Industry CFF G5 Bestball Breakdown

After the Fourth of July holiday, I gathered some of the top college fantasy football experts from around the country for a pair of BestBall drafts, one for the Group of Five, one for the Power Five. Today, we're going to run down the G5 draft. Check back on Monday for our P5 breakdown.

Each owner was asked five questions about their draft process -- favorite picks, most unenviable picks, best teams, favorite sleepers, all that good stuff. Below you sits nearly 10,000 words of #CFF goodness from the top experts in the country. Owner answers begin below the full draft results.

1. What was your strategy going into the draft, and were you able to implement it? What do you like and dislike about your team?

While I certainly wanted to avoid getting too many players on open weeks, I placed more emphasis on grabbing quarterbacks early in this one. As a result I grabbed Ian Book and Brady White with my first two picks. For me personally, I like to take that approach in G5/Independent drafts. 

2. What was your favorite pick that you made? Which do you regret?

Attempting to draft BJ Emmons when he was already off the board is a bad look, so that’s the regret. As for my favorite pick, it’s Brady White. The man can flat-out sling it, as evidenced by his throwing for more than 4,000 yards and 33 touchdowns for the Tigers last season. Hoping that he can get the interceptions (11 in 2019) back into single digits, but even if that doesn’t happen I’m not too concerned. 

3. Name one pick another owner made in the top 10 rounds that made you insanely jealous.

Mike grabbing Hawaii RB Miles Reed in the eighth round may turn out to be one of the steals of this draft. Reed took full advantage of increased reps, rushing for 908 yards (5.2 YPC) and eight touchdowns last season, and I think he’ll be comfortably over the 1,000-yard mark this fall. Diocemy Saint-Juste ripped off 1,510 yards in 2017, and within that spread offense lanes can open for good backs. I’m all in on Miles Reed; wish I had him on my roster. 

4. Which player selected in Round 12 or later do you think has the best chance of becoming a weekly CFF starter this year?

ECU WR Blake Proehl is my pick. He was one of three Pirate wideouts that caught at least 54 passes last season (C.J. Johnson and Tyler Snead), so there’s no questioning his value within the offense. The key will be getting the yardage (670) up, but I believe he can do that and cement himself as a weekly option. 

For the league, my pick is Southern Miss RB Kevin Perkins, who was selected by Eric in the 19th round. He and De’Michael Harris shared the responsibilities last season, with the more versatile Harris being the lead option. Perkins may not provide a whole lot in the passing game, but I anticipate that he’ll be ready to take a step forward in the production department.

5. Outside of your own team, which do you see as the most talented in the league post-draft?

I think Nate Marchese’s team could be it, especially if Nick Starkel can hit the ground running at San Jose State. And he covered for himself there by grabbing Nick Nash in the 13th round. Getting C.J. Johnson and Tre Walker in the first two rounds was good, and I’m high on Kevin Mensah as well.

1. What was your strategy going into the draft, and were you able to implement it? What do you like and dislike about your team?

BPA, BPA, BPA. Especially in the G5 draft, you have to take the best players, because there's so much volatility in these groups. It'd be weird to say I didn't take the best players available, because that would make me a crazy person. Picking at the end of this draft was tough because it meant I missed on the stars like Gainwell and Patterson, but, I like the depth I was able to procure. I think I can compete.

2. What was your favorite pick that you made? Which do you regret?

I was very surprised that Matt Bushman was still on the board in the fifth round, and very happy to select him. It seems like Bushman has been in Provo since 2006, but he really hasn't had that "star" turn just yet. I think 2020 is that year.

I regretted my QB1 choice in the Power 5, and I kinda do in the G5 as well. Drew Plitt is a solid quarterback who made a massive improvement in 2019, but banking on more improvement might be a mistake. In hindsight, Chris Robison probably should have been the pick, but, I dunno. 

3. Name one pick another owner made in the top 10 rounds that made you insanely jealous.

Thor Nystrom, I forgot about Rico Bussey, and boy am I mad I forgot about him. Even if Hawaii doesn't throw as much as they did in the past, they're still gonna air it out, and Bussey showed star makings at North Texas. he was great value in the fifth.

4. Which player selected in Round 12 or later do you think has the best chance of becoming a weekly CFF starter this year?

