Photo: USA Today Sports

On Aug 4th, six members of the Footballguys staff, along with six highly regarded writers in the fantasy football community, got together to complete a 12-team, 28 round best ball draft using the Footballguys Players Championship format. Before the draft, each of the participants answered questions regarding strategies, players they coveted and how they plan to attack the draft. Additional questions were asked after the draft based on the decisions they made. To top it off, Footballguys' Alex Miglio will provide an evaluation of each team's roster strengths and weaknesses, chronicling the strategies and decisions that were made by each participant.

The goal of this article is to give you a look into the minds of fantasy experts throughout the entire draft process. This includes preparation, decision-making, execution, and follow-up. What was their plan? Did they follow it? Why did they make the decisions they made? Some drafters had similar strategies and players of interest, but how they executed their plan and built their roster, varied from person to person.

We hope you will uncover or discover a strategy that might work for you in your draft(s) this year. Learn what players the experts are targeting and why. At Footballguys, when you win, we win! If we can help give you the tools and know-how to build a winning team, we've done our job.

LEAGUE PARAMETERS

• 12 teams
• 28 roster spots
• Starting Lineup
  • 1 quarterback
  • 2 running backs
  • 2 wide receivers
  • 1 tight end
  • 2 flex (either a running back, wide receiver, or tight end)
  • 1 Defense
  • 1 Kicker

LEAGUE SCORING

• Offensive Players Only
• 4 points - Passing Touchdown
• 6 points - Rushing/Receiving Touchdown
• 0.05 points - Passing Yard
• 0.1 points - Rushing/Receiving Yard
• 1.0 point - Reception (QB, RB, WR)
• 1.5 point - Reception (TE)
• -1 - Interception Thrown
• 2 - Two-Point Conversion (rush, pass or receive)
• 3 - Length of field goal made 0-29 yards
• 3 - Length of field goal made 30 yards and then 0.1 for every 1 yard after 30.
• 6 - Offensive recovery for Touchdown
• 6 - Number of Defensive and Special Teams Touchdowns
• Defense scoring
  • 2 points - fumble recovery
  • 2 points - interception caught
  • 1 point - sacked quarterback
  • 5 points - safety
  • 12 points - 0 points allowed
  • 8 points - 1-6 points allowed
  • 5 points - 7-10 points allowed
  • 0 points - 11-99 points allowed
  • 6 points - Defensive or Special Teams Touchdown

DRAFT PARTICIPANTS

1. Shane P. Hallam, Draft Countdown
2. John Paulsen, 4for4.com
3. Jeff Tefertiller, Footballguys
4. Eric Moody, Dynasty League Football
5. Chad Parsons, Footballguys
6. Jared Smola, Draft Sharks
7. Bob Harris, Football Diehards
8. Andy Hicks, Footballguys
9. Renee Miller, The Athletic/Rotoworld
10. David Dodds, Footballguys
11. James Brimacombe, Footballguys
12. Clayton Gray, Footballguys

DRAFT GRID

Completed Rosters

DRAFT SLOT 1

Shane P. Hallam, Draft Countdown / Fakepigskin.com

Shane has been writing about the NFL Draft and fantasy football for 15 years at sites such as Fakepigskin.com, Draftcountdown.com, DraftTV.com, and About.com. In addition, Shane is a high stakes dynasty player at the FFPC and has been featured on numerous podcasts and radio including SiriusXM, High Stakes Fantasy Football Hour, and Dynasty War Zone.

Follow @ShanePHallam

PRE-DRAFT QUESTIONS

1. Discuss drafting from the 1-hole. What will you do differently because of this draft slot?

Drafting first is a plus in my mind to nab an elite RB and having a fair amount of options at the 2-3 turn to explore with RBs and WRs abound. One of the challenges on the turn is that it lessens the impact of ADP and value on drafting. If I am picking at the 4-5 turn for instance and want a player whose ADP is 6.02, I may have to take him a round early or be left without. Psychologically, this leads to less value but more “getting your guys”.

