So i took over this team a few years ago and have been struggling to get a decent squad. Its a twelve team standard scoring league. Roster comp is Qb, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, TE, Def, K. I have the second pick in this years draft and need to keep 3 players off of my current squad. RB is a major thorn in my side. With so many teams and 2 RB min for the roster everyone sits on their RBs as keepers so there is rarely much lately other than rookies on the board.
Kyler Murray
Deshaun Watson
Cam Akers
Rachaad White
Cordarelle Patterson
Javonte Williams
AJ Dillon
Drake London
Michael Pittman
Treylon Burks
Gabe Davis
Kadarius Toney
Wan’Dale Robinson
My thought is keeping London, Burks and Javonte Williams and taking either Bijan or Gibbs at 2 overall. (The guy drafting first has Eckler, Breece Hall and Aaron Jones)
You won’t get Bijan at 1.02, even if the 1.01 guy had Taylor, Hall and CMC.
Gibbs is still a fine choice, though.
I’d keep London, Javonte and Cam Akers. Rachaad White is an option, too, but keep in mind that the Bucs’ 2022 run offense was atrocious, so we don’t know yet how much his new lead back role will really be worth.
Surprisingly, the whole fantasy football world is not sold on Bijan being the #1 overall pick. Most have him #4-#5, and I saw a mock draft among the “experts” at FFToday a couple of weeks ago where Bijan went at #8, and there was some discussion about that being too early.
So I would say you have a pretty good chance of getting Bijan at #2, especially with RB not being his primary need.
First off, a light keeper league like this is a borderline redraft league with keeper flavoring. I did a league like this over 20 years ago, although it only had 2 keepers (I won the first two seasons, and made the playoffs until I left the league after 5 years). The few keepers you get allow you a lot of opportunity to bounce back.
There is only one “must keep” player I see, and that is Drake London. His talent is far too high, even
with Atlanta’s run-first offense and new QB Desmond Ridder. On the bright side, watching the Falcons towards the end last season, Ridder and London seemed to be connecting. That could pay off this year.
You mentioned the RB premium in the league, so that makes Cam Akers a keeper. He has a chance to take over the Rams offense this year, although keep your expectations tempered. He has a long injury history. But if he plays like he did at the end last year, MAYBE he could be special.
For your third keeper, I am going for more long-term potential than short-term: Javonte Williams. While he is coming off a serious knee injury, so he may be slow getting back to form, this could be more of a pick for later this year/next year.
Regarding your draft strategy, if you can get Bijan at 1.02, absolutely grab him! If not, I might see if there’s another RB that wasn’t kept before Gibbs, although he isn’t the worst choice you could make. But David Montgomery might have more value in Detroit early this year.
Thanks for the in depth response. If we had a flex
Spot in this league it wouldn’t be as difficult as a decision but the mandatory 2RB sets with 12 teams is just tough. I don’t think there are really 24
Decent RBs in the NFl so you almost HAVe to use them as your keepers and they are the players with the shortest shelf life.
At the moment im leaning toward Akers, Williams and London. Williams was on par to be pretty
Good preinjury and I don’t anticipate much this year since it just happened so he may need to be stashed one more year before I decide what to do.
I think Gibbs is going to be a very good RB on a high scoring team, so he isn’t a bad second prize to Bijan. Now if Stevenson or someone similar is available I may think twice but for now I think that’s the play.
The only other move I’ve considered is offering up London, my first round pick 1.02 and second 2.11 to move up to 1.01 and draft Bijan. I this could work for both parties. The guy drafting 1st has Eckler, Breece and Aaron Jones so he is set at RB. I’ll give him London who is going to be pretty good (I think anyway) and two picks. So he can draft the top WRs in 1 and 2 and top TE/QB in 2/3. He would essentially have QB,RB1,RB2,WR1,WR2,TE all rostered by pick 3.01.
That gives him a great chance to make a run this year and sets me back a bit but also gets me a legit RB. And hey, If I have one more bad year then maybe Marvin Harrison Jr will be the consolation prize
A lot of moving parts in the second strategy but could be what’s needed to get out of this rut