I don’t understand the lack of respect for the kicker and defense positions. They’re not as important as quarterbacks and running backs. I get that. But at some point you’ve got to figure that it makes sense to pull the trigger on that position.
Case in point, this ongoing Fanex Analysis Draft. A large number of the guys in that league are determined to not select kickers and defenses until essentially forced to at the end of the draft.
That makes no sense. Little sense, at least. In the final four rounds we’re at the point where all but about 8-10 of those 48 players are going to be kickers and defenses. Does it not, then, to consider the possibility that it could be better to add the kickers and defenses just before the late-round rush?
That’s the route I went. I’m going to pick two more field players, but I’m figuring those two won’t be selected by anyone else (and if they are, the next-best alternatives are pretty similar). So I got in early on kickers and defenses.
I grabbed the No. 1 kicker on my board (Stephen Gostkowski) at 15.03 (this is a 20-round draft). At the end of the 16th round, the No. 4 kicker on my board (Steven Hauschka) was still available, so I added him as well. I then followed that with my No. 1 defense at pick 17.03, the Rams. St. Louis looks like a safe choice to rank in the top 4 in sacks, and I also think Tavon Austin is one of the top handful of kick returners; he’ll score 1-2 TDs on punt returns.
You may think it odd that I selected two kickers, but this is a no-moves and best-ball league. Carrying two is the correct move. Some owners will try to carry one kicker or one defense, but they’re wrong.
I spent a couple of hours researching this a year or two ago, trying to figure out whether one should carry one, two or even three players at those positions. I found that you get a very nice boost by carrying two, but that you don’t get much from that third player.
Case in point, Gostkowski and Hauschka. Gostkowski scored a league-high 158 points last year, while Hauschka also was good (140 points). But add them together and the total moves to 190 points for the 17 weeks. With that pair, I figure I’ll outscore most of the teams at this position by 30-50 points.
Next pick will almost certainly be a defense, where the same logic applies (more so, since the scoring is more uneven). Then I’ll close out by taking the two field players that I’m confident nobody else will select.
FANEX ANALYSIS DRAFT | |||
---|---|---|---|
Pick | Pos | Name | Team |
1.01 | RB | Matt Forte | Panizo |
1.02 | RB | Jamaal Charles | Holm |
1.03 | RB | LeSean McCoy | Allan |
1.04 | RB | Adrian Peterson | Adams |
1.05 | WR | Calvin Johnson | Cannon |
1.06 | RB | Marshawn Lynch | Rito |
1.07 | RB | Eddie Lacy | Harmon |
1.08 | TE | Jimmy Graham | Cahill |
1.09 | WR | A.J. Green | Kellogg |
1.10 | WR | Brandon Marshall | Nease |
1.11 | WR | Demaryius Thomas | Dolfi |
1.12 | WR | Dez Bryant | Schauf |
2.01 | RB | DeMarco Murray | Schauf |
2.02 | RB | LeVeon Bell | Dolfi |
2.03 | WR | Alshon Jeffery | Nease |
2.04 | RB | Arian Foster | Kellogg |
2.05 | RB | Giovani Bernard | Cahill |
2.06 | WR | Julio Jones | Harmon |
2.07 | WR | Antonio Brown | Rito |
2.08 | RB | Doug Martin | Cannon |
2.09 | QB | Peyton Manning | Adams |
2.10 | WR | Randall Cobb | Allan |
2.11 | WR | Jordy Nelson | Holm |
2.12 | QB | Drew Brees | Panizo |
