Fantasy Football Draft Diary: Waiting on QB, Picking WRs Early, and More

Welcome to the Draft Diary, where instead of just your typical "mock draft review," I'm giving you more like a live blog -- a look at the choices I had to make in real-time, what I was thinking, what my strategy was, how it shifted... all that fun stuff. 

And hey one quick programming note; if you're going to buy our FL+ package here (and you should), use code COACH and get 20% off. You'll be making me look good and you save some $$$ to spend on draft drinks. 

Let's jump in!

I was given the number two pick randomly. And obviously I am excited about having the number two pick. It's a wide receiver heavy type of type of deal, the Underdog draft. My strategy, believe it or not, was to go four wide receivers out of the gate — but at the number two pick, I have at my disposal Saquon Barkley and Bijan Robinson. And if you subscribe to the experts, there are only three tier one players, right? 

On the clock

And so the 1.01 is off the board (Ja'Marr Chase) and I can get Barkley or Robinson... but when you're talking about best ball, I'm just like...man, I have an opportunity to get almost any wide receiver that I want outside of Chase. So I'm going to take the gamble, right, and stick to my guns and go wide receiver here instead of going running back. So I'm going to draft Justin Jefferson. 

My strategy is to get wide receivers in all of the first four rounds. And as I'm looking, there are a lot of running backs that are going off the board now. There are some wide receivers, but there are a ton of running backs going, and a ton of wide receivers going, until we get back down to me over here in...

The second round

So I got Justin Jefferson as my first pick, and now I'm looking at the wide receivers and... you know... I could go tight end and get Tre McBride, a guy that we knoe got heavy amounts of targets in 2024. And we can see that the board has kind of opened up in a way that that leads me to believe that a lot of those elite level wide receivers, are gone. Somebody was able to do a Malik Nabers/Drake London stack, there's a Nico Collins/St. Brown stack... so some guys probably were thinking about going heavy wide receiver, as well. And so for myself and for whoever the Team 1 is with Chase, we're set here. 

So I'm going to go to my draft assistant, because that's what having a Tier 2 account is for. (code COACH!!) They tell me the top pick is Josh Jacobs. Then Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson -- now I'm normally all about getting elite level play from the quarterback, but again, I'm still trying to get four wide receivers. I think. 

I am. I'm going to stick to my strategy here, because I know I'm going to be able to come back with another wide receiver here in in three picks, right? I'm going to pick then Team 1 is going to pick twice, then I'm going to pick again. So I'm going to be able to get you two really good wide receivers on this turn. 

Tyreek Hill is here. I think it's a bounceback year for Hill, right? But I also know that Tee Higgins is going to get major love. Davante Adams is going to get major love. JSN, who knows? He should get major love. There are receivers here who should get a lot of love, but I'm going to stick to my guns. I'm going with Hill.

Aaand now Higgins is off the board. Team 1 took Higgins and JSN. They're going heavy wide receiver, as well. So I'm going heavy wide receiver, they're going heavy wide receiver. And it's set up for me to keep going heavy wide receiver here. Garrett Wilson's going to be the number one receiver with the Jets. Davante Adams might be the number two, but he's's going to be a number two with a bullet. I'm taking Adams. 

The draft board (I'm Team 2)

So now we're sitting back and watching how the board unfolds. Allen's off. Lamar Jackson is gone, and that's a shame, because that was a guy who, I was thinking, if he hung around that might be someone that I was going here. But (I know, I have said this a lot) I'm going to stick to my guns. DeVonta Smith is here. Zay Flowers is here. Courtland. Sutton is interesting, because Sutton got a ton of targets last year, and he he's probably due to get a ton of targets again this year. Who else are they going to throw to like that? AND they just gave him a boatload of money. We know that sometimes Smith can be hurt by the fact that his team will choose to run the ball more, right? And so does he get hurt with the targets? 

I'm going to use my draft assistant again. It says Jalen Hurts is the top pick. We know what Jalen Hurts can do, but I said I wanted to go four wide receivers. Kenneth Walker is still on the board. Alvin Kamara, Chuba Hubbard...  DeVonta Smith, his best ranking is 46 worst is 55. This assistant says the chances he's available. Next round is 99%. 

So I'm looking at this and I'm thinking, it's best ball. I want to make sure I have great dudes to go to. So I'm going to go with Sutton over Smith. He just got the money. 

The post-4WR world

I just got sniped for Jalen Hurts. 

Team 1 took him instead of going four wide receivers. But I've achieved my goal. I've got my four wide receivers out of the gate, so I now want to start to try to target running backs. I'm targeting Round 10 for a quarterback, so I'm going to try to stick to that strategy. I'm a little bit bummed that I wasn't able to get Hurts in round five, but he probably shouldn't have been there anyway. He should have probably been taken earlier. But those guys -- those quarterbacks that we all know are going to make the difference? They're gone: Allen and Jackson and Daniels and Hurts. They're all gone right now. 

