The Davante Adams Plan

Zigging while others Zag. Building a team of guys being ’faded’ in drafts and taking the value where it comes to you.

LAB REPORTS

By: The Lab

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Zigging While Others Zag. Building a team of guys being ’faded’ in drafts and taking the value where it comes to you.

There’s a lot written during draft season about the sexy, up-and-coming names that everyone is chasing. Sometimes your league doesn’t let you get these guys, and you’re stuck choosing between:

Reaching a half a round early, to take the next best sleeper.
Or taking the guy that keeps slipping because everyone is bypassing him

I’m a firm believer in going after your guys. So I wouldn’t quite build an entire roster of these names, but I would argue you’re better off taking the guy that slips in a lot of cases. And counting on a vet to repeat a skill that’s already been shown, as opposed to a sleeper who has to showcase a whole new skill for the first time.

A “too-old” team has its issues, sure. But a “too-young” team often struggles out of the gate to a below-.500 record, and faces an uphill battle just to make the playoffs.

I’m going to mock draft one of these faders per round, they’re eligible if they can be taken within roughly a half-round past their NFFC ADP.

Draft slot 7, 12-team league, Full-PPR, 6-pt QB touchdowns. 1 QB, 2RB, 2WR, 1 TE, 2 FLEX.

Round 1: Christian McCaffrey

The player most likely to be faded in this range is McCaffrey. Yes, I know he had 450 touches last year. And I’m not worried at all about the production when he’s on the field. He’s a stud and the offense runs through him.

The injury risk is massive and a real concern, so I understand why he’s being faded. He’s also very likely to be the RB1 or RB2 if he’s healthy.

Christian McCaffrey fantasy finishes the past 5 seasons:
2021 - RB38
2022 - RB2
2023 - RB1
2024 - RB68
2025 - RB1

Round 2: Saquon Barkley

Feeling nervous about the roster build yet? So far we've added two high-end veteran backs and we're racking up points. Your opponent each week doesn't care where your points come from. Neither should you.

Round 3: Derrick Henry

Even with the aging Running Backs already on the team, I'm still absolutely smashing draft on Henry if he makes it this far. I decided I would fade him in fantasy about 3 years ago, due to his age at the time. And here we are 3 productive seasons later. I will fade him after he retires, no sooner.

Round 4: Ladd McConkey

I'm frankly surprised the ADP isn't way higher, considering he was an early pick later coming off a fantastic rookie season, and he has less target competition this year. Give me the young guy who merely has to repeat a previous great season over the young guy who we hope puts up his first great season.

Round 5: Davante Adams

This strategy is named after him because for some reason, nobody wants to draft him. Maybe they're expected Touchdown regression, and that's fair. He likely won't replicate that number again. But he really doesn't need to do that in order to turn a profit. Let's not overthink this one. He's on one of the highest scoring offenses in the league. They have 2 primary weapons through the air. And the other one is garnering all the defensive attention in Puka. Adams is set up for another productive season and we shouldn't shy away just because he's not as "talented" as he once was.

Round 6: David Montgomery

I’d argue he has fresher legs than some other 29 year olds, given the backseat he’s taken to Gibbs the last few years. The camp buzz is pointing towards him being a true 3-down workhorse. And that is not something you can typically get this late in drafts. When we look back on this season, Monty feels like he'll be the guy that got disproportionately more volume relative to draft slot.

Round 7: Jalen Hurts

I’m not understanding how he’s going so late. Yes, he’s dipped some from his peak but is generally as safe a bet as any to finish as a Top-5 QB. The rushing points give him a huge floor. And the only way this late ADP makes any sense is if he doesn’t have a solid floor. I’m scooping him happily here.

Round 8: Tony Pollard

Probably the pick I feel grossest about if I’m being honest, so I’d probably lean into an upside player here if I were actually drafting this team. But someone like Pollard filling a bench slot makes more sense when you consider that he's insurance for a McCaffrey injury. You don’t often find RB volume to just sit on your bench. He would be a useful backfill on a team like this.

Round 9: Michael Pittman

Aaron Rodgers did not look like he could throw downfield last year. That likely hurts DK Metcalf again. Michael Pittman seems like he’s about to soak up targets on this team. I do like Germie Bernard as the incoming rookie, but he’s probably a year away from stealing a Top-2 WR share away from Pittman or Metcalf.

Round 10: George Kittle

This is as simple as buying the injury dip. Whenever he’s healthy he’s a top of position guy, with elite volume and plenty of receptions. Tight End is deeper than it’s ever been before, and I’m happy to hold myself over with a late TE while I wait for Kittle's impending return.

Round 11: Romeo Doubs

I want a piece of Drake May if I can get one cheaply. Doubs is not being respected as the #2 to A.J. Brown. He should be open plenty often as defenses key in on Brown. Veteran WR depth is important to build into your early bench, in case any of the prior names do end up having a fade-worthy season.

Round 12: C.J. Stroud

Again, give me the guy who needs to merely repeat a prior stud season over the guy who needs to show that he can do it for the first time. Rinse and repeat. I like his weapons this year significantly more than the last couple years. Namely Montgomery to take the pressure off Stroud, and a possible breakout season coming from Jayden Higgins.

Round 13: Stefon Diggs

He does not have a team, but if he did he'd be several rounds higher. These unsigned players tend to slip in drafts as teams are scared of getting zeros. My counterpoint to that is that any rookie could effectively give you a zero season, as in you'll never play him. A veteran like Diggs with a track record basically needs to sign a contract and play on a solid offense and he's likely to be someone you can plug into your starting lineup in good matchups.

Round 14: Hunter Henry

Another cheap share of Drake May, Henry can put up a decent touchdown total for cheaply. There's a host of other TE's around his draft range that can also fill in while we wait out the Kittle injury. You're likely only playing him a few games.

Round 15: Isiah Pacheco

Maybe I’m giving too much credit to his clearly diminished ability here. But he’s stepping in to some proxy of the David Montgomery role. And if anything happened to Gibbs, he’d be the feature back in a dominant offense. Not a bad handcuff you can get much later than all the other priority ones.

Rounds 16+

With a solid base, go snag whatever upside sleepers are left, your Defense and/or Kicker

Overall Result:

A lot of experienced drafters may look at this roster and turn their nose up at it. I’d argue that the veteran depth alone gives the team a floor of a middle of the pack team. And the ceiling is a championship if a majority of them stay healthy and hold off their age curve regression for one more year.

Thats a decent reward for zigging while others zag.

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