Sean and I ran a fantasy soccer draft on Fantrax on Sunday and wanted to share some of our takeaways. The league is built using standard Togga scoring with a small tweak to make aerial duels worth .5 to all players. Below, I’ll be doing a draft review to look at how the picks went along with showing what Sean and I viewed as the best and worst picks in each round to give everyone a deeper look on how to value players in their own drafts.
12-Team Fantasy Soccer Draft Breakdown
Round 1
- Mohammed Salah, FWD Liverpool
- Kevin de Bruyne, MID Manchester City
- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, FWD Arsenal
- Cristian Eriksen, MID Tottenham
- Harry Kane, FWD Tottenham
- Romelu Lukaku, FWD Manchester United
- Roberto Firmino, FWD Liverpool
- Henrikh Mkhitaryan, MID Arsenal
- Alexis Sanchez, FWD Manchester United
- Sadio Mane, FWD Liverpool
- Sergio Aguero, FWD Manchester City
- Mesut Ozil, MID Arsenal
Best Pick: Sergio Aguero
Worst Pick: None
Looking at the first round, it went more or less as expected. The round was forward heavy but Arsenal was the team with the most players picked as the Gunners look poised for a bounce-back season. I took Mkhitaryan in the first as a bit of a reach but I think he’ll have numbers to support the pick this season. Sean’s pick was Romelu Lukaku.
Round 2
- Eden Hazard, FWD Chelsea
- Paul Pogba, MID Manchester United
- Wilfred Zaha, FWD Crystal Palace
- Dele Alli, MID Tottenham
- Leroy Sane, FWD Manchester City
- Riyad Mahrez, MID Manchester City
- Raheem Sterling, FWD Manchester City
- Pascal Gross, MID Brighton
- Jamie Vardy, FWD Leicester
- Marco Arnautovic, FWD West Ham
- David Silva, MID Manchester City
- Cesar Azpilicueta, DEF Chelsea
Best Pick: Paul Pogba (Chuck), Leroy Sane (Sean)
Worst Pick: Cesar Azpilicueta
Rule number one in a fantasy soccer draft. Don’t take a defender before the fourth round. There’s too much value on the board to take defenders over all of the premium options there to be had. This round had a few question marks go off the board with Eden Hazard (who’s normally a first-round pick) falling due to the chance that he leaves Chelsea and David Silva falling a little due to playing time concerns. Pascal Gross rising to the second round when he could be had on waivers last year shows that he’s the possibly the biggest riser of anyone. I took Leroy Sane in this round to make up on my reach in the first round while Sean took Raheem Sterling in the midst of a City run.
Round 3
- Gabriel Jesus, FWD Manchester City
- Ben Davies, DEF Tottenham
- Alexandre Lacazette, FWD Arsenal
- Heung-Min Son, FWD Tottenham
- Aaron Ramsey, MID Arsenal
- Richarlison, FWD Everton
- Gylfi Sigurdsson, MID Everton
- Andros Townsend, MID Crystal Palace
- Willian, FWD Chelsea
- Alvaro Morata, FWD Chelsea
- Filipe Anderson, MID West Ham
- Cesc Fabregas, MID Chelsea
Best Pick: Heung-Min Son (Chuck), Alexandre Lacazette (Sean)
Worst Pick: Aaron Ramsey (Sean), Cesc Fabregas (CHuck)
Round three is where personal preferences took hold as another defender left the board along with an even mix of midfielders and forwards. There wasn’t a real runaway great pick due to the playing time concerns surrounding Lacazette and Son who’d be first-round picks without those concerns. But there were a few headscratchers with Aaron Ramsey and Cesc Fabregas. On Ramsey, he may be on the way out and also has injury concerns while Fabregas’ legs are gone. I went with Andros Townsend here because I believe in the West Ham attack while Sean took Richalison.
Round 4
- Naby Keita, MID Liverpool
- Christian Benteke, FWD Crystal Palace
- Ryan Sessengon, MID Fulham
- Johann Berg Gudmundsson, MID Burnley
- Marcos Alonso, DEF Chelsea
- Cenk Tosun, FWD Everton
- Andrew Robertson, DEF Liverpool
- Fred, MID Manchester United
- Benjamin Mendy, DEF Manchester City
- Bernardo Silva, MID Manchester City
- Jorginho, MID Chelsea
- Virgil van Djik, DEF Liverpool
Best Pick: Christian Benteke (Chuck), Johann Berg Gudmundsson (Sean)
Worst Pick: Jorginho (Chuck), Benteke (Sean)
The fourth round caused some disagreement between Sean and I, mainly centered around Christian Benteke. I think that he was unlucky last season and is as consistent as they come in the air which in this scoring style means a lot. Sean took Gudmundsson as the best pick, but while he will be money this season, it remains to be seen how things will go with the offense no longer going through him. On the Jorgino pick, I’m only labeling it the worst pick because he doesn’t play many forward passes and there were midfielders with more upside than him available at the time. I took Marcos Alonso this round while Sean took Andrew Roberton.
