Industry Expert Draft Review
Jul 01, 2009 at 2:42 PM
As I've mentioned before, I have been on the lookout for some industry expert leagues to get into this season to represent FFChamps.com and promote our product a little more. I've found a couple of pretty good ones, and on Monday evening I took part in my first industry experts league draft of the year. I am competing in this particular league against 11 other fantasy football outlets, including pros from USA Today, CBS Sportsline, Pro Football Weekly, FFIndepth.com (the organizer of the league) and many others. This league uses the same rules as the World Championship of Fantasy Football, most notably it's a point-per-reception (PPR) league. Our lineup consists of one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, one kicker, one team defense, and a flex position player (WR, TE, or RB).
I had the fifth overall pick, so after Maurice Jones-Drew went No. 1 (mistake!), Adrian Peterson went second, and Matt Forte went third, I was sitting on either Larry Fitzgerald Jr. or Andre Johnson with my pick. Remember, in PPR leagues like this, the popular strategy of taking a running back in the first round does not always apply. Well, as fate would have it, Fitz went No. 4 to PFW so I grabbed Johnson. (Yes, Beavis, that's what I said).
I employed the "do the opposite" strategy and ended up with a team I like a lot, including Johnson, Greg Jennings, and Peyton Manning with my first three picks, and three 1,000-yard rushers (Ryan Grant, Derrick Ward, and Thomas Jones) in my backfield.
For those of you unfamiliar with the "opposite" draft strategy, I invite you to check out our Fantasy Football University class on Fantasy Football Terminology. It's free to non-subscribers, like all of the FFU classes. For further details on doing the opposite, FFChamps subscribers can take a look at the article I published today on Draft Strategy.
Here's how my team turned out, ordered by round:
1. Andre Johnson, WR, Texans
2. Greg Jennings, WR, Packers
3. Peyton Manning, QB, Colts
4. Ryan Grant, RB, Packers
5. Derrick Ward, RB, Buccaneers
6. Thomas Jones, RB, Jets
7. Bernard Berrian, WR, Vikings
8. John Carlson, TE, Seahawks
9. Percy Harvin, WR, Vikings
10. Eli Manning, QB, Giants
11. Minnesota Vikings Defense
12. Justin Gage, WR, Titans
13. Earnest Graham, RB, Buccaneers
14. Kevin Boss, TE, Giants
15. James Davis, RB, Browns
16. Jason Elam, K, Falcons
17. Rashad Jennings, RB, Jaguars
18. Ryan Longwell, K, Vikings
According to the FFChamps C3 cheat sheet for PPR leagues, I have the No. 2 quarterback, No. 2 and No. 6 wide receivers, No. 2 kicker, No. 2 team defense, and the No. 6 tight end. Waiting on running backs hurt my depth there, but I still wound up with three top-20 backs. I like my sleepers (Justin Gage and Kevin Boss) and I like Eli Manning's matchup (vs. Saints) on Peyton's bye week. Moreover, my two rookie running backs could surprise and I handcuffed Graham to Ward. I also don't have any bye week issues. All in all, I would say the draft was a success.
Here is my Week 1 Lineup:
QB - Peyton Manning
RB - Derrick Ward
RB - Ryan Grant
WR - Andre Johnson
WR - Greg Jennings
WR - Bernard Berrian
Flex - Thomas Jones
TE - John Carlson
K - Jason Elam
D - Vikings
Let me know what you think of my team. I look forward to carrying the FFChamps flag to a championship in this league!
Bo Mitchell is a member of the FSWA
Comments
On Jul 02, 2009 at 4:38 AM Peter said:
i dont understand why you went defense in the 11th. I usually wait until the last pick to take a DF considering over 50% of top 12 DFs are from the free agent pool.
On Jul 02, 2009 at 11:01 AM Mat said:
There are very few defenses that are undroppable, and the Vikings are certainly one of them.
On Jul 02, 2009 at 11:52 AM Aaron said:
I too found it interesting that you choose your def in the 11th, when not so long ago an article was posted about taking your def and k in the last rounds. I am sure in an 18 round draft you can jump in a little earlier but 11th?
On TE's, I put more value since they have the biggest point difference from #1 to #12 than any other position. I like the two 'sleepers' you choose but would perfer one of the big guns - was ganzo, witten, or clark available @ 6 or 7? Best wishes.
On Jul 03, 2009 at 10:55 AM Bo said:
Guys, I did not write the article on taking a defense in the last round, and while I agree with that in most formats, the WCOFF format is not one of them. In this scoring system, defense accounts for a ton of points (which is unfortunate) so it is imperative to either get an elite one or just wait until the end. I was the third or or fourth team to take a defense and was lucky to get one of the top two in my rankings. The scoring system made me do it!
On Jul 03, 2009 at 11:56 AM Peter said:
my league also rewards big points for DF but in 2008 6 out of the Top 10 DFs were free agents. I also took the Vikings early last year and it didnt pay off.
On Jul 03, 2009 at 9:29 PM jim said:
I like your team Bo. A lot will depend on the upside of your Rb's.
I really think what Aaron said about the point difference between 1 and 12 is very important in draft strategy and rarely discussed. I go as far as noting 13 to 24 (and 25 to 36 for wr's) at every posistion.
On Jul 05, 2009 at 11:07 AM Jeff said:
Why 2 kickers?
On Jul 05, 2009 at 5:11 PM Jason said:
hey Bo, are Jon and Ian still contributers to the site or not?
On Jul 07, 2009 at 2:18 PM tom said:
nice team.. Ward scares me a bit in tamap, will he be the main guy, like you said your RB's are thin, but who knows..
On Jul 11, 2009 at 8:43 AM john said:
Playing with experts,you have to think outside the box and you have done so.You are looking great at WR,QB,D. I like your overall selection at RB and if the ball bounces your way,you could win it all.
