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Fantasy Football Rest Of The Season Rankings

Fantasy Football Rest of the Season Rankings

Obviously Rest of the Season Rankings are always a fluid situation, but the news coming out about the drug testing agreement between the NFL and NFLPA make them a white water rapids.



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Fantasy Football Week 2 Rankings

Fantasy Football Week 2 Rankings

If week one over reactions are your thing, then you might not like my rankings for week two of the NFL season.  I’m not ready to throw in the towel on some of my projected fantasy stars, but I have to admit week one wasn’t encouraging for a quite a few of them.

Guys who fell in my rankings. (not due to injury)

Jamaal Charles – Charles was hit in the backfield quite a bit this past Sunday and Andy Reid quickly abandoned the running game.  Reid promises he will be more diligent getting Charles his touches, but I’ve heard that before from Andy in Philly.  Charles takes a slide from the elite of the elite, but is still an RB 1.

Maurice Jones-Drew – Jones-Drew and the Raiders offense could not even sniff yardage in the running game against the Jets.  The Jets front seven are a very good unit, but I’m not sure the Raiders would have done much better against anyone else.  I think Jones-Drew is a case of a starting running back that you might not even want to consider playing.  He also had a hand procedure during the week and may be out this Sunday.

Victor Cruz– Cruz slides down the rankings to wide receiver three territory after all the Giants’ fans fears were confirmed in a terrible week one against the Lions.  Eli is going to struggle to be consistent this year and in turn Cruz won’t have as many opportunities to break out.

Guys who rose in my rankings. (not due to injuries to the starter)

Kelvin Benjamin

Kelvin Benjamin– When Benjamin was coming out I compared him to Plaxico Burress.  That comparison looked dead on in week one as he provided a huge down field target to Derek Anderson.  His catch radius and big body are going to be fantasy gold and he got an immediate bump up my rankings.

Andrew Hawkins– Hawkins proved to be the Browns go to receiver when Jordan Cameron left the game with a shoulder injury.  Hawkins should continue to be a nice PPR flex play going forward and deserved a jump up the rankings.

Brian Quick– Quick is guy that a lot of people have been waiting patiently to blossom.  In week one he showed he is the Rams clear cut wide receiver one, eve if the Rams are a very bad team.  The situation in St. Louis dictates that Quick shouldn’t be considered more than a wide receiver four for now,  but he could move up the rankings further if Shaun Hill gets healthy and they develop a connection.

Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyPros

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Fantasy Football Week One Reaction Podcast

Episode 025: The Fantasy Coach Podcast

Fantasy Football Week One Reaction and Analysis

Featuring Matt Rittle (@FFRittle) of SportableNFL, rotoViz, and ProjectRoto

About My Guest:  Matt Rittle is one of the nicest people I have come across since joining Twitter just a few years ago and he happens to know a lot about FantMatt Rittleasy Football.  Matt works for 4for4.com (helping them with their CS), SportableNFL, rotoViz, and ProjectRoto where he covers fantasy football.  His preseason series on Best Ball leagues and MFL 10s was  must read for any fantasy football fan.

Episode Summary:  Mr. Rittle and I discuss some of the major fantasy football talking points from week one of the NFL season.  We also go over the week one waiver wire and let you know who you should be spending your FAAB budget on and why.  We also answer some the audience’s questions in The Coach’s Office.

Episode Rundown:

  • Intro
  • Week One Fantasy Football Talking Points from each game.
  • Waiver Wire Adds and Drops
  • The Coach’s Office (Brought to you by RevoLabels.com)
  • Outro

You can Download this episode as well as the previous three on Itunes and Stitcher Radio.  

Thank Yous For Episode 025: I want to thank Matt for coming on the first in-season episode of The Fantasy Coach Podcast, and helping everyone get ready for week two of the Fantasy Football season.  I would also like to thank C-Quel for providing the intro music as well as the outro beat.  You can Find all of C-Quel’s current music available here.

