Every off-season begins the same for me. I tell myself over and over that I will not join another dynasty league, recalling how time-strapped I was during the season, how difficult it was to maintain weekly waivers and lineup submissions for numerous leagues and how some of my teams suffered in favor of others. The end of every off-season is also the same as I look over my brand new leagues I’ve joined and begin to plan how I will successfully juggle the additional leagues.
It’s happened again! Recently, RotoViz writer Ben Gretch reached out to me, offering a spot in his new bestball dynasty league. While the bestball format, which includes no weekly team management, was attractive, it was the stacked group of competitors Ben had put together that caused me to go back on the promise to myself to avoid new leagues this off-season. Along with Ben and myself, other league members include:
Shawn Siegele, Rotoviz
JJ Zachariason, numberFire
Denny Carter, Draft Day Consultants
Matt Harmon, NFL.com
Jonathan Bales/Matthew Freedman, FantasyLabs
Graham Barfield, Fantasy Guru
Rich Hribar, Rotoworld
Evan Silva, Rotoworld
Pat Thorman, Pro Football Focus
Brian Malone, Dynasty League Football
I’ve run many mock drafts for both Rotoworld and Dynasty League Football over the years, but things can change when actually building a team that you’ll be responsible for and manage for the next few months, or even years.
In the coming days, I will document each round of picks as these fantasy writers build their dynasty teams from the ground up. This draft should give us a good idea of how players are being valued as well as a bit of insight into the types of strategies used by these experienced players.
Some basics about the league before we get to the picks. As I mentioned the league is bestball with no in-season management. This means it will run much like an MFL10 with system-generated optimal lineups on a weekly basis. The key difference will be a pair off off-season drafts, one for incoming rookies and the other for remaining free agents. There will be no in-season waivers or trades, so drafting depth at all positions will be a must. Each starting lineup will consist of one QB, two RBs, two WRs, one TE and four flex spots.
Round One:
1.01 Shawn Siegele - Odell Beckham, WR1
1.02 Ben Gretch – Amari Cooper, WR2
1.03 JJ Zachariason – David Johnson, RB1
1.04 Denny Carter – Mike Evans, WR3
1.05 Ryan McDowell – Julio Jones, WR4
1.06 Matt Harmon – Antonio Brown, WR5
1.07 Bales/Freedman – Ezekiel Elliott, RB2
1.08 Graham Barfield – LeVeon Bell, RB3
1.09 Rich Hribar – A.J. Green, WR6
1.10 Evan Silva – Michael Thomas, WR7
1.11 Pat Thorman – Sammy Watkins, WR8
1.12 Evan Silva – T.Y. Hilton, WR9
Notes: No surprise as Siegele makes Beckham the top player off the board, but Gretch’s selection of Cooper second overall did turn some heads. Gretch later mentioned he fully expects a breakout season from Cooper and predicted he would be a top three dynasty asset following the season. I tend to agree. … Elliott’s recent off-field issues and the possibility that he is suspended might have pushed him down, but he is still drafted seventh overall to the duo of Bales and Freedman. While the multiple incidents involving the Cowboys back are concerning, there should be little to no discount in dynasty leagues. … Silva ends up with two of the top 12 picks, soon to be three of the top 13, after he and Malone pulled off a trade. In exchange for the 1.10 selection, Malone received the 3.01 and a future draft pick. This would become a theme for Malone, who has often advocated trading down in startup drafts.