The one benefit to picking on the turn is starting runs for positions and getting other players to fall. If I can plan correctly to start a QB run during the draft (around QB7 or 8 area,) it could help me get a leg up at QB and still find value later in the draft.

2. How will the dual-flex and tight end 1.5 PPR scoring format change how you approach this draft?

The dual-flex won’t affect my draft very much at all. The goal is to gather RBs and WRs that will give you startable games in best ball. It may lead me to lean a tad safer in later rounds to fill out the roster in case of down weeks/bye weeks from my starters.

The TE premium aspect affects the draft. TE is fairly thin this year and I likely will target a good TE in tier 3 (OJ Howard, Evan Engram, Hunter Henry, Jared Cook tier,) to kick off the TE premium aspect. I do play in the FFPC often and am quite familiar with TE premium drafts, so I hope it can give me an advantage.

3. Name a few guys that you are looking to build your team around. What rounds do you expect to get them in?

I plan on taking Christian McCaffrey at #1 to solidify the RB spot and build my team around. One player I am eyeing at the 2-3 turn is Kerryon Johnson to round out my RBs unless someone falls that I didn’t expect.

As for WR, I will be targeting the Cardinals WR group to build around. Christian Kirk at the 6-7 turn would be a win and Larry Fitzgerald a bit later could provide a good floor and high ceiling for those flex spots.

Finally, TE will be difficult. I am hoping for a fall to the 4-5 turn, but I may reach for Jared Cook on the Saints to be my TE1 at that spot if I need to. I think he is in line for a big season and reaching for a TE in premium seems fine to me.

4. Do you have any trigger points (ie players A and B are gone therefore I am looking to grab player C the next time I pick.

I think QB is probably where my trigger point will come into play. I don’t want or need a top guy (Mahomes, Luck, Watson, and Rodgers) but that likely triggers me moving to QB when they are gone. I am guessing the 8-9 turn could be where it hits and I can start a QB run, get 2 QBs I want (Kyler Murray and Cam Newton would be golden,) and hopefully force others to take them.

5. What's your approach to rookies, injured players, and/or suspended players that may not have a full workload to start the season?

I generally shy away from early rookies just due to the value jump. Especially being at 1, I doubt I end up with the David Montgomerys or Josh Jacobs. I have a few later round rookies (especially WRs,) that I am interested in grabbing to give me some upside.

There don’t seem to be any significant injuries outside of AJ Green, but I will likely pass on him and any other major injury scares from now until the draft. You never know the true timetables or how these can nag people. I even will avoid players coming off of mid to late-season major injuries including Cooper Kupp, Emmanuel Sanders, etc as I expect some rust on them.

Suspended Players are a bit less worrisome to me. I will generally avoid them, especially later players with limited upside (like Chris Herndon,) but I am not opposed if the value is there.

I am also not worried about the holdout players like Melvin Gordon. If he falls to me at 2.12, it would be really hard to pass on him.

6. Who are some players that you will be targeting in the later rounds (after round 15)?

One late-round TE I like is Ricky Seals-Jones. As mentioned before, I like the Cardinals weapon stacks and he is the easiest to get late with big upside. I think he beats injured Charles Clay and sees the field plenty to maybe even gather up some red-zone targets and TDs.

As mentioned before, there are rookie WRs I like in the later rounds: Deebo Samuel and Andy Isabella come to mind as upside players with cheap ADPs who could have some big best ball games at times.

Finally, I think there are “boring” WRs that can be had late and provide some big games. Jaron Brown, Rashad Higgins, Marqise Lee, Breshad Perriman, etc all could provide 2-3 flex spots throughout the year and thus waiting on WR isn’t the worst option.