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Waiver Wire Adds and Drops

Fantasy Football: Waiver Wire Adds and Drops

The hangover from an exciting week one in Fantasy Football is hitting me like a flying kick from Antonio Brown.  The surprises (Allen Hurns and Justin Forsett), the disappointments (Jamaal Charles and Dez Bryant), and of course the injuries (Eddie Lacy, Jordan Reed, Ben Tate, Doug Martin, Jordan Cameron and Alshon Jeffrey) all made for a mentally exhausting Sunday.  As they say, a little hair of the dog is good for what ails you and tonight we get a double shot of Monday Night Football to cure the hangover.  In case you didn’t get enough intrigue this off season we have two questionable fantasy starters in Antonio Gates and Andre Ellington.  I would look for Gates to play limited snaps, but I’m not as optimistic on Ellington and his ailing foot.  (Weird, because usually it’s Gates’s foot that we would have been griping about.)

chris ivory

With the breaking news that Ray Rice has been suspended indefinitely and his contract has been terminated by the Baltimore Ravens (Finally), we have to discuss their current backfield options.

Bernard Pierce – Pierce got the start after recovering from a concussion he suffered in the preseason, but he picked up right where he left off last season.  He plodded his way to 17 yards on six carries and was non-existent in the passing game.  The Ravens have a lot of trouble running to their left side and Pierce is so one dimensional right now that teams can bottle him up.  He’s still a hold for me because of the opportunity here, but I think you will be kicking yourself for not taking Knowshon Moreno on draft day instead of Pierce.

Justin Forsett– Forsett was signed to be Ray Rice passing game insurance and now the Ravens are forced to make due after the revelations of the TMZ video.  Forsett is a journeyman change of pace back that has a nice set of hands and is surprising when he is given a chance to carry the ball.  Forsett ran for 71 yards on 12 carries (again his production was better to the right side with 7 carries for 44 yards and one TD) and caught five passes for 14 yards.  Forsett looks to be the immediate beneficiary of the Rice departure, by solidifying his role and because the Ravens may be forced to pass  the ball in order to move it.

Lorenzo Taliaferro-Taliaferro is a favorite of many of the dynasty fantasy football minds that I talk to because he is the type of running back who can get what’s blocked and push a pile when needed.  The ability to fall forward and make oneself small when entering the hole is very important when the size of the holes aren’t what they used to be.  Taliaferro is worth a stash in deep leagues and should see his number called before too long.

Terrance West-You might be wondering why Terrance West would be on a waiver wire article after all the hype in the preseason, but believe it or not he’s available in a lot of 10 team leagues.  He’s 80% owned on ESPN and that climbed 10% in the last day.  Ben Tate was always an injury concern, and West is the direct beneficiary.  The 100 yard day will make him pretty expensive and the questionable status of Tate makes the price a little murky, but I would be in buy mode with West.

Isaiah Crowell– Crowell was not in the original game plan, but he was called upon when Tate went down with a knee injury.  Crowell showed why many draft pundits wanted to see him get a shot in the late rounds as he rushed five times for 32 yards and two touchdowns.  The emergence of Crowell really hurts the prospects for Tate, even when he’s healthy because this backfield could become a true RBBC situation. I would stash Crowell in very deep leagues, such as 16 team leagues or 14 team leagues.

Andrew Hawkins– Hawkins was specifically targeted by the Cleveland Browns organization during free agency and they did something a little unorthadox by signing him to a restricted free agent offer sheet.  Hawkins has always had the reputation of being almost uncoverable in the slot, but he never got the type of targets or snaps that he needed in Cincy.  On Sunday in Pittsburgh it was obvious that he is the first or second option on most passing plays as he caught eight passes on nine targets for 87 yards with 30 of those yards in YAC.  Hawkins is a must roster in full PPR leagues and is even rosterable in .5 PPR 10 team leagues.  His 11% ownership on ESPN is bound to swell.

Brian Quick– Quick is one of those guys that has frustrated many dynasty fantasy football players for years.  His immense upside has been hard to ignore, but his failure to emerge when surrounded by mediocre talent has been worthy of some hair pulling.  Sunday Quick led the Rams wide receiver corps in snaps at 48/70 and he dominated the targets as well.  He out targeted Kenny Britt 9 to 2 and caught seven of those targets for 99 yards while Britt was shut out.  Quick could go from a remember that name type of guy to a big time wide receiver three or four in 12 team fantasy leagues if he keeps this up.  I would take a flyer in almost all leagues and especially where I took a shot on Britt.

