My first FF draft of 2014..Thoughts?

Recon_Hawk

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2010
Messages
3,294
Reaction score
448
Location
Vancouver, Wa
I play in a bunch of leagues, so any feedback to help me in the future would be appreciated. It's your normal standard scoring, 12-team league.

The numbers on the right are Round drafted and overall pick # in case you had thoughts on the positional value.

QB: Andrew Luck - 5.51
RB1: Lesean McCoy - 1.3
RB2: Giovani Bernard - 3.27
WR1: Julio Jones - 2.22
WR2: Cordarrelle Patterson - 6.70
Flex: Andre Ellington - 4.46
TE: Kyle Rudolph - 10.118
D/ST: Broncos - 9.99
K: Adam Vinatieri - 14.166

Bench
RB: Bishop Sankey - 7.75
RB: Terrance West - 12.142
WR: DeAndre Hopkins - 8.94
WR: Justin Hunter - 11.123
WR: Brandin Cooks - 13.147
WR: Markus Wheaton - 15.171
WR: Jordan Matthews - 16.190

- I came out of this draft fairly happy, but looking at my roster I see I took more of a high risk/high reward approach. Most of these players are year 1/2 guys who have yet to really prove themselves.

- I had planned to find a WR2 somewhere in the 4th or 5th rd, but felt Ellington and Luck were to good to pass up on, imo.

- I've never carried more than 1 QB on the roster. Bad move on my part?

- I'm also a bit concerned about the strength of my receivers. I don't have a reliable WR2 on the roster. I'm thinking if I can find a gem RB on the waiver wire, I can trade one of my better RBs for a solid WR2.
 

EverydayImRusselin

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 15, 2013
Messages
2,002
Reaction score
644
I like it. I've had a lot of similar teams in my ESPN mocks. I mentioned in the sleeper thread I like Ellington and Patterson a lot. I think you should have waited on QB. I've been grabbing one in the 7/8/9 RD and getting someone like Ryan/Kaep/Romo. I also dont like your bench WR. Too many rookies. Very few rookies are worth grabbing in a 12 team redraft. I do like the Sankey pick too. Overall solid team.
 
OP
OP
Recon_Hawk

Recon_Hawk

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2010
Messages
3,294
Reaction score
448
Location
Vancouver, Wa
EverydayImRusselin":31f7u98r said:
I like it. I've had a lot of similar teams in my ESPN mocks. I mentioned in the sleeper thread I like Ellington and Patterson a lot. I think you should have waited on QB. I've been grabbing one in the 7/8/9 RD and getting someone like Ryan/Kaep/Romo. I also dont like your bench WR. Too many rookies. Very few rookies are worth grabbing in a 12 team redraft. I do like the Sankey pick too. Overall solid team.

Man, I could have gotten any of those three QBs in rounds 9 or later in my draft! I really like Luck's chances of playing as a top 5 QB with his WR corp in that division, but in hindsight grabbing Ryan or Romo (sorry not drafting Kaep) would have been a smarter move. There was a few solid WR2 to choose from in the 5th that could have helped the roster.

I agree my bench WRs is a huge concern. I know rookies almost never manage to put up great fantasy numbers, but I like the chances Cooks and Matthews have playing in those systems. I really have to hope one of the 2nd year receivers i drafted take the next step.

Thanks for the feedback :thirishdrinkers:
 

EverydayImRusselin

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 15, 2013
Messages
2,002
Reaction score
644
If you are looking for some deep sleeper WR try someone like Kenny Stills or Marvin Jones. I plan on targeting them in my league late.
 

EverydayImRusselin

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 15, 2013
Messages
2,002
Reaction score
644
You made me want to go do a draft. Here's my ESPN 12 team standard.

