With NFL training camps open and in full-swing, your fantasy football draft prep should be kicking into another gear. The Fantasy Alarm fantasy football player rankings and Ultimate Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet are routinely being updated, the fantasy football ADP risers and fallers are becoming more noticeable and all of our content in the FREE fantasy football draft guide has been completed and published. We also have new articles outlining our fantasy football tools, draft strategies, stats you need to know for the 2022 NFL season and a brand-new Training Camp Reports series that comes out every morning, Monday through Friday. With all of that information at your fingertips, you should be dominating your best ball fantasy football drafts while you get ready for your home league drafts.

Jim Bowden and I have continued our Best Ball Fridays on the Fantasy Alarm Show on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio and the level of competition has been first-rate. Our friends over at RT Sports have been fantastic hosts and if you haven’t yet had the chance to participate, just tune into the show as we give away draft spots daily.  Last week was another killer draft – a 10-team Draft Masters best ball draft which is a standalone draft where first and second place get paid out. No overall grand prize for this one, but that’s okay, especially because I still haven’t done a draft with my old-school strategy.

 

 

Best Ball Fantasy Football Draft – July 29, 2022

  • Starting Rosters: QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, TE, Flex (RB/WR/TE), K, D/ST
  • Scoring: Full-point PPR

The Draft Strategy

Plain and simple – running backs early, top-tier TE early. However, one slight alteration is that I am going to wait on the quarterback position and grab a couple of wide receivers a little earlier than I would normally. Waiting on the QB allows me to do it. Also, picking on the wheel, I will likely pair up my picks somehow and I will not be afraid to reach for someone a round or two if I have to.

Quarterbacks

Kirk Cousins, MIN – Pick 11.12

It truly is amazing how so many people love to hate on Cousins. Is he someone I want to build my NFL team around? No. But the guy is more than capable of throwing for more than 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns, as evidenced by his stats in three of his last four seasons. Now he gets a new pass-happy coach in Kevin O’Connell who is installing a pass-heavy scheme? Yes please. How the touchdown passes prop for Cousins is only at 31.5 is beyond me. I’m smashing the over on that one.

Trevor Lawrence, JAC – Pick 12.01

I’ve said it before and I will say it again – throw away everything that happened in Jacksonville last year. Urban Meyer was an absolute joke and he ruined the 2021 season for the Jaguars and their fans. While I’m not a huge Doug Pederson guy, at least I know he is a legitimate NFL coach who is capable of designing a legitimate offensive scheme. The short, high-percentage passes, the RPO work and all the added weapons at Lawrence’s disposal has me feeling a lot more comfortable with him as my QB2 in a best ball league. I’m sure there will be some moments of struggle early on, but once this team finds its groove, they should be able to put up some points.

 

 

Running Backs

Joe Mixon, CIN – Pick 1.12

Yes, I’m very heavy on shares of Mixon this year. Why? Because I love what he brings to the table and I love how head coach Zac Taylor likes to use the pass to set up the run. Joe Burrow can hook up with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins all day, but once they get a lead, they’re running hard to kill the clock and aggravate their opponents. Obviously, they will also be handing the ball off to him early as well to help set up play-action. I also like the fact that Taylor made it a point to ay they did not give Mixon enough work on third down last year and how he hopes to rectify that this season. Push those chips all-in, baby!

Javonte Williams, DEN – Pick 2.01

Another guy I’ve been banging the drum for this offseason, and last year as well. Williams is a stud and people who continuously gripe about last year’s split with Melvin Gordon and their fear of the same this year need to go and read my write-up of the Denver Broncos offensive scheme. Go ahead. Click it. I’ll be right here waiting for your return.

Travis Etienne, JAC – Pick 3.12

Having read the above section on Trevor Lawrence, this pick shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Yes, he’s coming back from a torn ACL and that is not easy to do. But the injury happened early enough last year that Etienne is back in camp and already dazzling those heat-stroke victims they call beat writers. The rotation of running backs will help keep the legs fresh and the outside zone running will help Etienne do what so many fantasy owners were hoping to see last year.