Benny Cunningham– Cunningham played more snaps than second round fantasy pick, Zac Stacy, but Stacy out touched Cunningham 12-9.  Cunningham showed well in the passing game as he secured four passes for 30 yards and he benefited by an early drop from Stacy.  The situation has truly become a RBBC and Cunningham benefits from the Rams struggles as he will be used in the passing game more, he already outsnapped Stacy 21-13 in the opening game.  Take a shot on Cunningham in full PPR, especially if you went Zero-RB.  He could be a poor man’s Woodhead if this continues.

Allen Hurns– Talk about a breakout performance by a guy that wasn’t even expected to make the team.  The Jaguars jumped all over the Eagles early as Hurns exploded for four receptions for 110 yards and two touch downs.  Hurns was a surprise starter as Cecil Shorts III once again came up lame.  Hurns probably wouldn’t have even been in line to play if Allen Robinson hadn’t been injured in training camp.  All that is in the past as Hurns has done nothing but impress since he was given a chance.  I’m not running out to grab Hurns, because of the crowded WR corps, but I wouldn’t blame you if you did.  He is big and fast and it will be hard to keep him off the field after this performance.  He is a must roster in all leagues larger than 14 teams and could be a sneak add in 12 teamers.

Bobby Rainey– Rainey is the direct back up to Doug Martin and Martin suffered a leg injury on Sunday.  The Tampa Bay Offensive Line struggled on Sunday, but most O-lines will against that Carolina front.  Rainey is a pin ball in the passing game and is much stronger than he looks, when he is asked to carry the ball.  I like Rainey in leagues where I went Zero-Rb or where i suffered some injuries.  Mike James wasn’t fully recovered from a preseason injury on Sunday and could make this a RBBC, but that’s okay.  I want the PPR side of this equation anyway.

Jonathan Dwyer and Stepfan Taylor–  Tonight’s game and the coming days are going to be keys to how we treat the situation in Arizona.  I tend to think Ellington is more injured than what the Cardinals are letting on and think Dwyer is the guy to pick up, especially in standard leagues.  If Ellington misses major time Dwyer would be no better than a bye week fill-in, but you never know if the light finally comes on for the former Steeler.

Chris Ivory– I’m not sure why Ivory is available on the wire, but he should be scooped up as soon as possible.  Ivory is the perfect compliment to Chis Johnson for the Jets and your fantasy team will benefit from a fresh ivory running at tired defenders.  Ivory was one of the key running backs in my Zero-RB draft approach and he also fell further in drafts as the season approached.  The reasons for his fall were obvious.  He has a long history of not being able to stay healthy and has a legitimate fantasy running back playing with him.  Ivory was listed as the co-starter on Sunday and was outsnapped by Johnson 35-28.  Ivory broke a long touchdown run to make his day look better on paper than what it really was, but he did run hard on his other carries.  If Geno Smith can take care of the ball Ivory should be a nice flex option, especially in standard leagues.

All stats courtesy of PFF-ProFootballFocus.com

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Fantasy Football Week One Rankings

Fantasy Football Week One Rankings

Will starting Eddie Lacy help you pull away from the competition?

Will starting Eddie Lacy help you pull away from the competition?

While week one of the NFL season is infinitely better than all the previous weeks since the Super Bowl, it is a very strange week for start/sit questions in Fantasy Football.  Most start/sit questions are clouded by preseason performance (even if we all know that it should be thrown out the window) and statistics that are more than a year old.  I really enjoy best ball leagues in week one and two of the NFL season because it takes all of the start/sit uncertainty out of the equation.  The reality is that the vast majority of leagues will have people scrambling for answers.

Enter the FantasyPros Start/Sit Challenge >>

I have already fielded questions about benching Eddie Lacy in week one of the Fantasy Football season.  I obviously can’t condone sitting Eddie Lacy in almost any leagues, even if he is playing against a Seattle Seahawks Defense that was picked in the eighth round of home league drafts. (HaHa!)  If Lacy gets you a combined 80 yards and touchdown you have to be happy with that, and those numbers are well within his range against Seattle. While there is nothing I enjoy more than catching up with old acquaintances and former elementary school  bullies to help them with their start/sit questions, I figured it would be a lot easier to use the Fantasy Football Week 1 Ranking Software provided by FantasyPros.com to answer all of your start sit questions.

Fantasy Football Rankings powered by FantasyPros
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Episode 23: Fantasy Football Zach Law

Episode 23: The Fantasy Coach Podcast

Fantasy Football Edition: Auction Strategy and the Tennessee Titans

Featuring: Zach Law (@Zach_Law) Senior Thought Leader FantasyZach LawSports.org

About My Guest:  Zach Law is the Senior Thought Leader (translation: only writer) for Fantasysports.org, a site dedicated to covering the entire fantasy industry which to Zach means “fantasy football only”. He’s also written two books based on his Ask Your Fantasy Football Expert series called “There Is No Off Season” and “There Still Is No Offseason”. He lives in Atlanta with his wife and two cats. 

 

Episode Summary:  Zach and I discuss a recent Fantasy Football auction we participated in and commiserate over the failings of the New York giants and Zach’s beloved Titans.  (Zach does give me shit for complaining about a team that has won two Super Bowls since 2007.

Episode Rundown:

You can Download this episode as well as the previous three on Itunes and Stitcher Radio.   

ThaThere is no off seasonnk Yous For Episode 023:  I want to thank Zach for coming on the podcast and making fun of me for complaining about the New York Giants.  I would also like to thank C-Quel for providing the intro music as well as the outro beat.  You can Find all of C-Quel’s current music available here.

Here’s Zach’s interview with one of my former guests on the podcast, Jonathan Vandersluis (Owner/Writer of Top Team Fantasy) 

 

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How To Win Your Fantasy Football League

How To Win Your Fantasy Football League: From the 1 Spot

Some people actually hate drafting from the one spot this year in fantasy football leagues and I’m having a hard time figuring out why. The only thing I can come up with is that they are really buying in to the zero running back method and just can’t pass up on the big four running backs when they are lucky enough to draw the one spot.  They feel dirty going against their favorite strategy because they are forced (by peer pressure) to grab that consensus #1 pick in either Jamaal Charles or LeSean McCoy.  I really don’t understand the hesitation in following through with what you think is a winning strategy.

For me personally, I have hedged my bets quite a bit, by going with the zero running back method and going with a one running back method.  Both of these methods I prefer in full point PPR leagues where there is at least one flex, but I prefer them even more in multiple flex leagues.  In .5 point PPR leagues I find myself gravitating towards the one running back method.  Standard leagues are a horse of a different color, as they say.

Zero RB

demaryius-thomas

When I go zero-running back, I start off the draft with Demaryius Thomas (or Dez Bryant) and I watch the draft room go crazy.  The first barrage of insults is always the best.  Typical things you would hear from the future leaders of the world sitting on the back of the bus in middle school.  The next wave of comments are about going Demaryius Thomas or Dez Bryant over Calvin Johnson.  Sometimes the chatter and mind blowing can throw off some people who were picking in the wildcard spots (picks 6-10).  Either way, I sit as quiet as a school mouse, because just like at the poker table, I’m not there to give lessons on strategy and percentages.  I don’t give a *^it what John from Cincinnati thinks about how I’m building my team.

The two three turn is all about value at the wide receiver position.  The only thing that can stop me from taking two more wide receivers is if Rob Gronkowski gets to me, or if there was an incredible run on wide receivers.  Either way I’m not taking a running back there unless it was a crazy upside value.  For the purposes of this article, almost all regular home leagues will have Rob Gronkowski or Julius Thomas make it to the 2-3 turn and I believe that they are THAT MUCH better at their position (because of skills or situation) that it’s okay to take a player at a onesie position, especially if a tight end can be flexed.  If your league can flex a tight end than you have just trumped more than half of your league.

The wide receivers that I absolutely love to see fall to the 2-3 turn are Alshon Jeffrey, Jordy Nelson and Antonio Brown.  For two of the three to get to you in a 12 team league there has to be some running backs going and maybe Gronk has already come off the board.  If the choice is between taking two of these receivers or taking one and Julius Thomas, then I will undoubtedly take the two wide receivers.  I love Thomas, but he’s not quite as special as Rob Gronkowski and these receivers are money in the bank.  In fact Alshon Jeffrey could make the leap above Brandon Marshall this season and I wouldn’t even be mildly surprised.

The 4-5 turn is where you can really separate yourself from the pack and you have to go all in and subscribe to the redundancy that Shawn Siegele preached last year.  The list of names that I love to see here are Michael Floyd, Michael Crabtree, Cordarrelle Patterson, Roddy White and now Victor Cruz is making it down that low.  If there has been a run at wide receiver I like to add Julian Edelman to that mix, especially in full PPR leagues.

