The 2016 Fantasy Football season is underway. A few weeks back we had the first experts draft in New York at the FSTA Conference. In this piece I will review the next experts draft to hit the scene, the first Independence Day Invitational League held on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio.
The league includes 12-teams and is a PPR setup (you can read all about the rules below). The one thing that sets this league apart is the following: a rules change.
We’re declaring our independence, in honor of July 4th, from kickers and defenses. We want nothing to do with kickers or defenses in this league so we simply aren’t using them. There’s no need to just randomly call out some kicker who you have never seen kick in the final round of your draft, or to try and guess who the best defenses will be beyond about three clubs. No kickers, no defense, no wasted effort trying to gain an edge when it’s nearly impossible to systematically do so at those two spots. What we’ve done is add two tight ends, and two flex spots, to the starting lineup to take up the open spots. Read on to see all the league has to offer including a review of my squad drafted out of the 9th spot.
PARTICIPANTS
1) Howard Bender, FantasyAlarm
2) Ray Flowers, SiriusXM
3) Joe Pisapia, Fantasy Black Book & SXM
4) Tim Heaney, USA Today
5) Gary Davenport, Bleacher Report
6) David Kitchen, FantasyInsiders
7) Raph Rabe, RotoBaller
8) Lisa Ann, SiriusXM
9) Mike Tagliere, Pro Football Focus
10) John Laub, FootballDiehards.com
11) Ken Zalis, PressboxOnline.com
12) Colton & The Wolfman (Only Rick Wolf Drafting)
SETUP
Starting Lineup: QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, TE, Flex, Flex
* No defense, no kicker
Bench: Five spots, any makeup desired
SCORING
| Scoring Group | Scoring Category | Position | Points |
| Offense | Fumbles Lost (FL) | Default | -2 |
| Offense | Interceptions Thrown (Int) | Default | -2 |
| Offense | Passing Touchdowns (PaT) | Default | 4 |
| Offense | Passing Yards (PaY) | Default | 1 pt for 25 yards |
| Offense | Receiving Touchdowns (RcT) | Default | 6 |
| Offense | Receiving Yards (RcY) | Default | 1 pt for 10 yards |
| Offense | Receptions (Rc) | Default | 1 |
| Offense | Rushing Touchdowns (RuT) | Default | 6 |
| Offense | Rushing Yards (RuY) | Default | 1 pt for 10 yards |
MY TEAM
*Round listed in parenthesis.
QB: Andrew Luck (5th round)
RB: Todd Gurley (1), Jeremy Hill (7)
WR: Allen Robinson (2), Randall Cobb (3), Larry Fitzgerald (4)
TE: Coby Fleener (6), Jimmy Graham (8)
Flex: Justin Forsett (9), Isaiah Crowell (10)
Bench: Michael Thomas (11), Vincent Jackson (12), Wendell Smallwood (13), Marcus Mariota (14), Kenyan Drake (15)
I never go QB early. I thought to myself, what the hell, this draft I’ll try to get an upper level option and do something I rarely do. We’re sitting there in the 5th round and only one QB was off the board (Cam Newton in the 4th). I thought I’m gonna take Luck/Rodgers/Brees in the 5th. I thought if I did that the other two might .jpg)
go in the 6th round. I considered waiting until the 6th to take my QB, I should have, but ultimately took the plunge in the 5th. The one time I decide to go early at QB… the draft plays out in such a way that I could have taken my QB in the 8/9th round like I normally do and have gotten – Eli, Brady, Palmer, Bortles or Big Ben. Oh well. At least I still got a star at the position. Mariota in the 14th was similarly a steal as many clubs opted to take a 3rd tight end versus grabbing a second quarterback.
Taking Gurley in the first round is never a mistake in my opinion. He may not be the best runner this season, but he’s young, coming off an impressive season, and has the skills to produce massive numbers. You will hear that his team stinks. Fair. However, a down offense doesn’t preclude a runner from having a huge offensive effort (Adrian Peterson has produced for years despite a less than thrilling offense around him). Hill scored 11 times on the ground last season even if he had a down season overall. He’s a passable RB2, nothing more, at this point. My two flex options – Forsett and Crowell – make me feel much better about this unit. Hue Jackson knows how to use runners, see what he did in Cincy, and that is good news for Crowell. I can see him having a season roughly akin to Hill’s work last season. Forsett is in that Marc Trestman offense, and that’s an offense that often throws the ball more than it runs the pigskin. That’s ok with Forsett who has the skills to grab 40+ passes this season. He will have to hold off Buck Allen and Kenneth Dixon for carries, maybe even Lorenzo Taliaferro, but he should enter the year as the lead back (for what it’s worth). To add depth I grabbed two youngsters in Smallwood and Drake. Both appear to be the second backer behind two less than certain options (Ryan Mathews and Jay Ajayi).
Robinson caught 80 passes for 1,400 yards and 14 scores in a massive season. He will be added as a WR1 in all drafts this season. He should lead the Jags in receiving with a similar campaign to last season (minus what figures to be a significant TD pullback). Cobb had a down year with Jordy Nelson down with injury. Nelson should return which will allow Cobb to fall back into his traditional role in the Packers offense which should allow him to improve upon last year’s numbers (79-829-6). Fitzgerald is old and slightly boring. I get it. He’s also coming off a 109 catch, 1,215 yards and nine score. Expecting a pullback is fair, but I think he’s still a strong WR3. Thomas will be called upon to fill a significant role with the Saints as Marques Colston is no longer in the mix. Everyone has been impressed by the 6’3”, 210 lbs rookie out of Ohio State. Rounding out the group is veteran Jackson who, working with a growing Marcus Mariota, could produce WR3 numbers this season if the veteran can stay healthy.
Fleener hopes to be the next Graham, even directly filling in for him with the Saints. Graham might hope to be the next Fleener with the way things have gone for him lately. Fleener is in that Saints offense, and there is no debate that Drew Brees and Sean Payton know how to use a tight end. Fleener, if healthy, should have a floor of a top-10 tight end with the upside of a top-5 type effort. Graham is coming off a lost season due to injury and it’s uncertain if he will be ready to go in Week 1. Graham also was lost on the field last season the Seahawks simply didn’t seem to know how to use him. Still, in a two tight end league when I was sitting there staring at Graham as the 16th tight end off the board… how could I not take a shot?
Finally, my kicker and defense… thank goodness I won’t have to break down those two spots because we excised them from the league this year.
THE FULL RESULTS OF THE DRAFT.
Some audio from the draft follows…
Joe Pisapia talking about drafting players returning from injury.
Rick Wolf talks about managing positional runs.
How do you handle a two tight end league?
Ken Zalis went with four running backs his first four selections.
Does Rob Gronkowski’s value change in a two tight end league?
Ray Flowers can be heard Monday through Friday, 7 PM EDT and Friday on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 7 PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).