Round 5
- Ricardo Pereira, DEF Leicester
- Kyle Walker, DEF Manchester City
- James Maddison, MID Leicester
- Victor Moses, DEF Chelsea
- Aaron Mooy, MID Huddersfield
- Jan Vertonghen, DEF Tottenham
- Aleksandar Mitrovic, FWD Fulham
- Andriy Yarmolenko, FWD West Ham
- Joshua King, FWD Bournemouth
- Kieran Trippier, DEF Tottenham
- Harry Maguire, DEF Leicester
- Gerard Deulofeu, FWD Watford
Best Pick: Aaron Mooy (Chuck), Andriy Yarmolenko (Sean)
Worst Pick: Victor Moses
The fifth round was a mix of known quantities and upside picks as new arrivals Pereira, Maddison, Mitrovic, and Yarmolenko are surrounded by rocks like Mooy, Trippier, Walker, Maguire, and Vertonghen. I particularly like the Aaron Mooy pick here because he’s a solid box to box midfielder that should outperform his numbers last year with a better supporting cast. We’re in consensus on labeling the Victor Moses pick as the worst of the round because Cesar Azpilicueta has been getting runouts at right back and Moses isn’t going to get as much playing time under Sarri as he did in Conte’s back three. I took Yarmelenko here for the upside while Sean took Vertonghen.
Round 6
- Charlie Austin, FWD Southampton
- Michail Antonio, MID West Ham
- N’Golo Kante, MID Chelsea
- Andre Schurrle, MID Fulham
- Stefan Johansen, MID Fulham
- Nicolas Otamendi, DEF Manchester City
- Luka Milivojevic, MID Crystal Palace
- Xherdan Shaqiri, MID Liverpool
- Abdoulaye Doucoure, MID Watford
- Chris Wood, FWD Burnley
- Granit Xhaka, MID Arsenal
- Nacho Monreal, DEF Arsenal
Best Pick: None (Chuck), Serfan Johansen (Sean)
Worst Pick: Michail Antonio
The sixth round is where rotational players on big teams started to come into play but everyone was picked around their standard value in my opinion. I took Johansen here because I like what Fulham has done on the market and that I think the Seri signing will free him up to do big things in the Premier League. Sean and I are in agreement on Antonio as the worst pick here because we don’t see him staying healthy enough to contribute in what is now a crowded West Ham attack. Sean picked the always solid Luka Milivojevic here.
Round 7
- Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin, MID Liverpool
- John Stones, DEF Manchester City
- Patrick van Aanholt, DEF Crystal Palace
- Diogo Jota, MID Wolverhampton
- Robbie Brady, MID Burnley
- Jesse Lingard, MID Manchester United
- Kenedy, MID Newcastle
- Max Myer, MID Crystal Palace
- Matt Ritchie, MID Newcastle
- Fernandinho, MIN Manchester City
- Anthony Martial, FWD Manchester United
- Sean Morrison, DEF Cardiff
Best Pick: Jota (Chuck), Robbie Brady (Sean)
Worst Pick: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin (Honorable mention to Sean Morrison here)
This was a weird round. It started off with the auto draft Gods playing a cruel trick and ended with the same. But in between, there was a mix of old faces and new ones surrounded by dropping Manchester United assets. the luster has faded on Jesse Lingard but both he and Anthony Martial have a lot to gain from a possible Jose Mourinho ousting at Old Trafford so if you have them you should hold them. Jota is a midfielder playing forward which is always valuable and Sean and I believe in a Robbie Brady resurgence this year. Sean took Lingard while I took a flyer on Max Myer.
