NFFC Primetime

This article is part of our NFL Observations series.

I had my NFFC Primetime draft tonight, a 12-team, $1700 buy-in, $200K-grand-prize, full-PPR contest. I drew the fourth pick. Here are the results:

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1.4 Jonathan Taylor -- I would have taken Alvin Kamara here now that Jameis Winston was named the quarterback, but he went third, and I grabbed Taylor whose youth and upside I prefer to more stable and established backs like Zeke Elliott and Derrick Henry. 

2.9 A.J. Brown -- If he's knee is okay, he's too good not to return value here. I was disappointed to miss out on Nick Chubb by one pick, but Brown was the player I had expected to take in this spot. 

3.9 Diontae Johnson -- I thought Johnson was the player I'd wind up landing on, barring some unexpected windfall, and there was no windfall to be had. In fact, I felt like the entire league was plucking players straight off my cheat sheet. Even Chris Godwin, who I might have taken here, was gone. Johnson is arguably the quickest receiver in the league, and he saw double digit targets in almost every game in the second half last year. 

4.4 Mike Evans -- I strongly considered Kyle Pitts, but Evans is so solid, and I liked starting off with one star back and three strong receivers. I figured I could get T.J. Hockenson or Mark Andrews in Rounds 5 or 6. 

5.9 Miles Sanders -- A few backs I like have slipped into this area, and at this pick it was either Sanders or Gus Edwards. Edwards has the floor, but people were taking Sanders in the first round last year, and his struggles were largely tied to a collapsing offense. Plus i needed a second back, and the tight end could wait. 

6.4 Justin Herbert -- It was he or Mark Andrews, and while Herbert was more likely to make it back, his ADP was early seventh round, and I didn't want to chance it. Herbert was good as a rookie, and now has a vastly improved offensive line and a feature back who is more of a receiver than a runner. 

7.9 Michael Pittman -- Andrews almost made it back to me, but when he didn't, I took Pittman who should see more work with T.Y. Hilton out indefinitely. I felt better about this pick when Jeff Erickson, who was relaying my picks to the live room in Vegas, told me Team 3 called me a "dick" for taking him. 

8.4 AJ Dillon -- I really wanted a share of Elijah Moore, but I needed the running back more with only Miles Sanders as my No. 2 back. Dillon should see a sizable workload as Aaron Jones isn't a huge volume guy, and Jamaal Williams is out of the picture. 

9.9 Elijah Moore -- This thread convinced me: 

Moore was also the 34th overall pick, i.e., a borderline first rounder, and only Corey Davis is assured targets besides him, so I was relieved when he made it back to me. 

10.4 Rhamondre Stevenson -- Five of the previous six picks were running backs, and I was targeting virtually any of them -- particularly Leonard Fournette or Jamaal Williams. So I went with my highest remaining back, a backup to a not-very-established starter. Stevenson also looked great in the preseason, presumably part of the reason the team dealt Sony Michel. 

11.9 Chuba Hubbard -- I still didn't have a tight end, and Rob Gronkowski was the highest by far remaining on my board. But Gronk sometimes slips, and I played chicken one more round to get another high-upside backup. The Panthers signed Royce Freeman, but I'd still expect Hubbard, who was the clear backup all preseason, to be next in line to Christian McCaffrey. 

12.4 Rob Gronkowski -- My No. 9 TE, the GOAT, is the same age as Travis Kelce, fully healthy, playing with his only QB and coming off a two-TD Super Bowl. 

13.9 Jalen Reagor -- Last year's first-round pick is healthy and seemed to gain confidence as training camp went on. The Eagles have a fairly narrow tree, and Reagor should get his opportunities. 

14.4 Trevor Lawrence -- I needed a backup QB, and while my plan was to get Kirk Cousins or Matt Ryan for nothing, I couldn't pass up Lawrence's upside a couple rounds earlier. 

15.9 Cole Kmet -- Tight end was my weakest position -- I didn't take one until Round 12, so I wanted to have another option. Kmet was the 43rd overall pick in 2020, and the Bears are woefully thin in the pass-catching department. 

16.4 Zach Ertz -- Ertz is only 30 and just two years removed from an 88-catch season. 

17.9 Vikings Defense -- I missed the Bills kicker by one pick, so I was a little stuck. Mike Zimmer usually has competent defenses, they'll draw the Lions twice, and get the Bengals and their shaky offensive line Week 1. 

18.4 Buccaneers Kicker -- I wanted a kicker on a high scoring team with a good defense. 

19.9 Elijah Mitchell -- The kicker cost me my usual end-game pick, Kadarius Toney, so I took my second Elijah. He's a burner who could fill the Raheem Mostert role, once Mostert inevitably gets hurt. 

20.4 Giants Defense -- They were good last year, and they drafted edge rusher Azeez Ojulari in the second round. Plus after losing out on Toney, I had to salvage my draft with a different homer pick. 

Roster By Position

QB: Justin Herbert

RB: Jonathan Taylor/Miles Sanders

WR: A.J. Brown/Diontae Johnson/Mike Evans

TE: Rob Gronkowski

FLEX: Michael Pittman

K: Buccaneers

D: Vikings

Bench: AJ Dillon/Elijah Moore/Rhamondre Stevenson/Chuba Hubbard/Jalen Reagor/Trevor Lawrence/Cole Kmet/Zach Ertz/Elijah Mitchell/Giants Defense