Kings Classic Fantasy Football Draft Recap

The Kings Classic Fantasy League drafts took place this past Saturday at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Spearheaded by Big Guy Fantasy Sports’ Bob Lung and Yahoo’s Brad Evans, the event was a resounding success with many of the top fantasy sites in the business represented within the walls of the Hall of Fame.  On Saturday, there was a snake draft, followed by an auction shortly thereafter.

There were two divisions: The Jim Brown division and the George Blanda division. Yours truly represented Fantasy Alarm in the Blanda division, but for reference, here is a complete listing of the two divisions:

One thing that is worth noting from the event is that half of the league fees are donated to The Enshrinees Assistance Fund.

Please see the draft boards for both divisions at the following link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fZ-XtFzH7Bis8vtpvOf-TERvrzLIhhTuRGqbV1QLeY4/edit#gid=526413188

SNAKE DRAFT

We’ll start with the snake draft. After an unlucky draw in the draft order drawing, #FANation had to select between the 7^th overall pick and the 11^th overall selection. Personally, I wanted a top four or bottom four pick, so as you might suspect, I chose the 11-slot. Here’s the squad:

First off, let’s clarify this: My strategy in this draft was not to open with three Houston Texans within the first six picks. Yes, I’m a big Texans fan, but I didn’t envision going like this. I was hoping that Melvin Gordon or Leonard Fournette would fall to the 11^th pick, but once they were nabbed, my attention turned to DeAndre Hopkins . If Kareem Hunt came back to me, I would have selected him at 14, but when Hunt and Christian McCaffery, I embraced the WR-WR start. Another selection passed me by where I didn’t take a running back.

If I’m not mistaken, I was the only person to open the draft with three straight wide receivers. Hopkins and Beckham is a great duo to solidify the position, but adding in T.Y. Hilton is a dynamic WR3. In case you forgot, Hilton is absolutely electric with Luck under center. Hilton went over 1,000 yards in every season with Andrew Luck , aside from 2012. Since Luck has taken the keys to the Indianapolis offense, Hilton has been leaps and bounds more dynamic. In a PPR format, Hilton averages 15.14 fantasy points per game with Luck under center, compared to 11.29 fantasy points per game. Over the course of the season, Hilton with Luck comes to about 242 fantasy points per game, which would have placed Hilton in the top 10 at the position last season. YES PLEASE!

Are the RBs sketchy? Sure, but I’m a bit more confident than others. Miller has slimmed down and has looked more explosive in the preseason. Keep in mind that he’s virtually the only running back in Houston and has absolutely DOMINATED the workload in the preseason with the starters. In the fourth round, I nabbed a reliable RB2 with the potential to be a back-end RB1 based on workload alone. With D’Onta Foreman coming back from a torn Achilles, Miller is line for 20+ touches a game for at least the first half of the season, and this could carry on well into the season if Foreman needs additional time.

Isaiah Crowell , much like Miller, may not be the flashy selection, but he’s a RB2 this season with the Jets. Crowell has never played on a good team, but routinely finishes no worse than a RB3. He could easily finish as a RB2 with the Jets this season and we’ve seen him approach RB1 status in a recent season. Keep in mind that in a PPR format, he finished 31^st among running backs last season by scoring just a couple of touchdowns. If he scores four more touchdowns last season, he nearly finishes in the top 20 at the position.

MILD TAKE ALERT: I feel comfortable that I nabbed a top-15 and top-20 running back in the fourth and fifth rounds of the draft.

My quarterback strategy changes between snake and auction formats, but instead of nabbing a Chris Thompson or Carlos Hyde , which maybe I should have, I went for a game changer at the quarterback position. I got my guy, Mr. Deshaun Watson . He looks good and comfortable in the preseason and I believe that the signings up front on the offensive line will make the unit at least league average, which is a huge upgrade from 2017. Watson is healthy and ready to go, and with Bill O’Brien at the helm, I believe Watson will be the top scoring quarterback in fantasy by at least 10 fantasy points. Watson has the highest ceiling at the position in fantasy football. Jared Goff is a more than adequate backup at the position, so I’m feeling very comfortable here.

After my first six picks, which I do like, my favorite picks from there on out were C.J. Anderson , Michael Gallup and George Kittle . Anderson as a player doesn’t excite me really, but in Carolina, as McCaffery’s compliment, Anderson is a more than adequate RB3. If McCaffery, in fact, gets the 25 touches per game the Carolina brass would love him to have, my love for Anderson grows, because there are durability concerns at that point with McCaffery. Yes, I mentioned in my ADP trends article yesterday that McCaffery handled that sort of workload in college, but we can all agree that the collegiate and professional games are vastly different. At the very least, Anderson becomes a vulture and takes away just enough carries to be fantasy relevant as my RB3 or RB4.

Again, from that ADP Trends article, Gallup is the guy to own in Dallas, not Allen Hurns , and certainly not Terrance Williams . People, you can get Gallup nearly two rounds after Hurns! Gallup is the one running the X receiver routes in the Dallas offense and by far and away has looked, and played, like the team’s No. 1 wide receiver. He’s impressed in the preseason and he will lead the Cowboys in targets this season, BOOK IT.

Lastly, as I believe I was the last person to select a tight end, Kittle is one heck of a consolation prize. A few weeks ago, before his shoulder injury, there is no way I would have nabbed Kittle where I was able to in the King’s Classic. Despite missing the preseason with a shoulder injury, Kittle should command a solid target share within the offense and Kittle and Jimmy Garoppolo had a nice little connection on display. Kittle will finish within the top 12 players at his position.

I do like this team and feel confident in what “could be” with this squad. The top scoring QB, two solid RB2s with one having low-end RB1 potential, three top 10 WRs and a TE1, all on the same team with some upside guys off the bench? I’m digging this FA Nation!