More draft board

So again, I'm looking at running back now. We've got Alvin Kamara, Chuba Hubbard, who had a great season. James Conner is a guy who's just been consistent. You've got Swift, you have Henderson, RJ Harvey out there... Mixon, who's hurt. Aaron Jones, who is a target monster as a running back, along with Brian Robinson and Tyrone Tracy. So some intriguing guys. 

I'm gonna roll the dice. I'm gonna roll the dice on Alvin Kamara for another season. I think he still has a lot of juice to squeeze if he can stay healthy. But that's the case with all of these running backs, right? 

And now we see another run on receiver. Hubbard goes off the board, Ridley, Burrow, but we're seeing a lot of receivers go off. James Conner is gone, Henderson, Harvey, Mixon. Now there's a run on running backs; Swift and Johnson. So when it gets back to me, I'm sitting here with Aaron Jones, Isiah Pacheco, Tony Pollard, and Brian Robinson (who's a starter; I think we always have to make sure we're paying attention to the fact that there are starters still out there to be able to take advantage of). Jakobi Meyers is here, our "best available." If I put the running backs in here, Meyers is still the best available.

I don't really know why I'm going to go Aaron Jones here. I know his ability to catch the ball, even though I think Jones could get usurped by Mason in the near future.

But I've got Jones there.

The inner struggle

And now I come back around. Meyers is still up there, right? Jerry Jeudy is there, but we don't know what the quarterback situation is going to be like. And we got Brian Robinson still around. Pacheco, I don't know. They've got backs, right? They've got backs that they can take advantage of in KC. 

So I've got two running backs already. I've got four wide receivers. But I see value in Meyers right now, and I think that value is almost too much to pass up. So let me go ahead... 

Well, actually, you know what? I can't — because I have to make sure I get another quality back. And I'll tell you why. It's because in best ball, you have to have people to play, right? And so I'm looking at my running backs, Kamara and Jones, and I'm thinking I probably need another one. Let's go to the running backs. And I don't want to reach for a running back. Pacheco is there, but again, I don't know. Tony Pollard's there, but he's going to split time. Brian Robinson isn't really splitting any time. Jaylen Warren is splitting time. So I'm going to go Brian Robinson thinking he will have one of those kind of breakout years. 

We're seeing the run on those guys, Jeudy and Meyers and Kupp, and I don't feel bad about about losing out on any of these guys right now.

I've got three quality running backs

And I've got four quality wide receivers

I need tight ends and QBs, kickers, defenses, right? But again, best ball, I need to make sure that I'm good. So I'm looking at my draft assistant — Warren, Tyrone Tracy, who could be in a time split as well. 

Let's look over at our tight ends. Right now, Travis Kelce is still on the board, David Njoku, Mark Andrews. 

What round are we in right now? Yeah, Round 8, Mark Andrews wouldn't be a bad person to take, you know? Quality tight end that has an opportunity to finish as a type-A top tight end. I know that Travis Kelce is a target monster, but will he continue to be? We don't know who the quarterback is going to be for Njoku. Evan Engram, there's always health issues. I'm going to go Mark Andrews. He's got something to prove. And I think that there'll be out people out there trying to help him prove it. 

So I've got my tight end.

My QB strategy

I'm not at the place where I'm targeting quarterback — and just so you all know, because I want you all to know what I'm thinking as far as quarterbacks go — I'm thinking Round 10, and I'm keying in on three guys. Kyler Murray, Justin Fields, and Drake Maye. Those are the three that I'm looking at and going, "Yeah, I like what they they're going to be able to do with their feet, even more than just their arms." Although I think Kyler Murray gives probably the highest arm upside because he has weapons. 

But even then, I just like Justin Fields as a guy who is a weapon with his feet. But I like the fact that you can get Drake Maye and even Caleb Williams late. 

So right now I'm going to continue to try to build up what I have in the coffers. And if you notice, I don't have a bunch of dudes with all the same bye weeks. I've got two wide receivers with the same bye wee, but that's about it. Everyone else, different bye weeks — not that that always matters so much — but it does matter.

So we need more running backs, wide receivers and tight ends. And Tyrone Tracy is the top dude according to the draft assistant — outside of David Njoku, who, again, I just don't know what I'm getting out of Njoku right now. It's hard for me to to pick him when I don't know what he's going to be. I know that Tyrone Tracy is going to get his fair share of carries, but he might get snap-sniped for some goal-line carries. And so it's like, I'm in this weird space right here where I don't really know where I want to go, but our draft assistant, it's saying, hey, tight ends and running backs, those are are the way to go. So I'm going to get Tyrone Tracy and see where things go from there. 

Keon Coleman goes off. Justin Fields taken?!! Oh God, he went early. I was not expecting that. That's a bummer. I really thought I was going to be able to get him a little bit later. And so now this forces me to go up and check out my quarterbacks. There's Caleb Williams, Drake Maye is still on the board. Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert, Jordan Love — guys who have thrown the ball well in past, but like man, I just -- sadness overtook me as I realized I was sniped for my quarterback, because I was really on Justin Fields. Which actually reminds me to read this Renee Miller column from a couple years ago about how to stay cool when that happens. 

