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Throughout the preseason, we will take a look at some interesting drafts for the Footballguys Players Championship and give some of our thoughts and critiques. This should give you an idea of what types of draft strategies to consider for your own league.
This draft was conducted in the week of July 25th.
Round | Team 1 | Team 2 | Team 3 | Team 4 | Team 5 | Team 6 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Jamaal Charles | LeSean McCoy | Calvin Johnson | Matt Forte | Jimmy Graham | Adrian Peterson |
2 | Le'Veon Bell | Randall Cobb | Peyton Manning | Jordy Nelson | Rob Gronkowski | Arian Foster |
3 | Shane Vereen | Julius Thomas | Doug Martin | Andre Ellington | Vincent Jackson | C.J. Spiller |
4 | Dennis Pitta | Michael Floyd | Toby Gerhart | Aaron Rodgers | Joique Bell | Percy Harvin |
5 | Cordarelle Patterson | Drew Brees | DeSean Jackson | Wes Welker | Bishop Sankey | Rashad Jennings |
6 | Lamar Miller | Steven Jackson | Ray Rice | Jeremy Maclin | Chris Johnson | Torrey Smith |
7 | Eric Decker | Marques Colston | Dwayne Bowe | Sammy Watkins | Reggie Wayne | Terrence Williams |
8 | Cecil Shorts | Stevan Ridley | Tom Brady | Antonio Gates | Fred Jackson | Martellus Bennett |
9 | Tony Romo | Charles Clay | Eric Ebron | Anquan Boldin | Tavon Austin | Ladarius Green |
10 | Kenny Britt | Greg Jennings | Seahawks Defense | Kenny Stills | James Jones | Danny Amendola |
11 | Colin Kaepernick | Knowshon Moreno | DeAngelo Williams | Christine Michael | Ben Roethlisberger | Justin Hunter |
12 | Andrew Hawkins | Markus Wheaton | Steve Smith | Garrett Graham | Tyler Eifert | Jay Cutler |
13 | David Wilson | Charles Sims | Aaron Dobson | Chris Ivory | Philip Rivers | Jordan Mathews |
14 | Robert Woods | Chris Polk | Marqise Lee | Josh Gordon | Doug Baldwin | Patriots Defense |
15 | LeGarrette Blount | Carson Palmer | Shonn Greene | Ka'Deem Carey | Bears Defense | Travis Kelce |
16 | Chiefs Defense | David Ausberry | Coby Fleener | Denarius Moore | Andre Brown | James Starks |
17 | Ronnie Hillman | James White | Stevie Johnson | Chris Givens | Malcom Floyd | C.J. Anderson |
18 | Matt Prater | Justin Tucker | Phil Dawson | Jernel Jernigan | Steven Hauschka | Donald Brown |
19 | Stepfan Taylor | Bills Defense | Mike Williams | Dexter McCluster | Levine Toilolo | Joe Flacco |
20 | Adrien Robinson | Charles Johnson | Lache Seastrunk | Johnny Manziel | Cole Beasley | Matt Bryant |
Round | Team 7 | Team 8 | Team 9 | Team 10 | Team 11 | Team 12 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Eddie Lacy | Demaryius Thomas | Dez Bryant | Montee Ball | DeMarco Murray | A.J. Green |
2 | Marshawn Lynch | Giovani Bernard | Antonio Brown | Alshon Jeffery | Brandon Marshall | Julio Jones |
3 | Andre Johnson | Keenan Allen | Victor Cruz | Jordan Cameron | Zac Stacy | Pierre Garcon |
4 | Ryan Mathews | Roddy White | Alfred Morris | Reggie Bush | Jason Witten | Larry Fitzgerald |
5 | Michael Crabtree | Pierre Thomas | Greg Olsen | Jordan Reed | Kendall Wright | Trent Richardson |
6 | Vernon Davis | Mike Wallace | Kyle Rudolph | Julian Edelman | T.Y. Hilton | Emmanuel Sanders |
7 | Ben Tate | Zach Ertz | Matthew Stafford | Danny Woodhead | Frank Gore | Bernard Pierce |
8 | Andrew Luck | Darren Sproles | Devonta Freeman | Robert Griffin III | Golden Tate | Maurice Jones-Drew |
9 | DeAndre Hopkins | Nick Foles | Jeremy Hill | Hakeem Nicks | Reuben Randle | Darren McFadden |
10 | Mike Evans | Terrance West | Brandin Cooks | Marvin Jones | Cam Newton | Delanie Walker |
11 | Riley Cooper | Dwayne Allen | Khiry Robinson | Kelvin Benjamin | Heath Miller | Matt Ryan |
