It’s the middle of May and the mock drafts that I’ve done up to this point just haven’t been able to satiate my fantasy football hunger. Most of them were draft-only leagues that play out and there’s some bragging rights involved, but I needed something more. I wanted to add a little more importance to each draft. I needed to feel a little pressure when I’m on the clock to make my selection. That is when I decided to enter one of MyFantasyLeague.com’s MLF10’s; they’re draft-only leagues with just a $10 entry - $100 goes to the team that accumulates the most points throughout the season and the runner-up gains an entry to a 2014 MFL10’s contest. Since it will be a competitive draft, I figured it would be an awesome opportunity to outline all my thoughts throughout the process.

*This post will be updated as the draft progresses, so be sure to check back. You can find the entire draft here.

Round 1

After signing up, I received the invitation the next day and was excited to see the draft order. I was slotted in pole position: 1.1. I’m personally among the large contingent that believes Adrian Peterson should be the unanimous first selection and gleefully took him with open arms. Afterwards, I knew I’d have a long time to wait, but that didn’t stop me from circling a couple of targets. Since all MLF10’s are of the PPR variety, I circled Jimmy Graham, Darren Sproles and Reggie Bush. I hope to see at least one of them fall to me, two of them in a perfect world. I now have no choice but to sit and watch as top players are plucked off the board one after another.

Rounds 2 and 3

It felt as if an eternity had passed, but finally my next turn was upon me. Picking from the 1.1 position, I will be tasked with back-to-back picks for the duration of the draft so it’s imperative that I calculate what players may be available after each long gap. Jimmy Graham only made it to pick 2.04, which is a good spot for him, and Reggie Bush was poached right before my pick. Missing out on those two players was a little disappointing, but I still was able to grab Darren Sproles, who I preferred anyway and should be viewed as an RB1 in PPR.

I didn’t have a plan yet for my third pick. No quarterbacks were off the board yet, so I quickly ruled that position out. The wide receiver pool was still very deep. Rob Gronkowski tempted me for a second, but I wasn’t willing to take on that risk with the 3.1 selection. Ultimately, I decided I should solidify my running backs corps because one or two tiers could be swallowed up before my next pick. It wasn’t long before I decided on Steven Jackson, who I would begin to consider as early as the end of the first round in non-PPR. His value is deflated some in PPR, but he still makes for an awesome RB3.

Now that I missed out on Graham, unless Gronkowski slips to the end of the fourth round, I won’t be worrying about tight ends until the late rounds. I’ve already locked down my running backs so I won’t need to worry about that position for a little while either. Right now my plan is to grab a couple of wide receivers back to back. I will also consider Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees if either of them fall, but would really like to shore up my receivers first.

Rounds 4 and 5

By the time my picks rolled around, a total of 17 wide receivers were off the board, yet I was still able to land Reggie Wayne and Dwayne Bowe. Wayne was a no-brainer pick for me; even though he’s now 34 years old, he’s coming off of a 106-1355-5 and even with a drop off, he should remain a very strong WR2 in PPR leagues. I looked around at other positions before selecting Bowe. Gronkowski, Rodgers and Brees were drafted, which made my selection easier. I noticed there were still some RB2’s available (such as Vick Ballard, Chris Ivory, and Lamar Miller), but taking a fourth running back this early would have been a precautionary move that limited the upside of my team. Cam Newton was also still available, but the quarterback depth was still holding strong through four whole rounds. After the short deliberation, I settled on grabbing a second wide receiver like I planned and chose Bowe, who I wrote about here.

Now with three running backs and two wide receivers, I have just five starting positions left to fill: QB1, WR3, TE1, K and DST. I won’t be worrying about the latter two positions for awhile and now that the top tight ends are no longer available, I might as well hold off there as well. If a quarterback run takes place before I’m able to pick, I may have to follow suit. I’d also have to act if one the the RB2s that I mentioned above fall that far. Otherwise, I’d like to grab one more wide receiver. It’ll be a wait-and-see approach for me from here on out.

Rounds 6 and 7

First and foremost, I wanted to resolve my WR3; I felt Steve Johnson was in a tier of his own among the remaining wide receivers and drafted him with no reservations. My second pick of this set was where things got interesting. Four quarterbacks were taken during the gap, including three in the last seven picks. I was awfully tempted to just grab Matthew Stafford, who was my highest ranked QB that remained, however Chris Ivory’s name was impossible to shake out of my head. I assumed he would have been long gone by then and rightfully so. Even though I had three running backs, I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity, especially in a best ball league where I won’t have to make the excruciating decision of which player to start in my flex position.

