In part one of the NFFC Draft Champions recap (here), I detailed the format of the league and the first five draft picks I have made. In part two, I covered the picks for rounds six through 13 (here). In part three, I covered the picks for rounds 14 through 24 (here). My current roster is as follows:
Quarterbacks
- Matt Ryan (6.09)
- Joe Flacco (12.09)
Running Backs
- Marshawn Lynch (2.04)
- Justin Forsett (3.04)
- J. Spiller (5.04)
- Danny Woodhead (11.04)
- James Starks (20.09)
- Khiry Robinson (22.09)
Wide Receivers
- Demaryius Thomas (1.09)
- Julian Edelman (4.09)
- Eric Decker (8.09)
- Kendall Wright (9.04)
- Steve Smith (10.09)
- Dwayne Bowe (13.04)
- Nick Toon (19.04)
Tight Ends
- Martellus Bennett (7.04)
- Antonio Gates (15.04)
- Ladarius Green (16.09)
- Jace Amaro (23.04)
Kickers
- Adam Vinatieri (17.04)
- Dan Carpenter (18.09)
Defensive / Special Teams
- Houston Texans (14.09)
- Minnesota Vikings (21.04)
Below is an ongoing diary of my draft all the way to its conclusion.
24.09 Andrew Hawkins (wide receiver/Cleveland) – I was looking to grab Branden Oliver (running back/San Diego) here to back-up Danny Woodhead, but he was selected the pick before me. Hawkins will never overwhelm you with his prowess in the red zone, but has skills to be a high volume PPR option with 70 reception potential.
25.04 Robert Turbin (running back/Seattle) – Turbin offers me some coverage for a Marshawn Lynch injury. Some people have been all-in on Christine Michael since he was drafted in 2013, but Turbin has proven to be the back-up of choice for Seattle over the past two seasons, so much so that word is Michael’s roster spot may be in danger.
26.09 Matt Asiata (running back/Minnesota) – Adrian Peterson is back, but at 30 years of age and a year away from the game, the likelihood of an injury is greater than that of some other top tier running backs. Jerick McKinnon will likely draw the majority of handcuff attempts for Peterson owners, but Asiata offers more bang-for-the-buck than McKinnon as a solid receiver out of the backfield and the go-to goal line option if Peterson goes down.
27.04 Bears DST (defensive-special teams/Chicago) – This was more of a luxury pick than anything. There were four defense-special team options left (Chicago, New Orleans, Tennessee and Oakland), and some of the roster moves that were made in Chicago this year leads me to believe there is a little bit of value here.
28.09 Bruce Ellington (wide receiver/San Francisco) – The remaining defense-special teams (New Orleans, Tennessee and Oakland) were selected in the five picks following my Chicago selection in the previous round. Ellington is a favorite sleeper of mine this season. He offers San Francisco a speedy slot receiver type that they have not had in recent years. Injuries derailed his rookie season, but with the departure of Stevie Johnson to San Diego, the third wide receiver role is ready to be claimed by Ellington.
29.04 Leonard Hankerson (wide receiver/Atlanta) – Hankerson was not someone I was looking at headed into the draft season, however with Roddy White on the downside of his career and Julio Jones having multiple foot issues, the risk versus reward ratio here is favorable and news during the Atlanta OTA sessions sounded positive for Hankerson.
30.09 Dustin Hopkins (kicker/New Orleans) – Most people will see this pick and say, “A third kicker, why?”, but in a Best Ball format, having that extra kicker allows you to cash in on a good amount of points that teams with only two kickers will miss out on. Kicker is always the most volatile position with guys scoring three points some weeks and 17 points in other weeks; I want to give myself as many chances at those big weeks as I can. The Saints’ kicker is a decent one to target this year at a cheap draft price – only problem is, it will require two picks since I will need to draft Zach Hocker in a few rounds to grab both guys in the camp battle.
31.04 Kendall Hunter (running back/San Francisco) – K.J. Duke gets me for a third time, as I was targeting Aaron Dobson (wide receiver/New England), but he was taken the pick before me. Hunter is a decent consolation prize at a position that might be of more need for me. Hunter will backup injury prone receiving back Reggie Bush, and news of recovery from his 2014 injury have been positive.
32.09 Jimmy Garoppolo (quarterback/New England) – This pick came about four hours and a half dozen picks after the Tom Brady four-game suspension was upheld, so I was fairly surprised someone else did not select him prior to my pick; one of the teams that made an alternate selection was the Tom Brady owner.
33.04 Andre Roberts (wide receiver/Washington) – Zach Hocker was selected at 32.11, so I was unable to pair him up with Dustin Hopkins to lockdown the New Orleans kicker spot. Was looking at Tim Wright (tight end/Tampa Bay) here, but felt an extra wide receiver was a little more valuable than a fifth tight end, so I went with Andre Roberts who has a pair of solid receivers in front of him in DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon, but both have proven to be susceptible to injury in the past.
34.09 Matt Schaub (quarterback/Baltimore) – Joe Flacco handcuff.
35.04 T.J. Yates (quarterback/Altanta) – Matt Ryan handcuff.
Final Roster
Quarterbacks
- Matt Ryan (6.09)
- Joe Flacco (12.09)
- Jimmy Garoppolo (32.09)
- Matt Schaub (34.09)
- J. Yates (35.04)
Running Backs
- Marshawn Lynch (2.04)
- Justin Forsett (3.04)
- J. Spiller (5.04)
- Danny Woodhead (11.04)
- James Starks (20.09)
- Khiry Robinson (22.09)
- Robert Turbin (25.04)
- Matt Asiata (26.09)
- Kendall Hunter (31.04)
Wide Receivers
- Demaryius Thomas (1.09)
- Julian Edelman (4.09)
- Eric Decker (8.09)
- Kendall Wright (9.04)
- Steve Smith (10.09)
- Dwayne Bowe (13.04)
- Nick Toon (19.04)
- Andrew Hawkins (24.09)
- Bruce Ellington (28.09)
- Leonard Hankerson (29.04)
- Andre Roberts (33.04)
Tight Ends
- Martellus Bennett (7.04)
- Antonio Gates (15.04)
- Ladarius Green (16.09)
- Jace Amaro (23.04)
Kickers
- Adam Vinatieri (17.04)
- Dan Carpenter (18.09)
- Dustin Hopkins (30.09)
Defensive / Special Teams
- Houston Texans (14.09)
- Minnesota Vikings (21.04)
- Chicago Bears (27.04)
Overall I am very happy with the depth of my roster, and this is key in Best Ball formats; there are many solid options at wide receiver and tight end, plus a pair of good quarterbacks. While my running backs are a bit thin, my top four are strong and there are a handful of other options who could turn into something useful.
I hope everyone enjoyed this series and can use some of the information provided in your upcoming Draft Champion or Standard drafts.
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