The perfect 0-RB team would look like this from rounds 1-5

Demaryius Thomas, Alshon Jeffrey, Jordy Nelson, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Michael Floyd.

If Gronk falls to the 2-3 turn.

Demaryius Thomas, Rob Gronkowski, Alshon Jeffrey, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Michael Floyd.

The approach from there doesn’t change much.  I’m picking off more wide receivers as I go and waiting as long as I possibly can at running back and quarter back.  If it’s a four point passing touchdown league I’m trying to come away with Russell Wilson or Colin Kaepernick even later.  Home leagues tend to make this a little harder as QB’s go earlier.  If the quarterback landscape gets wiped out by the 11h round I will pull out my inner J.J Zachariason and wait it all the way out.  I’m not above grabbing Carson Palmer or Ryan Tannehill as my starter and just playing the match up game.  Shoot I may even go Geno Smith for the week one matchup against the Raiders and go from there.

The type of running backs I’m targeting when I go zero-Rb are the Jeremy Hill‘s and Devonta Freeman‘s of the world, with Chris Ivory and Mark Ingram sprinkled in.  The cost for both Lance Dunbar and Khiry Robinson has been rising so I usually don’t get a chance to grab them much.  Ronnie Hillman is also a guy I love as my RB5 when I go zero-RB.  He has a bunch of upside as a pass catcher and change of pace back in an offense I want pieces of.

The tight ends I really like are Kyle Rudolph, Jordan Reed, Zach Ertz and Travis Kelce late.  I also like to grab Heath Miller long after the tight end runs are over.  This may be the last year Miller pays off as a pass catcher, but his chemistry with Ben Roethlisberger is undeniable.  With Timothy Wright‘s trade to the New England Patriots, he becomes a nice flex stash as well.

One RB Method

McCoy

In .5 Point PPR leagues and where I decided to hedge my number one pick, the choice was easy.  I chose LeSean McCoy and never looked back.  McCoy’s age and the his potential to outperform last year’s numbers put him at the head of the class.  Charles and Forte are nice picks in full point PPR leagues, but I believe that last year was their ceiling as far as touchdown production goes.  There’s no way Charles matches or surpasses his receiving TD production from last year and Forte scored more rushing touchdowns than he ever has before and is entering his age 29 season.  Adrian Peterson isn’t even in the conversation for me as I just don’t see him being super human at this age.

My method after that is exactly like Zero-RB.  I take a wide receiver with every pick I can from round 2 through round 8.  The only places I don’t is when I take Gronk or Julius at the 2-3 turn, otherwise I gorge myself at the wide receiver position.  I tend to take wide receivers with more upside than safe picks when I go Rb first overall.  I may take Michael Floyd over Victor Cruz and scenarios like that, just so I have the upside of a possible low end wide receiver one and am not stuck with a wide receiver two with no upside.

I think these are your best bets to win your leagues from the one position and hope you use them to make lots of money this year.  On a side note if this doesn’t work out and Montee Ball wins a bunch of fantasy football leagues single handed, I don’t want to hear about it.

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Rueben Randle and a Case of Deja Vu

The year was 2011 and Mario Manningham was coming off a season that saw him approach 1,000 yards receiving and scored nine touchdowns.  Manningham struggled with injuries during training camp,  but many fantasy football minds thought he was an ideal breakout candidate with the departure of Steve Smith.  The emergence of Victor Cruz in the preseason had zero impact on Manningham’s ADP as he was drafted as the 24th WR off the board according to MyFantasyLeague.com’s Redraft ADP from 2011.

Manningham had all the ear marks for breakout season heading into 2011.  He was a highly regarded prospect that fell in the draft because of some character concerns and some sloppy combine numbers.  He had a strong 2010 where he made the most of his opportunities and his role looked like it would be expanding.  I think saying his combine numbers were sloppy is a bit of an understatement when you look at them compared to other wide receivers.

The real sloppiness in Mario Manningham‘s game came from his inconsistency.  (Does that ring a bell?!!)  Manningham regularly ran the wrong routes or misread coverages in his first few years with the Giants.  Even when he did make the right reads he often didn’t possess the route running skills to connect with Eli consistently.  His biggest mistakes came along the sideline on fade routes where he didn’t lave enough room between himself and the sideline to make receptions in bounds.   The funny part of all of this is that he made that tremendous sideline reception in the 2011 Super Bowl against the Patriots that erased all of the bad routes from Giants’ fans memories.

