Position settings affect on draft value?

[default01]

I've been doing some mock drafts and adjusting my strategies based on what I'm seeing. I've been mainly using ESPN to mock just because it's more convenient with more draft rooms and less wait time than Yahoo even though my main league is Yahoo. I finally decided to try a Yahoo mock to see how it went but one difference in the draft format seems to make a lot of difference in strategy. Yahoo mocks use RB/RB/WR/WR/WR instead of RB/RB/WR/WR/Flex.

Being forced to start 3 WR / 2 RB vs the 3 RB / 2 WR I would lean toward in a flex league really affected how I would value early WRs. If you have 3 WR positions, taking that early WR or starting WR/WR if you're toward the end of the first seems like a great idea. If you can start 3 RBs, there is no way I'd start WR/WR. There has been some debate about the merits of starting WR/WR but most of what I read doesn't even mention league settings. I also hear a lot about how PPR or non-PPR can affect individual RB values but I think that WR or flex position has a huge affect on RB values as a whole and whether or not you can afford to wait until the 3rd and 4th for your RBs. People shouldn't be taking backups that early and you should have much better RB options available in a 3 WR league rather than a league with a flex spot. How does the extra WR vs flex setting affect your draft values?

My mock experience with these 2 different settings has only strengthened my belief in the strategy I was leaning toward for my main draft. I'm in a 12 team league with a second flex position. That means RB/RB/WR/WR/Flex/Flex. I can start 4 RBs. If only being able to start 2 RBs increases the value of WRs early, then being able to start 4 RBs decreases WR value. I've looked at some numbers from last year. There will be 72 RB/WR starters in a 12 team league. Last year, of the top 72, 39/72 were RBs while 33/72 were WRs. Of the next 28, rounding out the top 100, 3/28 were RBs and 25/28 were WRs. Once you start looking at backups and upside picks in this league, RBs are a lot harder to find compared to their WR counterparts. Taking those top RBs early becomes extremely important and there is a huge drop-off after starters compared to a very minor drop-off for WRs.

It seems like at least in my league with 2 flex positions, I want to make sure I get 4 early RBs. Looking at rankings and ADP, most of the RBs I want should be gone by the mid 6th round so I need to take 4 RBs in the first 5 or 6 rounds. There are a few RBs I like in the 8th/9th/10th but I'd prefer to take one as my RB5 for the bench. If I also want a top-7 QB and I'm leaning toward a top TE as well, I may not take a WR until round 7 but once I get to that point in the draft I see very little WR drop-off compared to the other positions with a lot of upside and hopefully I've locked up elite talent everywhere else.

There are a few WRs that I may take if they drop to me early that would be too good to pass up but in most instances, I expect to be able to follow this plan: 4 RB / 1 QB / 1 TE sometime in the first 6 rounds, followed by lots of WRs with probably one more RB sometime in round 9 or 10. Good or bad strategy given the settings?

[garretterik]

I agree with you that aiming for more RBs with those league position settings sounds like a good idea. I don't have any problem with drafting 4 RBs in the first 6 rounds.

However, if this is a PPR league i would be concerned about this decision. I think that bumps up WR values significantly where you are harming your team if you aren't addressing that position until round 7.

My main tip would be to look at position value and tiers. For example in round 6 in a 12 team league if you are getting an Addai, Moreno, or another lower payoff feature back you are getting good value. However, that spot would be a bit of a reach to draft say a Fred Jackson, TJones, or LT if others have been drafting RB heavy too and I could get a Boldin or one of the SSmiths.

So the strategy seems sound, but always be able to grab a steal at any position instead of sticking to dogmatic drafting.

My link:
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