Round Two:
2.01 Evan Silva – Rob Gronkowski, TE1
2.02 Pat Thorman – Allen Robinson, WR10
2.03 Rich Hribar – DeAndre Hopkins, WR11
2.04 Rich Hribar – Melvin Gordon, RB4
2.05 Graham Barfield – Brandin Cooks, WR12
2.06 Bales/Freedman – Jay Ajayi, RB5
2.07 Matt Harmon – Stefon Diggs, WR13
2.08 Ben Gretch – Keenan Allen, WR14
2.09 Denny Carter – Martavis Bryant, WR15
2.10 JJ Zachariason – Dez Bryant, WR16
2.11 Ryan McDowell – Leonard Fournette, RB6
2.12 Shawn Siegele – Christian McCaffrey, RB7
Notes: Silva wastes no time in adding the game’s best TE, grabbing Gronkowski with the first pick of the second round to go along with Thomas and Hilton. ... Although they let down fantasy owners a year ago, Robinson and Hopkins are still chosen among the top fifteen overall players. ... This time, it’s Hribar with multiple picks in the round as he and Malone pull off a deal giving the Lord a trio of Green, Hopkins and Gordon. ... Ajayi might be an injury risk, but his value has been climbing all off-season and here he’s drafted among the top five backs in the game. ... Carter aggressively adds Bryant, coming off a suspension and hears about it from those following on Twitter. While it might have been a “reach” based on dynasty ADP, Bryant is a hot name in the dynasty community and he was not making it back to Carter in the third round. ... I was set to pick at 2.08, but with several players I was considering, opted to trade down and gain some value in the upcoming rounds. Gretch and I swapped spots in the second with him targeting Allen and me scooping up the rookie Fournette, whom I nearly took before the trade. ... As soon as I took the Jags rookie, Siegele took the next rookie, McCaffrey.
Round Three:
3.01 Graham Barfield – Doug Baldwin, WR17
3.02 Pat Thorman – Todd Gurley, RB8
3.03 Matt Harmon – Tyreek Hill, WR18
3.04 Brian Malone – Devonta Freeman, RB9
3.05 Graham Barfield – Jordy Nelson, WR19
3.06 Bales/Freedman – Jordan Howard, RB10
3.07 Matt Harmon – Joe Mixon, RB11
3.08 Ryan McDowell – Dalvin Cook, RB12
3.09 Denny Carter – Terrelle Pryor, WR20
3.10 JJ Zachariason – Davante Adams, WR21
3.11 Ryan McDowell – Corey Davis, WR22
3.12 Shawn Siegele – Travis Kelce, TE2
Notes: Malone is becoming the story of this draft as he flips the pick he acquired from Silva earlier in exchange for both a later pick in this startup draft, along with a future rookie/free agent pick next season. With his newly acquired selection, Barfield adds reliable veteran Baldwin. ... Malone wasn’t done as he then sold the 3.03 pick to Harmon, who grabbed speedy second-year WR Hill…Malone finally makes his first pick at 3.04, taking the falling Freeman as the ninth back off the board. This screams value to me. ... Harmon snipes me with his second pick of the round as I had targeted Mixon, but I settle for another rookie RB, Cook, to pair with Fournette. I debated between Cook and the Packers’ Adams and before I could add him later in the round, Zachariason nabbed him. ... I settled for my third rookie in Davis and this team is much younger than I had intended through three rounds.
Round Four:
4.01 Shawn Siegele – Jarvis Landry, WR23
4.02 Ben Gretch – Derrick Henry, RB13
4.03 JJ Zachariason – Demaryius Thomas, WR24
4.04 Denny Carter – Alshon Jeffery, WR25
4.05 Ben Gretch – LeSean McCoy, RB14
4.06 Brian Malone – Willie Snead, WR26
4.07 Bales/Freedman – Ty Montgomery, RB15
4.08 Brian Malone – Donte Moncrief, WR27
4.09 Rich Hribar – Golden Tate, WR28
4.10 Rich Hribar – Jamison Crowder, WR29
4.11 Pat Thorman – Isaiah Crowell, RB15
4.12 Evan Silva – Michael Crabtree, WR30
Notes: Our first round without a trade rolls along quickly with a mix of veterans and high-upside youth. ... Landry’s value might be in doubt with the emergence of Ajayi and the recent injury to QB Ryan Tannehill, but Siegele ended his slide early in the fourth round. ... Although he is not the starter on his own team, Henry has consistently been drafted ahead of veteran DeMarco Murray all off-season and it happens here again as Gretch has built a youth-heavy team including Cooper, Allen and Henry, before adding the veteran McCoy later in this round. ... Zachariason (Thomas) and Carter (Jeffery) take advantage of the veteran value falling as they add solid starting WRs…Montgomery and Crowell are another pair of players who have been climbing the draft boards all off-season and both are selected in the fourth as top 15 overall backs. There is some clear risk with this duo, but even as early as the fourth round, no player is without their flaws.