The 2011 season saw Manningham miss time and eventually fall behind the un-drafted phenom that was Victor Cruz.  Cruz had wowed Giants’ fans and the Giants’ brass in the 2010 preseason, only to suffer a significant hamstring injury that led the Giants to IR him for the season.  The 2011 season saw Cruz start off slow with some drop problems and fumbling issues, but then he exploded for over 1,500 yards and 9 end-zone Salsa Dances.  The Giants knew what they had in Cruz and let Manningham walk away during free agency after they won the 2011 Super Bowl.

Photo By: Bill Kostroun.

Photo By: Bill Kostroun.

This year the Giants have Rueben Randle seemingly poised to make the leap to fantasy football relevance.  Last year he managed 41 receptions for 611 yards and six touchdowns in a limited role.  He was a favorite of many in best ball league drafts last year because of the shaky health history of Hakeem Nicks.  Randle’s role diminished over the latter part of the season because of his inability to get on the same page as Eli Manning in Kevin Gilbride’s offense.  Eli threw more interceptions on passes intended for Rueben Randle then some QB’s threw all season.

Before I compare Randle to Manningham we should loom at his combine numbers and comparables.

Randle showed more promise and explosiveness on the field playing for LSU than he did at the combine.  His pedestrian Vertical leap and mid 4.5 40 yard dash made people go back and study what he did on the field.  His slightly poor combine and raw route running skills had him fall to the end of the second round in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Giants pulled the trigger as they needed a wide receiver with some potential and the body size to play on the outside in today’s NFL.  Randle proved to be raw as he continually ran the wrong routes and did not have the proper technique to beat press coverage at the line of scrimmage as well as getting across the face of the defender in “MUST WIN” situations.  His size and quickness should have made it easy for him to beat an inside shade, but he seemed to lack the technique and the want to win at times.

This year the Giants brought in a new Offensive Coordinator in Ben McAdoo from the Green Bay Packers and the thought was that Randle wouldn’t have to read coverages as much and he could just work on his route running.  I can tell you from going to practices and training camp that Randle looks like he’s learned a lot between this year and last.  He easily beats DRC and Prince Amukamara off the line of scrimmage and they have a hard time keeping up with him and reading his routes.  So far that hasn’t amounted to much in the preseason as the Giants offense has struggled as a whole.

Eli looks a little shell shocked once the red jersey comes off and I think his regression more than Randle’s lack of skill will keep him from reaching his potential.  The offensive line for the Giants is a huge question mark as their key off-season addition, Geoff Schwartz, dislocated his big toe in their last preseason game and the offensive line is once again forced to shuffle.  It looks like the rookie Weston Richburg could take over for Schwartz in the short term as Schwartz avoided surgery and is week to week.

What makes the situation eerily similar to 2011 is that the Giants once again have an undrafted free agent that is making waves in the preseason.  Corey Washington is a big outside wide receiver from a small school that just might be the next Marques Colston or Victor Cruz.  The fact that wide receiver Marcus Harris has already been IR’d and Mario Manningham has done nothing in the preseason has Corey Washington teetering on the wide receiver five spot going into the final preseason game of 2014.  If Washington wins a roster spot and Randle struggles, he could push for some playing time in the second half of the year.

The fact remains that Randle is a lot more talented than Manningham was back in 2011 and is healthy going into the season.  The Giants are going to give Randle every chance to be their main outside threat, but he could eventually be pushed by both Odell Beckham Jr. and Corey Washington.  If there is a mid draft run on wide receivers I wouldn’t reach for Rueben Randle before the middle of the seventh round in 12 team leagues.  In most home-league/work-league drafts I’ve seen Randle last until the ninth round.  That’s a nice spot for his upside.  He is also going at a nice value price in auctions and could be a nice keeper if Eli can get back to his old gun-slinging self.  The best part about Randle’s current ADP is that you can get him a full three rounds later than where Manningham was going in 2011.

My recommendation for Corey Washington is to grab him in your deep dynasty leagues.  Whether it’s 16 team leagues with 24+ rosters or 12 to 14 team leagues where you have expanded rosters.   It never hurts to grab big, tall wide receivers that have a nose for the end zone.