Devin Singletary, BUF – Pick 7.12

We know the Bills are all about the pass, but we did see them eventually come around and incorporate Singletary much more in the offense. Will that happen this year? He’ll see a solid workload, but we all know the presence of rookie James Cook is giving many fantasy owners pause. Thankfully, this is a best ball draft and I’m on the wheel, so…

James Cook, BUF – Pick 8.01

Now I have the Bills backfield covered. The only thing standing in my way is Josh Allen’s propensity to hog all the glory and poach the goal-line touchdown rushes. If Allen continues to be a selfish S.O.B. then these picks are just good. If he doesn’t. then these picks will be great.

 

 

Wide Receivers

Courtland Sutton, DEN – Pick 5.12

Despite my colleague Jim Bowden’s rants on how amazing Jerry Jeudy is, I firmly believe that Sutton is the clear-cut No. 1 receiver in Denver. He works across the middle, he can handle the sideline routes and he is also a deep threat to stretch the field and the defense. The loss of Tim Patrick probably affects Jeudy more as he will likely get pushed to the outside while KJ Hamler works out of the slot in three-receiver sets, so don’t worry that Sutton’s role will be altered in any way. Big fan here.

Brandin Cooks, HOU – Pick 6.01

Probably one of the most underrated fantasy receivers out there. Why? Because he plays for a crap team with a mediocre quarterback and people seem to just pass over him in drafts as if he’s the Angel of Death in Jerusalem going from house to house. He’s posted over 1,000 yards in six of his last seven seasons and has six or more touchdown catches in five of those seven years. You don’t get much more consistent than that, do you?

Drake London, ATL – Pick 9.12

He’s a rookie but he’s a rookie with great hands, great route-running ability and a VERY clear path to targets in this Atlanta offense. Where else is Marcus Mariota going to throw the ball? London or Kyle Pitts, that’s it. Looking forward to watching him blossom in a relatively weak NFC South.

Jarvis Landry, NO – Pick 10.01

If you caught my Top 10 Fantasy Football Sleepers article in the draft guide, you know my love for Landry runs deep. If you haven’t read it yet, you’ve got the link right in front of you. Click it and see!

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, KC – Pick 14.01

I expect him to be the deep threat on the outside for Patrick Mahomes, so if he can pop off with a long touchdown a few times this season, I feel like he makes for a nice guy to have as WR depth in a best ball format.

Tim Patrick, DEN – Pick 17.12

Clearly this draft took place before Patrick tore his ACL. He’s done for the season and this pick is dead.

DJ Chark, DET – Pick 18.01

While the rest of the world waits for Jameson Williams to return from his ACL surgery, I’ll grab Chark as the deep threat downfield for Jared Goff. Chark is a great route runner and has great hands. The biggest knock on him is health, but since you can’t predict injuries, I’ll just invest in the player’s skill-set and hope he goes off for a few games before he gets hurt.

 

 

Tight Ends

Darren Waller, LV – Pick 4.01

People can whine and cry all they want about Davante Adams stealing targets from Waller and Hunter Renfrow. Wahhhh wahhhh! Will Waller see one of those 14-target games this season? Probably not, but the passing attack is not going to force-feed targets to Adams the way Aaron Rodgers did in Green Bay, so don’t you worry. Waller has the skills and will still see enough targets to keep him listed as a top 5 tight end this season.

Irv Smith Jr., MIN – Pick 13.12

The thumb surgery he just had is a bit of a bummer, but Kevin O’Connell says he expects Big Irv to be ready in time for Week 1. If that’s the case, then I’m still in on drafting him late. We saw what O’Connell’s system did for Tyler Higbee and while that never vaulted him to the Kelce level, for the price we’re paying here, he’s going to pay dividends.

Kickers

Dustin Hopkins/James McCourt, LAC – Pick 19.12

Wil Lutz/John Parker Romo, NO – Pick 20.01

Defense/Special Teams

Indianapolis Colts – Pick 15.12

San Francisco 49ers – Pick 16.01

 

 

Related Articles: