Ultimate Team By Committee - UTBC

  Posted 8/20 by Jeff Pasquino, Exclusive to Footballguys.com

WHEN THE BRITISH naturalist George Shaw received a weird specimen from Australia in 1799 - one with a mole's fur, a duck's bill and spurs on its rear legs - he did what any skeptical scientist would do: He looked for the stitching and glue that would reveal it to be a hoax. "It was impossible not to entertain some distant doubts as to the genuine nature of the animal," Shaw wrote of the seemingly built-by-committee creature, which he eventually named "platypus".

Over the past few years, there have been two very popular articles written by our very own Chase Stuart that look at an interesting approach to building a fantasy team with late value picks. Based upon the theory of using both Strength of Schedule ("SOS") and taking two players as a combination to build one very good player, he has discussed both Team Defense by Committee ("TDBC") and Quarterback by Committee ("QBBC") as a general fantasy league strategy. In general I think that this is a wise move because very early on in fantasy drafts there are a ton of RB and WR prospects to go after to build a great team. While there are a few studs at QB and also a few choice defenses, I do not see a huge need in leagues to pursue either too hard in the beginning stages of a fantasy draft.
So with this in mind, I started to think about what else can be done with the committee approach. Tight end? Perhaps. Wide receiver? A possibility, but it might be better to look at third WR options than any other option. What about running back? Hmmm, that might work. What if I could put together all of this and make a total team using committees? Would that even be possible?

Yes, Virginia, there is a Team Platypus.

With all of these concepts discussed here:

• QBBC - Quarterback By Committee (Chase Stuart)
• RB2BC - Running Back #2 By Committee (Jeff Pasquino)
• WR3BC - Wide Receiver #3 By Committee (Jeff Pasquino)
• TEBC - Tight End By Committee (Jeff Pasquino)
• DTBC - Defensive Team By Committee (Chase Stuart)

I've taken a good shot at putting together an Ultimate Team By Committee (UTBC). For the Mike Hermans of the world, I hope you don't mind that I will pass on the kicker by committee. Leave that one for some else to think about.

If It Walks Like a Duck.....

So using the suggestions in the articles and some tweaks based on current ADP, here are the suggestions to build your very own version of Team Platypus:

Table 1: The Ultimate Team By Committee (UTBC) Blueprint

Some of you may notice that there's a bit of inconsistency in Rounds 7 through 10. That's a good observation, and I can explain. Based on QBBC I had to tweak the WR3BC to allow for David Garrard and Aaron Rodgers to fit into Rounds 8 and 10, respectively. That means I cannot recommend going WR/WR in Rounds 7 and 8 for WR3BC. The good news is that while Patrick Crayton is climbing up the draftboards (current ADP as of August 12th is 94, or a late 8th rounder), Reggie Brown is sinking (ADP of 108, last pick of Round 9). Making those tweaks allows WR3BC and QBBC to fit together quite nicely.

After Round 10, Team Platypus works out according to plan. Zach Miller (ADP 136 or later) will certainly be there in Round 11, but so could Owen Daniels (ADP of 116). If he is, absolutely bail on TEBC and grab him - otherwise take Miller and LJ Smith in Round 13. The Bills (ADP of 178 or higher) will be there next, as will New Orleans (way off the charts) to finish the Team Defense approach.

As mentioned before, kickers are kickers - take one late. If your fantasy team has fewer than 18 rounds, TE or defense by committee may be a waste of roster space - and again you would want to get Owen Daniels and roll with him. On the flip side, if your team has a lot of roster room, don't wait beyond Round 19 to get New Orleans and feel free to grab late sleepers.

Best of luck this year.

As always, feedback is welcome at pasquino@footballguys.com.