Now through 7 rounds, I still need a quarterback, but I’m not terribly worried. Five teams have yet to draft QB1s and the top-five quarterbacks still on the board are Matthew Stafford, Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, Tony Romo and Robert Griffin III. Unless someone decides to pull the trigger early on their QB2, I should be able to land one of them when my next picks roll around and fully intend to do so. I’m set at running back with a stable of players that I’d match up versus anyone, so that position can be placed on the back burner. As of now, I won’t rule out drafting two of the above mentioned quarterbacks if available, which would make for a strong best-ball combination. Other options I’ll be looking into are grabbing a WR4 and maybe perhaps taking my first tight end.

Rounds 8 and 9

I finally suffered the wrath of the long layoff between picks. All five of the quarterbacks I had in mind were snatched away from me along with Dennis Pitta, who I wanted to grab as my TE1. I had no choice but to take the punch to the gut and continue fighting. Without a surefire QB1, I’ll have to compensate for the lack of quality with quantity, which isn’t such a bad thing in a best-ball league anyway. I felt it was best to begin hoarding my stable of QB2s now and started off with Ben Roethlisberger. I was eyeing Tavon Austin as my WR4, but he too was no longer available; so I decided that there was no time like the present to finally select a tight end. I ended up choosing Greg Olson, the former first round pick that experienced a career season in 2012 and is still only 28 years old.

All of my starting skill positions are now taken care of and I must shift my attention to building depth. It’s very likely that one of my next two picks with be another quarterback and ultimately I hope to secure three starting quarterbacks to form a somewhat promising carousel. Here’s to hoping that the position won’t become a barren wasteland when I’m finally on the clock again.

Rounds 10 and 11

Only two quarterbacks, Eli Manning and Andy Dalton, were drafted during the gap and thankfully I was able to land the high-upside QB2 that I wanted: Michael Vick. Even though he’s not guaranteed the starting job, there is a lot of potential in that Philadelphia Eagles offense and he was well worth the investment at this point. My second pick was between two more positions of need: wide receiver and tight end. I first gauged the depth at tight end because the smaller pool of players makes it easier to run through the options quickly; I felt there was more than enough TE2s remaining that I could afford wait a little longer, which was relieving because wide receiver depth is at a premium in PPR leagues that have three starting wide receiver spots. I settled on Emmanuel Sanders, who the Pittsburgh Steelers felt compelled to lock down after letting Mike Wallace walk away.

I do plan on drafting at least one more starting quarterback, but I’ll see how long I can hold off there. It’s possible that I’ll have to secure one by the time my next pick rolls around, but in the meantime my plan is to pad my wide receiver depth and grab my second tight end.

Rounds 12 and 13

Okay, so just after I write that I can wait a little longer for my TE2, 7 of the next 22 picks are tight ends. Perhaps using ForensicFantasy.com as my team name and writing live updates about my draft strategy wasn’t the best idea… nevertheless we will forge on with this analysis! I had to select a tight end no matter what now and Fred Davis was the only choice. He’s probably the second best receiver on the Washington Redskins behind Pierre Garcon and if he can stay healthy, there’s a strong chance he finally breaks through. After the Seattle Seahawks DST was taken at 11.07, a small run began that led to a total of 4 DSTs being taken during that gap. I’m in no hurry to worry about that position yet though. I’m also still very comfortable with my group of running backs even though I haven’t selected one in five rounds (make that six rounds now) and there’s still a good number of starting quarterbacks available, so I chose to grab another wide receiver and this time it was Santonio Holmes. Holmes has become a forgotten talent thanks to a combination of his own undoing and poor quarterback play. However, he is still the New York Jets’ best receiver and there’s just not many receiving options on the team.

Once again, I will be keeping an eye on the quarterback depth because I would like to grab a safe option to combine with my current two players. My roster now consists of two quarterbacks, four running backs, five wide receivers and two tight ends. Since there is a plethora of bench spots, I will likely be looking to stock up with potential lottery tickets (which includes handcuffs) during these last seven rounds and hope one or two of them cash.

Rounds 14 and 15

For some reason the email updates from MyFantasyLeague.com stopped working and I fell victim to the technical error. I initially thought that the draft just hit a snag, but after a long wait, I decided to visit the site myself and noticed that I was just granted the New England Patriots DST with an auto-pick after the 12 hour clock expired. I was a little annoyed, but fortunately I was able to make my own selection for Round 15 before the system auto-picked a kicker for my team. I wanted one more wide receiver before closing the book on that position and chose Brandon LaFell. While he doesn’t have much name recognition, he has improved in each of his first three seasons and has a secure hold on the #2 WR role for the Carolina Panthers.