AUCTION DRAFT

My strategy was to get at least two good wide receivers and then look for a bargain on a decent running back with RB1 potential. In hindsight, I could have waited at quarterback and got a better deal, and then put those extra bucks to another reliable running back, but everything is easier in hindsight.

Quarterbacks: Kirk Cousins ($8) and Jared Goff ($1)

There were some better values that came about later in the draft, so if there was a pick I regret, it’s getting Cousins at eight dollars. It’s not that I don’t like Cousins as a fantasy talent, because he is a reliable QB1 this season. However, looking at other values later in the draft like Drew Brees ($5), Caron Wentz ($4) and Jimmy Garoppolo ($1), I overpaid for Cousins.

Running Backs: Kenyan Drake ($25), Dion Lewis ($15), Chris Thompson ($13), Ronald Jones II ($12), Peyton Barber ($5) and Chris Ivory ($1)

I didn’t get any of the big 12 running backs, but relatively speaking, the price points for my running backs were rather fair. Drake for $25 was solid, as he is the clear-cut, no questions asked leader of that Miami backfield. He will be a three-down back for this squad and could push the envelope on being a top-10 fantasy back.

Lewis is the third-down back for the Titans, but with Mariota on the field this preseason, Lewis is getting as many snaps as teammate Derrick Henry . Furthermore, Henry went for $25, so getting Lewis for 10 bucks cheaper than Henry was great value.

Chris Thompson will be a nice option seeing as he’s the only game changer in that Washington backfield. Adrian Peterson may take some early down work, but he’s unimpressive anymore at this juncture of his career. Thompson was electric before going down with the knee injury last season, scoring double-digit fantasy points in a PPR format in all but three games last season.

Aside from the Cousins bid, perhaps the Ronald Jones snag for 12 bucks is the one I’ll regret most. The reports aren’t great out of camp, but he’s a talented guy and with time, I believe he takes over Peyton Barber as the guy in the backfield. However, I nabbed Barber for five bucks, so I cornered the Tampa Bay backfield, which is nice. Tampa Bay wants to run the ball, and back in 2016, the Bucs ranked in the top 10 in terms of rushing play percentage.

Chris Ivory was a flier, just in case news were to break about LeSean McCoy with the news of the domestic violence that popped up a few weeks ago.

Wide Receivers: DeAndre Hopkins ($55), Tyreek Hill ($34), Randall Cobb ($12), Julian Edelman ($10), Tyler Lockett ($1)

In auction formats, you can get your guy, and Hopkins is mine. I’m all in on him being the top scoring fantasy wide receiver this season, and sure, $55 is steep, but I was capping myself at that price point. He only went for $44 in the Jim Brown division, but prices were higher across the board in the Blanda division. A full year with Deshaun Watson is exactly what the doctor ordered for Hopkins.

With Patrick Mahomes under center, Hill’s big play ability and elusiveness on short routes should shine brightly. He finished as the No. 13 wide receiver in a PPR format last season, but could easily be a top eight guy this year. Not to get too amped off a preseason play, but did you see Patrick Mahomes hit Hill on a 70 yard go route ON THE FLY!? I think we might see that once or twice this year, but even when we don’t, Hill showcased that he can use his speed to dominate on quick hitters as well. He’s a home run threat every week.

To be short, Randall Cobb is the No. 2 wide receiver with Aaron Rodgers . Uhh, yes please! Jimmy Graham will be a factor in the red zone, maybe, but Cobb has an established rapport with Rodgers, and health is the only thing keeping Cobb away from a low-end WR2 season. Twelve bucks was very fair in my opinion.

Tom Brady ’s top or second-favorite target for $10? Yes please. Sure, there’s a four game suspension there, but I can get by with Hopkins, Hill and Cobb. When Edelman comes back, wide receiver will be a strength of this unit and it will be very easily to slot the four of those guys in the lineup each week.

Since Paul Richardson and Jimmy Graham left town, there are a ton of vacated targets in the Seattle passing game. Doug Baldwin will hold the majority of them, but Lockett should be the second guy in the Seattle passing attack. The Seahawks are going to be relatively bad this season, meaning the game script will be in his favor. Like most players for a buck, Lockett is a steal at that price.

Tight Ends: Jack Doyle ($6) and OJ Howard ($1)

To be fair, I wanted Kyle Rudolph at tight end, but I ran out of funds and nobody would lend me an extra buck or two to nab the guy I wanted. Doyle won’t be a league winner at the tight end position, but he’s a reliable option and should see a steady volume of work each week. Eric Ebron is in town, but I’m not concerned about him. However, I am a fan of Andrew Luck returning for the Colts. Doyle is a TE1 and a reliable, consistent option at a shallow position.

Cameron Brate and OJ Howard combined for 220 fantasy points in a PPR format last season, which would have trailed only Rob Gronkowski . The plan is for Howard to take more of an alpha role between the two, so assuming he takes 65 percent of the 220 fantasy points the position accumulated last season, he would score 143 fantasy points, which would have made him the No. 11 tight end last season. I’ll be on the young kid’s talent for one dollar. Hey, FA Nation, we may have hit gold here.

Defense: Houston ($1)

With Romeo Crennel back at the helm of the Houston defense, I want this squad anywhere I can get them. The additions of Aaron Colvin , Tyrann Mathieu and third-round draft pick Justin Reid should bolster the defense, as well as the healthy returns of J.J. Watt , Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus . This is a top 5 defense in football.

I’m pleased with how both squads turned out and the plan is to win both of the leagues and represent FA Nation! Let me know your thoughts on the team on Twitter (@colbyrconway).