12 | Russell Wilson | Lance Dunbar | Tre Mason | Knile Davis | Jarrett Boykin | Carlos Hyde |
13 | Mark Ingram | Brian Hartline | Roy Helu | Ahmad Bradshaw | 49ers Defense | Jared Cook |
14 | Panthers Defense | Bryce Brown | Odell Beckham Jr | Harry Douglas | Jonathan Stewart | Richard Rodgers |
15 | Austin Sefarian-Jenkins | Rams Defense | Broncos Defense | Cardinals Defense | Rod Streater | Cody Latimer |
16 | Colts Defense | Marcedes Lewis | Ryan Tannehill | Andre Holmes | Jacquizz Rodgers | Latavius Murray |
17 | Miles Austin | Eli Manning | Andre Williams | Owen Daniels | Andy Dalton | Alex Smith |
18 | Stephen Gostkowski | Marquess Wilson | Jerricho Cotchery | Sam Bradford | Jordan Todman | Bengals Defense |
19 | Jermichael Finley | Dan Bailey | Nick Novak | Dri Archer | Mason Crosby | Adam Vinatieri |
20 | Timothy Wright | Jace Amaro | Benny Cunningham | Robbie Gould | Nate Washington | Kendall Hunter |
Team 1
Rudnicki: I think it’s critical for the team picking first overall to capitalize on their 3rd round pick since there can be a dropoff in talent by the time the 4.12 pick comes around. You can take a 3rd RB there in this format if the value is clear, but Vereen likely carries too much risk and Julius Thomas or even Vincent Jackson probably would have been a better choice. Taking a 4th RB in round 6 instead of a WR also felt like overkill. Is Cordarelle Patterson really ready to be a WR1 on a contending team? I’m not sure, and Eric Decker has some question marks as well following his move to the Jets. The Tony Romo/Colin Kaepernick combination at QB in rounds 9 and 11 could provide elite production at the position. Overall, this team is strong at RB and QB, but I think they lack enough quality and depth at the WR and TE positions to make a big run. After spending so many high picks on the RB position, I think they should have passed on some of the extra RB picks (i.e., Blount, Hillman, and Taylor) and looked for more home run type picks at the receiving positions.
Best pick: Robert Woods (14th)
Worst pick: Shane Vereen (3rd)
Dodds: Team 1 would have been better to grab a 2nd WR before landing 4 RBs. I like the Lamar Miller pick (6th), but think he has a lot better team grabbing Julius Thomas in the 3rd and then swinging back and getting a WR in the 4th and 5th. His RBs are stacked, but this team did not take enough upside WRs to have a great team. Romo and Kaep are EXACTLY why you should wait at QB.
Team 2
Rudnicki: I love the balanced start in the first three rounds as it gives you an option to capitalize on any value that falls later on instead of being forced into chasing a particular position. Floyd is a nice upside pick late in round 4, and Brees looks like solid value early in round 5. Steven Jackson (6th) and Steven Ridley (8th) were not expensive but should provide decent RB2 and flex options in most weeks. I really like the Charles Clay pick in round 9 as he should be an everyweek starter as a flex option in this format. Overall, I really think this team has the balance, depth, and quality at all positions to be a contender. The first 10 rounds went extremely well, but I’m less enthused about the second half of the draft. Markus Wheaton could be a nice grab and Chris Polk is a solid handcuff for McCoy, but otherwise I don’t see much upside. Regardless, this should be one of the strongest teams in the league.
Best pick: Charles Clay (9th)
Worst pick: Charles Sims (13th)
Dodds: Extremely good balance while still taking a QB relatively early (5th). He is lacking at RB2, but has enough guys to do OK there while he attempts to grab one on the waiver wire. Strong everywhere else and loaded with upside picks.
