By MIKE HERNDON

It’s time for fake football! But first, that means a fake draft.

And much like the real draft, mistakes that you make here are likely to haunt you throughout the season.

As we have mentioned here before, any type of draft strategy can work, as long as it leads you to a productive roster. Zero RB can work if you hit on some unheralded backs in the late rounds or take advantage of injury developments and work the wire well. Hero RB can also work if you correctly ID the heroes and find some bargain receivers in the mid-rounds.

My best advice is to rank the players in tiers and know where the line is that you don’t want to go below at each position. This is particularly important if you choose, as many of us do, to wait on a quarterback and a tight end. While tight end, in particular, is deeper than in recent years, there still aren’t 12 players at that position who are comfortably startable. Know where the bottom of that tier is and be ready to pounce before those players are gone.

Some other thoughts as we dive into draft season:

Follow the volume:

It’s often said that you don’t win your fantasy league with your first-round draft pick, but you can certainly lose it.

We can fall in love with a player’s talent all we want. But if he has limited opportunities to display that talent, he’s not going to give us the kind of consistent production we need out of our early draft picks.

Be careful with running backs like Jahmyr Gibbs and De’Von Achane, who are being drafted like they’re going to be getting bell-cow usage when they’re likely not. They’re both tempting picks because of their explosive ability, but there’s no indication that Detroit will do anything but continue its backfield split between Gibbs and David Montgomery, while Achane remains slotted as the No. 2 back in Miami behind Raheem Mostert.

The ability is there. The workload may be a problem.

Swing for the fence in the late rounds:

Anyone who’s ever seen Nick Chubb play will find it curious his name is so low on the list here. But he’s coming off a gruesome injury, and we don’t know when he’ll be back on the field (though we do think it’ll be sometime this year). We don’t know whether he will be the same player when he does return. But he is going in the 10^th or 11^th round of 12-team drafts. It’s worth the gamble of a bench spot for the potential of stashing an RB1 that late. Because when he’s healthy, Chubb is one of the best backs in the league.

We know the Chargers are going to run the ball. A lot. We don’t know who their lead back will be. But we know it’s likely to be Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins, or some combination of both – and both are going very late (Dobbins in many cases isn’t getting drafted at all). I want a piece of a run-heavy backfield, especially at a discount.

Rashee Rice is likely facing a suspension at some point for his off-field shenanigans this offseason. But that suspension isn’t likely to come until his court case is resolved, which won’t be until December at the earliest. That likely means he’s good to go for the majority of the fantasy season, and by the end of last year he had established himself as a favorite target for Patrick Mahomes. His ADP is rising, but it still reflects uncertainty over his legal situation, and presents an opportunity to grab a potentially front-line receiver on the cheap.

Detroit’s Jameson Williams and Kansas City rookie Xavier Worthy will be home-run passing game threats in high-powered offenses this year. If either can develop into a consistent threat, they could be steals in the late rounds.

Rookie Bears quarterback Caleb Williams looks talented beyond his years and Washington rookie Jayden Daniels has explosive running ability. Both could be potential gold mines in the mid to late rounds. They’re going that late because they carry the risk of the unknown as rookies. If you are able to draft a steady starter and they’re still on the board, be proactive about trying to land one of them as a backup.

Here are this year’s SportsChasers tiered rankings for quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and tight ends in standard-scoring redraft leagues:

QB:

Tier 1

1. Josh Allen
2. Jalen Hurts
3. Lamar Jackson
4. Patrick Mahomes

Tier 2

• Anthony Richardson
• Dak Prescott
• Joe Burrow
• C.J. Stroud

Tier 3

• Tua Tagovailoa
• Kyler Murray
• Jared Goff
• Jordan Love
• Brock Purdy
• Caleb Williams
• Jayden Daniels

Tier 4

1. Matthew Stafford
2. Kirk Cousins
3. Justin Herbert
4. Trevor Lawrence
5. Aaron Rodgers
6. Baker Mayfield

Tier 5

• Deshaun Watson
• Geno Smith
• Derek Carr
• Will Levis

Tier 6

• Bryce Young
• Russell Wilson
• Drake Maye
• Gardner Minshew
• Bo Nix
• Justin Fields
• Daniel Jones
• Jacoby Brissett
• Sam Darnold
• Jarrett Stidham

RBs

Tier 1

1. Christian McCaffrey
2. Breece Hall
3. Jonathan Taylor
4. Saquon Barkley
5. Bijan Robinson

Tier 2

• Derrick Henry
• Kyren Williams
• Travis Etienne, Jr.
• Josh Jacobs
• Isiah Pacheco
• Jahmyr Gibbs

Tier 3

1. Rachaad White
2. Joe Mixon
3. De’Von Achane
4. David Montgomery
5. Kenneth Walker III
6. James Conner
7. James Cook

Tier 4

1. Alvin Kamara
2. Raheem Mostert
3. Najee Harris
4. Aaron Jones
5. Zamir White
6. D’Andre Swift
7. Brian Robinson, Jr.

Tier 5

• Rhamondre Stevenson
• Zack Moss
• Tony Pollard
• Gus Edwards
• Devin Singletary
• Nick Chubb
• Javonte Williams
• Jaylen Warren

Tier 6

• Tyjae Spears
• Jerome Ford
• Chase Brown
• Austin Ekeler
• Chuba Hubbard
• J.K. Dobbins
• Rico Dowdle
• Khalil Herbert
• Jonathan Brooks
• Blake Corum
• Ezekiel Elliott
• Zach Charbonnet
• Trey Benson
• Ty Chandler
• Kendre Miller
• Tyler Allgeier
• Antonio Gibson

WRs

Tier 1

1. Tyreek Hill
2. CeeDee Lamb
3. Ja’Marr Chase
4. Amon-Ra St. Brown
5. A.J. Brown
6. Justin Jefferson
7. Puka Nacua

Tier 2

• Garrett Wilson
• Mike Evans
• Davante Adams
• Marvin Harrison Jr.
• Brandon Aiyuk
• D.J. Moore
• Drake London
• Deebo Samuel
• Cooper Kupp

Tier 3

1. Chris Olave
2. Nico Collins
3. Jaylen Waddle
4. Amari Cooper
5. DK Metcalf
6. Michael Pittman, Jr.
7. DeVonta Smith
8. Stefon Diggs
9. Malik Nabors
10. Rashee Rice
11. George Pickens

Tier 4

• Tank Dell
• Christian Kirk
• Keenan Allen
• Tee Higgins
• Zay Flowers
• Terry McLaurin
• Jayden Reed

Tier 5

• Diontae Johnson
• Calvin Ridley
• Chris Godwin
• Xavier Worthy
• Christian Watson
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba
• Courtland Sutton
• Jameson Williams
• Rome Odunze
• Ladd McConkey
• Hollywood Brown
• Jordan Addison
• DeAndre Hopkins
• Curtis Samuel
• Tyler Lockett
• Joshua Palmer

TE:

Tier 1

1. Sam LaPorta
2. Travis Kelce
3. Mark Andrews
4. Trey McBride
5. George Kittle

Tier 2

• Evan Engram
• Dalton Kincaid
• Jake Ferguson
• Kyle Pitts
• David Njoku
• Brock Bowers

Tier 3

1. Dallas Goedert
2. Pat Freiermuth
3. T.J. Hockenson
4. Dalton Schultz

Categories: Fantasy Football

Tags: draft, Fantasy Football