2017 SiriusXM Independence Day Draft Results

As the content for the 2017 Fantasy Alarm NFL Fantasy Football Draft Guide starts to roll out, we always like to show that we practice what we preach. As you’ll see with the Guide, there are a number of strategies to employ and we try to test each and every one of them out in our own leagues, especially with the various formats used in fantasy football leagues. One such example is the SiriusXM Independence Day Invitational which had its draft Tuesday, July 4^th. I was not only part of the broadcast team, but I was also a participant, so here’s a look at what went down during the draft and what my final roster looked like after competing with 11 of the finest minds in the fantasy industry.

League Specifications

Get a bunch of industry guys together and no one wants to deal with kickers or team defenses, so we’ve eliminated both in this league. Instead, we’ve added a second starting tight end as well as a second flex spot to give us 10 starters. We also have a six-man bench which means the draft is 16 rounds. It is a 12-team PPR league with four points for a passing touchdown, six points for any rushing/receiving touchdowns and the usual one point per 25 passing yards, 10 rushing or 10 receiving yards. Interceptions and fumbles have a minus-2 value here as well.

The Participants

My Strategy Going In

My usual draft strategy is always employed as I like to load up on running backs and wide receivers early. I tend to wait on the quarterback position, but, as always, should an incredible value present itself, I am more than willing to take a gunslinger a little earlier. The tight end position has always been one that I punt since the value of the seventh best tight end isn’t far off from that of the 15^th and even with the extra starting tight end, I planned on waiting until late in the draft. I took part in this league last year and watched as many owners overvalued the position due to the roster change. I was plenty happy with who I ended up last year (Kyle Rudolph and an eventual streaming spot), as my rushing and receiving corps was top notch. I see no reason to deviate from that plan as I ended up in the semi-finals and only lost because injuries hit my receiving corps late in the season (Julio Jones, to be specific).

Final Draft Board

My Picks

Round 1:

Antonio Brown, WR PIT – As I expected, the top three running backs came off the board, leaving me with the best wide receiver in the game. I could sit here and gush over Brown’s targets, receptions, yards and touchdowns, but it’s nothing you don’t already know. He’s the No. 1 receiver in any format.

Round 2:

DeMarco Murray, RB TEN – He’s not exactly my favorite choice, especially with concerns of Derrick Henry poaching carries, but the Titans have invested heavily in Murray and will use him accordingly. He can take it between the tackles, run out in space and can certainly catch passes out of the backfield. The heavy load seemed to wear him down a bit last season, so the Titans may be a little protective over him in the early weeks, but he should still produce like a high-end running back in this PPR league.

Round 3:

Joe Mixon, RB CIN – There’s obviously plenty of risk in this pick, but the Bengals didn’t make a controversial investment here to not use him early and often. Based on years of watching a split backfield, it’s evident that the team doesn’t believe in either Jeremy Hill or Giovani Bernard to carry a full complement of work, but they do believe Mixon can be the lead dog and be the three-down back they’ve coveted for some time. He’s explosive coming through the line and has good hands. If he can prove himself strong in the pass-blocking, he should offer up immediate dividends.

Round 4:

Donte Moncrief, WR IND – Injuries have plagued him in recent seasons, but he makes for a sound investment as my WR2, especially with how often Andrew Luck looks for him inside the red zone. With a full year of health he could easily surpass T.Y. Hilton as the most-targeted receiver on the team as he does a great job of moving the chains and adding yards after the catch.

Round 5:

Jamison Crowder, WR WAS – All reports out of Washington say that, even with the addition of Terrelle Pryor, Crowder should lead this team in targets. We enjoyed quite the breakout performance from him last season as he set new career-bests with 67 catches on 99 targets for 847 yards and seven touchdowns and the expectations are definitely being set higher here. The Redskins expect him to line up out of the slot for the most part, but there is lots of early talk of him lining up on the outside more.

Round 6:

Aaron Rodgers, QB GB – Just like the FSTA draft, I found myself staring at a huge value at quarterback here in the sixth round. In the FSTA it was the seventh, but this is also a superior quarterback in Rodgers. Tom Brady had already come off the board and while this crew was very much in the wait-on-QB mode, I just couldn’t pass this up. I don’t need to cite Rodgers productivity over the years as there is no reason to convince anyone that this was the way to go. With everyone overvaluing tight ends, once again, I would much rather lock in one of the best gunslingers in the game.