Team 3
Rudnicki: While it’s rarely a good idea to take a QB in the first two rounds, Peyton Manning is tough to pass up. Starting with Calvin Johnson and Manning likely gives you the WR1 and QB1 right off the bat so the question is whether you can still find enough value at the RB position to hold onto that edge. Doug Martin has top-10 potential so it looks like a steal to get him in round 3, and nobody would probably blink if Martin had gone much earlier. Gerhart is quietly set up to get a lot of work in Jacksonville and might wind up being a very solid RB2, and Ray Rice can obviously produce if he bounces back from his poor 2013 and upcoming suspension for domestic violence. There’s enough talent at RB there to compete with most teams, which is all you can hope for after passing on the position for the first two rounds. DeSean Jackson and Dwayne Bowe are both talented players who can fill a WR2 or flex spot most weeks. The biggest question mark for this team after round 7 is TE, so it’s surprising they took a backup QB in Brady there instead of Charles Clay. When you have Peyton Manning who never gets hurt, Brady’s value to the team should be minimal so the only thing that move likely does is keep Brady from going to an opponent. Eric Ebron might do enough to start in most weeks, but it’s very risky to count on a rookie TE as your everyweek starter. The Seahawks defense pick in round 10 gives this team a great chance to finish with the top scoring starter at 3 different positions, but with 2 flex spots on offense I think they might have been better served building more depth on offense to get through injuries and bye weeks. Overall, I think this team is solid but I would be very concerned that weakness at TE and perhaps a lack of RB depth will hold them back.
Best pick: Doug Martin (3rd)
Worst pick: Tom Brady (8th)
Dodds: Through 7 picks, this was the blueprint on how to execute taking a QB early. But then his draft went south. He did not need Brady in the 8th and would have been fine adding Eli Manning, Andy Dalton, or Joe Flacco in rounds 17-20. TE Eric Ebron may not start out of gate and even if he does could struggle a bit as a rookie. Taking the Seahawks in the 10th is locking down the position, but it seems too steep of a price especially with so many other needs. If this were my draft, I prefer going Charles Clay in the 8th, upside WRs in the 9th (like Amendola or Hicks), and again in the 10th (Britt/Hunter/Cooper) and then grabbing a high upside RB in Christine Michael in the 11th. The closeout of this team is very good.
Team 4
Rudnicki: This looks like a great start over the first 5 rounds. A lot is expected of Ellington with a pick that high, but he should get enough touches to be worth it. Rodgers late in the 4th feels like a great value, and Welker in the 5th is another excellent value pick. After 5 rounds, this team is balanced with 1QB, 2 RB, and 2 WR so they can look for value as it falls. Maclin and Watkins with the next two picks are both the types of picks that can blow up and really take this team from middle of the pack to the top. However, the team may have gone overboard by taking Boldin and Stills in rounds 9 and 10 to give them 6 WRs after 10 rounds. There’s probably nothing wrong with any of those picks at those spots, but it’s risky to wait that long before grabbing a #3 RB and Gates is a risky TE1 choice at this point too. Michael and Graham in the next two rounds help address those points, and I like the late-round RB picks in Ivory, Carey (Forte handcuff), and McCluster quite a bit. Even though this team didn’t really need any more WRs, they took some smart gambles at that position as well. Lastly, after landing Rodgers early, it made perfect sense to wait forever to take a backup QB while landing lots of lottery picks that could pay off huge. However, this team made a glaring mistake by not drafting a PK or defense. With no waivers allowed until after week 1, they will have to take zeros at those positions and that’s a risky strategy in a shortened season.
Best pick: Aaron Rodgers
Worst pick: No defense or PK
Dodds: This is the reason why I hate taking a QB early. It looks innocent enough, but pencil in Gerhart in the 4th instead of Rodgers and use A QBBC of Eli Manning, Andy Dalton, and/or Flacco in the 17th - 20th and this team would likely be a lot stronger. The Carey handcuff was solid with little depth at RB. If Michael becomes the starter by season end, this team will be very strong. Not drafting a kicker though will cost him week 1 points.
Team 5
Rudnicki: The unique rules of this league make the dual-TE strategy here a viable one and it’s very possible Graham and Gronkowski could give this team a huge edge over other teams. The risk is obviously falling too far behind at other positions, but I like what this team did afterwards. They waited until round 11 to grab a QB, which allowed them to build much-needed depth at RB and WR in the meantime. Bishop Sankey and Chris Johnson both are in favorable situations with a good chance to put up reliable everyweek numbers. The main question with this team will likely be the WR position, and they figure to be weaker than most at QB. A healthy year from both TEs, however, will make them a strong contender. I couldn’t find any real fault with any picks here, although I might have had a slight preference for a different player from the same position at a few spots. Strong team.