Round Five:
5.01 Evan Silva – Tevin Coleman, RB16
5.02 Pat Thorman – Lamar Miller, RB17
5.03 Brian Malone – Kelvin Benjamin, WR31
5.04 Shawn Siegele – Corey Coleman, WR32
5.05 Graham Barfield – Jordan Reed, TE3
5.06 Bales/Freedman – Aaron Rodgers, QB1
5.07 Matt Harmon – John Brown, WR33
5.08 Ryan McDowell – DeVante Parker, WR34
5.09 Denny Carter – Hunter Henry, TE4
5.10 JJ Zachariason – DeMarco Murray, RB18
5.11 Ben Gretch – Randall Cobb, WR35
5.12 Shawn Siegele – Tyler Eifert, TE5
Notes: After only a pair of TEs had been drafted through four rounds, there was a bit of a run on the position in the fifth round as Barfield (Reed), Carter (Henry) and Siegele (Eifert) all grab their starter. ... The Bales/Freedman duo are the first to select a QB in Packers’ star Rodgers. ... Strategies are beginning to come into focus with Zachariason, Barfield, Silva, Hribar and Bales/Freedman all sporting solid win now makeups through five rounds.
Round Six:
6.01 Shawn Siegele – John Ross, WR36
6.02 Ryan McDowell – Emmanuel Sanders, WR37
6.03 JJ Zachariason – Carlos Hyde, RB19
6.04 Denny Carter – Cameron Meredith, WR38
6.05 Ben Gretch – Jordan Matthews, WR39
6.06 Brian Malone – Mike Williams, WR40
6.07 Bales/Freedman – Julian Edelman, WR41
6.08 Graham Barfield – Greg Olsen, TE6
6.09 Rich Hribar – Tyrell Williams, WR42
6.10 Matt Harmon – Ameer Abdullah, RB20
6.11 Pat Thorman – Jeremy Maclin, WR43
6.12 Evan Silva – Josh Doctson, WR44
Notes: After taking Eifert to end the fifth round, Siegele makes it back-to-back Bengals by taking the rookie WR Ross. ... I was happy to add the veteran Sanders as I saw him as the end of that WR tier. ... Early camp reports have not been positive for Matthews and we’ve all heard the rumors about Williams potentially missing extended time, but both players still crack the sixth round as this group chases WRs. ... In fact, WRs now make up nearly 75% of drafted players through six rounds.
Round Seven:
7.01 Evan Silva – Tyler Lockett, WR45
7.02 Pat Thorman – Eric Ebron, TE7
7.03 Matt Harmon – Pierre Garcon, WR46
7.04 Rich Hribar – DeSean Jackson, WR47
7.05 Graham Barfield – Andrew Luck, QB2
7.06 Bales/Freedman – Larry Fitzgerald, WR48
7.07 Brian Malone – Russell Wilson, QB3
7.08 Shawn Siegele – Kareem Hunt, RB21
7.09 Denny Carter – Samaje Perine, RB22
7.10 JJ Zachariason – Kenny Britt, WR49
7.11 Ben Gretch – Will Fuller, WR50
7.12 Ryan McDowell – Marcus Mariota, QB4
Notes: With only one QB drafted among the first 64 picks in the draft, there was bound to be a run soon and it began in the seventh round. Along with my own pick of Mariota, Barfield (Luck) and Malone (Wilson) also add their signal caller. ... A pair of second-tier rookie RBs come off the board here in Hunt and Perine. ... Former Redskins Garcon and Jackson bolted from Washington and both have seen their value increase, despite being over 30 years of age.
