Fantasy Football Picks 2016: 2-Round Mock Draft and Strategy Breakdown

Fantasy football draft strategy is unlike anything else, and the emphasis should land on one word—fantasy.

In a real NFL draft, front offices around the league strategize for more than a year before grabbing the best player available at a position of need while thinking about upside more than anything else.

Even in some weird realm where actual NFL teams had to redraft the entire league, quarterbacks would take precedence over everyone else in the opening rounds, with front offices waiting to fill out the rest of the roster later.

That doesn’t apply to fantasy football draft strategy, however. To visualize this, here’s a look at a two-round sample mock draft for a 12-team standard league:

Quarterback is by far the easiest position to draft in fantasy football.

This year it’s perhaps easier than ever—Cam Newton and Aaron Rodgers should be the first players off the board at the spot. This would likely start in the third round because the position should fall further than ever.

Why? Newton scored 373 points last year. That sounds great, and he did lead the position, but 12 other QBs scored 272 or more. An owner in a 12-team league has plenty of time to secure a viable weekly starter. Among those names? Ryan Fitzpatrick, Kirk Cousins and Blake Bortles.

There’s no reason to give up value at another position with so many functional players at quarterback. Remember, too, owners can strike it big in the late rounds on an injury risk such as Tony Romo or take a gamble on a face in a new place such as Brock Osweiler.

Share Tweet Embed

Running back is where fantasy owners will make the most headway.

Of course, that means it’s also the most difficult position to dissect. Even casual fans of the game understand running backs continue to lose value by the year, not simply because of a bigger emphasis on the passing game but due to a growing committee …

continue reading in source www.bleacherreport.com