Best pick: Bishop Sankey (5th)
Worst pick: None stand out
Dodds: I like what this team did here with the two TEs and punting until the 11th and 13th to get their QBs. No true stud RB, but 3 guys that could hold down the fort. No real complaints regarding this team.
Team 6
Rudnicki: Starting with 3RBs in the first 3 rounds is not a strategy I would recommend in these types of leagues. There are so many RBBC situations out there, and it’s a position more susceptible to injuries so that tends to devalue the position compared to others. So, the pick of Spiller in round 3 likely should have been a WR or perhaps even Jordan Cameron. Adding a 4th RB in round 5 in Rashad Jennings again felt like overkill even though you can start 4 RBs each week in these leagues. The heavy emphasis at RB for this team likely left them too weak at WR, unless they get a big year from someone like Terrence Williams, Amendola, or Hunter which is very possible. Despite waiting at TE, I do see nice upside in the pairing of Bennett/Green in the 8th and 9th rounds. This team waited longer than anyone at QB and still got a serviceable starter in Jay Cutler and decent backup in Joe Flacco, which is another example of why it often makes sense to wait there if you can. Overall, this team turned out a little better than I would have expected after the way it started but I think it will need a few breaks to finish near the top.
Best pick: Adrian Peterson (1st)
Worst pick: Rashad Jennings (5th)
Dodds: I personally hate teams that go RB/RB/RB usually, but it worked out here. The key play again was to WAIT at QB. He did that to perfection here adding Cutler in the 12th and Flacco in the 19th. I love the Amendola and Jordan Mathews picks. Not a big fan of the James Starks pick (limited upside).
Team 7
Rudnicki: Personally, I would have preferred to take a WR in round 1 after the top-4 RBs were off the board. However, Lacy/Lynch could certainly give them two top-10 RBs to build their team around. I really liked a lot of the picks this team made through the first 12 rounds or so. After taking RBs with 3 of their first 4 selections, they were wise not to spend much more on the position but Tate looked like nice value in the 7th. Andre Johnson (3rd) and Michael Crabtree (5th) will provide reliable production at the WR position while Hopkins, Evans, and Cooper all could be viable flex options in most weeks. Not much to find fault with on this team, except that they might have also benefited from waiting a little longer at QB, especially when you see they were able to get Russell Wilson as their QB2 in round 12. Given the TE scoring, I would have preferred to see a strong TE2 option than the rookie in Tampa, but they did add some big upside selections late in the draft with Finley and Wright. Should be a contender if the RBs play up to expectations.
Best pick: Andre Johnson (3rd)
Worst pick: Eddie Lacy (1st)
Dodds: This team made no mistakes and scooped up value round by round. It should be a solid contender.
Team 8
Rudnicki: I’d have some concerns about whether Bernard (2nd) is ready to provide top-10 RB numbers that can anchor your team, which is what you have to expect when you take him this early. There seems to be a pattern with this team over relying on young and unproven players. While those types do carry significant upside, they are also probably more likely to disappoint as they don’t have a track record of success yet. This team went heavy at WR to start with 4 in their first 6 picks, and that should give them 2 solid flex options most weeks. My biggest concern is likely the RBs as Bernard and Pierre Thomas feel like below average starters at RB1 and RB2, but Sproles and West may help offset that if they pan out. Another team that waited at QB (Foles, 9th) and wound up with a solid starter, although I probably would have liked to see a better QB2 than Eli Manning. I think the weakness at RB might be too much for this team to overcome, but the WRs could carry them.
Best pick: Darren Sproles (8th)
Worst pick: Giovani Bernard (2nd)
Dodds: Another solid effort in roster construction, but likely needs to find a RB in free agency. I would have liked to see a few more darts at that position.