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Round 8
- Christopher Schindler, DEF Huddersfield
- James Tarkowski, DEF Burnley
- Trent Alexander-Arnold, DEF Liverpool
- Hector Bellerin, DEF Arsenal
- Seamus Coleman, DEF Everton
- Davidson Sanchez, DEF Tottenham
- Aaron Cresswell, DEF West Ham
- James Tomkins. DEF Crystal Palace
- Callum Paterson, DEF Cardiff
- Pedro, FWD Chelsea
- Sam Vokes, FWD Burnley
- Junior Hoilett, FWD Cardiff
Best Pick: Hector Bellerin
Worst Pick: Callum Paterson (Sean), Sam Vokes (Chuck)
Here come the fliers (and Cardiff players). Paterson is one of the more intriguing picks as a defender that is being played in the midfield because Neil Warnock sees that he has much more value playing forward but this round was all about the defenders. Tarkowski is as consistent as they come and Bellerin and Coleman are set for bounce back years. Sean took Paterson as his worst pick but I can see the merits in an out of position defender. I’m going with Vokes because when everyone is healthy, Vokes is the third choice Burnley forward. No one needs the third choice Burnley forward. I picked Coleman here while Sean went with Cresswell.
Round 9
- David De Gea, GK Manchester United
- Ashley Young, DEF Manchester United
- Andre Gray, FWD Watford
- Ruben Neves, MID Wolverhampton
- Olivier Giroud, FWD Chelsea
- Wilfred Ndidi, MID Leicester
- Alireza Jahanbakhsh, FWD Brighton
- Ben Chilwell, DEF Leicester
- Lucas Moura, MID Tottenham
- Nathan Redmond, MID Southampton
- Troy Deeney, FWD Watford
- Shkodran Mustafi, DEF Arsenal
Best Pick: Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Sean), Ashley Young (Chuck)
Worst Pick: Troy Deeney (Sean), Nathan Redmond (Chuck)
Round nine and the first keeper is off the board. Suprise, surprise it’s De Gea. Sean wants to highlight Ali’s scoring potential that he brings to Brighton but coming for the Dutch league, I’ll believe it when I see it. Ashley Young is a steal here seeing where comparable defenders went. But Deeny and Redmond have a lot to prove before they should make an appearance in your team. I took Ben Chilwell here while Sean took Wilfred Ndidi. Guess we’re Leicester buddies.
Round 10
- Sol Bamba, DEF Cardiff
- Antonio Valencia, DEF Manchester United
- Marc Albrighton, MID Leicester
- Theo Walcott, FWD Everton
- Stuart Armstrong, MID Southampton
- Junior Stanislas, MID Bournemouth
- Marcus Rashford, FWD Manchester United
- Jordan Pickford, GK Everton
- Jean Michael Seri, MID Fulham
- Roberto Pereyra, MID Watford
- Raul Jimenez, FWD Wolverhampton
- Joe Ralls, MID Cardiff
Best Pick: Joe Ralls (Sean), Junior Stanislas (Chuck)
Worst Pick: Stuart Armstrong (Sean), Sol Bamba (Chuck)
Another keeper goes off the board and then a run of players of all types. Joe Ralls is an interesting midfielder who it on set pieces for Cardiff making him interesting just for that. Stanislas is one of my favorite fantasy crushes because whenever he is healthy he is one of the top point producers league-wide. As for the Stuart Armstrong pick, someone has to score some goals for Southampton, why not him? Bamba shouldn’t be drafted unless it’s a 15+ man league. Sean took Marcus Rashford this round.
Round 11
- Idrissa Gueye, MID Everton
- Ayoze Perez, FWD Newcastle
- Ben Mee, DEF Burnley
- Fabinho, MID Manchester United
- Eric Bailly, DEF Manchester United
- Will Hughes, MID Watford
- Sokratis, DEF Arsenal
- Ben Gibson, DEF Burnley
- Toby Alderweireld, DEF Tottenham
- Ryan Fraser, MID Bournemouth
- Jamaal Lascelles, DEF Newcastle
- Mat Ryan, GK Brighton
Best Pick: Ryan Fraser
Worst Pick: Mat Ryan
Fraser is goal and assist dependent but in the 11th round, that’s okay. With the Aldeerweireld, Mee, Gibson situation, it’s all on playtime but all three could play like midround picks as opposed to being late round picks. For Ryan, he could have been had two to three rounds later. My pick was Ben Gibson and Sean’s was Will Hughes.
