Fantasy Football Preview 2015: Where’s The Ideal Position To Draft?
It’s only fitting that your fantasy football season officially begins with some luck.
In most cases, your draft-day order probably is determined at random, unless you have a power-hungry commissioner who gives himself or herself the first overall pick every year. After all, it’s common sense that a higher pick is better, right?
This season, we’d argue that’s not the case.
For the first time in a while, we believe there’s no consensus favorite for the No. 1 overall pick. In a snake draft, that means it’s not necessarily ideal to have the burden of picking your stud and waiting until the end of the second round to make your next selection.
So where do you want to be on draft day? It’s a tough question to answer, but we’ll take a shot at it. Assuming you’re in a standard-scoring, 10-team league with a snake draft, here’s every draft-day spot, ranked from best to worst.
Best position: Picks No. 5 and No. 6
This is the money spot. The top five or six running backs in this year’s crop all have a legitimate chance to be taken No. 1, and picking here allows you to land an elite back like Marshawn Lynch and still have a high enough pick in the second round to draft a top-three wide receiver or quarterback.
Picks No. 7 through 10
It’s never been a better year for the double-dip. You could go several different ways with two picks close together: snag a top-10 running back and a top-three wide receiver, grab a top-three wideout and nab Andrew Luck, or go with two stud running backs or two stud receivers. The possibilities are endless.
Picks No. 1 and No. 2
We can’t in our right minds say you’re worst off picking first. Everyone has a favorite at the top of their draft board, and picking first or second means you (probably) will land the player you’ve targeted all offseason. That said, you’d better make your selection count, because you’ll wait a long time before your next pick.
Worst position: Picks No. 3 and No. 4
These two spots kind of feel like no-man’s land. Sure, you can get an elite back, but he’s probably not your top choice, and a pick at the back end of Round 2 means you could miss out on a top wide receiver like Antonio Brown or Odell Beckham Jr.
The bottom line: Fantasy leagues can be won by first overall picks or No. 10 picks, and if you go into your draft with a sound strategy, there is no bad draft position. That said, if we had to choose, we’d argue it’s best to be smack-dab in the middle.
Click to read NESN.com’s 2015 fantasy football draft kit >>
Have a fantasy/NFL question for Darren? Send it to him via Twitter at @darren_hartwell
Thumbnail photo via Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images