7. What is your strategy at the Defense/ST and kicker position for this league?

Get 3 each and get them at opportune times. I have a sleeper at each position for my 3rd spot (Zane Gonzalez at K, and Dolphins D,) but I do want to get kickers who I know have jobs and will operate on high powered offenses. As for defense, I’m not as worried, but I expect to have 3 Ks and 3 DEFs by the end of Round 24 to secure those positions.

8. This draft has 28 rounds, which means 336 players and defenses will be selected. What strategies are you looking to implement as a result of an extended bench in this best ball format?

Best Ball drafts are incredible because of the depth. You can take chances on players who may have that 90 yard TD reception or run and get you points in for a few weeks and get that victory. It is important to select people who will get opportunities or are an injury away from big-time production as well. These can be had in the last few rounds for extremely cheap and work well.

draft selections

post-draft questions

1. You managed to hit on all areas that you spoke about in the pre-draft questions. You picked Christian McCaffrey first overall as you said you would. You selected Kerryon Johnson at the 2-3 turn. You got Jared Cook at the 4-5 turn as TE7 off the board. You were able to draft Kyler Murray and Aaron Rodgers at the 8/9 turn. You mentioned Cam Newton would be ideal to pair with Murray, but I'm guessing Rodgers being available was an upgrade? As you predicted, you were true to your word that you would have 3 kickers and 3 defenses by the end of round 24. Lastly, you managed to corner the Cardinals market with Kyler Murray, Christian Kirk, and Andy Isabella. You executed flawlessly as to what you wanted to do. It's easier to do that from the 1 or 12-slot because you have the luxury of making two picks at a time, however, there may be some reaches as a result. Talk about having a plan and sticking to it, especially from the 1-slot. Was there any player that you wanted and didn't get? Also, talk about why you like Zane Gonzalez and the Miami Defense in best ball this year.

I was happy to have executed my plan well and gotten the players I wanted. It is easier to do so from the 1 spot, but I did reach for players throughout the draft (a round to a round and a half above ADP,) to get who I wanted and build the team I wanted. TEs went a bit sooner than I expected, so Jared Cook at the 4/5 turn was the end of my tier and a reach, but seeing how the TEs started flying off the board, I am glad I made that move.

The QBs fell a bit more than I expected so taking Aaron Rodgers over Cam Newton was a no brainer due to the value. I still wanted to take Kyler Murray’s upside and pair him with my later Cardinals WRs. One failing was not starting the QB run with the 8/9 turn. I was hoping others would follow suit, but that took a few rounds and I possibly could have gotten more value by waiting until the 10/11 turn. I’m still happy with it though.

I think at the turn, having a good plan and knowing who you want and where to take them is easier. You don’t have to play the guessing game of if a player will fall (he won’t,) so it is a luxury to take who you want where you want. I stuck with this and will ride and die with it.

I went with 3 kickers in case of injury or cut. Zane Gonzalez is usually one of the last sure starters left at the end, and I like him on a high tempo Cardinals offense. Though he isn’t very good, the opportunities will be there for him to have a few big games and slide into my starter slot. At defense, I went with 3 to have a firm rotation and get match-ups to fit right. Miami intrigues me because I think the offenses in their division are weak and they are pretty filled out at most positions. They should get some INTs and sacks, even if giving up some points.

Overall, I feel like I have a good advantage at QB, RB, and WR in this league and if a TE2 can pull through, I will win it all.

Alex miglio's evaluation

Strengths

Christian McCaffrey and Kerryon Johnson make for a fantastic fantasy tandem at running back. Those two should buoy the position by themselves most weeks if they can stay healthy. Shane was able to wait at quarterback and still nab high-upside Kyler Murray and fantasy stalwart Aaron Rodgers.

Weaknesses

As good as Shane’s top two running backs are, the rest of his squad at the position is dangerously thin. Rookies Miles Sanders and Devin Singletary could be stuck in backfield quagmires while Ronald Jones II II is stuck behind Peyton Barber again. The tight end position is also a bit thin behind Jared Cook, who may be invisible in half his games this season.

