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Last week, 12 RotoBaller writers came together to do a live dynasty league startup on the internet. This article continues our series of articles on RotoBaller that will analyze the results of the draft to give readers a look into current dynasty values and discuss the best and worst values in the draft.
Today we take a look at rounds two and three, and provide analysis on the players drafted. You can check out the round 1 analysis here.
For full draft results, click here.
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Dynasty Draft Analysis - Rounds Two & Three
Best Pick
Devonta Freeman, 3.05 Overall (@ProFantasyLife)
This pick was confusing during the draft. Freeman continued to fall until he was finally taken in the middle of the third round. He was the 10th overall running back taken. Freeman was the best fantasy running back in the NFL last season, and while that likely is not going to repeat itself, Freeman is only 24 years old with elite upside.
He’s going to be a staple on Chris’s fantasy team for the next 5-10 years, as he should be able to continue to produce RB1 numbers with the potential to be the best running back in the NFL once again.
Worst Pick
Adrian Peterson, 2.11 Overall (@FFCatalyst)
This was an extremely difficult pick to make. It came down to Mark Ingram and Adrian Peterson, both of whom were selected before Devonta Freeman. Ultimately, age and workload were the basis behind selecting Peterson as the worst pick in these two rounds. Peterson is five years older than Ingram, and he has 1,768 more touches in his career.
Peterson will continue to be an elite running back for as long as he can be the workhorse for his team, but he likely only has a couple seasons left in him, which is a cause for concern in dynasty leagues.
Riskiest Pick
Kelvin Benjamin, 3.09 Overall (@Frankie_Soler)
There were a number of risky players taken in the second and third rounds, but Kelvin Benjamin leads the way. Benjamin is coming back from a torn ACL, and there are reports that he hasn’t been wearing a knee brace. While that is good for his confidence, it puts his knee back at risk. Benjamin had an elite rookie season, but torn ACL’s have halted other wide receivers careers before.
On top of the injury, Benjamin is battling with Devin Funchess, who has the body type of a number one receiver. Benjamin is a boom or bust wide receiver coming off of a serious injury.
Biggest Upside Pick
Brandin Cooks, 2.08 Overall (@ProFantasyLife)
There were a ton of question marks surrounding Cooks’ size coming out of college, but he has quickly put those questions to rest. If he had played 16 games his rookie season, he was on pace for an 85-772-5 receiving line. He made the jump in his second season with an 84-1,138-9 receiving line through 16 games. He’ll be the first option for the Saints this season, and he will likely see his targets go up once again.
It isn’t out of the question that Cooks is able to put together his first 100 reception season, which gives him elite upside for a second round pick, especially if he continues to score at a high rate.
General Analysis
The second and third round of this dynasty league draft went according to plan in terms of the types of players selected. Out of the 24 players drafted, there were 17 wide receivers taken, while only six running backs and one quarterback were selected. This tends to be the case in most PPR drafts because of the value that drafters place on wide receivers.
Cam Newton was the first quarterback taken in this draft. He was selected with the last pick in the third round. While taking an early quarterback generally isn’t a huge part of my draft strategy, this is right around where Newton should be taken. He’s locked into a QB1, and it isn’t surprising in the least to see him selected this high.
The running backs taken in these two rounds were some of the most confusing picks throughout the draft. Devonta Freeman, who was the best running back in fantasy football last season, was selected in the third round. Some other backs taken before him include Mark Ingram, Adrian Peterson, Carlos Hyde, and Doug Martin. It’s especially surprising based on Freeman’s age, and this likely won’t be happening in many dynasty league drafts. Aside from Freeman being selected so late, there weren’t any real surprise running backs taken in these rounds.
There was every type of receiver that you could imagine taken in these two rounds. Some were safe options, while others were high risk. Marshall was one of the older and more proven wide outs taken, while DeVante Parker hasn’t proven much in the NFL, but is young and comes with loads of potential. Parker may have been selected a little high, but there was a run on receivers during these two rounds, and he is oozing with potential because of his size. Surprisingly, there were multiple pairs of receivers taken from the same team. Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson, DeVante Parker and Jarvis Landry, and T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief are all pairs on the same team, which is why it’s shocking that they were all taken this high in the draft. With that being said, they are pairs on three teams that have shown the ability to score quite a bit throughout the season.
Overall, there weren’t many surprises outside of Devonta Freeman falling. These two rounds were fairly cut and dry without anything out of the ordinary going on.