Caleb Williams has the most talented receiving corps; Prescott also has a really talented receiving group, but I just don't see Prescott giving me the rushing upside that I would hope to get — and this has me leaning Williams. 

Now what?

I just don't know if I want to pull that trigger right now. I've got four running backs. No wide receivers on the bench. So it wouldn't be wild to think about some wide receivers right here, but when I'm looking at this list, there's nobody that I feel like I absolutely have to take. There's nobody I'm like, "oh my God, I really have to take him right now.

But also I don't really see any other dudes as well, so if I had to go with one of these guys... is it Hollywood Brown? Let's go with the draft assistant and see what it says for wide receivers right here:

Christian Kirk and Luther Burden

See, the problem with those guys is they're not guys who are going to get heavy targets because they're on teams with legitimate other threats. We don't even know what Burden's role is going to be yet. Hollywood Brown should see some legitimate targets, but there's going to be a lot of receivers there. Marvin Mims is interesting because it's like, what can he do? What should he do there? I don't know if I want to pull the trigger on guys like that.

There are some tight ends here. Dallas Goedert? I need a second tight end. Jake Ferguson just got paid. Kyle Pitts is interesting because he's still a starter, right? And when you look at his 2024 fantasy numbers, he actually outscored all of these guys. You know what? I'm going to be the dude and I'm going in on Kyle Pitts again. 

I'm just probably not going to do it right now. 

I'm going to see if I can wait and get Pitts later on.

Out of these receivers, the guys who I think can really have an impact because they're going to get heavy amounts of targets, or at least more targets than some of the others? I think there's a legitimate plan for Hollywood Brown to be involved. And so I'm gonna go Hollywood right here.

The end game

Quentin Johnston is definitely going to be the the number two, right? 55 receptions for 711 yards, eight touchdowns -- that's good. He's a big body receiver. People always make fun of him, but those are solid numbers.  So I'm going to go with with Johnson. 

There's Drake Maye off there. Prescott's gone. Williams is gone. And so I probably waited one round too many to take my quarterback, and that's what you have to be afraid of if you wait one too many — now you're in the bargain basement for your for your quarterback. 

That was probably when I should have taken my quarterback and I didn't. And I'm kicking myself for that now, because now I'm down to guys that I'm not very sure about. 

HOWEVER — if CJ Stroud regains his form from two years ago. He's going to be a factor. Tua is there, if he's healthy, we know what he does. Matthew Stafford has two legitimate wide receivers again. What would he do? Michael Penix Jr. is going to be a full time starter this year. Bryce Young showed that he's on the ascent. But now I'm up against it. I waited too long. 

So again, let's go back up to these quarterbacks and who's got the the best upside and who has the best rushing upside of all of these dudes? Penix, we knows has the ability to run, but will he run? Geno Smith, he's a guy who's going to be dealing the ball around. Bryce Young? 

So now my I'm looking at this and I'm going, okay, who's gonna put up massive amounts of yards and possibly touchdowns? It has to be Matthew Stafford, if he's healthy, right? Tua, yeah. Matthew Stafford, yeah. And then I'm looking down here at Cam Ward at ADP 178 and man, I don't really need much else except a QB. Anthony Richardson is down there. 

Do I wait? 

I'm going to wait. 

I'm going to roll the dice now, because I have to put myself in a position where I don't have any other choice but to roll the dice and see what happens. I'm not going quarterback here.

I said I wanted to take Kyle Pitts. I think he has a chance for a bounceback. I'm going to take Kyle Pitts.

My late QBs

Let's start grabbing these quarterbacks. I'm going to roll the dice with Michael Penix Jr. 

I want to make sure that I have two quality quarterbacks, even though I waited...  So I'm going to check out another quarterback here. I'm not going to leave it until the end.

Penix has a bye in Week 5. I'm rolling the dice with upside and so I'm looking at Anthony Richardson as my upside guy. And I'm saying, if that doesn't work out for me, then I can drop back to one of these other dudes. 

Lessons learned as I build out my bench

Be careful about waiting too much early on — if you have a guy, it's better to be a round early than a round late. And I wasn't, and now I don't have the guy that I was looking for at QB. I had to pivot because I didn't get the guy that I really wanted because I waited too long. So you definitely don't want to do that. I want a bench player that I can grab and stuff away, just in case. And that's Jalen Milroe. If he gets out there, he's going to be somebody that I believe has a chance to be very Justin Fields-esque with it. 

Fantasy Life gave me a "B" overall

I feel good about the guys that I was able to bring in, the guys that I added their value.

Hopefully one of those quarterbacks has one of those massive breakout seasons that allows me to take advantage of it. I could see later in the year the Seahawks saying, hey, let's just see what Milroe has, and he could pay some heavy dividends for me. 

Good luck to you, I hope that helped, and HAVE FUN in your own drafts!