I don’t talk about fantasy football much on here. It’s just…well, I’m not super-rabid about it like some people. I enjoy it, it’s fun, it makes me more invested in football than I otherwise would be. It’s Dungeons & Dragons for jocks, when you get right down to it. Whatever the case, this is going to be my one annual post on the topic.
Disclaimer: I may make passing references to the subject throughout the year, and maybe have a recap post.
Last Year
Last year was a pretty weird year. My team, PASSWORD IS TACO, squeaked into the playoffs with a 5-8 record, their season salvaged by Blake Bortles. And then they went on a tear in the playoffs and played for the championship against Romo Says What (who entered the playoffs at 10-3 and were strongly favored to win it all).
League Settings
Start: QB, 2x WR, 2x RB, TE, W/R/T flex, K, DEF
Bench spots: 9
Draft: non-serpentine, no auction
Welcome to 2016
Obviously, I’m hoping to defend my title, but the chances of that are slim to non-existent. This year, I did step up my research game a bit, so that I was better-informed at draft time — last year, my research was on-the-fly and I bailed after the 7th or 8th pick and let autodraft take over, which was dumb. This year, I resolved to be better.
With the 10th pick overall (serpentine), here’s who I wound up with:
| Round | Pick | Overall Pick | Pos | Name | Team | Bye | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 10 | RB | Adrian Peterson | MIN | 6 | Taken him first three years in a row now. |
| 2 | 1 | 11 | QB | Aaron Rogers | GB | 4 | Fuck the Pack. |
| 3 | 10 | 30 | WR | Amari Cooper | OAK | 10 | |
| 4 | 1 | 31 | RB | LeSean McCoy | BUF | 10 | |
| 5 | 10 | 50 | WR | Julian Edelman | NE | 9 | |
| 6 | 1 | 51 | TE | Coby Fleenor | NO | 5 | Had this guy last year and he sucked. |
| 7 | 10 | 70 | DEF | Denver | DEN | 11 | |
| 8 | 1 | 71 | WR | Jarvis Landry | MIA | 8 | |
| 9 | 10 | 90 | K | Justin Tucker | BAL | 8 | |
| 10 | 1 | 91 | QB | Derek Carr | OAK | 10 | Decent QB2, provided his ascent continues. |
| 11 | 10 | 110 | RB | Rashad Jennings | NYG | 8 | Was highlighted when the timer ran out, autodraft choice. |
| 12 | 1 | 111 | WR | Michael Crabtree | OAK | 10 | Be interesting to pair this guy with Carr against soft pass defenses. |
| 13 | 10 | 130 | RB | Ameer Abdullah | DET | 10 | Probably an RB2. |
| 14 | 1 | 131 | QB | Dak Prescott | DAL | 7 | TBD. QB3 role. |
| 15 | 10 | 150 | WR | Charles Johnson | MIN | 6 | Taking a flyer. |
| 16 | 1 | 151 | RB | Jerick McKinnon | MIN | 6 | Handcuffed to Adrian Peterson. |
| 17 | 10 | 170 | RB | Alfred Morris | DAL | 7 | Filler. |
| 18 | 1 | 171 | WR | Steve Smith, Sr. | BAL | 8 | Filler. |
All in all, not a terrible draft (the Yahoo! grader gave me a solid B, with the highest grade in the league getting a B+). This could have been worse. Having last pick in a serpentine is both good and bad, but all in all,
Summary
I definitely was not used to having the later pick. My first year in the league (2014), I had the first overall, and last year, I had number two overall. Both times I picked Adrian Peterson. In 2014 that bit me in the ass like getting beat with a switch.2 I was hoping that he’d be available again this year, and he was. Getting Aaron Rogers with the number eleven pick overall was better than I’d hoped for. Beyond that, I’m not completely pleased with my draft. There’s a few good gets in there, though, and I’m hoping that that’ll carry me to a respectable season. I think the only chance I have of making the championships is to be an absolute shark on the waiver wire.
Image Credits: WikiImages/.