Fantasy News
Too much of a good thing?
I’m going wide receiver with two more picks in the Fanex draft, increasing my stockpile at the position to five. We’re early in the seventh round.
What’s the thinking here?
Wide receivers, I believe, are at a premium in this format. It’s PPR scoring, meaning that a wide receiver who catches 80 passes for 1,000 yards is worth 180 points – 80 more than a running back who runs for 1,000 yards (that’s setting aside touchdowns and other stats for those players). Each team is required to start three of them each week, and there’s a flex position, so it actually makes sense to start four of them each week.
Receivers, in other words, are prime real estate in this format. So I am moving to make sure I can put four good ones on the field every week. My other four all have byes. There no doubt will be other weeks where one of them is hurt or their quarterback is hurt or they’re playing in unusually bad weather. So I think it makes sense to carry five. These last two – Derrick Mason and Laveranues Coles – are two of the final three players on the board, I think, that have a real good chance to catch 80-plus passes.
Also factor in that I’m in a division where the other three guys are using the exact opposite approach. So far, they have selected only four wide receivers combined. They’ll need another five starters between them; they really need another eight wide receivers. So I also want to keep the pass catchers out of their hands.
After a couple of trade downs earlier, I now have nine players on my roster. Only one other team in the league has more than six players. Not sure if those trades will wind up being winners or not (some of these players I’ve selected might have been available in later rounds), but this is the path I’m on.
FANEX DRAFT (AMERICAN LEAGUE)
1.01 RB Maurice Jones-Drew (Rito)
1.02 RB Adrian Peterson (Butler)
1.03 RB Matt Forte (Hickerson)
1.04 RB Steve Slaton (Davis)
1.05 RB Michael Turner (Tinker)
1.06 WR Larry Fitzgerald (Holm)
1.07 RB Steven Jackson (Nulty)
1.08 WR Randy Moss (Perlow)
1.09 RB LaDainian Tomlinson (Cahill)
1.10 RB Chris Johnson (Butler)
1.11 RB DeAngelo Williams (Kellogg)
1.12 WR Andre Johnson (Panizo)
2.01 RB Brian Westbrook (Panizo)
2.02 WR Calvin Johnson (Kellogg)
2.03 WR Reggie Wayne (Perlow)
2.04 RB Frank Gore (Cahill)
2.05 WR Steve Smith (Allan)
2.06 RB Marion Barber (Nulty)
2.07 WR Greg Jennings (Holm)
2.08 WR Brandon Marshall (Tinker)
2.09 WR Roddy White (Davis)
2.10 RB Brandon Jacobs (Hickerson)
2.11 WR Wes Welker (Allan)
2.12 WR Anquan Boldin (Rito)
3.01 WR Marques Colston (Rito)
3.02 QB Drew Brees (Allan)
3.03 WR Terrell Owens (Hickerson)
3.04 RB Clinton Portis (Davis)
3.05 RB Reggie Bush (Tinker)
3.06 QB Tom Brady (Nulty)
3.06 RB Ronnie Brown (Holm)
3.08 RB Pierre Thomas (Perlow)
3.09 QB Peyton Manning (Kellogg)
3.09 RB Ryan Grant (Cahill)
3.11 RB Knowshon Moreno (Kellogg)
3.12 RB Kevin Smith (Panizo)
4.01 RB Marshawn Lynch (Panizo)
4.02 RB Darren McFadden (Kellogg)
4.03 WR Anthony Gonzalez (Allan)
4.04 WR Dwayne Bowe (Cahill)
4.05 RB Derrick Ward (Perlow)
4.06 WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (Nulty)
4.07 TE Jason Witten (Holm)
4.08 RB Joseph Addai (Tinker)
4.09 QB Aaron Rodgers (Davis)
4.10 WR Chad Ochocinco (Hickerson)
4.11 RB Ray Rice (Allan)
4.12 RB Larry Johnson (Rito)
5.01 TE Antonio Gates (Rito)
5.02 RB Cedric Benson (Allan)
5.03 WR Braylon Edwards (Hickerson)
5.04 WR Vincent Jackson (Davis)
5.05 QB Tony Romo (Tinker)
5.06 RB Thomas Jones (Holm)
5.07 TE Dallas Clark (Nulty)
