This article is part of our Fantasy Football Draft Strategy series.
With NFL cut-downs in the rear-view mirror and Week 1 around the corner, the last day of August marked my entry into the fray in the 2024 NFFC Primetime, Park MGM contest.
NFFC will continue to host drafts through Saturday, Sept. 7, offering multiple formats and other high-stakes leagues, including the NFFC Classic and the RotoWire Online Championship.
Our friends at NFFC report that once again it's been a record year for both contests, with the Primetime slated to top 1,000 teams with a $250,000 grand prize and the RotoWire Online Championship set to surpass 4,500 teams with a $250,000 grand prize.
There are still openings available every day for both contests, but please note that spots are limited!
Now on to the squad I drafted Saturday afternoon in a 12-team, 20-round, third-round reversal format.
This time around, I drew the No. 12 pick overall, which was eighth in terms of my requests on the order preference list I submitted prior to the draft. It's actually a slot I didn't mind in this contest, because it's a position that allowed me to set a couple of basic goals for the earlier stages of the draft, plus I had a pretty good idea of which players would be there with my initial back-to-back selections.
A best-available RB, plus best-available WR approach was how I planned to get this roster build rolling. Out of the gate, things went largely as expected, though I was mildly surprised that Jahmyr Gibbs went ninth overall and that Ja'Marr Chase dropped to 11th. Contract issues aside, I would have happily scooped him up with pick No. 12, but I kicked things off with Jonathan Taylor, the player I figured I'd end up with all along.
As the draft unfolded, I tried to stick with my usual 'go with the flow' and don't over or under-react approach and was able to assemble what I believe is a balanced squad that should give me solid starting nucleus as well as options to turn to on bye weeks and when injuries hit. It came as no surprise that the folks in this league were extremely sharp drafters and as a result, I barely lost out on a number of players (rookies, in particular) I was targeting. That will happen in any draft, of course, but next year I will make a point of being a bit more aggressive on that front. Alas, there will be no repeat of my ninth-round score of De'Von Achane on my 2023 (14-team) NFFC Classic squad.
I understand that I'll need to unearth a hidden gem or two in the coming weeks, especially at running back, which is where I most regret not having a lottery ticket or two, but I think I have the foundation to compete, as long as I supplement my core with some key in-season pickups
Below is the full draft board, followed by some round-by-round commentary about my picks:
Rd. 1, pick 12 – RB Jonathan Taylor, IND Once Chase went 11th overall, Taylor was an easy choice for me, especially with Gibbs off the board. He's healthy and the clear-cut top option in an offense that figures to run plenty.
Rd. 2, pick 13 – WR Marvin Harrison, ARZ Once again, I kind of knew where this was headed, and while it was tempting to double down at RB (with Saquon Barkley here), it came down to Harrison and Puka Nacua. I know that taking a rookie WR this high is speculative, but I decided to swing for the fences here. Plus, I thought Cooper Kupp (who figures to impact Nacua's volume this season) might still be there at No. 25, and I wanted to be able to pick him without hesitation in that scenario.
Rd. 3, pick 25 – WR Jaylen Waddle, MIA With a handful of top WR targets -- including Kupp, pick No. 20 -- gone, as well as RB Derrick Henry (No. 22), I went with Waddle, who's going to be busy in 2024, even as Tyreek Hill's running mate in Miami.
Rd. 4, pick 48 – QB Lamar Jackson, BAL Here's where my draft slot started to reveal its pros and cons. It can be cool to have the back-to-back pick option, but with that there's large gaps between turns, and in that span cupboards and queues are often emptied. With that mind, while I wasn't committed to landing one of the consensus top four signal-callers in this slot, I decided to go QB/RB on this turn-around, with no available WRs who I preferred over Lamar at this stage of the process.
Rd. 5, pick 49 – RB Kenneth Walker, SEA This one was a bit of a coin flip. I was targeting my RB2 here and it came down to Walker and Alvin Kamara. I like Walker's upside, especially if he gets a little more involved as a pass-catcher for Seattle, but Kamara was very in play for me in this slot and predictably went a few picks later.
