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[Go PRO]( | [Rate My Team](=) [Unsubscribe]( | [Sign Up]() [Footballguys.com](=)Special Limited-Time Offer From Footballguys --------------------------------------------------------------- [Footballguys Players Championship]() Sponsored by [The 2022 Footballguys Players Championship - Labor Day Weekend Draft-A-Thon]() [Enter Now For Your Chance At The $500,000 Grand Prize]() [The 2022 Footballguys Players Championship]() features a $500,000 grand prize, a $150,000 runner-up prize, and a $4,395,750 fully-guaranteed total prize pool. Teams are $350 each or -- our best value -- $1,000 for a three-pack. Only 15,000 teams are available, so don't miss out. [Sign Up Now]() --------------------------------------------------------------- The Footballguys Players Championship Draft-A-Thon Is Underway! Are you drafting this weekend? If not, would you like to be? We're two days into our annual FPC Labor Day Weekend Draft-A-Thon with two days remaining. Online drafts begin hourly as they fill throughout this long weekend and we're drafting all day long on Labor Day Monday, too. And we're donating $50 to charity for each draft completed through Monday night. This year's charity is the [Knoxville Dream Center](, serving the underserved folks here in Knoxville, Tennessee. The winning team will receive a Grand Prize of $500,000. The Runner-Up gets $150,000 and the fully-guaranteed total prize pool exceeds $4.3 million. Entry fees are $350 per team or three teams for $1,000. The contest is capped at 15,000 teams with fewer than 2,500 teams left. Come join us. [Join Now](=) Peace, J PS: We always want to bring you value at Footballguys, so here’s a sample of the type of content we deliver to our subscribers every week. Our Dave Kluge has participated in more than 500 drafts this offseason and he's packaged up some practical draft tips he's gained from experience. --------------------------------------------------------------- [What I Learned From 500 Fantasy Football Drafts]( by Dave Kluge Exclusive to Footballguys.com --------------------------------------------------------------- If you follow me on Twitter or have seen me on the Footballguys Best Ball Show, you know that I love drafting. It's my favorite part about fantasy football. I have logged over 500 drafts already this offseason. While it's important to be fluid in your draft strategies and let the board come to you, here are some of the biggest takeaways I've learned regarding player values heading into the 2022 fantasy football season. The Top 5 In the first round, there’s a very clear-cut top-five. You can shuffle these players around in any order you feel comfortable, but here is how I am drafting them. - [Christian McCaffrey](=) - [Jonathan Taylor]( - [Justin Jefferson](=) - [Cooper Kupp]() - [Ja'Marr Chase](=) If I'm picking inside the top-five, I'm not taking anyone outside of these players. If I'm picking between1.06-1.08, I'm hoping that one slides to me. Now the Draft Starts In my opinion, the draft really starts once those five are off the board. Like with the top five, there's a pretty obvious list of guys to target in the next tier, and I'll mix up who I take here. All of these players have the potential to be No. 1 at their position but carry a bit more risk than the tier ahead. Picking players in this tier comes entirely down to personal preference. - [Austin Ekeler](=) - [Dalvin Cook]() - [Travis Kelce]( - [Stefon Diggs]( The Back of Round 1 This year, for whatever reason, running back values are sliding. I prefer double-tapping running backs if I’m picking near the end of the first round. Anchoring a team with two of these running backs is a safe bet. If both hit, you're set up to dominate your league. And if one gets injured or busts, you've got another option. All of these running backs have some risk associated with their value, be it age, injury history, legal problems, or workload uncertainty. But the ceilings for each of these backs are sky-high. - [Joe Mixon]( - [D'Andre Swift](=) - [Saquon Barkley]() - [Aaron Jones]() - [Alvin Kamara]( - [Leonard Fournette]() - [Derrick Henry](=) - [Najee Harris]( Back to Wide Receivers You may have noticed that I've glossed over quite a few wide receivers. While I am happy to draft Jefferson, Kupp, Chase, or Diggs in Round 1, this tier of receivers doesn't seem to be exceptionally better than the guys you can get in the next round. I find myself passing on these wide receivers unless they slide well past ADP. - [Davante Adams](=) - [Deebo Samuel]( - [CeeDee Lamb]() - [Mike Evans](=) - [Tyreek Hill]() Their values are fair, and there's no shame in drafting them. I simply prefer the running backs and tight ends available in Round 2 more. Targeting Tight Ends About halfway through Round 2, I have my eyes set on two primary targets. - [Mark Andrews]( - [Kyle Pitts](=) These young tight ends are in the same tier as Kelce for me and can be had nearly 20 picks later in your draft. Lock in a massive positional advantage by taking guys with TE1 firmly in their range of outcomes. Consolation Wide Receivers However, if you're unable to get Andrews or Pitts there, I've got a few players who I am more than happy to draft as consolation prizes. - [A.J. Brown](=) - [Michael Pittman Jr]( - [Tee Higgins]() I don’t see a