Had three big drafts this weekend, three different styles of fantasy football. I am pretty stoked about how they all turned out. I think I'm in line for a decent year of fantasy football.
On Saturday, I stupidly had two scheduled for the same time. One league has a unique scoring system and outline, including IDP (individual defensive players). The other was a 10-team auction. So for about two hour I juggled between two different player ranking sheets, fumbled through a couple notebooks and was constantly looking back and forth on NFL and ESPN.com. A pretty brilliant way to spend an evening.
Sunday night was another draft. Pretty standard league. .5 points per reception. .2 points per completion.
So this is your time to critique me. Let me know what you like, what you don't like. How you think everything will pan out. Don't hesitate to ask any questions about your own lineup, or questions that you may have for upcoming drafts.
(Next week I will be starting my regular season writeups. So far, I haven't put much thought into the weekly rankings for Week 1. I assure you, they will come. And there will be another Advice Time post, so kindly hold your questions til then.)
League 1
(So Fly Like Hakeem Nicks)
Starting Lineup: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, K, DL, LB, LB, DB, DB
The bench has requirements that mirror the starting lineup. For example, you must have one QB on the bench, must have one Kicker on the bench, must have two linebackers on the bench, etc.
Set-Up: 10-team. PPR league, bonus for large yardage games. Defensively, tackles and sacks are very highly rewarded. Essentially, your defensive players make or break your team.
Draft Position: Number 5
Strategy: Grab a running back first, then best players available. Get a second RB in the top four. Wait on quarterback until most starting spots are full. Be the first to get a linebacker (I was the second, and the first to have both LB slots filled). Be the first to get DB.
My Lineup: (draft position in parentheses)
| QB | Jay Cutler (9) | Backup QB | Josh Freeman (18) |
| RB1 | Chris Johnson (1) | Backup RB | Shonn Greene (11) |
| RB2 | Fred Jackson (5) | Backup RB | Kevin Smith (16) |
| WR1 | Greg Jennings (3) | Backup WR | Pierre Garcon (12) |
| WR2 | Hakeem Nicks (4) | Backup WR | Titus Young (19) |
| TE | Rob Gronkowski (2) | Backup TE | Kyle Rudolph (23) |
| K | Matt Prater (22) | Backup K | Alex Henery (24) |
| DL | Ahtyba Rubin (10) | Backup DL | Haloti Ngata (15) |
| LB | Chad Greenway (6) | Backup LB | Karlos Dansby (14) |
| LB | Curtis Lofton (7) | Backup LB | Pat Angerer (20) |
| DB1 | Tyvon Branch (8) | Backup DB | Dawan Landry (17) |
| DB2 | Antoine Bethea (13) | Backup DB | Kyle Arrington (21) |
Turns out I was very happy with this one. I feel that my defense is the best in the league. I would have liked stronger starting receivers, but both are solid. There were a lot of surprise picks that threw me off my game a bit. I do think that I reached on Cutler, but I wanted to be sure that I had a QB with at least top-8 potential.
League 2
Team Name: The Token Blackmon
Starting Lineup: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, TE, FLEX, K, DEF
Seven bench spots
Set-Up: 10-team. Standard Scoring Auction League.
Draft Position: Auction ($200)
Strategy: Nominate expensive players that I don't really want early. Later, when everyone is mostly out of money, nominate players that I want. List a few players I know that I want and get them. Spend $160 on starters. $40 for backups. Try to be the last person to win a player, and the first person to be finished. Own no players for only $1.
My Lineup: (Dollar amount in parentheses)
| QB | Tony Romo ($13) | Bench | Matt Ryan ($8) |
| RB1 | DeMarco Murray ($33) | Bench | Steve Johnson ($12) |
| RB2 | Chris Johnson ($41) | Bench | Kevin Smith ($8) |
| WR1 | Marques Colston ($12) | Bench | Denarius Moore ($6) |
| WR2 | Victor Cruz ($19) | Bench | Jared Cook ($2) |
| TE | Jermichael Finley ($10) | Bench | Michael Bush ($10) |
| FLEX | Brandon Lloyd ($15) | Bench | Santonio Holmes ($4) |
| K | Dan Bailey ($1) | ||
| DEF | Houston Texans ($2) |
For the most part, it went as I planned it to. Got two great quarterbacks for half of what people paid for Rodgers, Brees and Brady. Love my starting running backs. Feel that I have a good WR corp that I got for cheap. Wish that I had passed on Finley and waited for a cheaper TE, so I could have had maybe a stronger starting receiver. Overall, I'm happy with it.
League 3
Team Name: Weeden't Start the Fire
Starting Lineup: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, RB/WR, TE, FLEX, K, DEF
Six bench spots
Set-Up: 10-team. .5 PPR. .2 per completion. Bonus scoring for high yardage games. Flex can be RB/WR/TE
Draft Position: Pick 7
Strategy: Hated being number 7. Hope for a top tier RB to fall to me in first two rounds. WRs in mid rounds. Late on quarterback. Get Antonio Gates at any price. Use Shuffling Defense strategy and get a defense with great Week 1 matchup. Kicker last. Fill bench with sleepers.
My Lineup: (Draft position in parentheses)
| QB | Philip Rivers (7) | Bench | Michael Bush (9) |
| RB1 | DeMarco Murray (3) | Bench | Lance Moore (10) |
| RB2 | Steven Jackson (4) | Bench | Nate Washington (11) |
| WR1 | Calvin Johnson (1) | Bench | Matt Schaub (12) |
| WR2 | Larry Fitzgerald (2) | Bench | Rashad Jennings (13) |
| WR/RB | Dwayne Bowe (6) | Bench | Greg Olsen (14) |
| TE | Antonio Gates (5) | ||
| FLEX | Pierre Garcon (8) | ||
| K | Matt Prater (16) | ||
| DEF | Detroit Lions (15) |
First rounds did not go nearly as planned. Top five RBs were gone in the first six picks, so I opted for Calvin Johnson. Lynch and Forte were gone in the early 2nd round, so I decided I might as well have the top two WRs in the fantasy football rankings. I was lucky and had Murray fall to me in the 3rd and Steven Jackson fall to me in the fourth. Then took Gates.
Turns out, this team looks a lot like a 2010 Fantasy Football All-Star team. But I'm OK with that. Wish my flex was better, but I think Nate Washington will actually step it up with all of the Britt troubles. And I was sure to snatch Jennings in case MJD doesn't come back any time soon.
