The clock ticks and you're up to draft your 1st round pick. Who do you take? Which position is most valuable this early? Read below for insight on Fantasy EPL positional strategies to employ in the 1st Round of your Premier League Draft! Click here for details on how you can access our 22/23 Draft Kit.
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Should You Take a FWD, MID, or DEF in the 1st Round?
Does it matter what position (FWD, MID, or DEF) you take with your 1st draft pick? It isn't essential that you take any particular position. However, you could argue that one position is more valuable than another depending on the circumstances/draft. How you pick in Round 1 also sets up the rest of your draft and how you arrange the rest of your roster. Just like where you pick (#), it sets the tone of your draft and determines where you’ll need to invest later. Genie & Ryan are here to talk you through it; they lay out their views on why you should or shouldn't spend your valuable draft capital on a particular position.
Forward
Genie
Taking a FWD in the 1st Round will usually depend where you are in the pick order, especially in a 12 team league. Personally, I am all for taking a FWD in Round 1, but if it means passing on Maddison to reach for Jesus, I am not a fan of that move. Taking a FWD gives you tremendous upside in most cases. The likes of Kane, Salah, Son, Haaland, and Diaz can single handedly win you a gameweek with their upside and potential. I do believe having players that will contend for the golden boot always puts you in a good spot to come out of the draft with a fighting chance at the title straight away. With there being a plethora of MIDs available, especially in the later rounds that can at least spot you a solid 6-8 points, surrounding those players with the upside of a golden boot winner could be the recipe for a title. Let's say you pass on an elite FWD for De Bruyne, well warranted given his upside. But when the draft gets back to you in Round 2 the FWD talent has fallen off quite a bit and you will be looking at the likes of Toney, Jota, Sterling, all of whom have upside but not nearly as much as Son or Salah. Meanwhile, if you take a FWD, there will be plenty of decent MIDs that get back to you in Round 2, such as Kulusevski, Foden, and potentially the likes of Ward-Prowse or Mount.
Ryan
The narrative forming in the run up to this draft is that quality FWDs are in short supply and therefore you should take a forward early and often. Many will remember that there was a similar feeling before last draft but regarding midfielders, which led to a run on MIDs for the first few rounds. Midfield madness has now given way to forward frenzy. The dearth of MIDs last season turned out to be short lived. I suspect we'll end up saying the same thing about forwards this season. While I agree that there are not many elite FWDs, there are still quality attackers after Round 1 (e.g., Sterling, Jesus, etc). I wouldn't be pressured to take a FWD if a top MID (e.g., KDB) or DEF (e.g., TAA) fell to me in a fortuitous spot. Having said all that, most of the top 5 prospects are FWDs (Salah, Son, & Kane) - if you take one in the first 4 spots, you likely won't regret it. Now that you have a set and forget FWD1, you can go anywhere with your next pick.
Midfielder
Genie
Taking a MID with your first pick has some benefits too. You can play as many as 5 midfielders at a time in Fantrax Default Scoring, so being able to already plug in a top 4-5 midfielder sets you up nicely to play any formation. Being near the back end of the draft (picks 7-12), makes taking a midfielder Round 1 a little more tempting with choices of Bruno, Maddison, Saka, and even Saint-Maximin in the mix there. It might be better to select one of those who are basically a set and forget MID1 over reaching on a FWD such as Jesus that you know will be available when it gets back to you. If you take a MID Round 1, be sure it is one that has shown they have MID1 upside and a very high ceiling. You want to draft for as much upside as possible in Round 1, given it is usually the pick that will help you put up big scores in certain weeks (especially when these players play weaker teams). The players listed above can all grab you 30 points on their day, and 3/4 of them get their fair share of set pieces, giving them reliable floors. While these MIDs may not contend for the golden boot, they should offer less boom or bust value than some of the FWDs that are being drafted in Round 1.
Ryan
The likely run on FWDs mentioned above may lead to top notch MIDs falling in Round 1. It pains me to say it but this, combined with his relatively poor form last season, will give Bruno added value late in the round. KDB is unlikely to fall but others (e.g., Saka) could also be value late in Round 1. One of the benefits of taking a MID in Round 1 is that while many are looking for MIDs in Round 2 after taking a FWD in Round 1, you'll be free to find value at FWD (e.g., Sterling) in Round 2. Another benefit is that the right MID can be just as explosive as a top FWD - KDB & Maddison can rival any GW that Salah can put up on his day.
Defender
Genie
Usually I am all against defenders in Round 1, but I'm not fully opposed to considering a few players this season. With the addition of the 5 subs rule, elite defenders will log more minutes each game than someone such as Kane during a 3-0 win. The likes of Trent, Cancelo, and potentially Robertson all warrant consideration in Round 1 due to their upside, and playing for teams that will keep a ton of clean sheets. Trent and Robertson taking set pieces only adds to their upside and overall value, and they are also absolute mainstays in Klopp's XI. Both have decent backups but should see at least 35 starts this season barring any injuries. Even if City sign Cucerella, Cancelo shouldn't worry too much about rotation, and plays in a team that can easily score 100 Premier League goals this season. He doesn't take set-pieces but fills up the stat sheet perfectly with both defensive and offensive stats. With Fantrax allowing you to play 5 DEFs any week, and the need to only start 2 midfielders, taking a DEF in Round 1 has become a more viable strategy. With managers such as myself avoiding DEFs in early rounds, who is to say you can't end up with drafting Trent, Reece, and Van Dijk in the first 4-5 Rounds? The upside and stability there alone will allow for more "punty" picks later in your draft, which can win you a title if they hit.
Ryan
I know that Genie is fairly averse to taking a DEF in Round 1 but I am not. Value is value. And there is indeed a limited amount of elite DEFs whereas there are more MIDs and FWDs of that ilk available. Trent Alexander Arnold and Joao Cancelo warrant selection in Round 1. Both finished in the top 5 for total points this past campaign (and Trent has even finished top scorer in the past). If either fall to you after Pick 5/6, they are worth snagging. This frees you up to grab a MID or a FWD next round.
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