Round 7:

Robert Kelley, RB WAS – OK, so here’s where the lesson of paying attention in your draft comes into play. I don’t want to sit here and make excuses or cry about how difficult it is to run a broadcast while drafting simultaneously, so take this as me telling you that if you lose focus during your draft, you could end up making a big mistake with your pick. My time was running short and I knew I wanted a running back, so when I saw Kelley available, I mistakenly assumed Samaje Perine was also out there and I could take him with my next pick. Moments after my selection, I noticed John Laub had taken Perine the round prior and I was shell-shocked. Rat farts! Had I noticed that ahead of time, I would have pivoted to Mike Gillislee (who went next) or even PPR-machine Danny Woodhead. Instead, I sat on-tilt for the next 20 minutes.

Round 8:

LeGarrette Blount, RB PHI – While Kelley might be able to help me for the first few weeks of the regular season, I still needed to boost my depth at the running back position. Even though the league is PPR, I see Blount as having great value based on his expected workload and role as the goal-line back. I didn’t like the earlier reports that Ryan Mathews would share the carries, but considering Mathews is made of glass, it wouldn’t be long before Blount saw the full complement of carries.

Round 9:

Austin Hooper, TE ATL – So the tight end position was really thinning out and it was time to make a move. I didn’t want to, but with the way people were drafting, I knew it was necessary. I’m a big fan of Hooper this year and even made him my 2017 SiriusXM bold prediction (600-plus yards with six touchdowns), so whether it was a reach or not here in the ninth round, I had to make the pick. In leagues that don’t use the second tight end, he can easily be had in the 13^th or 14^th round, so don’t let the draft positions of tight ends here force you into making a move too early.

Round 10:

John Ross, WR CIN – Someone on Twitter called me out and said they suspected that Ross would be this year’s Sterling Shepard for me. I disagreed, but lo and behold, ended up with him here. I don’t love him and am nervous about the fact that he isn’t expected to start training camp on-time, but once he does take the field, it really shouldn’t be too long before he supplants Brandon LaFell as the team’s No. 2 wideout. His speed will help the Bengals stretch the field and he should be a strong enough presence to pull some of the coverage away from A.J. Green.

Round 11:

Dwayne Allen, TE NE – I was actually looking at new Raiders tight end Jared Cook here, but he was taken just two picks ahead of me. Surprisingly, Allen was still there, so given my belief that Rob Gronkowski will miss a good amount of time with his variety of injuries, Allen should play well in the Patriots offense. Martellus Bennett managed 700 yards and seven touchdowns in this scheme last year so there is little reason to believe Allen can’t contribute similarly.

Round 12:

Ted Ginn Jr., WR NO – Yes, the Saints have Michael Thomas and yes, many expect Willie Snead to see an increased role this season, but the speed of Ginn should play really well for Drew Brees and the offensive scheme. He’s like a poor man’s Brandin Cooks here, so expect him to see a strong number of targets this season. I’ve got him pegged as a bye-week filler but if he and Brees develop a strong rapport, I could be looking at him as an every-week flex play.

Round 13:

Zay Jones, WR BUF – Anyone believe that after yet another foot surgery, Sammy Watkins will be able to play effectively for all 16 weeks? Me neither. While relying on rookies is a tough thing to do, I’m not really relying on him for anything, so a major role in the Bills’ passing attack would be gravy. If he can live up to even some of the hype he had coming out of college, he could prove to be a solid play with the right match-ups and not just when I need a fill-in during the bye weeks.

Round 14:

Andy Dalton, QB CIN – With a six-man bench, I see no reason not to stash a solid back-up quarterback. I did it with Dalton in the FSTA draft and that was with Cam Newton as my primary. Should someone incur an injury to their QB1, I certainly wouldn’t be averse to making a trade here as Dalton could profile as a low-end QB1 with the weapons he’s been given.

Round 15:

D’Onta Foreman, RB HOU – Looking for running back depth, I saw Foreman as a solid addition after talking with the Houston Chronicle’s Texans beat writer John McClain who suggested that Foreman could end up the short-yardage/goal-line back. The team remains concerned over Lamar Miller’s ability to shoulder the full load again this year, so Foreman could become an integral part of their ground attack right from the start of the season.

Round 16:

Ryan Mathews, RB PHI – Strictly taken as a handcuff to Blount, but am already looking to dump him the first chance I get as news out of Philadelphia suggests the only reason the team hasn’t cut him is to save having to pay him an injury protection benefit. Once he is medically cleared to play, they are going to cut him loose. When that does happen, I may look to potential third-down/receiving back Donnell Pumphrey should he earn an increased role.

Overall, I like the base of my team here with the obvious exception of the Rob Kelley pick. Of course, he should still have some early-season value so it’s not a total loss. The receiving corps is tight in a PPR format, I have the best QB in the game and my running backs are solid. Should Mixon really take off, he could prove to be a huge value, even in the third round. As for tight ends, the position everyone freaked out about, I think I’m very well-off. Should be an interesting year!