August 24 was national draft day and like many fantasy football champion hopefuls, I attended a live draft. The league uses standard scoring with the wrinkle of being a three player keeper league.
I started the day with Cam Newton, Julio Jones and Steven Jackson already on my roster.
Drafting sixth in this 12 team league, I spent the first eight rounds getting a good start on my running backs, wideouts and finding a serviceable starting tight end near the end of this run (I was working under the plan that if I couldn’t get the best tight end, I’d wait because outside Jimmy Graham and Jason Witten, the field is pretty neck and neck for the next dozen). I also went and picked up Andy Dalton as protection in case Newton goes down for some reason or just starts off weak like he did the first half of last year.
After the first eight rounds, which basically amounts to the first half of the draft with three keepers thrown in, things got a little more interesting.
On a side note, the old fantasy football saying that the later rounds is where championships are won or lost is basically true. Drafting through the first seven or eight rounds is pretty simple because it’s all about the names, the new locations, and the new situations. The later rounds are about finding productive players who are either on the cusp of greatness, provide protection for starters, or are solid guys you can spot start when the inevitable injury or bye week occurs.
To make a long story short, I spent the remaining eight rounds scouring my notes and depth charts to put together what I hope would be the next champion in my league. And that’s the point I’m finally getting at. If you want to be a winning owner you have to come into the draft prepared for the later rounds. Don’t be that guy who spouts out the name of a player who went down for the season with a torn ACL two weeks earlier. Especially don’t be the guy who spouts out the name of someone who retired a season ago!
Yes, it happens.
To help you avoid this fate, here is a list of players by position that could provide value late in a draft (and by late, I’m talking round 10 or later).
Quarterbacks
Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears – New head coach with an offense-first mindset. Cutler should excel.
Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals -Throwing to Larry Fitzgerald is the answer to many of Palmer’s late night prayers.
Sam Bradford, St. Louis Rams – Is surrounded by underrated talent in a division where he will have to produce.
Running Backs
Fred Jackson, Buffalo Bills – Will get plenty of touches. If healthy, will produce on a weekly basis.
Danny Woodhead, San Diego Chargers – Ryan Matthews, the starter, is injury prone. Woodhead will get his chance to start.
Bilal Powell, New York Jets – Is the projected starter for the Jets come week one. The Jets have many flaws but Powell will not be one of them.
Jonathan Dwyer, Pittsburgh Steelers – Dwyer will be the starter for the Steelers for at least the first few weeks. After that depends on his performance.
Wide Receivers
Emmanuel Sanders, Pittsburgh Steelers – Antonio Brown will get the main attention from defenses. Sanders will excel as a go-to guy for Ben Roethlisberger.
Chris Givens, St. Louis Rams – Givens is the number one receiver on a Rams squad that will produce. It’s also one of the least talked about which makes Givens a value pick late.
Vincent Brown, San Diego Chargers – Someone has to catch the ball for the Chargers. Brown is in his third season which is when many receivers have breakout years.
Cordarrelle Patterson, Minnesota Vikings – Patterson has looked good in preseason and looks to be exactly the weapon the Vikings were hoping for.
Tight Ends
Jordan Cameron, Cleveland Browns – Cameron has shown a good rapport with quarterback Brandon Weeden this preseason. Should carry through to regular season.
Zach Sudfeld, New England Patriots – With the return of Gronkowski looking like it may be later than sooner, Sudfeld will get the chance to be the chosen tight end for Tom Brady. Even when Gronk returns, expect Sudfeld to be the Aaron Hernandez of the offense, minus the homicide (I hope).
Coby Fleener, Indianapolis Colts – Fleener’s bad preseason will make him drop but having Andrew Luck passing you the ball will keep his numbers solid when healthy.
James LeBeau is a contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @Jlebeau76 or subscribe on Facebook.com/CraveOnlineSports.
Photo Credit: Getty