Now with only five rounds left, I definitely plan to fill the roles of QB3, RB5, and a kicker. The remaining two spots will likely consist of a QB4, TE3, or DST2. A quarterback was actually in the cards at this past juncture, but that didn’t go as planned, so hopefully that position holds up over this next gap.

Rounds 16 and 17

I managed to hold out all the way until Round 16, after 24 quarterbacks were off the board, to grab Alex Smith as my QB3 (QB2 if Vick either gets injured or loses the starting job). If you haven’t yet read my thoughts on the Kansas City Chiefs new quarterback, you can find them here. I then decided to take the young St. Louis Rams DST to combine with the Patriots unit that I was blessed with earlier [Note: MyFantasyLeague.com has resolved the email issues].

I’m now set at both wide receiver and DST. I must say that twenty roster spots is an awful lot; so many that I’m actually testing out the impact of having a second kicker to stream throughout the season. The news that Nick Foles may indeed end up with the starting job has also forced me to consider drafting another quarterback. I can’t quite map out my strategy for these last three picks until they roll around and I see who makes it through the gap.

Rounds 18 and 19

I did it. I went back to back kickers and the entire league probably thinks that I’m crazy. Time will tell though. Kickers are extremely erratic and have led to so much frustration for fantasy footballers that Alex Miglio of Pro Football Focus wrote about abolishing the position all together. Since the position still exists in this league, I attempted to use it to my advantage. By selecting Alex Henery and Garrett Hartley at the turn of Rounds 18 and 19, I have essentially guaranteed myself high-end production from the position by way of the best-ball scoring - at least I think I have. I understand this league could come down to a small margin and took a step that I thought could give me the edge.

After twelve days, all that remains is my final selection. The three positions I’m left considering are QB4, TE3 and DST3. TE3 is likely a long shot at this point because the scraps are terribly unappealing. My decision will likely come down to playing it safe at the quarterback position or creating a group of stream-worthy defenses. I’m leaning towards the latter right now.

Round 20

With the final pick of this MFL10’s Draft-Only League, ForensicFantasy.com selects the New York Jets DST. After deliberating the wild card skill position players, I realized after 20 rounds, I’d be drafting a player that is much more likely not to make an impact than hold tangible value. Therefore, I chose to add a third DST, a position that’s very hard to project. Five teams only drafted 1 DST, which already hands them one goose egg during the season. The other six chose 2 DSTs. With my three units bouncing in an out of the starting lineup each week, I hope to finish among the top three and I expect to be the favorite for a first place finish at the position.

Recap

Overall, I’m very content with my team. If I realized that RB2 caliber running backs would slip into the 7th round, then I may have taken a wide receiver like Victor Cruz instead of Steven Jackson. Nevertheless, with Chris Ivory as my RB4, I wouldn’t trade my running backs for anyone else’s. By loading up on running backs and wide receivers like I did, I couldn’t expect my quarterback situation to be sparkling. I’m happy with Ben Roethlisberger leading my committee and having Alex Smith as a safety net though. Michael Vick is obviously the wild card; with just a handful of big weeks from him, my total points at the position should be very competitive. I thought I landed good value with all three of my top wide receivers. I’m very content with the six players that I ended up with there. Tight end is obviously my weakness. I only drafted two of them, so there’s a good chance I’m inconsistent at that position. Greg Olson is a safe bet to near his recent production and Fred Davis really does have a chance for a career season however, so I’m not terribly worried about them. I’m optimistic about the chances of this team and I’m really excited to see how the season unfolds.

My Roster
1.1 - Adrian Peterson RB
2.12 - Darren Sproles RB
3.1 - Steven Jackson RB
4.12 - Reggie Wayne WR
5.1 - Dwayne Bowe WR
6.12 - Steve Johnson WR
7.1 - Christopher Ivory RB
8.12 - Ben Roethlisberger QB
9.1 - Greg Olson TE
10.12 - Michael Vick QB
11.1 - Emmanuel Sanders WR
12.12 - Fred Davis TE
13.1 - Santonio Holmes WR
14.12 - New England Patriots DST (Autopick)
15.1 - Brandon LaFell WR
16.12 - Alex Smith QB
17.1 - St. Louis Rams DST
18.12 - Alex Henery K
19.1 - Garrett Hartley K
20.12 - New York Jets DST

Here are the projected standings courtesy of FantasyPros.com Draft Wizard: