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The 2014 NFL season was my first as a Fantasy Footballer. Well, I'm hooked. Excitement reigned supreme as I awaited this years drafts for my pair of Fantasy Football teams. Big boards, mock drafts, ADP's...the whole nine yards. I make it a point to never do anything half-ass. After all, winning isn't everything, it's the only thing!
As part of an ongoing weekly series, I'll be sharing my weekly results, transactions and strategies with all Fantasy Footballers. Since I'm still a neophyte at this game, I hope you'll share your thoughts on how I can improve my teams and perhaps win a league championship or two!
The Snake Drafts - Strategies & Rationale
To prepare for my pair of Fantasy Football Snake Drafts, I came up with a game plan for successfully drafting the best team(s) possible. The game plan included 6 draft tenets:
1/ Research is king. I spent a considerable amount of time researching players/teams, entering mock drafts and creating a draft board of 200 players.
2/ One of the goals in each draft was to take a balanced approach through the first five rounds. In each draft I managed to take quality players at a number of positions without reaching: 2 RB's, 1 WR, 1 QB, 1 TE.
3/ I place more importance on the Defense, Placekicker and Tight End than many Fantasy Football participants do. I believe these positions can win weeks for you. I like to have both my PK and DEF selected between picks 85 and 120 if possible. If I can draft a quality Tight End, I'll take one fairly early.
4/ I like to target a half-dozen or so specific players that I feel will be available at certain points/rounds in the draft. This year, my targets were RB Arian Foster (dropped in most drafts due to injury), WR Larry Fitzgerald (a great connection with returning QB Carson Palmer), RB David Johnson (a versatile, high upside rookie with a team who knows how to use him; a great fit), RB Melvin Gordon (the rookie bell-cow back for San Diego), QB Tom Brady (dropped in most drafts due to the threat of 4-game suspension), and TE Tyler Eifert (looking to rebound from injury).
5/ I'm never afraid to take a chance on rookies and higher-risk players with upside.
6/ In the mid-to-late rounds I tend to trust my board. BPA rules and I'm always searching for value, especially at the RB and WR positions.
Teams/Draft Results
Team Dubs (TST Live 1 Yahoo - 8 Teams)
Pick Position Player Team 1.3 RB Marshawn Lynch Seattle 2.14 QB Andrew Luck Indianapolis 3.19 WR A.J. Green Cincinnati 4.30 RB Melvin Gordon San Diego 5.35 TE Jimmy Graham Seattle 6.46 WR Jeremy Maclin Kansas City 7.51 WR Larry Fitzgerald Arizona 8.62 RB Arian Foster Houston 9.67 QB Tom Brady New England 10.78 TE Julius Thomas Jacksonville 11.83 WR Eric Decker NY Jets 12.94 DEF Denver Broncos 13.99 K Dan Carpenter Buffalo 14.110 WR Kendall Wright Tennessee 15.115 RB David Johnson Arizona 16.126 RB Andre Williams NY Giants
Frank's Team (Yahoo Public 1103417 - 10 Teams)
Pick Position Player Team 1.6 WR Dez Bryant Dallas 2.15 RB DeMarco Murray Philadelphia 3.26 QB Russell Wilson Seattle 4.35 RB Melvin Gordon San Diego 5.46 TE Travis Kelce Kansas City 6.55 RB Alfred Morris Washington 7.66 WR Sammy Watkins Buffalo 8.75 WR Vincent Jackson Tampa Bay 9.86 DEF St. Louis Rams 10.95 RB T.J. Yeldon Jacksonville 11.106 WR Nelson Agholor Philadelphia 12.115 K Justin Tucker Baltimore 13.126 TE Owen Daniels Denver 14.135 QB Joe Flacco Baltimore 15.146 RB Tevin Coleman Atlanta
Weekly Results
Team Dubs
Week Team Dubs Opponent Record 1 95.12 88.72 1 0 2 93.90 78.06 2 0 3 150.32 59.58 3 0
Player Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Tom Brady 27.62 28.24 22.72 Marshawn Lynch 12.40 6.20 2.30 Melvin Gordon 4.70 9.80 5.10 A.J. Green 6.30 10.50 34.70 Kendall Wright 16.10 1.70 16.80 Larry Fitzgerald 8.70 29.20 25.40 Jimmy Graham 11.10 1.10 14.30 Dan Carpenter 11.00 2.00 13.00 Denver 16.00 22.00 16.00 Total Points 95.12 93.90 150.32 Result Won Won Won Andrew Luck 19.72 11.40 18.50 Jeremy Maclin 5.20 5.50 20.10 Eric Decker 9.70 15.70 0.00 David Johnson 11.50 16.50 4.10 Andre Williams 1.40 4.30 8.90 Arian Foster 0.00 0.00 0.00 Julius Thomas 0.00 0.00 0.00
Frank's Team
Week Frank's Team Opponent Record 1 91.34 79.82 1 0 2 91.14 60.66 2 0 3 68.90 119.06 2 1
Player Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Russell Wilson 16.14 23.04 16.20 DeMarco Murray 14.00 5.50 0.00 Melvin Gordon 4.70 9.80 5.10 Travis Benjamin 14.90 29.50 8.50 Sammy Watkins 0.00 12.00 3.90 Vincent Jackson 5.10 11.40 4.00 Travis Kelce 22.60 5.80 10.00 Justin Tucker 10.00 15.00 6.00 St. Louis 14.00 4.00 11.00 Total Points 91.34 91.14 68.90 Result Won Won Lost Joe Flacco 2.68 22.56 21.48 Alfred Morris 12.10 7.20 1.90 T.J. Yeldon 6.70 8.30 4.20 Tevin Coleman 8.00 9.20 0.00 Dez Bryant 4.80 0.00 0.00 Owen Daniels 0.50 1.90 8.80
Transactions
Team Dubs
Week 4 - Added RB Devonta Freeman, Dropped RB Andre Williams
Frank's Team
Week 2 - Added WR Tavon Austin, Dropped WR Nelson Agholor
Week 2 - Added WR Travis Benjamin, Dropped WR Tavon Austin
Week 4 - Added RB Devonta Freeman, Dropped RB Tevin Coleman
Week 4 - Added WR Marvin Jones, Dropped TE Owen Daniels
Week 4 Starting Lineups
Team Dubs
QB - Andrew Luck
RB - Marshawn Lynch, Melvin Gordon
WR - A.J. Green, Jeremy Maclin, Larry Fitzgerald
TE - Jimmy Graham
PK - Dan Carpenter
DEF - Denver Broncos
Out - QB Tom Brady, WR Kendall Wright (Byes) - RB Arian Foster, TE Julius Thomas, WR Eric Decker (Injury)
Frank's Team
QB - Russell Wilson
RB - DeMarco Murray, Melvin Gordon
WR - Vincent Jackson, Travis Benjamin, Marvin Jones
TE - Travis Kelce
PK - Justin Tucker
DEF - St. Louis Rams
Out - WR Dez Bryant, WR Sammy Watkins (Injury)
Injuries and bye weeks will be taking their toll on my teams' fortunes this week. I'm just hoping to be competitive and perhaps eke out a win or two this weekend.