Picking 11th in a 12-team draft was not an ideal situation. All of the most dynamic talents at wide receiver were off the board, and my favorite player in the NFL, Rob Gronkowski happened to be picked at 10 (I may have SCREAMED at my MacBook when that happened).
This put me in a tough spot. The old wisdom in fantasy is to draft a running back with one’s first two picks. Recently, that strategy has become pretty outdated. However, I had two things going for me. The league was not PPR and unlike most of the other leagues I play in, I only needed to start two WRs. The league is set up in a way where RBs are king, so I decided to what my dad would do. I went all in on RBs.
My dad was proud for all of five seconds because I proceeded to do the one thing he would never, ever do- gamble. I took Le’Veon Bell. Yes, he’s coming off an injury and yes, he’s suspended for the first three games. Guess what – I DON’T CARE.
With apologies to Adrian Peterson, Bell is officially the best running back in the league and I was committed to hedging my bet by reaching for DeAngelo Williams. Did I take Bell too early? No. The next two players off the board were Devonta Freeman and quarterback-less Dez Bryant. Anyone with 7 fantasy football rings (humble brag) knows that Bell is a better pick than either of them at this point.
My next pick was a mini reach. I took a flier on Skinny Eddie Lacy. Lacy had a consensus ADP of 20, and I took him at 14. I STILL DON’T CARE. Skinny Lacy is going to have a bounce back season and there was no way I was getting him at the end of the third round, so I did what any true Packer fan would and drafted him early (Don’t worry Cheeseheads, Aaron Rodgers went two picks later).
I’m going to “ground and pound” (Lacy weight pun, not intended) my way to a WWE style championship belt because at this point, I’m running out of fingers for rings.
- O