As I mentioned last week on Colton and the WolfMan on Sirius XM Radio, my favorite game on Head2Head Sports is The Draft. I love the format, the scoring, and the payouts, including the $10,000 grand prize. Mostly, though, I just love the drafts. Head2Head does a great job of making their leagues fun and unique during the season, but I have been looking forward to my Head2Head draft for well over a month now.
Head2Head has been running superflex leagues since before they were cool, and FantasyAlarm has been ahead of the curve with superflex and two-quarterback content. For more thoughts on superflex leagues, check out Dan Malin’s How to Draft in Superflex Leagues as well as Howard Bender’s recap of his SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio Host League Draft.
My personal favorite from the site, however, is Rick Wolf’s FLEX Draft recap. Rick basically had what I would consider to be the perfect draft for a two-quarterback league, grabbing three running backs and two wide receivers in the first five rounds before grabbing a top-10 quarterback in the sixth round. The then grabbed two solid starters with upside in rounds 10-11. I didn’t agree with all of his picks—I wouldn’t be caught dead with Jordan Howard , Alex Collins or LeGarrette Blount on any of my teams—but I loved his other picks and his overall strategy.
With that in mind, I’d like to offer my own thoughts heading into my Head2Head drafts. These strategy considerations are specific to Head2Head’s rules and scoring, but I believe they can help you in any superflex or two-quarterback draft. Here are my five strategy tips for Head2Head drafts.
- Draft a Running Back in the First Round, and Probably the Second, too.
There are, of course, a few of exceptions. Antonio Brown , Julio Jones and DeAndre Hopkins are all worthy first round picks, even in a league that only starts two wide receivers. That being said, if I get one or two of the top 12 running backs I feel I have a huge advantage at that position, and I will be just fine elsewhere. After my twelfth runner is off the board (Joe Mixon , as of right now), I will probably wait a bit at the position, filling in with high-floor pass-catchers and high-ceiling players possibly on the wrong side of a timeshare.
- Target the same quarterbacks you usually do, just earlier.
Unless I’m in a wise guy league where everyone waits on quarterback, the first guy I have a legit chance of drafting in a one-quarterback league is Cam Newton . I probably won’t get him, but if he’s the next quarterback on my board when my pick comes up, he is a legit target. I am more likely to get Cam in two-quarterback drafts, but again, I’m not reaching for him. I will be happy if I get him but content if I don’t.
After Cam comes off the board, I usually try to get whoever falls out of Matt Ryan , Philip Rivers , Matthew Stafford and Kirk Cousins . In a two-quarterback league, I think it is even more important to get one of those guys. They are as safe as can be and with the possible exception of Stafford, they all have significant upside as well.
If I miss on one of those four quarterbacks in a one-quarterback league, I usually wind up with Marcus Mariota and/or Derek Carr . In the case of a two-quarterback league, I want Mariota or Carr as my QB2. In general, I’m fine being one of the last teams to draft a QB1 but I will be one of the first teams to draft a QB2.
When it comes time to draft a QB3,my targets are Sam Bradford , Case Keenum , Andy Dalton or Josh Rosen . Sam Bradford should be good as long as he is healthy, and I think Josh Rosen is the best rookie QB the moment Bradford gets hurt. Case Keenum has good weapons and a safe job, which also goes for Andy Dalton . Keenum and Dalton are probably just average NFL quarterbacks, but we have seen both of them luck into good fantasy seasons in the past.
- Wide receiver can wait. And wait. And wait.
If I’m being honest, I don’t love that Head2Head draft leagues only start two wide receivers. I don’t mind two-WR leagues with a traditional flex, but in a superflex format, you will almost never start more than two receivers. I believe receiver is awfully flat from 22-43, so if I have a tough decision to make in the middle rounds, I probably won’t take a receiver. I like Robert Woods and Sammy Watkins quite a bit this year, but if I don’t get them, I will probably be just fine with Pierre Garcon or Jordy Nelson later on. Even in the later rounds, there are more high-upside plays at wide receiver I like than at running back or tight end.
- Don’t reach for a tight end.
This is kind of like the quarterback rule for me. I usually don’t reach for a tight end in drafts, but in Head2Head drafts, I am even less likely to reach. Even if someone like Delanie Walker falls, I will still be reticent to take him.
In a two-quarterback league, I just think the opportunity cost of drafting Rob Gronkowski , Zach Ertz or even Kyle Rudolph is just too high. I wouldn’t want to pass on a starting quarterback for a tight end, and if I take two quarterbacks early, it is probably more important to chase upside and/or depth at running back or wide receiver than to draft a tight end.
One of the nice things about Head2Head’s Draft leagues is fewer teams will draft two tight ends since everyone is rostering at least two (probably three) quarterbacks. That means more opportunities to find help on the waiver wire if your late-round tight end starts slow or suffers an injury.
- Chase upside at every opportunity
I have a tendency to like safer players I feel are being overlooked, especially when it comes to drafting an RB2 or WR2. My fantasy teams are littered with guys like Lamar Miller , Kenyan Drake , Isiah Crowell, Emmanuel Sanders and Golden Tate . They may not be particularly exciting, but they have produced in the past, and I think the worries about their situations are overstated. In most of my leagues, I’m content with safe, boring guys in the mid rounds, and I will save the high-upside gambles for later on.
I am going to try very hard to fight that impulse in my Head2Head drafts. In fact, I have 10,000 reasons to be aggressive, b-e aggressive. I want to win my league as much as the next guy, but I also want to give myself a legit shot at the $10,000 grand prize.Golden Tate , Isiah Crowell and Lamar Miller probably aren’t getting it done, but if I follow the five rules above, I think I have a chance.