That's So Raven - Pianow's playoff draft sheet
There are plenty of NFL playoff contests out there. I play in two types of them, and today, I address one specific type — the draft-and-hold group.
The rankings below are aimed at leagues that draft once before the playoffs start, then ride with what you got. No trades, no pickups, no starting decisions. Anyone on a field counts.
The key to these types of leagues is forecasting the flow of the playoffs. You need to get as many games as possible. If you can find a first-weekend team that’s going deep, you’ve hit a home run. But if you stock up on a bye-week team that’s Super Bowl-bound, you also get a bonanza.
As these drafts progress, it’s important to tie yourself to a plausible but uncomplicated team strategy. You want a basic path that can win it for you. If you simply draft according to Best Player Available and don’t be mindful of how your roster is distributed, you’re probably in big trouble. (I do think that BPA strategy can work in something like an NHL playoffs pool. There are more games in the NHL playoffs and more chaos. In NFL games, you need a streamlined scenario.)
[Play in Yahoo’s NFL $150K Baller. $10 entry fee and $15K to first place]
I like to have a primary team bankrolled, and 2-3 other teams with primary options. The back of the roster, sure, it might be a handful of singletons, looking for a strong one-and-done score. Just be mindful that the team-building exercise is much different in this type of draft than in a standard one.
My ranks below won’t help you in a play-anyone-once league, like the contest Mike Salfino runs. Man, what a fun format that is. You set a lineup each week and can use anyone on the board, but you can only use a player once for the balance of the playoffs. It will warp your head, but it’s a blast.
And, of course, there’s DFS. Or just get together some of your friends and make up your own game. There’s no wrong way to play.
For the list below, assume a six-manager draft where every team is required to have two (and only two) quarterbacks and multiple flexes. And my list is just a guide; season and taste with your own feelings, league shapes, roster thoughts. You know your league and your room better than any outsider ever could.
Over the next two weeks, I’ll be doing Exit Interviews with the major positions — seasonal look-backs and lookaheads. Look for the first piece of that on Friday. But for now, we draft the playoffs.
Buena suerte.
Quarterback
1. Lamar Jackson
2. Drew Brees
3. Patrick Mahomes
4. Jimmy Garoppolo
5. Deshaun Watson
6. Russell Wilson
7. Ryan Tannehill
8. Aaron Rodgers
9. Tom Brady
10. Carson Wentz
11. Josh Allen
12. Kirk Cousins
13. Taysom Hill
Jackson, Brees, and Mahomes could easily be the first three picks in any QB-friendly formats where every team is required to play two starters. The goal in those formats is to avoid QBs with poor chances to play multiple games. No offense to the Vikings, but in most of my drafts, I’ll go into the room trying to make sure I’m not stuck with him — the longest underdog of Week 1.
I wish Garoppolo was a better volume play, and I actually think any NFC team has a theoretical chance of beating the Niners. But in the Yahoo Friends & Family Draft, I had the (unfortunate) fourth pick and I rolled with Jimmy G. I didn’t want to be locked out at quarterback, and the striation at other positions allowed me to feel I could at least wait a round there.
The Packers are a team I’m generally fading. I feel like they could beat or lose to anyone, and they might be a pick-em against New Orleans in Round 2, if it comes to that. Rodgers hasn’t played well in the second half of the year.
Running Back
1. Alvin Kamara
2. Raheem Mostert
3. Mark Ingram
4. Damien Williams
5. Aaron Jones
6. Derrick Henry
7. James White
8. *Dalvin Cook
9. Devin Singletary
10. Latavius Murray
11. Carlos Hyde
12. *Miles Sanders
13. Gus Edwards
14. Boston Scott
15. Travis Homer
16. Sony Michel
17. Duke Johnson
18. Tevin Coleman
19. Matt Breida
20. Rex Burkhead
21. Marshawn Lynch
22. Justice Hill
23. Darwin Thompson
24. Kyle Juszczyk
25. Jamaal Williams
26. Frank Gore
27. Jordan Howard
28. Dion Lewis
29. LeSean McCoy
30. Alexander Mattison
31. Mike Boone
32. Jeff Wilson
33. Ameer Abdullah
Mostert might look high at No. 2, given that Kyle Shanahan likes to use multiple backs (and a healthy Matt Breida is pretty damn good). But Mostert does have touchdowns in six straight games, he’s an efficiency darling, and the Niners do have the best deep path in the NFC.
