Monday night was my keeper league draft and I stayed true to my draft strategy. Ultimately, I used MFL10 ADP data courtesy of rotoviz to build my draft board. I then focused on taking target players a round or two early, to ensure I did not lose them to sleeper-hunting league owners. This is how the draft played out (full results on the right):

Round 1: Allen Robinson, WR, JAC – Last year’s breakout performance (1,400 yards, 150+ targets, and 80 receptions) makes him a high floor, Bortles-proof WR. Add that he is only 22 and has the potential to be a long-time producer, Robinson is a keeper-candidate.

Round 2: Amari Cooper, WR, OAK – Finished his rookie year as a top-20 WR with over 1,000 receiving yards. Cooper is rumored to have become BFF with Derek Carr, which hopefully reinforces the rapport they already have with one another. Note, I encouraged the league owner to keep Cooper. 

Round 3: Devonta Freeman, RB, ATL – The league owner; against my advice, dropped Freeman in favor of Cam Newton. Going into the draft, I was expecting to go WR-WR-RB — hoping I could snag Jamaal Charles with that pick. Having Freeman — the top fantasy RB for 2015 — fall to the third round is insane. Stoked to grab him this late.

Round 4: Jeremy Maclin, WR, KC – Last season, Maclin carved out a nice role in KC under former HC Andy Reid posting performance just ahead of Amari Cooper. His situation in KC is stable, which limits his risk as a regression candidate for 2016.

Round 5: Melvin Gordon, RB, SD – I took Gordon early. If our draft occurred a week earlier, he would have fallen to the sixth or seventh round. However, I was concerned his 43-yard preseason TD reception would make him a target. I like Gordon because SD did not add any significant competition in the offseason, and they brought in a FB (Derek Watt who Gordon ran behind at Wisconsin).

Other Notable Picks:

• Tyler Lockett, WR, SEA (Round 7) – Yes, Lockett has the hype to be a breakout WR this season. But he also returns kicks — to the tune of over 1,200 yards last season — which can add serious value in our league this year.
• DeAndre Washington, RB, OAK (Round 10) – Potential to carve out a role behind Latavius Murray. Washington also performed well in his first preseason appearance with 75 all-purpose yards.
• Rishard Matthews, WR, TEN (Round 13) – This pick was a late-round instinct flier. The trading of Dorial Green-Beckham to Philadelphia eliminated a key barrier to Matthews’ success.