Dylan Drummond. Now, I preface this with I have no idea what Eastern Michigan is going to get from their quarterbacks, but Drummond caught 55 passes last year, and I think it's not unreasonable to expect better numbers going forward. Even if he's the same, it's still solid value in Round 12.

5. Outside of your own team, which do you see as the most talented in the league post-draft?

I like what John Laub did quite a bit. Justin Henderson and Ronnie Rivers is the best 1-2 punch at tailback in this league, in my opinion, and Zac Thomas gives him a high-floor at quarterback. Would prefer Quintin Morris listed at TE, but he's going to be valuable anywhere, and O'Shaan Allison was a steal in the middle rounds. Lots of good teams, but if I have to pick one, it's this one.

1. What was your strategy going into the draft, and were you able to implement it? What do you like and dislike about your team? 

This draft was more challenging for me than the Power Five. Part of that is due to not being as well researched on the Group of Five's right now, but it's also due to the lack of quality for the mid-majors this year. I feel great about my running backs. I've noticed several backs that I think have high ceilings that aren't valued by the market throughout the past several months. The App State and WMU backfield are in flux, so I could get a steep discount on both their RB1 and RB2 this year. That should result in 500 combined carries between each team's RB1. I mixed in a bunch f quality around them. I love my RBs. I only took two TEs. Daniel Bellinger is a TE that I've selected in roughly 90% of my drafts this year. The new staff loves him, believes he will play in the NFL and have a recent 50 catch season from the TE on the resume. I added Deguara's replacement at Cinci and decided to stay light with only two. At WR, I took two elite, weekly starters in Roberson and Blue. We only start three, so I decided to fortify my other positions and keep my Rolodex of undervalued pass-catchers ready for later in the draft. I'm pleased with how this group turned out. At QB, I am happy with how my room shook out. I've landed five QBs that play in historically valuable fantasy schemes. Four of my five QBs can score with their legs. Overall, this is a risky team that could have a wide range of outcomes. I wouldn't be surprised if I finished last or first. 

2. What was your favorite pick that you made? Which do you regret? 

O'Maury Samuels was my favorite pick. The former four-star-prospect transferred from Michigan to NMSU. He's likely the most highly rated player in program history. The icing on the cake is the scheme that he plays in. Last year, Jason Huntley had 154-1090-9 on the ground and 40 catches. The OL should be the team's strength, so I have high hopes for Samuels, who I got as RB37 in Round 7. I don't currently have any regrets about my team. Time will tell if carrying only two TE and my very early and then very late strategy with WR was wise. 

3. Name one pick another owner made in the top 10 rounds that made you insanely jealous. 

Sorry, I can't do just one.

QB: Nick Starkel - Marchese - QB20

RB: Kevin Mensah- Marchese - RB27, Spencer Brown - Downey - RB31, Kevin Marks - Hall - RB33, Gerrid Doaks - Nystrom - RB39, Shamari Brooks - Brandt - RB41

WR: Kevin Austin - DiSalvo - WR22, CJ Yarbrough - Hall - WR25, Rico Bussey - Nystrom - WR31, JJ Holoman - Lindquist - WR52

4. Which player selected in Round 12 or later do you think has the best chance of becoming a weekly CFF starter this year? 

The player with the best chance on my team is Colorado RB Marcus McElroy. He inherits the perfect storm of his new HC being the guy that greenlit AJ Dillon getting a million carries and the OC that regularly fed his backs 200+ times per year at Ball State. If I had an honorable mention from my own team, it would be New Mexico WR Jordan Kress. The new OC was a position coach at Texas, who said he plans to implement a similar system. Kress is the best offensive player on the Lobos' team, and he has an OC that was on the staff that force-fed their best WRs for 106 and 86 catches over the past two years. Brandt took his probable QB1, Tevaka Tuioti, in round sixteen as QB58 off the board. I liked that move, and I was going to add him with my next pick if he didn't. Lindquist, Downey, and Laub did good work late with their TEs in selecting Brett Broske, Marcus Williams, and Jay Rose. 

5. Outside of your own team, which do you see as the most talented in the league post-draft?

Brandt, Hall, and Marchese had my favorite drafts. All three are class acts, and I fully expect them to take second through fourth place with great dignity and honor.