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What player(s) did you miss out on? Two players I was hoping would fall a little further, and into my lap, were Amari Cooper and LeGarrette Blount. Cooper was the eighth wideout off the board, though was ranked as the 12th-best in our rankings. I settled for Dez Bryant. Similarly, I was targeting Blount as my No.3 running back, but he went at No.67 (27th RB), five picks before I had planned to grab him. Instead, I took a gamble on Jacquizz Rodgers to start the seventh round, hoping that he’ll play well enough to keep the starting role even after Doug Martin returns from his three-game suspension.

Final thought: As I noted in an analysis piece last week, I think Demaryius Thomas is still going too high in relation to his teammate Emmanuel Sanders (No.32 vs. No.72). They produced similar statistics in 2016 and should do the same in 2017, but Thomas’ higher name recognition forced his owner to choose him four rounds earlier. I love the upside of Tim Hightower at the end of the 14th round, a player who could eventually beat out Carlos Hyde (fifth round), for the starting spot in Kyle Shanahan’s new 49ers offense.

What player(s) did you miss out on? Tyreek Hill was on my radar, but Hutchins took him four picks before me, so I’m putting some faith in Julian Edelman and Jarvis Landry (who's a huge question mark based on contract issues, domestic battery charges and Jay Cutler) as my first two WRs. Greg Olsen and Jimmy Graham got snagged before my planned TE pick, but pairing Martellus Bennett with Rodgers could work out nicely given the Packers’ frequent red zone appearances and Bennett’s high ceiling and willingness to focus on the minutiae that Rodgers demands. Krueger scooped up Tyrell Williams near the end of Round 8, so I opted for Adam Thielen as my WR4, who’s also an impressive big body and red zone contributor.

Final thought: I was surprised to see Tyler Eifert taken before target monster Jordan Reed and the steady Greg Olsen, but bold moves like that often pay off. Kyle Rudolph is also going surprisingly early in drafts, and was the 70th pick in ours. As far as filling out my team, I wanted some Dallas pieces who could make up for the anticipated void of Ezekiel Elliott, so landing Darren McFadden (my RB3) in Round 9 and Cole Beasley (as my WR5) in Round 11 made me happy. The Cowboys offense is more than just Dak, Dez and Zeke.

What player(s) did you miss out on? I wanted Duke Johnson as my RB3 at the end of the sixth round, but he was selected two picks earlier. I ended up picking TE Kyle Rudolph instead, who led all TEs in targets last year. So I guess all is not lost. I also wanted QB Derek Carr at the start of the ninth round, but he, too, was selected two picks prior. In his place, I grabbed Matthew Stafford. Stafford’s not a sexy pick, but I think he can be a quality starter in 12-team formats. My long shot pick—Kenny Golladay—was also stolen from me, even though I had my chance in the 13th round. I thought he’d be there one round later. I took a chance and waited too long.

Final thought: It didn’t occur to me until after the draft that I had selected four rookies—three of which are RBs. My De’Angelo Henderson selection was a complete shot in the dark based on some intel I heard on the radio over the weekend. We’ll see if it pays off at some point. I expect good things from two of my other rookies—Mixon and Kareem Hunt. Over the past 13 seasons, Andy Reid’s RB1 has averaged 19.5 fantasy points per game in PPR leagues, so if Hunt does what most are predicting he will do and ascends to the starting spot, he could pay huge dividends. Additionally, it’s ironic that I ended up with the same two QBs from last year—Stafford and Eli Manning. I even selected them in opposite order this year. That wasn’t the plan going in, but it’s strange nonetheless.

What player(s) did you miss out on? Amari Cooper was my ideal choice in Round 2 and I really wanted to pair him the Beckham. Instead I had a decision between Hilton and Baldwin who have similar values to me. Quite frankly, I have so many shares of Baldwin in other leagues that I wanted to differentiate my portfolio a bit, so I chose Hilton. I was targeting Tyreek Hill in Round 4 but Hutchins nabbed him two spots ahead of me. Instead, I settled for Sammy Watkins at his depressed Round 4 price tag. Thanks Jared Goff! Hutchins did it to me one more time in Round 8 where I was eyeing QB Marcus Mariota. The good thing about the depth of the QB position and so many fantasy owners employing the late-round QB approach is that you can get Kirk Cousins, Cam Newton and Philip Rivers in Round 9 or 10. I chose Cousins.

