“Double Anchor RB” Best Ball Draft on Draft Kings

Pick #10 – 3QB – 5RB – 9WR – 3TE

First 4 Rounds: Bijan Robinson, Saquon Barkley, Christian Kirk, Mike Williams

Drafting towards the back end of the draft it is very common to go two WRs. AJ Brown, CeeDee Lamb, Davante Adams, and Garret Wilson are some WRs who are readily available. On DraftKings, going RB with your first two picks is more contrarian (because of PPR scoring). But sitting with the 10^th pick, that’s exactly what I decided to do. I decided to go with a “double anchor RB” build with Bijan Robinson and Saquon Barkley. I believe both backs will be three-down workhorses who are both utilized in the passing game. In today’s NFL three down backs are unicorns. Most unicorns are all gone by the end of round 4 in best ball drafts. Kirk and Mike Williams were my highest-ranked WRs available, and they also leave me with two potential QB pairings (Herbert or Lawrence) at my next pick. After going RB-RB I plan on not taking a RB for quite a while. If my team is going to hit big, it will be due to monster seasons from Bijan Mustard (should I trademark this?) and Saquon.

Rounds 5 thru 8: George Kittle, Trevor Lawrence, Jahan Dotson, Brandin Cooks

With Justin Herbert getting selected three picks before me, I had my eyes set on Lawrence. I looked at the two teams drafting behind me and realized one had already taken a QB. By the looks of the other team’s build (Cowboys and Vikings), he had zero correlation with Trevor Lawrence, and would likely not select him. So, I rolled the dice and took an elite TE, Kittle, and hoped Lawrence got back to me, which he did (team 12 did wind up taking Dak in Round 7). When drafting with the 2^nd, 3^rd, 10^th, and 11^th picks, looking at the teams drafting behind you is VERY important. You can sometimes predict who they are going to draft and who they are not going to draft. Use this acquired skill to your advantage. With only two WRs through six rounds, I planned to go heavy on WR for the middle part of this draft. Washington WR Jahan Dotson was my next selection. Bringing over OC Eric Bieniemy from Kansas City, I consider Washington to be a much-improved offense from last season. Dotson also has a Week 17 correlation with George Kittle. Brandin Cooks was another highly ranked WR on my board. Although Cooks was a bit of a disappointment last year playing with the downtrodden Houston Texans, I expect him to be reinvigorated playing on a playoff-caliber team. He had a lot of excellent seasons with the Rams and Patriots. With the departure of Dalton Schultz, and the Cowboys running a lot of 3 WR sets, I think Cooks might be great value in Round 8.

Rounds 9 through 12: Antonio Gibson, Elijah Moore, Tyler Boyd, Nico Collins

Antonio Gibson adds to my Week 17 correlation (SF-Wash) and provides me with a pass-catching RB3. When I was looking at this tier of RBs, some still on the board were Rashard Penny, Jerrick McKinnon, Jamaal Williams, and Damien Harris. None of these other RBs were correlated with my team. When deciding which player to draft, Week 17 correlation and your team stacks are important “tiebreakers”. They also serve as a great way to diversify your best ball portfolio. I jumped on Elijah Moore 9 picks ahead of ADP. The word out of the Browns’ camp has been VERY positive regarding Moore. He has shown flashes of being an elite WR when healthy and someone not named Zach Wilson is throwing him the ball. I’m just crossing my fingers that DeAndre Hopkins does not sign with Cleveland, as this will hurt his value. Tyler Boyd (12 picks past ADP) and Nico Collins (11 picks past ADP) provided great value, as I deepened my WR room.

Rounds 13 through 16: Gerald Everett, Chubba Hubbard, Brock Purdy, Tyjae Spears

Gerald Everett added to my Chargers bet (paired with Mike Williams) and Chubba Hubbard is a backup RB I am high on this year. The Panthers play the Jaguars in Week 17, so he is also correlated. I then took Brock Purdy intending to take Sam Howell as my next pick. Purdy was higher up on the rankings and ADP, so I thought I would be able to scoop both. I was wrong! One of the two teams drafting behind me selected Howell 38 picks ahead of ADP and with no other Washington players on his roster! It would have been OK if I took Howell WAY ahead of ADP because I already had Dotson and Gibson. But sometimes teams do funky things, and you just must collect yourself and adjust accordingly. I advise you to always have a backup plan, i.e., two players in your queue. In fast drafts, you only have 30 seconds per pick. Be prepared for worst-case scenarios. Even though I was very sure I was going to get Howell, when he fell off the board, I was able to pivot quickly and select a rookie RB who correlates with my Texans’ selections. The Titans play the Texans twice (Week 15 & 17) during the best ball playoffs, and if anything happens to Derrick Henry, I believe the Titans will give Tyjae Spears the starting job. After taking Spears as my RB5, I now plan to be done at RB.

Rounds 17 through 20: Desmond Ridder, Robert Woods, Logan Thomas, Mack Hollins

Because I only had 2 QBs, and Brock Purdy is somewhat of an injury risk, I decided to take Ridder as my QB3. He correlates with Bijan, and I planned on taking an Atlanta pass catcher with one of my last three picks, which I did in the last round by grabbing Mack Hollins. I already had Nico Collins, so I added to my Texans bet with Robert Woods. I also added to my Washington bet by grabbing Logan Thomas as my TE3. A very common mistake I see in beginner drafters is taking uncorrelated players with your last few picks. There are no wasted picks. I can not stress this enough.

Post Draft reflection:

Overall, I think this team is solid. I stacked my 3 QBs and provided some correlation if my team does make it to Week 17. I invested in offenses that I am high on for this upcoming season. The most I reached on any early and middle-round selection was Elijah Moore. I was confident that he would not make it back to me, so I had to take him in Round 10 if I wanted him. I think as the offseason progresses and the relationship grows between him and Deshaun, I would not be surprised if he moved up draft boards. With an elite OL and playmakers on offense, Elijah should have a breakout season. My draft capital is well spent and spread out amongst the four positions. With DraftKings being 20 rounds, I have several builds of 3 QBs and TEs. Unless I get 2 elite QBs, I am almost always taking 3. I would have liked Howell since I am high on Washington’s offense, but I adjusted accordingly and double-downed on Atlanta’s offense by taking Ridder and their projected #2 WR Mack Hollins.

Team Stacks:

Atlanta: Ridder-Bijan-Hollins

Jaguars: Lawrence-Kirk

49ers: Purdy-Kittle

Washington: Dotson-Gibson-Logan Thomas

Chargers: Mike Williams-Everett

Texans: Nico-Woods

Week 17 Correlation:

Panthers @ Jaguars: Lawrence-Kirk-Hubbard

Titans @ Texans: Woods-Nico-Spears

49ers @ Commanders: Purdy-Kittle-Dotson-Logan Thomas-Gibson

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