You'll hear plenty of strategies in the coming weeks regarding how you should construct your team but regardless of the direction you go, understanding the general layout of a given fantasy draft is imperative when it comes to your decision-making. Using the NFFC's handy ADP tool, I took a look at the top-200 players and broke down positions taken through the first 10 rounds of a 12-team, PPR league. Here's the results:
| Round | RB | WR | TE | QB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| 7 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| 8 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 10 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
It's a bit startling to see that of the 120 players selected in the first 10 rounds, 76 percent of the players are either RB or WR. Specifically in the first five rounds, 53 of the 60 players selected come from those two positions. The final RB selected in the first 10 rounds according to the ADP would be possible third-stringer, Ty Montgomery, while current free agent Dez Bryant represents the last WR taken in this crop of players. In other words, there's not much left at either position by this point.
The zero-RB strategy has gained prominence in recent years and for good reason too, given all the recent high profile injuries in past seasons. However disciples of the philosophy will have to take a hard look at the strategy this year, as 30 of the 43 RBs taken in the first 10 rounds go off the board by Round 5. There's two ways to look at that figure. Either A) the market has identified the top-heavy nature of the RB position and has focused their attention accordingly or B) fantasy players have recognized the immense amount of depth at WR this season and have taken that into consideration when drafting. Of course, both facts could be true, but regardless, the data suggests RB will likely be heavy early on in your draft.
The other obvious point is that quarterback appears to be a position which you can wait to draft on. I don't mean to keep laboring on about this, as I went over the logistics in detail during last week's Overpriced ADP conversation, but the numbers make it all the more obvious. Especially given how quickly RB/WR seem to go within the first 10 rounds, wasting a top-five pick on a QB who will post a marginally higher point total than one taken in the later rounds means you'd be forfeiting a better chance at acquiring a dependable skill position player with that pick.