How They’ll Win it All

McCaffrey and Johnson ball out like they are meant to and stay healthy all year long. The quarterbacks hold serve, and Jason Witten proves yet again that he is a cyborg from the future sent back to destroy linebackers.

DRAFT SLOT 2

John Paulsen, 4for4.com

John is the Director of Forecasting for 4for4.com. He was named FantasyPros' Most Accurate Expert in 2010 and 2014 and has finished in the top six in seven of the last nine years.

Follow @4for4_John

PRE-DRAFT QUESTIONS

1. Discuss drafting from the 2-hole. What will you do differently because of this draft slot?

I'll very likely be drafting either Saquon Barkley or Christian McCaffrey in the first round. Anywhere from the four- or five-spot on I'd would be drafting Travis Kelce, so going RB in the first round means I'll need to find my tight end(s) later.

2. How will the dual-flex and tight end 1.5 PPR scoring format change how you approach this draft?

Tight ends are so valuable in this scoring system because there are so few that matter and there are only so many tight end points available to owners. I would like to see George Kittle or Zach Ertz available at 2.11, but chances are pretty good that they'll both be gone by then, so I'll be looking for a tight end from the next tier at 4.11. The dual-flex doesn't change my strategy that much, though I'd be more inclined to take a second good tight end if the opportunity arises.

3. Name a few guys that you are looking to build your team around. What rounds do you expect to get them in?

Barkley/McCaffrey in the first. Maybe Damien Williams at 2.11. I am looking to nab Curtis Samuel or Larry Fitzgerald in the ninth. I'll likely draft my QBs at the 10/11 turn.

4. Do you have any trigger points (ie players A and B are gone therefore I am looking to grab player C the next time I pick)

I'll count the number of quarterbacks off the board to see if the draft is relatively QB-heavy or QB-light. That may prompt me to draft my passers earlier or later than planned if I don't think that QBs from a specific tier have a better (or worse) chance to make it back to me.

5. What's your approach to rookies, injured players, and/or suspended players that may not have a full workload to start the season?

Injured/suspended players -- I'll look at their value on a per-game basis to determine what their value would be if they were projected to play a full season. If their ADP allows me to draft them as a backup (tougher with the multi-flexes) then I'd be more inclined to draft them knowing that I didn't need their points right away. As for rookies, I might draft them a bit earlier than my projections would indicate since they probably have more upside than their veteran counterparts.

6. Who are some players that you will be targeting in the later rounds (after round 15)?

Darren Waller, Duke Johnson Jr, Gio Bernard, Chase Edmonds, John Brown, C.J. Anderson, Gerald Everett, Jamison Crowder, Josh Gordon, Gus Edwards, Deebo Samuel, Rob Gronkowski (who knows?), Marqise Lee, Bilal Powell, Trey Quinn, Miles Boykin, Paul Richardson Jr, Terry McLaurin, Bruce Anderson, Jaron Brown, Jake Kumerow, KeeSean Johnson, Justin Watson, Breshad Perriman and Travis Benjamin.

7. What is your strategy at the Defense/ST and kicker position for this league?

New England has the easiest schedule so I like to nab them after 6-8 defenses are off the board and pair them with another defense that has a schedule that meshes well with the Patriots' schedule. As for kickers, I'm typically trying to grab Robbie Gould or Ka'imi Fairbairn and then adding at least one more later on.

8. This draft has 28 rounds, which means 336 players and defenses will be selected. What strategies are you looking to implement as a result of an extended bench in this best ball format?

I'll generally fill out the end of my bench with dart throw types. Either spotty, big-play receivers who will occasionally have a good game or running backs that are one or two injuries away from finding themselves with a bigger role in the offense. Pass-catching specialist RBs are also good to add in this range since one touchdown catch can turn into a usable game for me.