Final thought: Due to lack of quality running backs and the value of Sammy Watkins taking a nosedive, there seems to be a dead spot in drafts beginning in Round 3. It makes you consider drafting one of the top quarterbacks (Rodgers or Brady)… they feel safer than drafting a whole host of No.1 wideouts that come with legitimate question marks like... DeAndre Hopkins, Allen Robinson and Demaryius Thomas. They just don’t give you that warm, cozy feeling anymore. And, the running backs typically going in Round 3 (Ezekiel Elliott, Ty Montgomery, Isaiah Crowell, Marshawn Lynch) don’t inspire a lot of confidence either. Watch out for Round 3 in your draft… it could be the source of a lot of raised eyebrows and immediate buyer’s remorse.

The one player on my board who forced me to change my strategy was Amari Cooper, another 140-target wideout in a great offense that is a difference maker in PPR leagues. Count me in as a Cooper 2017 truther and someone who thinks this is the year that Cooper comes into his own. As luck would have it, I was able to have my cake and eat it too by grabbing Zeke at 3.05 after the turn.

What player(s) did you miss out on? My strategy to take PPR-friendly wide receivers with four of my first five picks and a suspended running back put me behind the eight ball when it came to the running back position. Using my sixth and seventh round picks on Rob Kelley and Duke Johnson, gave me a viable traditional running back and a possible PPR stud in Johnson to help ease the pain of Zeke’s suspension. However, the opportunity cost filling those two spots caused me to miss out on Matt Ryan in the seventh, the quarterback I was targeting to double-dip with Julio Jones. I was able to overcome that loss by going with Big Ben for home games and Tyrod Taylor, but in hindsight, I would prefer to have Matty Ice.

Final thought: I was surprised to see how many people went RB/RB in the first two rounds of a full PPR draft, considering the fact that they passed on premier wide receiving options. Also, a couple of owners selected their second quarterback before the end of the ninth round, which seemed like a stretch considering the depth of the QB position and the fact that this is not a Superflex league.

What player(s) did you miss out on? Oddly, the one guy I really wanted to grab isn't much of a receiver at all and is, in fact, about as one-dimensional as they come: Derrick Henry. But, man do I like that dimension (potential goal-line beast) and especially in that offense. It came down to him or LeGarrette Blount in the 6th round and I opted for the latter, wanting to add a guaranteed touchdown-maker at a position that was shockingly scarce at that point in the draft. Speaking of which....

Final thought: I took some ribbing, mostly good-natured, for selecting Christian McCaffrey in the second round. Maybe he's a reach. Maybe he isn't. I can tell you this, though: I'd have felt more self-conscious about that pick if the running back options available just four rounds later hadn't been so dicey. If we're truly entering the era of a position-less NFL, McCaffrey is what that new multi-dimensional stud looks and plays like. Get 'em while they're hot because guys like him won't last as long as you think in most drafts, especially in PPR leagues.

What player(s) did you miss out on? This draft reminded me that completing mock drafts against average rubes does not always prepare you for what it's like to be in a draft with other people in the fantasy football industry. Simply put, the other members of this league were not going to allow me to wait and draft a potential stud at or below his ADP. Missing out on Ezekiel Elliott, Brandin Cooks and Dalvin Cook in Round 3 was brutal for me. Then missing out on Tom Brady and Marshawn Lynch the following round was enough to almost put me on tilt. My draft would've been very different if any of those players had fallen just a couple more spots into my waiting arms

Final thought: Ezekiel Elliott's fall to the third round (29 overall) could be an absolute steal. Even if he does end up serving a full six-game suspension, he plus a replacement-level RB should still produce solid RB1 numbers overall this season. I also noticed that a good number of the "PPR running backs" like Danny Woodhead, Duke Johnson and Bilal Powell went higher than their usual ADP's. This highlights just how confusing the running back position is this season in fantasy football – there just aren't many "bell cow" backs anymore and there are a lot of crammed backfields where two or more players are fighting for most of the carries while another player has more of a locked-in role as a pass-catching back. In those scenarios, particularly in PPR formats, it can be wise to bank on the more solidified role. I did that with my selections of Theo Riddick and Chris Thompson later in the draft, both of whom I expect to exceed 50 receptions this season.

What player(s) did you miss out on? I used mock drafts to target five players in certain rounds and expected to land at least 2 of them: Dalvin Cook (3rd), Pierre Garcon (7th), Jeremy Maclin (8th), Jonathan Stewart (9th), and Jacquizz Rodgers (10th). I snagged exactly zero. Mike Krueger beat me to Cook and Garcon; Doug Orth vultured Maclin from me by one pick in the 8th; I passed on Stewart because my roster was RB-heavy and WR-light; and Steve Schwarz surprised me (among others) by nabbing Rodgers in the 7th.

