I kept a file open and jotted down a few brief notes after making each pick, because I figured we'd be at this for 2 weeks and I honestly wouldn't remember my rationale for my early picks otherwise. Pro tip: don't do this when you're on a videoconference with three senior executives and there's a possibility they'll spring questions on you.
1.07 Davante Adams GBP WR2
HOF talent, HOF QB, and a target monster on what should still be a pretty good offense. As I said I don't love the 7-hole this year - several good options there and things thin out pretty quickly on the way back. Also considered: none.
2.06 Kenyan Drake ARI RB10
Considering Drake's history as a bellcow RB spans a grand total of 8 games, Kingsbury declining to supplement the position in either FA or the draft is pretty meaningful. The newly Nuk-lear-powered Cards
should have a high-octane offense in 2020 with Drake being a key part of it. Also considered: Jacobs, Godwin.
3.07 Clyde Edwards-Helaire KCC RB15
I thought RB15 might have been a reach for a raw rookie widely seen as the 3rd or 4th-best RB in his own draft class ... but 2 weeks later the expert consensus has him even higher because Chiefs, so what do I know? Probably less in this case than Andy Reid, or at least I hope. RB in particular in the fantasy realm has always been just as much about opportunity as talent. Also considered: Gurley, Smith-Schuster.
4.06 Le'Veon Bell NYJ RB19
Unlike my first two RB picks this one isn't about ceiling but floor. I don't see many scenarios where a healthy Bell doesn't get 250 touches and turn them into 1,200-1,400 yards. Should spend 10+ weeks in my starting lineup. Also considered: none.
5.07 Tyler Higbee LAR TE7
With 12 teams and only a marginal PPR boost I came real close to punting the position entirely. But I already had that strategy at QB aaaaaand I could just see myself trying to somehow squeeze eight QB/TE/DST picks into six rounds later on. Higbee vs. Engram was a coin flip but the vacated targets from Cooks tipped the scales. Also considered: Engram, Metcalf, Sutton.
6.06 Terry McLaurin WAS WR27
I was irritated but not surprised that DK, Sutton and Hilton were all snapped up in between my picks as I saw a tier break at WR after them. Ingram was someone I stared at for a while here, but ultimately decided against tying up yet another flex spot this early. Scary Terry has already shown his ability to work as the #1 and has the potential for a true breakout season if Haskins can pull himself up to even an average QB.
7.07 Noah Fant DEN TE12
Nothing at all I really liked on the board at this pick - the WRs all looked interchangeable and I was pretty sure one of my 4 remaining QB1's would make it back, so I settled on beefing up my TE depth with one of the few remaining names with every-week flex upside. I don't want to say this was a wasted pick, but in IBL I'd have swapped this and my 10th for two 8th-rounders here in two seconds. Also considered: Hunt, Landry.
8.06 Carson Wentz PHI QB13
I had every intention of punting QB until later but, with QBs going a little quicker than I expected in a 1-QB format, I figured I wouldn't get another shot to land a good bet for a top-10 season. My incoming plan was to draft three late names anyway, so this should let me wait a few rounds on the other two. Also considered: Stafford, Landry.
9.07 Marquise Brown BAL WR37
10.06 John Brown BUF WR43
At this point I'm pretty well set everywhere but WR (and DST, but even with the boost in scoring there's no need to panic first). With best-ball scoring and deep rosters these are my favorite type of WR to stockpile - high-variance speedsters who might disappear entirely one week and put up 25 points the next. Also considered: Slayton, Sanders, Diontae Johnson.
11.07 Ravens BAL Def2
As with Ref's superflex league, I think the higher scoring and positional variance warrants both rostering 4 DSTs and paying up for at least one. I took the 49ers last go-around so viva la difference, this time the Ravens it is. Also considered: 49ers DST.
12.06 Ryan Tannehill TEN QB19
For waiting until the halfway point of the draft for my QB2, I didn't expect be able to get the guy who finished QB4 on a PPG basis as a starter last year. Also considered: none.
