One of the most difficult things for fantasy football players is to avoid drafting with your heart. It’s natural to select a player on your favorite team. Jim Cramer, who has a new fantasy site Bull Market Fantasy, participated in his work league draft on Wednesday night dressed in his Eagles jersey.
It’s a 12-team PPR format with the starters being one QB, two RB, three WR, one TE, and one flex.
We can say the first pick for Cramer definitely wasn’t a homer pick. The Eagles fan had the fourth overall pick and selected Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, who is holding out as of press time. It’s a risky pick since there’s the potential he can miss some games, but many would have him as the No. 1 overall pick if he weren’t holding out for a new contract.
Travis Kelce made it back to the 2.9 pick, and Cramer took him. In this format, it’s a good value, and he made the savvy move of taking Kelce over the Eagles’ Zach Ertz. Then in the third round, Cramer got an absolute steal with Dalvin Cook at pick 28. Cook tends to go in the middle of the second round of most drafts. While injuries have limited him to 15 of a possible 32 games in his first two seasons, Cook has averaged 4.7 yards per carry in his career and is in a good spot to breakout.
Time to get a receiver and Chris Godwin at 4.9 is a pick I love. Godwin will play in the slot often, and it’s going to lead to a ton of targets in an offense that will pass a lot because of a lousy defense. In six games without DeSean Jackson last season, Godwin had at least 90 receiving yards in four of the games and scored four times. Jackson and Adam Humphries are gone, and Godwin will start.
In round 5, Cramer took Bears rookie running back David Montgomery. It’s a solid value, but the team needed a wide receiver. Mike Williams, D.J. Moore or Tyler Lockett would have been a better fit for this roster. He did get a receiver in round six, and Christian Kirk could break out in a Cardinals offense that will play fast-paced and often pass due to a lousy defense.
Cramer finally let his heart make a pick, according to some people, by taking Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz in round seven. Many fantasy analysts, including myself, recommend waiting on selecting a quarterback because it’s a deep position. In a home or work league draft, the quarterbacks will go earlier. Patrick Mahomes was the first QB selected at 3.6, followed by Deshaun Watson at 4.12, Aaron Rodgers at 5.11 and then Wentz. Some might think it’s too early for Wentz. The only QB I would have selected over Wentz was Baker Mayfield, who went 7.11. Again, I wouldn’t take a QB this early, and there were some good receivers to take there like Dede Westbrook, Will Fuller, and Robby Anderson.
“DO NOT LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT.”
Remember when @BillEnright and @JimCramer had some words about his @cj_wentz pick? Read Bill’s full recap here: https://t.co/F3g0z9d8uN pic.twitter.com/blK9SSXTlM— TheStreet (@TheStreet) August 23, 2019
Cramer took Donte Moncrief in round 8 followed by Marquez Valdes-Scantling and James Washington. He made a mistake in round 11 by choosing the Vikings defense. Never take a defense until the last round or two. It’s a position to stream and play the matchups. He redeemed himself by getting Cowboys running back Tony Pollard in round 12. This especially important since he has Elliott. He rounded out the draft with Deebo Samuel, Mark Andrews, Sam Darnold, Alexander Mattison, and Jake Elliott.
Cramer did a lot of good things but did make some mistakes. The receivers are the weakness, but there a few with significant upside. The running back depth is excellent and a top tier tight end helps not having an elite receiver.
Taking a defense so early should never happen. While I like Mark Andrews, you don’t need to take a backup tight end when Kelce is on the roster unless it’s 18 rounds or more. This is definitely a playoff contender, and with proper waiver wire management, a championship could be won.
Starting Lineup
QB: Carson Wentz
RB: Ezekiel Elliott
RB: Dalvin Cook
WR: Chris Godwin
WR: Christian Kirk
WR: Donte Moncrief
TE: Travis Kelce
FLEX: David Montgomery
DEF: Vikings
K: Jake Elliott
Bench
WR Marquez Valdes- Scantling, WR James Washington, RB Tony Pollard, WR Deebo Samuel, TE Mark Andrews, QB Sam Darnold, RB Alexander Mattison
