2019 Fantasy Football

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

First game of the season is two weeks from Thursday and my drafts are coming up while some of you may have already drafted.  In one of my leagues I pick 3rd and in the other league I have the 14th pick which is the last pick.  I've been reading up a bit about some of the talking heads who are pushing for a zero RB strategy this year in the first two rounds if you pick at the back end of round 1.  The league I'll be picking 14th in added PPR scoring and I could definitely see going WR-WR.  I'm guessing Kelce will be there and I don't doubt him or the offense he plays in I've just never taken a TE that high and I think there's some good TE value once you get past Kelce/Kittle/Ertz.  I'm thinking about D. Cook who is the lead back on a team that plans to run more but he's also an injury concern and would need to be handcuffed.  There's some interesting RB outside of the top 15 a few of which could end up as starters and be good value picks.  QB looks to be pretty deep this year as it's crazy seeing guys who are older like Brady/Brees falling in the 10-20 range as far as rankings go.

Any thoughts or guys any of you are targeting?  The league I have the last pick in has always gone RB heavy and I can't wait too long as I draft 4-5 RB's to fill 2 RB spots, a flex spot and a few guys for depth/byes.  

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Based on the ESPN top-300 list I'm looking at right now, you could go zero RB and end up with Kelce (14) and Antonio Brown (15).  Maybe JuJu slides (at 13 now, someone could certainly slide based on preference) or Mike Evans is an option.  At 42, available RB's are Damien Williams-KC, Mark Ingram, James White, Sony Michel, David Montgomery.  WR's there are Cooper Kupp, Alshon Jeffery, Godwin-TB.  At 70, available RB's Tevin Coleman, Miles Sanders, Ekeler, Duke Johnson; WR's Sterling Shepard, J. Landry, Kirk, Dede, Marvin Jones.

3 ways to go:

Mix it up Best available:  Gurley, Dal. Cook or J. Conner (14), Kelce (15), Kupp (42), Dam. Williams (43), Marvin Jones/Robbie Anderson (70), Tevin Coleman (71), Latavius Murray (98), Geronimo Allison (99)

Zero RB:  JuJu (if he slides one pick-14), Kelce (15), Dam. Williams-KC (42), Kupp/David Montgomery (43), T. Coleman (70), Miles Sanders (71),  Murray (98), Allison (99)

Early RB:  Dal. Cook and J. Conner (14-15), Kupp and Jeffery/Godwin (42-43), Coleman/Sanders and Marvin Jones/Robbie Anderson (70-71), Murray and Allison

I don't know that I could go zero RB early.  I also don't know that I could spend the opportunity cost to draft Kelce.  Maybe someone like OJ Howard, Evan Engram or Hunter Henry slides to the 70.  Those 3 went 64, 65, 66 in this list.  With a little luck, you could field something like Dalvin Cook, JuJu, Damien Williams, Cooper Kupp, Marvin Jones (Hunter Henry here if he slides), Tevin Coleman, Lat Murray, Allison and maybe target someone like Jordan Reed or Mark Andrews later.  No early QB is my plan for sure, although it gets tempting to grab someone earlier when they've slid.  But, it's too good if you can actually use your early picks to build that RB/WR depth and still get a Goff, Russell Wilson, Winston, Murray, Brees, Lamar Jackson, Prescott type late.

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

Turns out I actually have the 10th pick as the way the order is set is the person who finished last picks where they pick, second to last then picks, etc and someone else took 14.  I think you have some good thoughts just the yahoo rankings differ a bit.  Conner is currently ranked 10th and I'd be fine taking him then a WR on the turn which would be Hill or Evans based on current rankings.  Yahoo has Gurley, Gordon, Fournette and Ingram currently ranked around where my third pick is.  Gurley is an issue of health with his knee otherwise he's a first round pick, if Gordon reports or signs an extension then he's a first round pick, Fournette supposedly made health/non-football life changes and Ingram is the lead back on a team that led the league in rushing last year.  I can definitely see Gurley/Gordon going earlier while Fournette who has underwhelmed to date could be interesting if Jacksonville's offense is better with Foles. 

