Fantasy Football Evolution: 1st Draft Review

So the first draft with Fantasy Football Evolution is in the books! And to be honest it doesn’t take very long. Unlike plodding and trudging your way through your favorite hometown leagues that take a couple hours these drafts are done within minutes. The computer selections fly off the board so you really need to be prepared for your draft. Now it’s worth reminding you all that the starting roster requirements are below:

  • Quarterback – 1
  • Running Back – 2
  • Wide Receiver – 2
  • Tight End – 1
  • Kicker – 1
  • Defense – 1
  • Flex – 2

The Flex is actually a Superflex position. This will play a big role when breaking down my roster shortly. Last week when writing this up I failed to mention that and only realized it once the draft had started, but I adjusted on the fly and still came away very pleased with my squad. So in essence, it is possible to start 3 QB’s any given week. This should change your draft approach knowing that you’ll want to get at least 3 solid QB’s for two reasons: For the first 8 weeks you compete in a 12-team league against computers where only 32 QB’s are started at most in a given week. That number goes down once you get to Bye weeks. The 2nd reason is that if you can start 3 quarterbacks you probably should. Quarterbacks have the highest floor in terms of points scored on a weekly basis so when you start drafting with FFE that’s why QB’s go at such a high rate.

Now let’s take a look at the team I was able to put together. Because of the speed of this draft I wasn’t able to remember what round I selected certain players so I’ll break the whole unit down by positions.

 

Quarterback

Matt Ryan, Ben Roethlisberger, Carson Palmer, Carson Wentz

Now I did not take a quarterback in the 1st round. Too much value was falling to me in the 1st round that I couldn’t pass it up. But overall I’m still pleased that I got 4 guys that I can plug in any day of the week. And none of them have the same Bye week so I’ll always be able to start 3 QB’s if I want to. I also managed to get 12.5% of the total QB’s in the league so I know there will be some computer-drafted team that won’t be starting 3 QB’s. For strategy purposes my only concern is that if this group moves on the Stage 2 then I’ll be without Roethlisberger and Wentz for the crucial weeks where it’s all about point accumulation.

Still though I’m very excited about the prospects of all these guys. Ryan is coming off a MVP season, Roethlisberger will have plenty of weapons at his disposal with Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown, and Martavis Bryant. Palmer could easily bounce back and Carson Wentz should get back to his early 2016 season form with Lane Johnson protecting him early on. For a team that missed a QB in the 1st round, this is an all around great unit to have.

 

Running Back

David Johnson, LeGarrette Blount, Thomas Rawls, Jamaal Williams, Duke Johnson, Frank Gore

Now I had the 6th overall pick so I was stunned when David Johnson fell to me. That was when I realized QB’s were going quickly off the board so I leapt at the opportunity to take Johnson and came back with QB’s in my next two picks. It’s important to get plenty of depth at both RB and WR because there are no waivers in place with FFE. You need depth at certain positions to compensate for injured or under performing players. And to be honest I like my depth. I’ll be without David Johnson in Week 8 which is the last week facing off against the computers, but hopefully I’ll have 5 wins by that point and won’t need to worry about getting the last win at that point.

Duke Johnson is the only other RB with reasonable PPR appeal as he could be lining up in the slot in Cleveland this year. But I’m still pleased with the touchdown potential with Blount and really like that Rawls is getting first team reps in Seattle. I’m not crazy about the Jamaal Williams and Frank Gore picks, but they have reasonable upside and provide good depth at the position.

 

Wide Receiver

Brandin Cooks, Martavis Bryant, Pierre Garcon, Jarvis Landry

This is where I may have a perceived weakness because I only have 4 players. But running backs are more prone to injuries than WR’s so I felt I needed more depth there. Brandin Cooks is a guy that’s growing on me more and more despite the numerous mouths to feed in the New England passing attack. I think he’ll see a decent amount of targets and could be a favorite of Brady’s this year. Martavis Bryant has immense upside and I like being able to pair him with Roethlisberger. I’ll be able to double dip with points on Big Ben to Bryant TD’s.

Now my depth is simply Pierre Garcon and Jarvis Landry. A big risk I’m taking is during the Stage 2 rounds because Cooks and Bryant are off Week 9, while Garcon and Landry are off Week 11. But Pierre Garcon, despite his age, will probably see most of the targets in San Francisco. I don’t care who is throwing him the ball; he’s going to be fed a lot. And yes the loss of Tannehill may hurt Landry, but Adam Gase is a player’s coach. He’ll find ways to get Landry involved. I may be handcuffed at the position in certain weeks and there isn’t a clear-cut stud in the group, but there’s a high ceiling here.

 

Tight End

Jason Witten, Jack Doyle

Now no matter what you’re going to feel pretty thin with at least 1 position. Maybe I only needed to draft just 3 QB’s or 5 RB’s and focus more on WR/TE depth. But I opted to wait on a TE. With the injury history to Rob Gronkowski and Jordan Reed I didn’t want to risk taking a TE too early so I waited and grabbed Witten who is a shoe in for 16 games, and got upside with Doyle despite the injury concerns to Luck. Witten has seen his number steadily decline, but he’s still averaging a catch every quarter and he’s started 16 games each year since 2007. He can be used in short yardage routes and will get about 6-7 targets per game. I’m okay waiting and grabbing his stability later on.

Doyle was the upside pick, but it hinges on Luck’s health. One reason I’m optimistic about Luck’s outlook is that the Colts haven’t made a significant QB move to bring in a backup. Sure he’s not throwing, but they must feel confident Luck will be okay in time for the beginning of the season. Doyle had a 79% catch rate that year and was locked up with a three-year extension with the Colts in the offseason so I like him to be a nice target in the red zone for the Colts this year.

 

Defense

New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons

The goal with picking the defense was simply to avoid picking teams with the same Bye week. New England plays the Dolphins and Jets twice and those games will be nice matchups considering the other teams have such terrible defenses. New England has concerns at linebacker and they won’t be as aggressive in the pass rush this year, but the secondary is much improved and could force plenty of turnovers.

Atlanta has a lot of upside. They’re one of the more under-rated defenses in the league and spent money to bring in Dontari Poe (who is just turning 27 this week) and they drafted Tak McKinley with their 1st pick in this year’s draft. They’ll be fast and they’ll be aggressive. They’ll have some tough matchups as the NFC South features some explosive offenses, but I have flexibility to play the matchups between Atlanta and New England.

 

Kickers

Jason Myers, Cairo Santos

Didn’t really have a solid strategy for Kickers. Like defense, I just didn’t want to draft two guys with the same Bye week and I didn’t. I’ll be able to play the matchups with these two. I really like Santos because the Chiefs are great moving the ball between the 20’s yet aren’t effective in the red zone. Myers has a great leg and I’m hoping Bortles screws up enough times to put him in position for some 40+ yard attempts.

 

Overall I’m pleased with this squad. I think you really only need to take 2 TE’s so I’m pleased with the group so I’m happy in that department. Maybe I’d take one less QB and draft another WR. But for my first draft with FFE and getting used to the speed of it all while adjusting for a Superflex league on the fly this is a great team to own and I’m looking forward to seeing what this group can do.

Next week I’ll be drafting another squad and will be doing so out of the 11th spot. Knowing how fast the draft is and how quickly QB’s go off the board is something I’ll be considering heading into the draft. There will be plenty of computer picks going between mine so I’ll have to be mindful of when there will be a run on certain positions.