9.99 Tony Romo
1.3 Jamaal Charles
5.51 Chris Johnson
2.22 Julio Jones
4.46 Keenan Allen
3.27 Julius Thomas
6.70 Toby Gerhart
14.166 Blair Walsh
15.171 Tampa Bay

Bench
7.75 Stevan Ridley
8.94 Fred Jackson
10.118 Riley Cooper
11.123 Knile Davis
12.142 Legarrette Blount
13.147 Christine Michael
16.190 Josh Mccown

I'm pretty happy with this draft. There is a clear top 3 IMO, and I picked 3rd so it worked out nicely. I grabbed Julio as the best WR off the board. Then I took a detour to Julius Thomas. I've been experimenting in my mocks with picking him and it seems to work out pretty good. I really wanted Ellington in the 4th but he went 6 picks before me and I couldn't pass on Keenan Allen. Then I went on a RB spree. Johnson, Gerhart, Ridley, Jackson. That provides some good depth I think for my RB2 and flex spot. Romo was sitting there in the 9th, so I snagged him. I grabbed Cooper so I'd have 3 WR total (I like to do this when I don't have 2 high end RB's). Then I took some flyers on more RB in Davis, Blount, Michael and finally grabbed another QB in case Romo's back can't hold up.

What do you think?
 
OP
OP
Recon_Hawk

Recon_Hawk

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2010
Messages
3,294
Reaction score
448
Location
Vancouver, Wa
Sorry it's taken me awhile to respond. My last reply didn't post for some reason and I lost it, but when I get home tonight I'll write it out again.
 
OP
OP
Recon_Hawk

Recon_Hawk

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2010
Messages
3,294
Reaction score
448
Location
Vancouver, Wa
I think you got a solid draft going for you and a really strong starting roster. I'm not quite sold on CJ, though. I know he's been nothing but productive fantasy wise basically every year he's played, but now he's in a new system, coming off injury and playing in an offense that is said to go with the "hot hand" regarding running back. Chris Ivory isn't that bad of a back and could steal snaps from CJ if his running style is working better than CJ's speed. However, I'm really high on Gerhart and think will eventually prove himself as a great RB2 and allow you to use CJ as a flex.

Romo in the 9th is a solid value pick and having a top-3 tight end like Thomas is nice cause you don't have to worry about the position the whole year like half a league does.

Your best value pick might be TB's defense. Lovie Smith has some players there to turn that into a top unit.

I was a big Keenan Allen fan when he was playing out of Cal and was hoping the Hawks would draft him. The first week he showed up big in a NFL game i grabbed him of the waiver wire in almost every league of mine and basically played him as a WR2/Flex the rest of the year. He was a huge help last season and should continue to grow, though the Chargers have some receivers returning from injury so I'd keep an eye on that.

I like you're bench running backs. Jackson should get some starting reps when/if CJ Spiller is hurt. Ridley burnt me last season, but he has the chance to return to his 10+ TD days if he can hold onto the ball. Blount could be a sold flex option if Pittsburgh uses him consistently as a goaline back.

I probably wouldn't carry that many running backs over the entire season and look to add a receiver off the ww. If it was me I would have grabbed another receiver in either that 11-14 rd range. Is there a strategy to only carry three receiver total? Cooper may get more targets this year now that DeSean Jackson is gone, but there's also a chance Matthews and Maclin steal targets away. It's a question mark for me.

Overall good draft!
 

EverydayImRusselin

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 15, 2013
Messages
2,002
Reaction score
644
I'm not sold on CJ either. Since I didn't have a RB2 and there weren't a ton of options there, I went ahead and grabbed a lot of depth so that hopefully 2 of those guys will be startable. As for carrying only 3 WR, it's a strategy I employ sometimes when I grab 2 WR early. Basically I want to load up on RB's and so I only grab 1 WR to fill in the bye weeks. Once the season get's going, I'll patrol the waiver wire and probably dump some of my lower end RB's like Blount.
 
OP
OP
Recon_Hawk

Recon_Hawk

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 18, 2010
Messages
3,294
Reaction score
448
Location
Vancouver, Wa
I've watched a few Titan games lately and I have to say, I'm more impressed with CJ than I thought I would be. He looked to still have the quick feet and speed that makes him dangerous and played with more heart than I thought he'd show (which says a lot playing in that poor Titans' offense)

If he plays 2014 pain-free, you could have a decent RB2 on your hands. Rex Ryan is a coach dedicated to the run game and having a mobile QB like Geno Smith could open up holes for CJ in an offense that uses the read-option and even wildcat.
 