Team 9
Rudnicki: While it’s not a strategy I would typically use, going WR/WR/WR like this team did is something that might actually work. Those are 3 players capable of putting up WR1-type numbers, and the fact the team was still able to land Alfred Morris in round 4 could be the key here. When you wait at RB this long, it’s key to find a RB who you can rely on for consistent production each week. I also don’t have an issue with the move to grab two very good TEs in Olsen, Rudolph with back to back picks in rounds 5 and 6. At that point, the team has 6 strong starters at WR, TE, and the flex spots, and just needs to put together a RB2 by committee while also adding in depth and their QBs. It was probably not necessary to take a QB in the 7th, but they added RBs with 5 of their next 6 picks to hopefully find another decent starter or two. Definitely a team that could do some damage if they hit on a RB2 with one of these late picks or in free agency.
Best pick: Alfred Morris (4th)
Worst pick: Matthew Stafford (7th)
Dodds: Upside down RB drafting at its finest and I like it. This team needs a RB 2, but has everything else going for it. Lots of upside on this team. If they find a RB2 (either on their roster or through waivers), this team will be scary good.
Team 10
Rudnicki: It can be tough to build a strong team out of the gate when picking late in round 1, so I think you often need to take some calculated risks. This team seems to have done that with the Ball and Jeffery picks as both guys are very young but have a good chance to finish as clear top-5 options at their respective positions. I may have preferred going WR/WR to start, but I can’t fault grabbing a stud RB either. Jordan Cameron in round 3 has big upside and looks like a great pick to me. Some nice balance overall with 2 RBs, 2 WRs, and 2 TEs after round 6. While they may have seemed a little weak at WR early on, the picks of Nicks and Jones and Benjamin in the middle rounds provided nice depth. Although a theme in this commentary has been that waiting on QB is generally a smart idea, the spot where Griffin (8th) went here is not bad as there were 4 other QBs taken before this team came up again in the 9th round. I’m concerned about lack of quality RB depth with Woodhead serving as the RB3, so they probably should have thrown some more darts at the position later on in hopes of hitting a home run. Overall, this team is solid and should have enough talent/depth to compete most weeks, but there is little margin for error.
Best pick: Jordan Cameron (3rd)
Worst pick: Danny Woodhead (7th)
Dodds: I am ok with this team getting two elite TEs, but if you do that you need to really wait on QB. By taking RG3 in the 8th, this team ended up with weak RBs and WRs. Will likely take finding a few break-out players later in the year on the waivers to be competitive.
Team 11
Rudnicki: This team looks similar to a team I might build from the 11 spot. Murray/Stacy look like a solid RB tandem to count on each week. Marshall, Wright, Hilton are all everyweek starters at WR, and Witten is an elite TE. The team was wise to wait at QB and still wound up with a very good QB1 in Cam Newton in round 10, as well as a very good QB2 in Dalton (17th). The Frank Gore pick late in round 7 looks great, and I think they got nice value with Jonathan Stewart and Jacquizz Rodgers late as well. This team appears to well balanced with good depth, which should allow it to get through bye weeks and be there at the end.
Best pick: Frank Gore (7th)
Worst pick: None stand out
Dodds: I think roster construction was fine, but I just don't like a lot of his players. Lots of old guys and they did not come at big enough discounts to feel like value plays.
Team 12
Rudnicki: As mentioned earlier, when picking late you may want to consider taking a different strategy. This team certainly took this approach by drafting a WR with each of their first four picks. All of the players they wound up with look pretty good to me, but one risk with this move is you almost can’t afford to take any more WRs after that, even if some great values wind up sliding to you. I’m not a big fan of the Richardson/Sanders turn since I didn’t like what I saw from Richardson last year, and Sanders feels like a luxury item who probably won’t start in most weeks for this team. I liked the next few picks at RB more, but don’t have a great feeling about Delanie Walker as the team’s TE1. Obviously this team will go as far as their WRs take them, but when you start out like that you really need to hit on picks at RB and TE and I’m not sure if there’s enough hits later in the draft here.
Best pick: Maurice Jones-Drew (8th)
Worst pick: Emmanuel Sanders (6th)
Dodds: I think the WR4 stack was a bit unnecessary and they would have had a better team to just take Alfred Morris or Reggie Bush in the 4th. The pair of Oak RBs was brilliant and Pierce should start the first 4 weeks of the season. This team was among the most creative assembled. By drafting in bunches they were able to avoid runs. Despite punting at TE, they have some good ones. Love this team.