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It seems each year, fantasy analysts discuss how great it is to draft a QB and WR/TE from the same team, especially if that tandem is on a pass-happy squad such as the New Orleans Saints. But what benefit does that hold for you as a GM to draft a pair, trio or even drafting your entire roster (such in the case of the Denver Broncos) from the same team?
Drafting teammates is really only nice for two things:
1. You see the scoreboard light up with each connection. Touchdowns are no longer just four points for your QB, but add six more points because of the WR’s total as well. Then you can add on whatever yardage both get from it.
2. If you draft your entire team from a single franchise, you only have to worry about a single bye week and only forfeit one game.
That’s really it. Drafting teammates may look nice during the games because of the instantaneous production one causes for the other, but how is this any different if you were to draft a top-tier QB like Peyton Manning, skip out on Demaryius Thomas and draft Brandon Marshall instead? In the end, each player will provide an end result each game. So how do Thomas and Marshall’s points differentiate?
If both wide receivers score 15 points in a game and Manning puts up 30 points, what did you lose? Nothing. However, you did gain the reliability of having a different wide receiver than one of your quarterback’s targets. Because even though Marshall (or any other top WR for that matter) will contribute for you weekly, opposing teams will start to lock down on targets. You may lose production from your WR because of that, and your reliance on a single target may hinder your fantasy team’s success.
That’s why if you want to draft teammates, go all in. But that will only work if all of your starters are top-notch players, as in the case of the Broncos, in which your team would have averaged 107 points a game.
That was a plausible plan last season because all of the players were going in varying rounds and you could likely trade for them if you didn’t get them all. But this season, three players are early-round targets, and all of the team’s position players should land within the first six rounds. But even with its plausibility last season, drafting every Bronco would not have been your best bet.
In your first four picks, you would be set with your WRs and QB. But then you would have been able to draft a RB the proceeding round such as Fred Jackson and then Knowshon Moreno instead of drafting Montee Ball, who accumulated only 88 points, gaining a 90-point advantage.
Between that pick and your defensive pick, you could have also drafted viable backups or reach for a defense like the Seattle Seahawks and gain another 90-point advantage.
Just with those two different picks, you would gain 10 points per game, and you likely could have done even better with other players by swapping out Wes Welker for the likes of Alshon Jeffery or other wideouts who accomplished more with a higher ADP.
Simply put, don’t fall into fandom in drafts. You need to be able to separate your loyalty from your fantasy team. There’s a reason why it’s called a fantasy — because you already have your team to cheer for in reality. Draft your dream team by adjusting to the draft in all its twists and turns.