Ozzy

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 3, 2013
Messages
9,289
Reaction score
3,816
At least no one followed Sonic's ridiculous advice by taking a QB in the 1st round so you're way ahead of the game there. All the teams above look solid to me. Job well done guys.
 

kearly

New member
Joined
Mar 6, 2007
Messages
15,975
Reaction score
0
I love your core starters and where you got them.

Luck is over-rated as a QB, but under-rated in fantasy. His sky high pass attempts aren't going to change, and if he finally matures as a QB he has a shot at being an elite level fantasy production QB on par with Rodgers and Brees.

Julio Jones is a huge steal at #22 if his foot stays healthy, though some worry it may not.

Bernard is not a value pick this year but I understand the hype given that he put his talent on display for the common fan last season and now plays in a Huge Action offense. Actually, you got him a later than his current ADP so props for that.

I'm stunned you got Patterson that late, he's been hyped to the moon as this year's Josh Gordon candidate.

I think Ellington is just slightly over-rated this year but you got him at a pretty good spot.

Really surprised that you got Rudolph that late.

Looks like you got a bit of luck on your side too, getting the #3 pick. By choosing McCoy, you didn't miss the layup.

I like Sankey and West on the bench. Hearing great things about West and Sankey is a very similar prospect to Bernard.

I would give this draft an A-, maybe a solid A. Really good value on most of your starters. I do have a few nitpicks though:

I'm not wild about the Broncos pick but most teams are going to be looking at waiver wire for defense by week three anyway. Ditto Vinatieri. Once the top kickers are gone it's basically dumb luck, not a big deal.

I strongly dislike your WR bench. Hopkins is talented, but who's throwing to him? Fitzpatrick. Hunter is not a good bet to stay healthy, and has Jake Locker throwing to him.

Cooks was good in college but is over-rated for the NFL, is a rookie, and will probably start the year as the Saints #3 WR behind Colston and Stills. I think rookie Kenny Stills is a pretty good comparison for 2014 Cooks (641 yards, 5 TD). Good for a rookie, but bad for fantasy. The only thing that has me second guessing is how his speed might translate to production quickly on turf, similar to TY Hilton. But even Hilton is kind of a "meh" fantasy WR. Did I mention Cooks is a rookie?

Wheaton was a good college WR, but hasn't really shown anything special in the pros yet. He had 64 yards receiving last year on a passing offense that featured a 1500 yard WR and pretty much nothing else. Last year at least, Big Ben was locked into Brown and didn't seem to be looking for anyone else. I don't think Wheaton sucks, but to me he's the classic case of a player you leave on waivers until you see signs first. WRs usually take 3-4 years to reach production and Wheaton certainly does not appear to be an exception.

Matthews is also a rookie who I don't think is all that good. He's on an balanced offense that runs a lot and spreads the football, and though the Eagles lack a true #1 they have a bunch of quality #2 WRs similar to Seattle. I think Matthews will probably finish with fantasy stats on par with Paul Richardson, maybe even a little less. I wouldn't consider either one to be worth a fantasy roster spot at this point.

Your starters are good enough to win your league, especially if you work the waivers like every good player does for defense and kicker during the season. Your RB group is pretty strong, there is a chance you could end up with five good RBs.

The one weakness of your team is the signicant downside you have at WR. Julio I love, but if his foot problem returns he could be in for another quick IR. Patterson I think is a steal, but he's also boom or bust. You bench is made up of 1st and 2nd year players who are very unlikely to produce, IMO. To your credit, you are in a flex league which means you could survive with just two viable WRs instead of three, but I think you would be a bit on the lucky side to pull two our of those seven since Julio and Patterson both carry big risk.

If your RB group booms while your WRs bust, you could probably trade a RB for a WR very easily in a flex league where most teams only need two starting WRs. I just think that by the end of the year, you are probably going to need help at WR unless you avoid misfortune with Julio and Patterson.
 
Top