By the time we draft yahoo will update the rankings after this week's preseason games which is when injuries aside we see starters play 1-2 quarters.  I don't anticipate taking a QB early but I feel like I say that every year then in one of my two leagues my pick comes up and one of the top guys is there so I take him.  Won both leagues last year but that was after grabbing Mahomes as my second QB and he absolutely crushed it.  If I end up waiting and grabbing a QB ranked 10-15 I'll likely grab a second one soon after hoping one of the two is worth starting every week or used as trade bait.  Currently outside of the yahoo top 10 you've got Brees, Jackson, Winston, Prescott, Rivers, Roeth, Jimmy G, Trubisky, Cousins and Brady.  Can definitely win a league with one of those guys even if they aren't top 5 or even 10 but would need to hit on the RB/WR/TE positions.  

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Based on Fantasy Pros cumulative rankings, you could do something like Julio Jones, Michael Thomas, Chris Carson, David Montgomery, James White/Miles Sanders, S. Watkins/W Fuller/M Jones.  That's pretty solid first six if you believe in the rookie RB's.  Of course there could be slight variation.  Seems like your idea of zero RB (at least in first 2 picks) could work.  RB's disappear right after the first 6-7 rounds but there are still WR's to spec.

[Tank]

I'd pick mike trout.

[Chuck]

I have one spot open in our AW Fantasy Football League. 

The draft is next Monday at 6pm if you're interested. $25 for the league. 

Ping me if you're interested. 

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Hey Cat, how'd your draft go?

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

Same as every year - no amount of planning predicts the way it actually plays out but the nerd in me still likes to talk about it and research before the draft.  I went Conner-Evans and when my third pick came around Ingram was my top back left on the board.  19 other RB's had already been drafted and Baltimore was the #1 rushing team last year so I took him knowing multiple owners stock RB and it's the thinnest position on the waiver wire during the season.  Kupp and Fuller are my 2nd and 3rd receivers who are boom or bust with both coming off of torn ACL's.  I had both of them last year which is probably part of the reason I took them as they were both having nice seasons before their injuries and I'm hoping that's where they get back to.  Took Hunter Henry at TE mostly because when it came to my pick none of the other available players really stood out and I'm hoping he'll be Rivers security blanket like Gates was.  TE for me is a position I grab a legit one early or am always playing the waiver wire throughout the season playing match ups so hoping the hype around him is legit.

I was the last person to draft a QB which wasn't intentional and a few owners had already drafted their backup.  I ended up with Cousins who is a guy that seems like every year or two he starts off good and there's talk about how maybe he's turned a corner but he hasn't he's just Kurt Cousins who kind of pads his stats in blowout wins/losses, disappears some games and makes mistakes that will keep him from moving into a higher QB tier.  At least he's on a good team with a lot of weapons while they're expected to run more this year and I'm hoping some of his dump off passes to Cook turn into TD's like the third preseason game.  In a 14 team league I'm rarely enthusiastic about my team until I see some of the other rosters and remember everyone's team gets thin at a point.  My bench is first to third year players who either hopefully take that next step or in the case of handcuff RB's find themselves starting at some point and make the most of it.  More than half the teams only have 1 QB and there are some interesting guys available at least one of which should end up top 15 or even top 10 by the time the season ends.    

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Love drafting.  Hope springs eternal until cleats hit the field in week 1.  Good luck this season!  That's pretty strong considering the size of the league, especially the Conner, Ingram, Evans, Kupp, Henry part.

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

Yeah I’m hoping that group can make having a mediocre QB a non issue. Thanks and good luck to you too. 

[arch stanton]

6 hours ago, Catwhoshatinthehat said:

Yeah I’m hoping that group can make having a mediocre QB a non issue. Thanks and good luck to you too. 

This is the most Bronco fan sentence ever typed on the net

[HaloMilliVanilli]

Drafted a 10-team, 1/2 PPR team last night from the #9 spot for a neighborhood draft I threw together late last week.

QBs:  Jameis Winston, Lamar Jackson

RBs:  Chris Carson, David Montgomery, Sony Michel, Tevon Coleman, Lat Murray, Darwin Thompson

WRs:  JuJu, Tyreek Hill, Tyler Lockett, Josh Gordon, AJ Green

TE:  Mark Andrews          K:  Robbie Gould          D#:  Pats