Rd. 6, pick 72 – TE George Kittle, SF In recent years, I'd been very proactive about landing my top TE, but in this context pick No. 25 was too early to grab one of the top two (Sam LaPorta/Travis Kelce) and No. 48 was too late. The two players I zeroed in on here (Dalton Kincaid and Kyle Pitts) went earlier in the round, so I pivoted to my preferred option in the next tier at the position. Kittle's productive when healthy, but after landing him I nonetheless figured I'd try to grab a high-end backup to pair with him, after missing out on the TEs I was most enthusiastic about rostering.
Rd. 7, pick 73 – RB Aaron Jones, MIN Since I was looking at another 23-pick lull here, I determined that the upcoming drop-off at RB was scarier than the one coming at WR, and I went Jones, though Rhamondre Stevenson and Zamir White were also considered. Assuming he can stay on the field and Ty Chandler doesn't get too many touches, I like Jones' change of scenery bounce-back potential.
Rd. 8, pick 96 – WR DeAndre Hopkins, TEN My TE/RB combo in rounds six and seven necessitated a WR focus at this juncture. I built a queue and Hopkins was at the top of it after Ladd McConkey, Courtland Sutton and Jameson Williams went. I had hoped Sutton would still be there, but Hopkins can still be a useful WR3, provided he can avoid injury setbacks.
Rd. 9, pick 97 – WR Jordan Addison, MIN As Week 1 approaches, there's a couple of question marks associated with Addison, but when available, he has a nice ceiling in his second year as a pro, working opposite superstar Justin Jefferson in a top-heavy Minnesota passing attack.
Rd. 10, pick 120 – QB Brock Purdy, SF This is where the lengthy wait between picks started feeling painful, as a couple high-upside rookie RBs (namely Trey Benson and Jaylen Wright) I thought would be reaches at pick 97 were gone by this turn. A strong backup for my elite QB who runs a lot seemed like a good idea and I went with Purdy, with Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels (I would have been elated if either were still on the board!) snapped up in the selections before my turn.
Rd. 11, pick 121 – TE David Njoku, CLE There weren't any RBs or WRs available here that I was especially jazzed about, so Njoku was the call, giving me some peace of mind at TE, with a drop-off at the position looming.
Rd. 12, pick 144 – RB Zach Charbonnet, SEA With Kenneth Walker on my team, adding Charbonnet seemed like a good call, but that approach cost me a chance to land one of the rookie RBs I like, notably Braelon Allen, who I thought could still be available in Rd. 14.
Rd. 13, pick 145 – WR Adam Thielen, CAR I needed some WR depth here, and while I understand that Thielen's 2023 volume is probably not sustainable, he's still a handy player to have around when bye weeks or injuries create havoc.
Rd. 14, pick 168 – WR DeMario Douglas, NE The Patriots won't be a pass-first team, but in a WR corps with lots of question marks otherwise, Douglas should see steady enough targets to be a useful depth piece on this team.
Rd. 15, pick 169 – RB Justice Hill, BAL I like Hill as a player and he should remain involved as a change-of-pace option in Baltimore, but this is where I had hoped to land someone like Tyrone Tracy or Audric Estime. (Note to 2025 me; don't be afraid to get well ahead of the rookie RB runs in NFFC!).
Rd. 16, pick 192 – Team D/ST Kansas City Chiefs The run on defenses had already started by this time, so this seemed like a good turnaround to grab two that I liked. While doing so could result in some weekly lineup overthinking, I feel well-covered with these two units.
Rd. 17, pick 193 – Team D/ST Pittsburgh Steelers For now, I'll default to the Chiefs, but I won't hesitate to turn to the Steelers if I'm feeling as though matchups are tilted on any given week.
Rd. 18, pick 216 – Team Kicker Philadelphia Eagles I decided to leave rounds 19 and 20 to dart/painless-drop types and grabbed the Eagles here. I don't love their Week 5 bye, but it's usually possible to re-add team kickers without spending too many FAB dollars.
Rd. 19, pick 217 – QB Aaron Rodgers, NYJ There wasn't much left at RB/WR by this point, so taking Rodgers at least gives me an insurance policy in the event that something happens to one of my top two QBs early on.
Rd. 20, pick 240 – RB Dalvin Cook, DAL I'd admit that this one is a long-shot, but with the last pick in the entire draft, Cook is worth a look. He looks ready to go and it's not unimaginable that he'll move up the depth chart in Dallas. If not, I can let him go in favor of a key early-season free agent add. Perhaps I'll be the one lucky enough to land this year's Nacua.
If you've made it this far, thanks for checking this out and best of luck in all your leagues and contests this season!
