On Monday, August 15th, I drafted my second "Beat Chris Liss" NFFC $100K grand prize league. (Here's the link to the first.) We start 1-QB, 2-RB, 3-WR, 1-FLEX, 1-TE, 1-K -1 and 1-D with 10 bench spots, It's PPR scoring and third-round reversal, i.e., the 12th team to pick in the first round picks first in both the second and third rounds and last in the fourth. I had the ninth pick.
Here are the results.
I didn't love drafting ninth, but it's fun to try out different draft slots and see how it plays out.
Round 1: Allen Robinson was an easy call for me. Elite TD producer heading into his prime, and the buzz on him this summer has been nothing but positive. Had Team 8 taken him instead of Dez Bryant, I would have been stuck - probably would have gone Brandin Cooks.
Round 2: Cooks went two picks before me, so it was either Amari Cooper, T.Y. Hilton, Keenan Allen or a running back. If I went RB, I probably would have taken Devonta Freeman, but I have him in a few places, and I wanted to go WR anyway. I honestly could have gone with any of the three, but picked Allen because his target upside is the highest. My only concern with him is the injury history.
Round 3: Hilton went two picks before me (again to Jules McLean - team 11), and so I was set to take an RB. It was 50/50 between Eddie Lacy and Mark Ingram, and because I have Ingram in the other BCL league, I took Lacy.
Round 4: I thought about Devante Parker or Tyler Lockett here, but went with another RB in Doug Martin. I like Martin's early-down workload, occasional pass catching and team set-up - the Bucs should be better with Jameis Winston in Year 2, but their skill position tree is thin. This might have been a mistake as it caused me to pass up on lots of good RB values in Round 5-8.
Round 5: With Jules McLean again swiping one of my picks (Lockett), I went with Andrew Luck. It's great to wait forever on QBs, but when the top ones are there in Round 5, I'm happy to pounce. I considered Russell Wilson and Emmanuel Sanders here too.
Round 6: Corey Coleman is the clear No. 1 in Cleveland at least until Week 5 when Josh Gordon returns, and the reports on him have been good. I also considered Travis Kelce and Kevin White.
Round 7: Kelce was still there, so I took him. I like him for a post-hype breakout as the talent is there - it's just a matter of more targets.
Round 8: Markus Wheaton was around two picks after Sammie Coates, and I'm starting to doubt whether Coates will live up to the hype. While he's bigger than Wheaton and as fast, he's only 6-1, 212, i.e., he's no Martavis Bryant. Should Coates not break out, Wheaton would almost certainly see 100-plus targets in an elite passing offense that's missing Bryant, possibly LaDarius Green and Le'Veon Bell for four games.
Round 9: Phillip Dorsett should pair nicely with Luck and could be a monster if Donte Moncrief fails to break out. The Colts don't have a viable running back and go only three deep at WR. I almost took Devin Funchess here, but went Dorsett because I had Luck.
Round 10: Funchess went half a round before me, so I grabbed Bilal Powell who should see plenty of work as a receiver and runner, splitting time with ancient Matt Forte.
Round 11: Jerick McKinnon should have value as a third-down back with 40 catches even if Adrian Peterson stays healthy. And if the 31-year old goes down, we're looking at a potential top-10 back.
Round 12: Nelson Agholor was a consolation prize of sorts after I missed Javorius Allen by one pick. He's a Year 2 breakout candidate, though his stock drops a bit with the acquisition of Dorial Green-Beckham.
Round 13: Marcus Mariota was still on the board, and I needed a backup QB with upside.
Round 14: C.J. Prosise has been banged up, but he was a third-round pick and could still be the team's third-down back. While there's buzz about Christine Michael, and Thomas Rawls was great last year, neither is a pass catcher, and Rawls enters the season with a pre-existing injury.
Round 15: Chris Thompson is the team's third-down back, and I have little faith in Matt Jones.
Round 16: Austin Seferian-Jenkins is my top sleeper TE. He's in Year 3, has a developing young QB, is on a team with a thin WR tree and after a bad spring has picked it up in training camp. He's also a good size/speed prospect.
Round 17: I needed a defense, and the Bengals are one. I actually love the Giants D this year, but I don't like their matchup Week 1 against the Cowboys.
Round 18: Justin Tucker is the best kicker in the NFL in my opinion. I'd take Stephen Gostkowski over him due to the team context, but Tucker is the best pure kicker, and the Ravens will be better.
Round 19: Giants defense. The Tucker pick cost me Keith Marshall (the other Redskins alternative to Thompson) to Jules McLean, of course, so I locked down the Giants defense which I think will be nasty given the addition of Olivier Vernon and the return to health of Jason Pierre-Paul, in addition to massive upgrades in the interior line and secondary.
Round 20: Marqise Lee was a big-time college talent in Year 3 and finally healthy.
Team by Position:
QB Andrew Luck/Marcus Mariota
RB: Eddie Lacy/Doug Martin/Bilal Powell/Jerick McKinnon/C.J. Prosise/Chris Thompson
WR: Allen Robinson/Keenan Allen/Corey Coleman/Markus Wheaton/Phillip Dorsett/Nelson Agholor/Marqise Lee
TE: Travis Kelce/Austin Seferian-Jenkins
K: Justin Tucker
D: Bengals/Giants