huge gap between these receivers and those who I faded in Round 2. Knowing that these guys will be available in the third round of your drafts makes it much easier to pass on the receivers earlier. Nearing the Dead Zone BEWARE! WE ARE NOW APPROACHING THE RUNNING BACK DEAD ZONE! But guess what? There are still some decent values here: - [Travis Etienne]() - [Breece Hall]() - [Ezekiel Elliott]( - [J.K. Dobbins]( - [David Montgomery](=) - [Josh Jacobs]() I don't advise reaching for these running backs, but I'm happy to draft them at cost to add depth to my running back room. But what you should be doing in these rounds is loading up on high-upside wide receivers. Smashing Wide Receivers These are my primary targets in the next few rounds: - [D.J. Moore](=) - [Courtland Sutton](=) - [Allen Robinson]() - [Marquise Brown]() - [Diontae Johnson]( - [Rashod Bateman]() - [Chris Godwin]( - [Michael Thomas]() - [DK Metcalf](=) - [Darnell Mooney]() - [Allen Lazard]( - [Brandon Aiyuk](=) - [Drake London]( Seemingly every year, this area of the draft produces WR1. - 2021: [Deebo Samuel]( and [Cooper Kupp]() drafted in Rounds 4-7 - 2020: [Calvin Ridley](=) and [Stefon Diggs]( drafted in Rounds 4-7 There are plenty of high-ceiling wide receivers this year in Rounds 4-7. If you started with two running backs and an elite tight end, these rounds are where you should load up on receivers. Top-End Quarterbacks Although I would never advise reaching for a quarterback, but there’s a clear top-six this year: - [Josh Allen](=) - [Lamar Jackson](=) - [Justin Herbert]() - [Patrick Mahomes II]( - [Jalen Hurts]() - [Kyler Murray]( These guys projected pretty similarly, and I’ll often draft the last one standing in Round 6 or 7. Yes, Allen is coming off back-to-back years as the QB1 and is the most likely to finish there this year. But passing up on the available values at other positions for [Josh Allen](=) feels like a bad move this year when you can get Murray or Hurts nearly four rounds later. Think about it this way: Would you rather have [Michael Pittman Jr]( and [Kyler Murray]( or [Josh Allen](=) and [DeVonta Smith](=)? That's the type of value you're passing up on to draft Allen this year. Rather than starting a quarterback run, wait for someone else to pull the trigger and try to get one of the quarterbacks in this tier who slides. High-End Depth Wide Receivers Even if you draft a quarterback from this tier, there are still some wide receivers with immense upside going in the rounds shortly after. I'm comfortable drafting these guys as my WR4 or WR5. - [Amari Cooper]( - [DeVonta Smith](=) - [Christian Kirk]() - [Kadarius Toney]() - [Skyy Moore](=) - [Treylon Burks](=) - [Tyler Lockett](=) High-End Depth Running Backs Once I have stockpiled four or five mid-round receivers, I turn my sights back to running back. At this point, we're clear of the dead zone. These aren’t running backs who have any sort of guaranteed workload. We’re looking at handcuffs and satellite backs. But by now, you should have two strong running backs, a slew of high-upside wide receivers, and an elite tight end and quarterback. You're not looking for running backs who have any stand-alone value here. You're drafting guys who could stumble into larger roles if their backfield-mate gets injured. Other backs in this range profile to be pass-catchers, who can give you weekly flex appeal in PPR leagues. I find myself gravitating towards these backs: - [Damien Harris](=) - [Rhamondre Stevenson](=) - [Tony Pollard]( - [Chase Edmonds](=) - [Nyheim Hines]( - [Kenneth Gainwell](=) - [Khalil Herbert]() - [Dameon Pierce](=) - [Rashaad Penny](=) - [Kareem Hunt]() - [Alexander Mattison]( - [James Cook](=) - [Darrell Henderson]() - [Rachaad White](=) - [James Robinson]() And if you didn’t get an elite tight end or quarterback early, there is still plenty of value to be had in these later rounds. Non-Elite Quarterbacks Favorite mid-to-late-round quarterbacks: - [Dak Prescott]( - [Aaron Rodgers](=) - [Derek Carr](=) - [Justin Fields](=) - [Trevor Lawrence]( - [Jameis Winston]() - [Daniel Jones]( - [Davis Mills]() High-End Depth Tight Ends Favorite mid-to-late-round tight ends: - [Zach Ertz]( - [Dawson Knox]() - [Cole Kmet]( - [David Njoku]() - [Gerald Everett]() - [Evan Engram]() - [Hayden Hurst]( Late-Round Picks From here on, you’re on your own. Filling in the final few picks has a lot to do with how you started your draft. If you have a weakness at a specific position, add depth with your last few picks in the hopes that extra dart throws will end up hitting a bullseye. When deciding between a late-round running back and wide receiver, I'll typically lean towards running backs. The volatility of the position makes it more likely that they can find a path to a significant workload. If I landed a top-three tight end or top-six quarterback, I will forgo drafting a backup and stream the position during byes or injuries. There’s no foolproof plan to win your fantasy league, but this strategy has helped me build some of my strongest rosters this offseason. Best of luck, and happy drafting! [Joe Bryant - Guide - Footballguys.com](=) Thank you for subscribing to our Footballguys Daily Update Email! You're subscribed as {EMAIL} To unsubscribe, click [here](. * Sportsguys * 118 N. Peters Rd., Suite 208 * Knoxville[,]( TN 37923 *