Round 12
- Shane Duffy, DEF Brighton
- Chris Smalling, DEF Manchester United
- Joao Moutinho, MID Wolverhampton
- Serg Aurier, DEF Tottenham
- Ivan Cavaleiro, FWD Wolverhampton
- Matt Lowton, DEF Burnley
- Ryan Bertrand, DEF Southampton
- Americ Laporte, DEF Manchester City
- Ederson, GK Manchester City
- Danny Rose, DEF Tottenham
- Hugo Lloris, GK Tottenham
- Sead Kolasinac, DEF Arsenal
Best Pick: Joao Moutinho (Sean), Aymeric Laporte (Chuck)
Worst Pick: None
Another round where most guys were picked around their proper value but Moutinho and Laporte stand above the rest of the picks. If he starts, Moutinho will have midfielder three value while Laporte could be a defender one with the proper amount of playing time. I took Ivan Cavaleiro while Sean took Ryan Bertrand.
Round 13
- Matt Doherty, DEF Wolverhampton
- Antonio Rudiger, DEF Chelsea
- Demari Gray, MID Leicester
- Marc Navarro, DEF Watford
- David Luiz, DEF Chelsea
- Lukasz Fabianski, GK West Ham
- Juan Mata, MID Manchester United
- Steve Mounie, FWD Huddersfield
- Anthony Knockaert, MID Brighton
- Chicharito, FWD West Ham
- Ilkay Gundogan, MID Manchester City
- Dejan Lovern, DEF Liverpool
Best Pick: Steve Mounie (Sean), Ilkay Gundogan (Chuck)
Worst Pick: Chicarito (Sean)
Steve Mounie was my pick and with more help around him, I’m expecting him to have a breakout season at Huddersfield this year. Gundogan was a super productive midfielder when given starts for City last year so coming into this season healthy, he should be able to pick up where he left off. With Chicha, it’s tough to see where he fits in at West Ham so he could be an early drop in some leagues. Sean took Fabianski here.
Round 14
- Simon Francis, DEF Bournemouth
- Alisson, GK Liverpool
- Cedric Soares, DEF Southampton
- Luke Shaw, DEF Manchester United
- Ross Barkley, MID Chelsea
- Michael Keane, DEF Everton
- Mohamed Elyounoussi, MID Southampton
- Erik Lamela, MID Tottenham
- Gary Madine, FWD Cardiff
- Alfie Mawson, DEF Fulham
- Ruben Loftus Cheek, MID Chelsea
- Zanka, DEF Huddersfield
Best Pick: Cedric Soares
Worst Pick: Erik Lamela
Getting Cedric a full two rounds after Bertrand constitutes a steal since they are about equal in value. Lamela is injured again just when it looked like he was making a comeback and RLC could be a steal if he gets loaned out from Chelsea again but that’s a pending move. I took a flier on Ross Barkley while Sean took Elyounoussi.
Round 15
- Nathan Ake, DEF Bournemouth
- Lewis Dunk, DEF Brighton
- Ryan Fredricks, DEF West Ham
- Josh Murphy, MID Cardiff
- Jack Wilshere, MID West Ham
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin, FWD Everton
- Ramadan Sobhi, MID Huddersfield
- Jonjo Shelvey, MID Newcastle
- Johnny, DEF Wolverhampton
- Arthur Masuaku, DEF West Ham
- Tom Cairney, MID Fulham
- Steve Cook, DEF Bournemouth
Best Pick: Ryan Fredricks (Sean), Ramadan Sobhi (Chuck)
Worst Pick: Arthur Masuaku (Sean), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Chuck)
Fredricks has a high attacking upside while Sobhi was productive on a bad Stoke team and could feed Mounie chances. Masuaku is a man without a position and I don’t know where DCL falls in the pecking order. I took Jonjo Shelvey and Sean took DCL.
Round 16
- Glenn Murray, FWD Brighton
- Stephan Lichtsteiner, DEF Arsenal
- James Ward-Prowse, MID Southampton
- Jeffrey Schlupp, MID Crystal Palace
- Martin Dubravka, GK Newcastle
- Callum Wilson, FWD Bournemouth
- Danny Ings, FWD Liverpool
- Kelechi Iheanacho, FWD Leicester
- Yannick Bolasie, FWD Everton
- Bernd Leno, GK Arsenal
- Mitchy Batshuayi, FWD Chelsea
- Nick Pope, GK Burnley
Best Pick: Mitchy Batshuayi (Sean), Glenn Murray (Chuck)
Worst Pick: Jeffery Schlupp
Batshuayi could be a steal in this space if he bags a few goals, but if he can score half of what he did last season, Glenn Murra could be the prize of the 16th round. With the Arrival of Max Myer, I’m not sure where Schlupp fits into the Palace lineup this year.
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