DRAFT SELECTIONS

POST-DRAFT QUESTIONS

1. Let's talk your strategy with tight ends in this draft. You indicated that tight end was a preferred target at 2.11, but you missed out on George Kittle by one pick and Zach Ertz by two picks. At the 4.11/5.02 turn you skipped on tight end taking Julian Edelman and Chris Godwin - strong picks at receiver, but your chances for a top tight end were falling fast. Jared Cook was available at 4.11 and you passed on him. He was taken one pick later and you missed out on him at 5.02. Talk about that decision to draft Edelman over a tight end there (Cook) and then explain why you waited until the ninth round to finally take your first tight end, Mark Andrews. Give us your thoughts on Andrews this season.

Prior to the draft I looked at the last 30 or so FFPC best ball drafts and it appeared that I had an 89% chance of one of the following three scenarios: 1) Kittle/Ertz would be available at 2.11, 2) Henry, Engram or Howard would be available at 4.11, or 3) Cook or McDonald would be available at 6.11. As it turns out, this draft fell into the remaining 11% of scenarios where none of those players were available at those picks. As the fourth round wore on, I was considering taking Cook at 4.11, but I simply could not pass on the value of Edelman at that pick. He's a top 25 player for me in this format. I felt that the chances were decent that Cook would be there at 5.02 and I think Shane even said during the draft that he felt he "reached" for Cook at 4.12. At the 6.11/7.02, I didn't feel that there was a tight end that was worth taking over Drake and Samuel and I was happy to take Fitzgerald at 8.11 figuring that Doyle or Mark Andrews would be available at 9.02.

My thoughts on Andrews: Once Lamar Jackson took over at quarterback, he led the team in receiving yards (339) accounting for 26.0% of Jackson’s passing yards. He did that on just a 14.0% target share, so clearly Jackson and Andrews had a good thing going. Andrews was the No. 13 tight end over the final seven weeks of the season, which is nothing special, but if Jackson’s passing numbers rise and Andrews keeps the same usage rate, he could find himself in the top 10 at the end of the season. Reports out of camp have been fantastic: Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic said that Andrews has been the Ravens' "most dangerous and productive offensive player" in camp.

I added another breakout candidate, Chris Herndon, two rounds later, which I think is good value in this format despite the four-game suspension. I figure Andrews and my other tight end--Houston under-the-radar starter Jordan Thomas--can get me through the first month of the season until Herndon comes back. I added Rob Gronkowski in the 27th round on the off chance that he unretires.

2. Kenyan Drake's ADP has fallen since the news of a possible committee approach in Miami between him and Kalen Ballage. You selected Drake as your RB4 (RB29). Was this a "hope for the best" pick, or do you have an opinion that Drake will see the majority of the team's touches at running back? Talk about Drake's outlook in 2019.

I was pretty bullish about Drake heading into this offseason and still think he's the more talented back. Ballage simply went down on first contact far too often as a rookie. Maybe Ballage has improved enough to earn the most carries in this backfield, but as it stands, Drake is basically in the same position that he was last year, when he finished as the No. 14 RB in PPR formats despite sharing the backfield with Frank Gore (168 touches in 14 games). The Dolphins are going to be playing from behind, which should mean a lot of dump-offs to the running backs, and Drake excels in the passing game. Since this is a best-ball draft, I don't have to deal with the decision of whether or not to start him in any given week. I can just enjoy his big games as my RB4.

ALEX MIGLIO'S EVALUATION

Strengths

Though Damien Williams isn’t a personal favorite as high as John took him — reservations about a lead back role and all that — having the Chiefs’ de facto starter as your third running back means you have locked up the running back position. After taking three to start the draft and Kenyan Drake in the 6th — a steal with unsubstantiated rumors Kalen Ballege is going to take over — John didn’t need to take another until he sewed up pass-catcher extraordinaire Duke Johnson Jr all the way in the 16th round. Bravo. John managed to nab a solid wide receiver corps, too.