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The 2014 Standard Flex League Draft

2014 Standard Flex League

First and foremost, I want to thank Jake Ciely, @Allinkid, for inviting me to participate in the Flex Leagues this year.  Jake and The Fntasy Sports Network put on a hell of a draft with a virtual murderer’s row for a list of participants.  The fact that it was a live draft where I would be rubbing elbows and talking fantasy football with so many of the fantasy experts that I converse with on Twitter made it a very unique experience.  The hospitality and of course the excellent food and drink from Hibernia Pub were just the icing on the cake.

A few nights before the draft I got the bad news that I would be picking from the eight spot in the standard scoring Flex League.  Not only was I picking from the eight spot, but I would be picking next to my buddy Pat Thorman from PFF Fantasy for the millionth time this summer.

The eight spot is the ultimate “What’s your flavor” spot in standard scoring fantasy football leagues.  All the sure-fire running backs are off the board and usually Montee Ball is scooped up right in front of the eighth pick.  You can go best running back available, best wide receiver available or go with the ultimate tight end weapon in Jimmy Graham.

On the drive in with Jim Day, @FantasyTaz, and Mike Stein, @FantasyJudgment, I was hoping that some of the owners in front of me would be throwing curve-balls and selecting wide receivers or Jimmy Graham so that I would have an easy decision between Eddie Lacy and Montee Ball at the eight spot.  Unfortunately the first eight picks were pretty typical for a standard scoring league, except for Michael Salfino going with the best wide receiver on the board at number three overall.  Usually that pick doesn’t get made until the middle or late part of the first round in standard leagues so it was an interesting shake it up pick.

Jake Ciely then put the nail in the running back coffin by going with Montee Ball at sixth overall and I had to really think about not going running back in the first round.

My first thought was to go Dez Bryant or Calvin Johnson and then hope to grab Brandon Marshall on the way back and build my team through the Wide Receiver position.  Not a bad option, but I like that approach a lot more in PPR or 1/2 Point PPR Leagues and not as much in standard scoring leagues.  The other major decision I had, was to go Jimmy Graham in the first and then grab Rob Gronkowski in the second to wipe out the tight end position and get a monster standard  flex option for this type of league.

If I had decided to go tight end-tight end to start the draft, I’m sure I would have gotten some face time on the network and probably been the talk of the early part of the draft, but I wanted to approach this draft as if money was on the line.  I looked at what running backs would be available to me on the way back in the second round and I didn’t like it.  I would have been forced to gamble on an Arian Foster type of back and that’s someone I’m trying to avoid.  If I reached a little at running back in the first round I had a very good chance to get one of the top six wide receivers on the way back.

So I gambled on DeMarco Murray and that Dallas Cowboys’ Offensive Line with my first round pick and grabbed Brandon Marshall with my second round pick.  The start was nothing to brag about on Twitter, but it was pretty solid and I could try to make up for the slight reach in the first by grabbing talent through out the draft.

The third round was tough because there wasn’t any clear cut value at either the wide receiver position or the running back position.  Randall Cobb was tough to pass up, but I decided to gamble on C.J. Spiller in the hopes that he can overcome his rough 2013 and put up solid yardage numbers across the board.  His TDs will always be a little disappointing with Fred Jackson getting the bulk of the carries from inside the 20 yard line, but he can score from anywhere on the field when he’s healthy.  My hopes of Joique Bell getting back to me were immediately killed when Pat Thorman took him right after I took Spiller in the 3rd.

With Bell gone I decided I was going to go with the best wide receiver available and grabbed Vincent Jackson with my fourth round pick.  I really like Jackson in standard scoring leagues and I can live with his up and down output in the fourth round.  When it came back to me in the fifth round I had Jordan Cameron sitting on a platter for me to grab, but I instead went with Ben Tate as the last upside starting running back left on the board.  Pat immediately scooped up Cameron with then next pick and that pick immediately gave me a case of picker’s remorse.  With the news of Josh Gordon‘s season long suspension coming down today, the Cameron pick looks even better for Mr. Thorman.

The sixth round offered up a bunch of PPR stud wide receivers, but I decided to go with the big play potential in Mike Wallace.  I’m hoping Ryan Tannehill can improve in the new Dolphins’ Offense and get his big-play weapon involved.  If Wallace can once again become a downfield threat he will be worth the sixth round price tag in standard scoring.

