Joey Ikez 
Pick #6 – 2QB – 6RB – 8WR – 4TE
First 4 rounds: Bijan Robinson, Jaylen Waddle, Lamar Jackson, Drake London
With my first pick, I decided to go with Bijan Mustard. Generally, I take a WR or Travis Kelce with the #6 selection. My plan was to go Hero RB and surround Bijan with elite WRs, QBs, and maybe even TE. When doing 150 entries in these huge fields of Best Ball tournaments, you must make some ‘unique’ builds. In round 2 I went with who I thought was the best WR on the board with Jaylen Waddle. Chris Olave was the other WR available that I am high on, but I have Waddle ranked slightly ahead. In round 3 the top three players in my queue were Lamar, Rhamondre, and Keenan. I decided to go elite QB and take Lamar. The Ravens’ offense should really open up under their new OC Todd Monken. Armed with the best WR room that Lamar has ever had in his career, he can put up a career-best season. The Dolphins play the Ravens in Week 17, and last year’s matchup between the two teams provided fireworks and fantasy galore in a 42-38 Dolphins victory. Having both Lamar and Waddle through four rounds already makes for an excellent Week 17 game stack. In Round 4 I took Drake London. Looking back, I kind of regret this pick and I believe this is a mistake. London, Kirk, and DJ Moore were the top players in my queue. At the time I remember looking back at my exposure rate (the % of teams I have London) being low on London. But to fit this build, I think DJ Moore (Bears play the Falcons in Week 17) makes A LOT more sense.
Rounds 5 thru 8: Mike Williams, Justin Herbert, Michael Pittman, Quentin Johnston
Here are the following ADPs (average draft position) vs. the Pick I selected them:
Mike Williams: ADP – 40, Pick – 54
Justin Herbert: ADP – 51, Pick – 67
Michael Pittman: ADP – 57, Pick – 78
Quentin Johnston: ADP – 79, Pick – 91
Holy Valuetown Batman. Getting all 4 of these players at least a round later than their ADP suggests, reflects a few teams drafting sub-optimally. After taking Mike Williams 14 picks later than his ADP suggests, I did not expect that his QB would last until Round 6. But I was pleasantly surprised when teen heartthrob Justin Herbert falls to Round 6. I never would have taken him if I did not already have one of his WRs, as I already had an elite QB. But I thought the value was too good to pass up. At this point, my QB room is done. I am not opening the QB tab, even if there is a fire (bonus points for Step Brothers reference). In Rounds 7 and 8 I grabbed two more WRs past ADP, including another Chargers pass catcher to pair with Herbert.
Rounds 9 thru 12: Zay Flowers, Samaje Perine, Khalil Herbert, Greg Dulcich
In round 9 I selected Zay Flowers with Rashod Bateman still available. I feel like you can make a case for either. Bateman has tended to be injury prone in his short NFL career, but he has a first-round pedigree like Flowers. I am taking the chance that Flowers blows up towards the end of the season, as I expect Ravens 2 WR sets to open with OBJ and Bateman. Historically the data shows that as the season progresses rookies’ average fantasy points increases as veterans’ average points decreases. I am making the bet that Flowers is peaking towards the end of the regular season, when fantasy production matters most. I add some Week 17 correlation by taking two Broncos (they play the Chargers) with Perine and Dulcich, and one Chicago Bear (they play the Falcons) with Khalil Herbert. I thought long and hard about taking Dolphins’ dynamic RB Devon Achane when I took Perine. I wound up siding with Perine because I believe he will be Denver’s Week 1 starter. And as my RB2 I needed more of a “sure thing”. I do believe that if the Dolphins do not sign an RB in free agency, like Dalvin Cook or Kareem Hunt, Devon Achane will be their starter by mid-season. I am sure in August there will be a lot more clarity, but I am drafting in June.
Rounds 13 thru 16: Cole Kmet, Roschon Johnson, Tyjae Spears, Marvin Mims Jr.
Generally, I do not handcuff RBs in Best Ball. It is much more common and effective in season-long formats. However, some best ball builds call for handcuffing. I believe this is one of those builds. I thought taking another Bears RB would provide some insurance in the event of a Herbert injury, so I selected rookie Roschon Johnson. At this point in the draft, I thought I was very solid at the other positions, I can take a possible ‘wasted’ pick by handcuffing Khalil. I added more Week 17 correlation by selecting Bears TE Kmet and Denver rookie WR Marvin Mims.
Rounds 17 thru 20: Isiah Likely, Trey McBride, Mecole Hardman, Trayveon Williams
Likely gives me a second Ravens pass catcher, and he showed what he can do last season in the event of a Mark Andrews injury. I do suspect the Ravens to deploy some two Tight End sets, but I am not expecting Likely to crack my weekly lineup often. This is a high-risk high-reward pick. Drafting only 2 QBs affords me the luxury of drafting 4 TEs with this build, as I round out my TE room a round later with the selection of Trey McBride. With my TE and QB rooms complete, I use my last two selections on an RB and a WR. Hardman and Trayveon do not provide any team stacks or correlation, but they were my highest-rated players at their position.
Draft Takeaways:
Let the draft come to you. Go in with a plan and be ready to adjust accordingly. No way did I think I would be able to scoop up all the ADP value, and premier secondary stack, that fell into my lap in rounds 5 thru 8. Some teams have Herbert to Mike Williams as their primary stack. This team has it as its’ secondary. I was able to correlate three Week 17 games, without going out of my way to do so. I think Denver WR Mims Jr. needs an injury or a trade to make an immediate impact, but he is a nice late-round target for anyone drafting Russel Wilson or Chargers players. After drafting Bijan I was able to grab three Bears players as an additional Week 17 correlation play. I do believe that taking Drake London was a mistake and just need to learn from it and move on. This is one of my favorite teams drafted so far this summer. If I can get a weekly RB2 production alongside Bijan, I feel very good about this team’s chances of moving on to Round 2 in Week 15.
Week 17 Correlation:
Ravens vs Dolphins: Lamar-Flowers-Likely-Waddle
Chargers vs Broncos: J. Herbert-Williams-Johnston-Perine-Dulcich-Mims Jr.
Falcons vs Bears: Bijan-London-K. Herbert-Roschon-Kmet
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