Fantasy Football Draft Guide: What To Do at Pick Seven?

It’s a simple concept, but many GMs ignore it. Randy Moss and Tom Brady were far and away the top scorers at their positions last year. If Brady were to repeat his production from last year, he would probably be a top-three pick easily, and you’d have a huge advantage over other teams each week.

Look at receiver. If you think Reggie Wayne, Braylon Edwards, Terrell Owens, and Moss are the top four by a wide margin, and the difference between Steve Smith, Marques Colston, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Roy Williams is minimal, wait and take value at other picks before going to receiver.

Houshmandzadeh, for instance, is listed 17th in Rotowire’s magazine. The Fantasy Guide’s magazine has him third. Jerricho Cotchery, on the other hand, is 18th and 36th in those two magazines, respectively.

Basically, there isn’t a whole lot of difference between many of the receivers, so there are a few ways to attack the middle rounds.

One way to do it is to grab some high-upside guys out of these receivers. Calvin and Andre Johnson have the potential to put up much bigger numbers than, say, Roddy White and Wes Welker.

My favorite way to do it is to make sure I get one of the top few tight ends. This is a very scarce position. Kellen Winslow, Antonio Gates, Jason Witten, and Tony Gonzalez are much better options to have at your disposal than Owen Daniels, Alge Crumpler, or Jeremy Shockey.

Once the top tight ends are gone (you can put Dallas Clark or Chris Cooley in that list, too), then wait a while on tight end. As good as Crumpler or Daniels can be, a guy who might not be drafted like Ben Utecht or Greg Olsen can potentially put up similar numbers.

It also depends on your running-back situation. If you’re not confident with your starters, draft a high-upside back like Jonathan Stewart, Kevin Smith, or Selvin Young.

It’s much better to have a guy that can potentially carry your team and be a starter than someone like Willie Parker or Fred Taylor, whom you won’t ever really want to start unless you really need consistent yards.

Remember, the bottom line in fantasy football is to get more points each week than your opponent. You don't necessarily need to go RB-RB to do that. Draft for value, and draft your starters first. Then, after the draft, try to get more quality.

Trade two-for-one or three-for-two and then grab someone out of the free-agent pool. You'll be happy you did at the end of the season.

So, Mackenzie, what do you plan on doing?

Great question!

If the five backs are gone, I’m going to try to grab Frank Gore, Marshawn Lynch, or Marion Barber III. I’m guessing Tom Brady goes sixth, and I hate taking a receiver round one, since I don’t think Moss will duplicate last season.

If Brady lasts to my pick, however, I don't see a way I can pass him up. If he can put up anywhere near the numbers he did last year, he's worth it. Daunte Culpepper was a first-round pick with Randy Moss for a year, why shouldn't Brady be? Plus, he has Wes Welker.

If I take Barber, whom I’m leaning towards at the moment, I will hope Gore, Lynch, Grant, or Portis will fall to me in round two, but I doubt it. Then I’ll take a look at the receivers available. I should be able to grab Braylon Edwards in round two, who should still be there.

If not, I’ll look at Wayne, Owens, Peyton Manning, Laurence Maroney, and Maurice Jones-Drew, and I’ll probably take the top receiver I can and fill one of my three spots there.

From this point, it’s hard to predict what will be there in round three, but I imagine at least one running back will slip through the cracks. Whether it’s Michael Turner, Darren McFadden, Brandon Jacobs, Willis McGahee, or Earnest Graham, someone should be there in round three. I think the mid-late round two and early round three running backs are very similar, so I’d prefer to wait the extra round and grab one now.

At round four, I’ll look to grab Brees, Romo, Anderson, or Palmer. This is a fair time for one of them to go, and there’s a clear drop off between them and the next tier. I’ll take the chance that someone there is available, and I doubt I am disappointed.

If I am, I’ll wait a while. Last year, I waited until round eight, then grabbed Ben Roethlisberger, Matt Hasselbeck, and Eli Manning. Between Big Ben and Hasselbeck, I had very good quarterback play last season, and because I waited, I was able to grab some talent.

In round five, I’ll look at the receivers available, and if I can steal a Houshmandzadeh, Colston, or Anquan Boldin in this spot, I’ll grab them and run. More likely, I’ll grab Antonio Gates, a high-upside receiver like Calvin Johnson, or a running back with potential like Matt Forte or Kevin Smith.

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