When it came back to me in the seventh round I was struggling between taking Terrance Williams and Kyle Rudolph.  I have Rudolph rated as my fifth overall tight end in standard scoring and Williams was bunched up with a lot of other upside wide receiver twos.  I decided to make my play with Rudolph in the seventh instead of gambling on him getting back to me in the eighth.  In retrospect I may have been able to dodge Jake and Paul taking Rudolph and come out of the 7th and 8th with both of my targets, but ending up with DeAndre Hopkins instead of Terrance Williams is not that big of a drop.

The ninth round was where I decided that Cam Newton was actually a value in this scoring system.  Newton hasn’t finished outside of the top five in four point passing touchdown leagues since he stepped foot on an NFL field.  The run on QBs was going to come and I wanted to grab the guy I want before it starts, especially when there was no one else that stood out to me as a value on the board.

The 10th round is where I finally made a pick that got me some face time on the Fntasy Sports Network.  Of course it was because Pat Mayo wanted to figure out who in their right mind would take Mark Ingram in the 10th round of a Fantasy Football Draft.  To make a long story short he was the 45th running back taken and I have him just outside my top 30 for STANDARD Scoring running backs.  Chris Wesseling put a lot of the reasons why people should give Mark Ingram one more chance into his article here at NFL.com.

The next two picks were just roster fills as I took Greg Jennings and Tyler Eifert in the 11th and the 12th round.  Jennings isn’t anything special and I’m not going to delude myself into thinking he was some major bargain as the 52nd wide receiver off the board, but Eifert could be interesting in a standard flex league, especially with touchdown vulture Marvin Jones on the shelf for the first four weeks of the season.  The fact that Eifert is still not ready to play in week four of the preseason has me a little concerned.

The 13th round is where the darts usually start getting thrown in all directions, but Colin Kaepernick was just too good to pass up as my QB2 in a four point passing TD League.  Kaepernick’s ceiling is in the top six of QBs and his floor is just outside the top twelve so getting him to back up Cam Newton was a nice surprise.  With Cam Newton suffering a cracked rib in the preseason this pick may end up being a pretty big one.  If someone suffers a major injury at QB I have some ammo to make a trade.

James Jones at wide receiver 66 could be a steal.  He had ten targets in the last preseason game and the only reason he’s been sliding down the rankings is because he was behind Andre Holmes and Rod Streater in the first two preseason games.  My thoughts were that the Raiders knew what they had when they signed Jones away from Green Bay and wanted to see which receivers were going to be in their plans going forward.

The Rams Defense was my next pick and it allows me to start streaming defenses early in the season with their week four bye.  My last pick was spent on Bryce Brown and it was done as insurance for Spiller and because I think he can really excel if he’s give a chance this year.  If Fred Jackson gets injured Brown could explode this season.


 

 

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Episode 022: Fantasy Football Rich Hribar

Episode 022: The Fantasy Coach Podcast

Fantasy Football Edition:  Fantasy Football Draft Strategy

Featuring: Rich Hribar (@LordReebs) of The Faked Goods Podcast

Faked Goods
About My Guest: Sports and pop culture tweets all day. Fantasy Football Redraft Meteorologist for Dyno/DFS  and A-Z. 1/2 of the     Fan.

Episode Summary:  Rich and I try to get everyone ready for their fantasy football drafts by taking a peek at our redraft strategy.  We go over everything from when to finally pull the trigger at quarterback to how to avoid being a year too late on a guy.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Outlook for XNSports 

Episode Rundown: 

  • Intro
  • We get to know Rich and find out how he pumps out all of that fantasy football goodness.
  • Should we be scared of Round One Running Back Busts this year?
  • When should the top tight ends be considered?  Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski etc.
  • Are the RBs in the second and third round that much better of a gamble then the ones in the fourth and the fifth.
  • When should we finally pull the trigger at QB?
  • Is Reggie Wayne a value or should we avoid him this year?
  • The Denver Brocos’ Wide Receiver situation with the concussion suffered by Wes Welker.
  • Late round Keeper Targets.RevoLabels.com
  • Players who could suffer from game flow issues.
  • The Coach’s Office (brought to you by RevoLabels.com)
  • Outro

 

You can Download this episode as well as the previous three on Itunes and Stitcher Radio.   

Thank Yous For Episode 022:  I want to thank Rich Hribar for coming on the podcast and sharing some of his golden fantasy football stats with me.  I would also like to thank C-Quel for providing the intro music as well as the outro beat.  You can Find all of C-Quel’s current music available here.

 

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