13.07 Justin Jefferson MIN WR56
My second draft pick who's fresh off a 2019 national championship so, ummm, Geaux Tigers! Cousins has always relied on slot WRs as a security blanket and the Vikings spending first-round capital on Jefferson despite the embarrassment of WR riches in the draft gives me no reason to expect that will change. Also considered: Miller, Fitzgerald.
14.06 Buccaneers TBB Def13
15.07 Jets NYJ Def20
The former, a thoroughly mediocre defense paired with an outstanding offense and coaching staff. The latter, an outstanding defense paired with a thoroughly mediocre offense and coaching staff. Pick your poison!
16.06 Eric Ebron PIT TE24
The 2019 Steelers had a team QB rating of 76. I feel like this is a rare case of statistics actually underrating the awfulness; 76 was the league average QB rating in 1989, and there's no way the 1989 NFL as a whole was as bad throwing the ball as Mason Rudolph and Duck Hodges are, or we'd all have gouged our eyes out decades ago. Anyway! The air game should be back to near-normal in the 'Burgh, and Ebron should be one of several beneficiaries.
17.07 Falcons ATL Def25
Not a real appetizing group of defenses left on the table, so close my eyes and take a blind stab. Also considered: Cards DST.
18.06 Jarrett Stidham NEP QB28
A Wentz / Tannehill duo far exceeded my ingoing expectations for the wait-on-QB strategy, so I wasn't necessarily desperate for a QB3. But with <$1m in cap space, Cam / Jameis / Dalton were never serious options for NE - so Belichick forgoing a QB in the draft should give Stidham's stock a major boost. At #210, why not? Also considered: Tyrod Taylor, Duke Johnson, Boston Scott.
19.07 Darrynton Evans TEN RB56
Mike Vrabel handed the ball off to Derrick Henry 303 times last year. Yes, Henry is the approximate size of an Abrams tank, but still, that's a heavy workload. As an ankle-breaking burner, Evans shouldn't just be a Dion Lewis fill-in but a real thunder-and-lightning complement in this run-heavy offense. 100 touches as a rookie wouldn't surprise me. Also considered: Jaylen Samuels, Rashaad Penny.
20.06 Brandon Aiyuk SFO WR75
I have no idea how this team came 7 minutes away from a Lombardi when their skill-position personnel philosophy exactly mirrors the Russians' at Stalingrad:
Just throw more bodies at it! I guess at least this means the first-round rookie has plenty of opportunity there for the taking. Also considered: Tee Higgins.
21.07 Mason Crosby GBP PK17
22.06 Chris Boswell PIT PK18
With multiple guys at the front of the draft still needing multiple kickers, I figured this was my last best chance to lock down two guaranteed point producers. Also considered: none.
23.07 Danny Amendola DET WR88
Finished WR48 last year despite playing half the season with something named a
(checks notes) David Blough at QB. He'll probably finish right around WR48 again this season, 'cause that's what he does. Given that we have to start half of these rosters every week, I'll take that.
24.06 Joshua Kelley LAC RB68
With Gordon's 205 touches out the door, discussions about Ekeler vs. Justin Jackson miss the point that they're very similar guys. Kelley's more of a straight-ahead, move-the-pile RB, but with enough added speed and athleticism that he very well could play the Melly role in that offense. Also considered: Brian Hill, Anthony McFarland.
25.07 Miles Boykin BAL WR96
I'll play the "reversion to the mean" game and assume that the Ravens won't be 32nd in pass attempts again, which should lift all boats, at least slightly. Also considered: any of about 10 remaining 2018-2020 WR draftees.
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A surprisingly high percentage of the time, when I go into drafts with a specific strategy and stick to my process, the end result winds up not really appealing to me on first glance. I gotta say this is one of those times. TE is potentially underwhelming for the amount of draft capital I spent. Lack of depth seems like it could be a problem, with mid-round rookies at RB4/5 and a QB3 with 4 career pass attempts - although OTOH, with this scoring system I'll only really need to find 2 skill-position scores each week as I'll very often be flexing a DST2. On the
other other hand ... perhaps 2020 with its upending of spring activities and TC isn't the best time to be leaning on a bunch of rooks.
Thanks again to Ref for putting something new out there. Looking forward to seeing how it all shakes out. Best of luck to all.