Round Eight:
8.01 Ryan McDowell – Alvin Kamara, RB23
8.02 Ben Gretch – Adam Thielen, WR51
8.03 JJ Zachariason – Kenny Golladay, WR52
8.04 Denny Carter – Kevin White, WR53
8.05 Shawn Siegele – C.J. Prosise, RB24
8.06 Matt Harmon – Jimmy Graham, TE8
8.07 Bales/Freedman – Brandon Marshall, WR54
8.08 Graham Barfield – Eric Decker, WR55
8.09 Rich Hribar – Kyle Rudolph, TE9
8.10 Brian Malone – Sterling Shepard, WR56
8.11 Pat Thorman – Breshad Perriman, WR57
8.12 Evan Silva – Mark Ingram, RB25
Notes: I admittedly reached for one of my favorite rookies, Kamara, early in the round. In fact, he is drafted before the Saints presumed starter, Ingram, who was drafted by Silva late in the round…Zachariason pounded the table for rising rookie Golladay, whose value is quickly moving up after some positive early camp reports…Some reliable veterans came off the board in the middle of the round and all three (Graham, Marshall and Decker) could be reliable weekly starters…
Round Nine:
9.01 Evan Silva – Theo Riddick, RB26
9.02 Pat Thorman – Mike Gillislee, RB27
9.03 Matt Harmon – Spencer Ware, RB28
9.04 Rich Hribar – Duke Johnson, RB29
9.05 Graham Barfield – Mike Wallace, WR58
9.06 Bales/Freedman – Zach Ertz, TE10
9.07 Matt Harmon – Chris Godwin, WR59
9.08 Ryan McDowell – Evan Engram, TE11
9.09 Denny Carter – Devin Funchess, WR60
9.10 JJ Zachariason – Eddie Lacy, RB30
9.11 Ben Gretch – Giovani Bernard, RB31
9.12 Shawn Siegele – Zay Jones, WR61
Notes: Silva followed up his Ingram pick by grabbing PPR monster Riddick. In fact, committee backs flew off the board in this round, including Gillislee, Ware, Johnson, Lacy and Bernard. If any of these can overtake their counterparts to earn a full-time role, these picks will represent a huge value…A trio of rookies are drafted in this round as well, with Harmon grabbing one of his pre-draft favorites in Godwin, I reached for my starting TE Engram and Siegele grabbed Jones with the round’s final pick…
Round Ten:
10.01 Ryan McDowell – Juju Smith-Schuster, WR62
10.02 Ben Gretch – Bilal Powell, RB32
10.03 JJ Zachariason – Chad Williams, WR63
10.04 Denny Carter – D’Onta Foreman, RB33
10.05 Shawn Siegele – Curtis Samuel, WR64
10.06 Brian Malone – Marvin Jones, WR65
10.07 Bales/Freedman – Delanie Walker, TE12
10.08 Graham Barfield – David Njoku, TE13
10.09 Rich Hribar – O.J. Howard, TE14
10.10 Matt Harmon – Danny Woodhead, RB34
10.11 Pat Thorman – Tom Brady, QB5
10.12 Evan Silva – Martellus Bennett, TE15
Notes: The tenth round saw a couple of interesting runs. First, half of the picks in this round were rookies, led off by my selection of Smith-Schuster…Also, the round ended with four TEs quickly coming off the board…Patriots fan Thorman was destined to take Brady and he did just that as the fifth QB drafted…I loved the value for Malone (Jones) and Silva (Bennett)…
We’re now ten rounds into this startup draft with a whopping twenty more rounds to go. I’ll check back in following the draft to look at how the teams ended up.