Weaknesses

Going strong at running back meant sacrifices elsewhere for John, particularly at the tight end position. Mark Andrews and Chris Herndon both have big upside, but the former is unproven and will likely be an uneven producer, while the latter is going to be out the first four games with a suspension. John’s quarterback trio led by Jared Goff isn’t particularly compelling, either. Investing two picks in a best-ball league on guys who are probably not going to play much if at all this year (Rob Gronkowski and Josh Gordon) was a bit luxurious, too.

How They’ll Win it All

Andrews turns into a top-5 tight end, and Herndon follows suit upon his return from suspension. Larry Fitzgerald channels his fantasy scoring potential from yesteryear, and Sam Darnold makes Jets fans forget who Joe Namath was.

DRAFT SLOT 3

Jeff Tefertiller, Footballguys, Bio

Follow @JeffTefertiller

PRE-DRAFT QUESTIONS

1. Discuss drafting from the 3-hole. What will you do differently because of this draft slot?
Drafting from the 1.03 hole, I am looking running back in the first. Also, given scoring and draft spot, I will be looking for Kittle in 2nd or 3rd.

2. How will the dual-flex and tight end 1.5 PPR scoring format change how you approach this draft?
I will roster more TEs than normal. I will be targeting Reed, Dissly, Watson, and Herndon.

3. Name a few guys that you are looking to build your team around. What rounds do you expect to get them in?
I will be looking for Hilton (4th/5th), Fitzgerald (middle rounds), the duo of Donte Moncrief and Diontae Johnson late, and targeting Justin Jackson and Malcolm Brown much later than their high-priced teammates.

4. Do you have any trigger points (ie players A and B are gone therefore I am looking to grab player C the next time I pick)
No trigger points, but will be monitoring the WRs in round 4-8 as I want to hammer the position after starting RB-heavy.

5. What's your approach to rookies, injured players, and/or suspended players that may not have a full workload to start the season?
I am targeting as many of these arbitrage situations as possible, especially on good teams. NE will play their best players. This means Watson should be in the lineup after suspension. Same goes for Josh Gordon. I also like the QBs coming back from an injury like Wentz. His ADP is lagging reality.

6. Who are some players that you will be targeting in the later rounds (after round 15)?
I love the value of Jaylen Samuels, Dion Lewis, Dallas Goedert, and upside rookie RBs/WRs (e.g., Campbell, Samuel, Mattison, Gaskin, etc).

7. What is your strategy at the Defense/ST and kicker position for this league?
Targeting a quality kicker with solid back up kicker and quantity of defenses. May look in these directions earlier than most other drafters.

8. This draft has 28 rounds, which means 336 players and defenses will be selected. What strategies are you looking to implement as a result of an extended bench in this best ball format?
I will look for several handcuffs and high ceiling situations. Like mentioned above, injured players (Edelman, Green, Henry) and suspended (Herndon, Watson, Tate) will be targets.

DRAFT SELECTIONS

POST-DRAFT QUESTIONS

1. In a tight end-heavy league, I want to ask you about the four players you targeted. You mentioned in the pre-draft questions that you were seeking to draft Jordan Reed, Will Dissly, Ben Watson, and Chris Herndon at the tight end position. You managed to only draft one of those - Watson in round 19 (TE34). Talk about your interest in those four that you targeted, as well as T.J. Hockenson, who you also selected in round 13 (TE25).

This is a great question. I expected to punt the position and go quantity over quality. I did not fathom that Kittle would be there in the late second. I punted running back and was waffling between running back and tight end in the seventh when I took Walker. I thought one of Cohen, Murray, or Coleman would make it back to me so I took a chance on the tight end upside of Walker. The Reed/Watson or Reed/Herndon combination is one I advocate due to Reed's injury history and the suspensions of the other two. Dissly is just a cheap tight end who I like with some upside.

2. You have one bonafide starter at running back on your team in Alvin Kamara who you selected 3rd overall. Outside of that, you have nine other running backs who occupy a complementary role or they are further down the depth chart. Explain your reasoning behind this str