Tonight was the second "Beat Chris Liss" draft, a 12-team NFFC Online Championship with the standard rules: 1-QB, 2-RB, 3-WR, 1-FLX, 1-TE, 1-K and 1-D. It's full PPR and with 10 bench spots. It's a $350 entry league, $1500 for first place, and $110,000 for first in the overall competition. I drew the first pick (with third-round reversal.)
Here are the results:
1.1 Todd Gurley - I seriously considered Le'Veon Bell and David Johnson, both of whom have more pass-catching upside than Gurley, but 1.1 is more about floor than any pick, and Gurley's on a better team than Johnson and doesn't have Bell's mileage and injury risk.
2.12 Mike Evans - I might have taken T.Y, Hilton here, but for his shoulder sprain. It's probably nothing, but I want a clean bill of health early. Evans has been a first-round producer before and is still in his prime.
3.12 Jarvis Landry - Josh Gordon's back, but it's unclear when he'll rejoin the active roster, and in any event, Landry seems to be taking over as the team's clear No. 1. I don't think he's a great player, but give me 100 catches in full PPR at the end of Round 3.
4.1 LeSean McCoy - The downside is he goes to jail, but otherwise he should be worked about as heavily as any running back in the league. I almost took Rob Gronkowski instead, but I can't shake the feeling the Patriots mostly want to keep him healthy for the postseason, so his volume will be modest.
5.12 Alshon Jeffery - I rarely like anyone in Rounds 5 and 6, and this draft was no different. I took Jeffery because he's the No. 1 WR in one of the league's best offenses when healthy. Whether he makes it back by Week 1 remains to be seen.
6.1 Marquise Goodwin - He's ostensibly the top target in the Jimmy Garoppolo/Kyle Shanahan offense.
7.12 Evan Engram - This was lucky. I had passed on Greg Olsen the round before and thought I might get shut out of this tight end tier.
8.1 Robby Anderson - I love the player and the value here, but I really needed more depth at running back. Chris Carson might have been a better fit.
9.12 Delanie Walker - Again, I probably should have taken a back, but the value here was too good to pass up, and I can use him in the flex some weeks. It's conceivable he leads the Titans in receptions.
10.1 Matthew Stafford - Whenever you're picking at the end, it's 22 picks before it gets back to you, and I wanted to get a QB with a little ceiling as well as floor. I considered Pat Mahomes here too, but went with the safer Stafford who was higher on my board. In retrospect Gio Bernard, Jordan Wilkins, Marlon Mack, Peyton Barber or Nick Chubb might have been better choices, though Mack is already hurt, and none of the others, save Barber, are projectable for any kind of role yet.
11.12 Theo Riddick - He was the last viable back in my queue, and I was glad he was there. He's got no shot at early-down work this year, but he'll be a steady pass-catcher and decent fill-in on bye weeks.
12.1 Pat Mahomes - Illustrating the folly of the Stafford pick, the QBs were all still available, and I took the home run swing.
13.12 Jeremy Hill - He's far from ideal in PPR, but both Rex Burkhead and Sony Michel are banged up, and anything could happen in that backfield this year, including a rejuvenated Hill pulling a 2016 LeGarrette Blount.
14.1 Christian Kirk - He looks like the No. 2 WR in AZ, and Larry Fitzgerald will turn 35 next week.
15.12 Justin Tucker - I love having a top kicker with range in this scoring system wherein you get more points for longer field goals.
16.1 Chris Ivory - Normally I wouldn't back up my starter, especially with a low-upside, often-injured older back on a terrible offense. But I was so thin at RB, and McCoy has potential legal issues, so it made sense here,
17.12 Jeremy McNichols - Another swing for the fences on a versatile back who has a chance to make the team with both Jerick McKinnon and Matt Breida currently hurt.
18.1 Saints Defense - A good team that faces the Ryan Fitzpatrick Bucs at home Week 1.
19.12 Darren Sproles - My two targets, Jonathan Williams and Lamar Jackson, went, so I pivoted to the Eagles' ostensible third-down back. He's 35 years old, but maybe he can survive as a quasi-receiver at that age.
20.1 Corey Coleman - I'm not a Kelvin Benjamin fan, and Coleman was the first receiver taken in the draft only two years ago.
Roster By Position
QB Matthew Stafford/Pat Mahomes
RB: Todd Gurley/LeSean McCoy
WR: Mike Evans/Jarvis Landry/Alshon Jeffery
TE: Evan Engram/Delanie Walker
FLX: Marquise Goodwin/Robby Anderson
K: Justin Tucker
D: Saints
B: Theo Riddick, Jeremy Hill, Christian Kirk, Chris Ivory, Jeremy McNichols, Darren Sproles, Corey Coleman