Staff Fantasy Football Draft Recap: Analysis of Our 14-Team PPR League
Round 1
| Pick | Overall | Team | First Name | Last Name | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Leo Howell | LeSean | McCoy | RB |
| 2 | 2 | Sam Hauss | Jamaal | Charles | RB |
| 3 | 3 | Ari Ross | Matt | Forte | RB |
| 4 | 4 | JJ Zachariason | Adrian | Peterson | RB |
| 5 | 5 | Brandon Gdula | Eddie | Lacy | RB |
| 6 | 6 | Michael Comerford | Demaryius | Thomas | WR |
| 7 | 7 | Galin Dragiev | Calvin | Johnson | WR |
| 8 | 8 | Sean Wirth | A.J. | Green | WR |
| 9 | 9 | Justin Thompson | Marshawn | Lynch | RB |
| 10 | 10 | Kenneth Cook | DeMarco | Murray | RB |
| 11 | 11 | Matt Grasso | Jimmy | Graham | TE |
| 12 | 12 | Daniel Lindsey | Dez | Bryant | WR |
| 13 | 13 | Greg Bucki | Le'Veon | Bell | RB |
| 14 | 14 | AJ Weinberg | Montee | Ball | RB |
The first round began with very few surprises, as McCoy and Charles go first and second. Our customizable cheat sheet prefers Charles over McCoy in this particular format, but both labels Charles as more of a risk. (You can check out our cheat sheet here and customize it for your league's settings.)
Brandon's decision to take Eddie Lacy fifth in a PPR certainly stands out as a bit bold, as the second-year back isn't heavily involved in the passing game in Green Bay. Last year, Lacy finished fifth-worst among backs with more than 40 targets in our Reception Net Expected Points (NEP) per target metric, well behind the pace of the four backs picked ahead of him. Still, he's in a perfect situation to score tons of touchdowns, and could be a great pick if he finds the end zone 12-14 times in 2014.
Michael boldly chose Demaryius Thomas over Calvin Johnson, and did so at the sixth pick. That's a bit earlier than our cheat sheet would recommend taking a wideout in this format, but there's definitely a level of safety in choosing Peyton Manning's favorite target.
My pick: LeSean McCoy, RB, Philadelphia Eagles - Shady McCoy is as safe of a first pick as you can make in a fantasy draft this year, as he plays behind a rock-solid offensive line for an evil mastermind of an offensive coach. I don't think you can go "wrong" with Jamaal Charles, but I prefer Shady's situation a bit more, and chose him to anchor my team.
