"Have a plan. Follow the plan, and you'll be surprised how successful you can be. Most people don't have a plan. That's why it's easy to beat most folks."
- Paul "Bear" Bryant, football coach, University of Alabama's Crimson Tide.
We have arrived at the last weekend before the beginning of the NFL season. Many high stakes drafts punctuate the most anticipated weekend on the fantasy football calendar. As you approach your draft, you should have a plan, but it should be a flexible plan. My master plans for each position should give you plenty of alternatives to fit your player evaluation and philosophy of drafting. The rug that ties the room together is the way you can mix and match plans on the fly as your draft presents value and steers you in certain directions. Taking your top quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end should give you an idea of the relative round of the picks that you need to reserve for other players at the position and the rounds that are freed up by taking a need off of your list. Use the following link to see the various tracks at each position, and use the accompanying tier links to see other players in the range illustrated. I provide example players below, but your favorites from the same tiers should work just as well.
The Master Plan for Drafting Quarterbacks
The Master Plan for Drafting Running Backs
The Master Plan for Drafting Wide Receivers
The Master Plan for Draft Tight Ends
Let’s see some of the ways that these plans can fit together:
Stud QB/Stud TE/Wait at WR
1st round - RB1 Plan A: Top 10 Back
2nd round -TE Plan A: Jimmy Graham
3rd round - RB2 Plan B: Boom/Bust RB2
4th round - QB Plan C: Peyton Manning
5th round - WR1 Plan B: Nelson/Nicks
6th round - WR2 Plan B SSmith/Shorts
7th round - WR3 Plan B: Britt/Gordon
All RB/WR Start
1st round - WR1 Plan D: Calvin Johnson
2nd round - RB1 Plan B: Morris/MJD/Bush/Sproles
3rd round - RB2 Plan B: Murray/Ridley/Gore
4th round - WR2 Plan C: Amendola
5th round - RB3/Flex: Plan C: Vereen
6th round - WR3 Plan A: Smith/Short
7th round - WR4/Flex: Britt/Gordon
8th round - QB12
9th round - TE Plan C: Olsen
Slough QB and RB2
1st round - RB1 Plan A: Top 10 Back
2nd round - WR1 Plan D: Dez Bryant/AJ Green
3rd round - TE Plan A: Rob Gronkowski
4th round - WR2 Plan C: Colston
5th round - RB2 Plan C: Vereen/Bernard
6th round - WR3 Plan A: SSmith/Shorts
7th round - RB3/Flex Plan B: DeAngelo Williams
8th round - RB4
9th round- RB5
10th round - Michael Vick
11th round - Zach Sudfeld
12th round - Eli Manning/Ben Roethlisberger
None of these should be followed to a tee. The important thing to do is be aware how each pick you make changes your priorites and the potential “sweet spots” to address remaining needs, and then see the best path to accomplish your goals in the upcoming rounds, always revising as necessary. Of course, if you look at all of the “Plan A” tracks together, you will see my “Plan A” for 12 team PPR drafts this year:
THE Master Plan
1st round - Top 10 RB
2nd round - Forte/Sjax/Sproles/Bush/Morris/MJD
3rd round - Gronk
4th round - WR1
5th round - WR2
6th round - WR3
7th round - best available RB/WR
8th round - QB12
9th round - best available RB/WR
10th round - best available RB/WR
11th round - Zach Sudfeld
12th round - best available RB/WR
13th round - best available RB/WR
14th round - best available RB/WR
15th round - backup QB
16th round - best available RB/WR
17th round - best available RB/WR
18th round - best available RB.WR
19th round - Phil Dawson/Randy Bullock
20th round - IND/TB/WAS D/ST followed by weekly waiver wire matchup play
Happy Drafting!