5.08 QB Philip Rivers (Perlow)
5.09 TE Tony Gonzalez (Cahill)
5.10 WR Devin Hester (Butler)
5.11 WR Santonio Holmes (Kellogg)
5.12 WR Antonio Bryant (Panizo)
6.01 RB Beanie Wells (Panizo)
6.02 WR DeSean Jackson (Kellogg)
6.03 RB LenDale White (Allan)
6.04 QB Kurt Warner (Cahill)
6.05 WR Eddie Royal (Perlow)
6.06 WR Santana Moss (Nulty)
6.07 WR Roy Williams (Holm)
6.08 WR Lee Evans (Tinker)
6.09 WR Torry Holt (Davis)
6.10 QB Donovan McNabb (Hickerson)
6.11 WR Derrick Mason (Allan)
6.12 QB Carson Palmer (Rito)
7.01 RB Jonathan Stewart (Rito)
7.02 WR Laveranues Coles (Allan)
Scoring system: 6 points for TDs, 4 for TD passes, 1 for every 20 passing yards, 1 for every 10 run/rec yards. Start QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE, one Flex (RB-WR-TE), PK, DEF.
Fanex is a 24-team league that's set up like European soccer. Top 12 seeds, based on past performance, are in the American League. Other 12 are in the National League. Each year, the bottom four teams in the American League are replaced by the top four in the National. Each league has a separate winner. Overall champion of the Fanex is considered to be the winner of the American League.
To see American League draft so far, click here.
To see National League draft so far, click here.
—Ian Allan
- Comments [5]
Readers' Comments
Add a Comment
Already a registered user? Please sign in to add comments.
To add comments, you must become a registered user of our site. To register, please click here.
Posted by L.B. Graham | Aug. 08 at 03:28 AM
I like the move. I'm in a 10 team, PPR league, and I'm picking last, so I'm thinking seriously about grabbing two top-tier receivers at picks 10 & 11, since likely two of the top 4 will be there, and the premier RB talent won't be - the possible exception being Stephen Jackson, who I expect the league in general to be down on. Any thoughts?
Posted by IAN ALLAN | Aug. 08 at 03:37 AM
Sounds good to me. If Jackson isn't there, I think a pair of wide receivers makes the most sense.
Posted by MATT SHEDOR | Aug. 08 at 04:57 AM
i've done this a couple of different times.. last season, in our 12 team league, i took Fitz at 9, and then came back to take Calvin Johnson at 16.. you can only do this if you are really sold on some RB's that you figure will be there in the 3rd & 4th rounds..for me, i took a flier on rookie Matt Forte and then came back to take Thomas Jones.
Posted by L.B. Graham | Aug. 08 at 06:33 AM
I stole Forte in the middle rounds last year, maybe round 9 or 10. It was crazy. Ian, thanks for the advice. I found the Fantasy Index by chance before our '07 season. Just picked it from amid the options on the rack at Borders or wherever I was. I haven't looked back. It's the only magazine I get now, and I'll have your most recent cheat sheet and my customized rankings by my side when I draft again this year. Thanks for all you do.
Posted by MATT SHEDOR | Aug. 10 at 06:17 AM
just another thought on the FANEX draft. i cannot believe that Mojo Drew and Slaton were taken where they were.. i love Mojo.. he's a highlight reel. but he's not a 3 down back, and he's getting much more attention as the third down back. not a great team, either. and Slaton? he's just the latest Texan RB that people are quickly sold on being the real deal. i will give consideration to his backup...for whatever reason, Houston is one of those places where the backup ends up being the starter by the end of the season.. i see that happening again this year. Slaton is a risk as a first rounder.