 to ensure I get two QBs in the Top 16.

All three strategies are valid, and it depends on your own outlook for how to build your fantasy squad.  I am more in favor of Option 1, but at least you have information here to decide what you want to accomplish in Rounds 1-6.

Running Backs

Taking a look at the players that will be available in Rounds 7-11, Picks 73-132, I see that 17 running backs are going to go off the board in most drafts.  These players represent RB33 through RB49, which tells me I have three points to keep in mind:

1. It is critical to get as many feature tailbacks as possible in Rounds 1-6.  The top 32 backs are not going to last, and the Top 20-25 will go quickly.
2. If I what a top notch handcuff (like a Ben Tate or a Bernard Pierce), these are the picks I need to expend on them (Rounds 7-11).
3. The RBs in Rounds 7-11 are flex options at best, barring injury.

All three observations are valid, and now you have information here to decide what you want to accomplish in Rounds 1-6.  Odds are that you will go heavily after two, possibly three running backs with your first six selections.

Wide Receivers

Taking a look at the players that will be available in Rounds 7-11, Picks 73-132, I see that 22 wide receivers are going to go off the board in most drafts.  These players represent WR28 through WR49, which tells me I have three points to keep in mind:

1. It is critical to get as many top notch wide receivers as possible in Rounds 1-6, unless you love the WR28-49 group.  The top pass catchers are not going to last, and the Top 20-25 will go quickly.
2. If I want to have a WR3BC approach to your roster, this is the area of the draft (Rounds 7-11) to do it.  
3. The wide receivers after about WR45-WR50 are really sketchy, so this is the section of the draft to load up on depth.

All three observations are valid, and now you have information here to decide what you want to accomplish in Rounds 1-6.  Odds are that you will go heavily after two, possibly three wide receivers with your first six selections.

Tight Ends

Taking a look at the players that will be available in Rounds 7-11, Picks 73-132, I see that 10 tight ends are going to go off the board in most drafts.  These players represent TE6 through TE15, which tells me I have three points to keep in mind:

1. If you want a Top 5 tight end, you better plan on using a pick on one of those five options in the first six rounds.
2. TE6 to TE15 are rather similar in value and represent similar tiers, so waiting on TE is not a bad idea if you miss out on the first five.
3. If you have your heart set on having two strong tight ends for roster / flex / backup flexibility, you better plan on snagging your second tight end by the end of Round 11.

All three observations are valid, and now you have information here to decide what you want to accomplish in Rounds 1-6.  Odds are that you will skip over the tight end position in the first six rounds unless a player falls in your lap with great value.

So there you have it – Convenience Store Drafting at its finest.  Good luck with your fantasy draft this season, and don’t get brain freeze if you go Slurpee-style with your 7-11 Draft Plan.