Nowadays there’s countless methods of draft research and preparation you can delve into to prepare yourself for that all important draft while simultaneously enjoying a pinacolada on the beach.
Rankings, fixture difficulty trackers and sleeper articles are all great but there’s no greater research than taking part in a mock draft yourself, allowing you to see exactly where all your targets are likely to leave the board.
I was lucky enough to take part in what inadvertently turned out to be an “expert’s” mock draft at the end of last week set up by draft legend @draftgenie. The latest installment of the FREE FF92 draft kit is a full analysis of my picks in this draft. You can find our premium picks here…now it’s time for the late round flyers from rounds 9 to 16.
Round Nine – Nick Pope (G)
Simple explanation for this one…auto-draft.
Fantrax’s new draft room is beautiful. It did, however, freeze on me during round nine and I missed this pick, causing an auto drafted Goalkeeper of all things.
Nick Pope will be one of the better keepers this year but don’t draft him until round 12 if you have to. As you’ll see by my top 150 rankings, it’s rare that I draft a goalkeeper at all.
Round Ten – Brenden Aaronson (M)
My first real punt of the draft. I don’t expect amazing figures from Leeds new boy Brendan Aaronson but he looks set to lay in the number 10 role and comfortably passed the eye test for me in the recent friendly against Aston Villa.
As a fifth midfielder, I’m pleased to have a new, unknown quantity on board now that my midfield has a solid base. He could be an absolute bargain and a top quality add. If not, that’s absolutely fine at this stage.
Round Eleven – Antonee Robinson (D)
Staying with the USA contingent, Antonee Robinson is my next defender. Fulham can’t be worse defensively than they were in their last Premier League campaign (you’d hope) but if they only conceded one or two, Robinson tended to score well due to his defensive solidity and tendency to fly forward.
Round Twelve – Jacob Ramsey (M)
This feels like a potential bargain in round 12! Jacob Ramsey is a very inconsistent Fantrax performer but Villa have a decent start and he’s shown that on his day he can score a decent mixture of attacking return points and ghost points.
At this stage, punts are the order of the day and as punts go, this is quite a safe one. I like the punts on Julian Alvarez and Morgan Gibbs-White in this round but I’m more than pleased with a guaranteed starter with a high ceiling right here.
Round Thirteen – Vladimir Coufal (D)
This is a classic panic pick. I felt like I needed a defender and I picked Vladimir Coufal, hoping that we get the 2020/21 version rather than the one we saw last season.
Coufal’s scoring has randomly fallen off a cliff but he still starts each work and possesses the quality to provide the odd assist.
Round Fourteen – Jean Philippe Mateta (F)
Not massively keen on this one but grabbing a starting forward here could always free up some draft capital to trade in if I wanted to use one of my other forwards to improve my defence.
Jean-Phillipe Mateta is a great striker and should have that centre forward role sewn up at Selhurst Park. He’s very goal dependent but in round 14, a 9 goal season is good enough for me.
I feel like I was a middle of the road manager in this round but loved the speculative picks of Callum Hudson Odoi and Mathias Jensen.
Round Fifteen – Nat Phillips (D)
I’m very pleased with Nat Phillips as a 15th round flyer. Latest rumours suggest a return to Germany could be on the cards for the San Siro Beckenbauer but if he moves anywhere in the Premier League he could be gold.
Bournemouth should be favourites but no move has been made so far. At this point, I’m willing to hold big Nat until a move is confirmed either way.
Round Sixteen – Chris Wood (F)
We end this draft with a bit of Chris Wood. He managed to escape relegation when leaving Burnley but will probably spend plenty of time on the bench with Callum Wilson fit again.
Wood should still see the odd start and Wilson will get injured again at some point but I’m not expecting anything from him really. Lucas amours could be a huge bargain here if he competes for a RWB spot at Spurs!
Probable lineup
Pope; Doherty, Robinson, Coufal, Bowen, Sancho, Harrison, Gross/Aaronson; Haaland, Antonio, Johnson.
My verdict: B-
I don’t hate it but I don’t love it. Weak defensively but I always am. The midfield feels strong but I’m two injury prone forwards away from relying on Brennan Johnson as my main goal threat.
As mentioned in part one, getting in Sinisterra or Bamford for Doherty may have been the smart move here and would’ve freed my up later to get a dependable defender in, freeing me up for more punts.
Overall, if I drafted this I’d be pleased but would be looking to trade out Bowen or Antonio instantly.
Fantasy Football 92 