If you can pick the Seattle-Philadelphia game correctly, you open yourself up to some juicy two-week potential. Of course, we don’t know how healthy Sanders is. Seattle’s offense is filled with question marks, too.
Wide Receiver
1. Michael Thomas
2. Tyreek Hill
3. DeAndre Hopkins
4. Deebo Samuel
5. Emmanuel Sanders
6. Davante Adams
7. Julian Edelman
8. Tyler Lockett
9. Marquise Brown
10. A.J. Brown
11. DK Metcalf
12. John Brown
13. Cole Beasley
14. Stefon Diggs
15. *Will Fuller
16. Adam Thielen
17. Greg Ward
18. Allen Lazard
19. TreQuan Smith
20. Mecole Hardman
21. N'Keal Harry
22. Sammy Watkins
23. Ted Ginn
24. Kenny Stills
25. Demarcus Robinson
26. Corey Davis
27. Kendrick Bourne
28. Mohamed Sanu
29. Willie Snead
30. Tajae Sharpe
31. Malik Turner
32. Seth Roberts
33. Miles Boykin
34. Adam Humphries
35. Bisi Johnson
36. Phillip Dorsett
37. Jake Kumerow
38. David Moore
39. Isaiah McKenzie
40. Geronimo Allison
41. M. Valdes-Scantling
42. Robert Davis
43. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside
44. Nelson Agholor
45. DeSean Jackson
Thomas is going to get his against anyone, and he’ll have at least one of those fun dome games. A Kansas City-Baltimore rematch in the AFC Championship Game would be a blast. The Patriots defense is known for eliminating the opponent’s best weapon, but is that A.J. Brown or Derrick Henry this week? And how come they couldn’t stop DeVante Parker last week?
I have nothing good to say about Watkins.
Say what you want about Brady, who’s living that game-manager life, but this is the worst skill-position help he’s had in several years. Edelman has been playing through major injury for about two months. White is a wonderful support player, but no star. The new receivers have been slow to adjust; perhaps that’s a statement on New England’s culture and system, but no serious contender would want to trade skill players with the Patriots.
Tight End
1. George Kittle
2. Mark Andrews
3. Travis Kelce
4. Jared Cook
5. Dallas Goedert
6. Jacob Hollister
7. *Zach Ertz
8. Jonnu Smith
9. Hayden Hurst
10. Jimmy Graham
11. Darren Fells
12. Dawson Knox
13. Kyle Rudolph
14. Nick Boyle
15. Jordan Akins
16. Josh Hill
17. Benjamin Watson
18. Josh Perkins
19. Irv Smith
20. Matt LaCosse
21. Anthony Firkser
The tight end list is top-heavy and fun at the top. Man, I miss Tyler Higbee. Ertz is impossible to rank at the current time, and I’ll probably just let someone else have him. If you’re in a very deep league and need cheap Baltimore lottery tickets, remember they sometimes throw to their off-brand tight ends.
The Patriots sure could use a guy like Hollister right about now.
Kicker
1. Justin Tucker
2. Wil Lutz
3. Robbie Gould
4. Harrison Butker
5. Ka'imi Fairbairn
6. Jason Myers
7. Nick Folk
8. Mason Crosby
9. Jake Elliott
10. Greg Joseph
11. Stephen Hauschka
12. Dan Bailey
As usual, the kicker list is tied to the team-expectation list. That said, those first four guys are dynamite kickers, too. I still maintain Tucker is the best kicker I’ve ever seen.
I didn’t bother with a DST list since it’s so dependent on how you see the playoffs shaking out. The kicker list could also stand-in for a de-facto DST list, though I’d swap New Orleans and San Francisco.