Final thought: I ping ponged between risk assessments in this draft. For example, after taking the safety of Demaryius Thomas over the upside of Keenan Allen in the 3rd, I felt compelled to gamble on Marshawn Lynch in the 4th. Lynch in the 4th is fine for anyone who already has a solid RB1, but I didn't--so it was pretty risky. We'll see how it works out.

What player(s) did you miss out on? In all honesty, my draft was defined by how long some of my middle-round players remained on the board. Fumbleweed selected Larry Fitzgerald - the highest player remaining on my board - right before my pick in the sixth round, but I had already decided on Jimmy Graham at that point because I liked the value remaining at receiver. Sure enough, I landed my WR19 (Martavis Bryant) and WR26 (Jeremy Maclin) in the following two rounds.

Final thought: In the interest of full disclosure, part of the reason Bryant fell in my lap was due to a slight glitch in the draft software, as he sometimes goes as high as the third or fourth round. To answer the original question, I'm becoming increasingly confident Tom Brady will have a Peyton Manning (circa 2013) kind of season. Picking quarterbacks in the third or fourth round is not usually sound strategy, but it can make sense to do so IF a player like Brady is about to go supernova and you don't see much separation between the talent available with your current pick (4.04, in my case) and next pick (5.09). As it turned out, Kelvin Benjamin was the other player I was eyeing at 4.04, so I feel like I got the best of both worlds.

What player(s) did you miss out on? I missed out on several players I usually target. Isaiah Crowell was taken one pick before me at the end of Round 3. I love him as a RB2 with RB1 upside in an offense that should feature the ground game behind a much improved offensive line. Unfortunately for me, Cameron Meredith (7.02) was taken about a round and a half earlier than his ADP (8.11). I love him this year even at that price. Adam Thielen (8.11) went at least a round and a half earlier than his ADP (10.06) as well, and while that may be a little rich, he’s a player I’m targeting in all my drafts.

Final thought: I was surprised at the amount of QB’s taken earlier than I thought they would be, especially with two owners taking two QBs in the first 9 rounds. Next up on the surprise meter was three rookie RB’s taken in the first two rounds! All three (Fournette, McCaffrey and Mixon) have their own set of strengths but that seems like a few picks too early in my opinion. The biggest reach overall was Jacquizz Rodgers at 7.01, at least two whole rounds earlier than his ADP (9.04) and ahead of some safer players with similar upside (Paul Perkins, Derrick Henry, Rob Kelley). The steal of the draft was probably Martavis Bryant who slid under the radar due to a technical glitch with our league host. Lesson Learned!

What player(s) did you miss out on? I really wanted Keenan Allen and Danny Woodhead. I was able to get Woody to continue to build a strong running back nucleus instead of adding a potential low-end WR1. This decision put a hole in my WR lineup but Woody should be an elite FLEX on my team and it’s easier to find receivers than running backs. Derrick Henry was a target of mine for my third pair of picks. But I felt Russell Wilson was a better value at that point (that schedule is ripe!). Even though Henry is an important target for anyone selecting DeMarco Murray, he would have been about a round early. Ultimately, the Commish snagged him (7.04) and I lost out on one of the best backup running backs. I missed on a few of my TE targets as well. But that was the result of taking a gamble on what a healthy Andrew Luck might bring in terms of trade opportunities this season. A non-elite TE or a stud QB? This is how I plan to upgrade my WR position mid-season and the drop-off between say Delanie Walker and Jack Doyle shouldn’t be bearable.

Final thought: I was surprised Tevin Coleman slid as far as he did (7.08) after players like Duke Johnson, (6.08) Jacquizz Rodgers (7.01) and Rob Kelley (7.05). I really like the upside Coleman brings in the middle of the draft considering his offense provides more opportunities than most. Back to Luck, I’m not counting on him to start Week 1, but when you consider the impact Le’Veon Bell had despite missing some time last season and how high Zeke Elliott is still being drafted despite an appealed six-game suspension, Luck should be on your radar. Like the two running backs just mentioned, he is typically a top-five performer at his position and it’s looking like he will back within the first month of the season. Once healthy, he will either become my starter or be traded for a player far better than anyone else I could have chosen after the seventh round. Meanwhile, Donte Moncrief has been serviceable when healthy and the offense shouldn’t have any trouble supporting two fantasy wideouts. Touchdown regression is a tag some have attached to Moncrief in 2017, but where is Luck getting his 30 touchdowns from when T.Y. Hilton’s career high is only seven? Hint, it isn’t Phillip Dorsett.