Fantasy Football Draft Strategy 2022 - Drafting from the 6th Spot in a 12 Team Non-PPR League

Drafting from the 6th Spot in a 12-Team Non-PPR League

Once again, we find ourselves midway through the offseason and if you haven’t been mock drafting already, now is a great time to start.  As I say every year, lots of things will change in the next six weeks so don’t be surprised to see some huge changes in ADP.  You may want to take a look at the Standard Rankings page and start making your own rankings based on who you like going into the 2022 season.

If you are like me, you want to know what draft spot you have in your league so you can get accustomed to who will probably be available when your pick comes.  In some leagues, however, you get a shot at choosing what draft pick you have, which makes mocking at different spots a very beneficial strategy.  A combination of your ranking and mock draft experience will help you choose what spot you want to draft at.

I spent some time mock drafting in a 12-team Non-PPR (Standard) league and I had the 6 th spot.  Here is a look at the finished draft .  You can also take a look at the overall Standard ADP to get a better understanding of where players are being drafted.

Running Back Heavy to Start

Non-PPR leagues will always see a small bump in Running Backs taken in the first three rounds.  Being the sixth pick gives you an interesting option, however, since Wide Receivers Cooper Kupp and Justin Jefferson will probably be available.  As difficult as it will be to pass them up here, I think it’s in your best interest to grab a “workhorse” Running Back here.  By the time your second pick comes up you will be left with some high-risk high-reward players.

That’s why I went Dalvin Cook as my first pick.  In the second round, I’m hoping Aaron Jones falls to me, but if not, you may have your choice of either Saquon Barkley or Ezekiel Elliott, both of who hope to rebound after injury-riddled seasons.  I lean Zeke here more because he is on a good offense with a good offensive line, but either option could be a great 1-2 punch to start your draft.

Joe Mixon in the third round is a steal, although it did significantly hurt my starting Wide Receiver choices.  Michael Pittman Jr as my WR1 is very scary.

Look for Wide Receivers on High-Powered Passing Offenses

Since I did go Running Back heavy in rounds 1-3, it made my Wide Receiver choices much more important.  Non-PPR scoring obviously puts the importance on yardage and touchdowns, so we need to look at Wide Receivers who are on high-powered offenses who throw the ball a lot.

Take a look at 2021’s passing offense leaders:

Now there have been a lot of big changes to offenses this offseason (Tyreek Hill gone, Davante Adams gone, Amari Cooper gone, Russell Wilson to the Broncos…to name a few), so there may be some new teams moving up this list in 2022.  Still, it’s best to start targeting those Wide Receivers on these teams, and many of them you can now grab in rounds 5 or later.

For instance, I grabbed Mike Williams (LAC) in the fifth round and JuJu Smith-Schuster (KC) in the ninth round. Allan Lazard, the supposed WR1 for the Packers, isn’t going until round 10!   If you are aiming for some high-upside Wide Receivers to make up for your run-heavy start, look for the guys who should be on high-scoring offenses.

Wait on QB/TE Positions

I will always aim to take a Quarterback and Tight End late in the draft.  Sometimes, it’s burned me (looking at you Matt Ryan).  But if you pick the right one, you could have just built a championship-caliber team.

If you want the top 3 guys at each position, you are going to have to pay up.  The top four Quarterbacks were gone by mid-round four and the top five Tight Ends were gone by mid-round five.  That leaves the teams that drafted them in dire straits unless they get lucky with some sleeper picks.  For instance, Team 10 started with Davante Adams, Josh Allen, J.K. Dobbins, and George Kittle.  That is a lot of risks to take on.

There has been a ton of data showing that there is a gap in fantasy scoring after the top two or three at the position, and after that, the players are so close in points that you may as well wait till later to draft a guy you think will outperform his ADP.

Tom Brady, a guy who threw for 5316 yards and 43 touchdowns last season is somehow being drafted in round eight, behind guys like Kyler Murray and Trey Lance.  Tight Ends T.J. Hockenson, Zach Ertz (who should see an uptick in targets with DeAndre Hopkins suspended), and sleeper Cole Kmet is all available in round 10 or later.

It just goes to show that you can still find great value (and even a top 3 finisher) in later rounds.

Take Some Shots at Handcuffs or Rookies Later in Draft

Since I went Running Back heavy to start and didn’t have a great receiving corps, I decided to start targeting some handcuffs or rookies in rounds 8-12.  A lot of Wide Receivers and Running Backs in this range are either Rookies or they switched teams and now have some uncertainty that comes along with them.

For instance, I grabbed Los Angeles Rams’ Running Back Darrell Henderson in the 10 th round, figuring he could be a great handcuff to Cam Akers (who looked iffy in a few games after returning from a torn achilles).  Houston Rookie Dameon Pierce was available in Round 12 so I figured why not grab a guy who could push to start at some point this season.

Wide Receivers in this area are all guys who changed teams or are Rookies.  I’m talking about the Chiefs’ Receivers, Packers’ Receivers, and New Orleans’ Receivers.  All these guys are big question marks, so do some research and grab the one you think could be the top target in 2022.  If you guess right, you could have found the best values of the draft.

Round 13-15

This is where you grab your defense and a few deep sleepers to round out your draft.  Defense is always hard to draft since you never know how teams will perform until a few games in.  Again, do some research on the most improved defenses and maybe some Strength of Schedule data, and try and pick who you think could be a year-long start.  If you miss, it’s not a huge deal, just play the waiver wire week to week.

My only other piece of advice is to not draft a kicker at all (if you have kickers in your league).  Use that spot to draft a guy who you think may surge in the preseason and have a shot at starting.  Rookie Wide Receivers and handcuff Running Backs are great options for your final pick.  If it looks like they won’t pan out by the first week, drop them for a kicker or someone who actually did surprise in the preseason.

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