3.01 | RB | Montee Ball | Panizo |
3.02 | RB | Zac Stacy | Holm |
3.03 | WR | Julian Edelman | Allan |
3.04 | RB | Reggie Bush | Adams |
3.05 | TE | Julius Thomas | Cannon |
3.06 | WR | Wes Welker | Rito |
3.07 | RB | Alfred Morris | Harmon |
3.08 | RB | C.J. Spiller | Cahill |
3.09 | WR | Keenan Allen | Kellogg |
3.10 | RB | Bishop Sankey | Nease |
3.11 | WR | Andre Johnson | Dolfi |
3.12 | RB | Andre Ellington | Schauf |
4.01 | RB | Shane Vereen | Schauf |
4.02 | WR | Pierre Garcon | Dolfi |
4.03 | RB | Ryan Mathews | Nease |
4.04 | RB | Ben Tate | Kellogg |
4.05 | QB | Aaron Rodgers | Cahill |
4.06 | WR | Percy Harvin | Harmon |
4.07 | TE | Rob Gronkowski | Rito |
4.08 | QB | Matthew Stafford | Cannon |
4.09 | WR | DeSean Jackson | Adams |
4.10 | WR | Roddy White | Allan |
4.11 | WR | Victor Cruz | Holm |
4.12 | WR | Vincent Jackson | Panizo |
5.01 | WR | Cordarrelle Patterson | Panizo |
5.02 | WR | Michael Crabtree | Holm |
5.03 | WR | Larry Fitzgerald | Allan |
5.04 | WR | T.Y. Hilton | Adams |
5.05 | RB | Toby Gerhart | Cannon |
5.06 | WR | Mike Wallace | Rito |
5.07 | WR | Hakeem Nicks | Harmon |
5.08 | TE | Jordan Cameron | Cahill |
5.09 | TE | Vernon Davis | Kellogg |
5.10 | RB | Chris Johnson | Nease |
5.11 | QB | Andrew Luck | Dolfi |
5.12 | WR | Michael Floyd | Schauf |
6.01 | WR | Terrance Williams | Schauf |
6.02 | RB | Rashad Jennings | Dolfi |
6.03 | RB | Knowshon Moreno | Nease |
6.04 | RB | Joique Bell | Kellogg |
6.05 | RB | Trent Richardson | Cahill |
6.06 | RB | Frank Gore | Harmon |
6.07 | RB | Ray Rice | Rito |
6.08 | WR | Jeremy Maclin | Cannon |
6.09 | WR | Sammy Watkins | Adams |
6.10 | RB | Pierre Thomas | Allan |
6.11 | QB | Nick Foles | Holm |
6.12 | WR | Torrey Smith | Panizo |
7.01 | RB | Fred Jackson | Panizo |
7.02 | RB | Steven Jackson | Holm |
7.03 | QB | Tom Brady | Allan |
7.04 | TE | Jordan Reed | Adams |
7.05 | RB | Danny Woodhead | Cannon |
7.06 | WR | Kendall Wright | Rito |
7.07 | RB | Darren Sproles | Harmon |
7.08 | QB | Cam Newton | Cahill |
7.09 | QB | Matt Ryan | Kellogg |
7.10 | QB | Robert Griffin III | Nease |
7.11 | TE | Jason Witten | Dolfi |
7.12 | WR | Golden Tate | Schauf |
8.01 | TE | Greg Olsen | Schauf |
8.02 | RB | Maurice Jones-Drew | Dolfi |
8.03 | WR | Eric Decker | Nease |
8.04 | WR | Mike Evans | Kellogg |
8.05 | WR | Justin Blackmon | Cahill |
8.06 | QB | Colin Kaepernick | Harmon |
8.07 | QB | Tony Romo | Rito |
8.08 | WR | Marques Colston | Cannon |
8.09 | WR | Rueben Randle | Adams |
8.10 | RB | Stevan Ridley | Allan |
8.11 | QB | Russell Wilson | Holm |
8.12 | WR | Reggie Wayne | Panizo |
9.01 | ST | Seattle | Panizo |
9.02 | TE | Dennis Pitta | Holm |
9.03 | TE | Kyle Rudolph | Allan |
9.04 | RB | Terrance West | Adams |
9.05 | QB | Jay Cutler | Cannon |
9.06 | RB | Darren McFadden | Rito |
9.07 | WR | Riley Cooper | Dolfi |
9.08 | WR | Emmanuel Sanders | Cahill |
9.09 | WR | Justin Hunter | Kellogg |
9.10 | TE | Charles Clay | Nease |
9.11 | QB | Philip Rivers | Harmon |
9.12 | QB | Andy Dalton | Schauf |
10.01 | QB | Carson Palmer | Schauf |
10.02 | WR | DeAndre Hopkins | Harmon |
10.03 | QB | Ben Roethlisberger | Nease |
10.04 | QB | Ryan Tannehill | Kellogg |
10.05 | WR | Tavon Austin | Cahill |
10.06 | TE | Zach Ertz | Dolfi |
10.07 | QB | Eli Manning | Rito |
10.08 | WR | Dwayne Bowe | Cannon |
10.09 | RB | Tre Mason | Adams |
10.10 | RB | Lamar Miller | Allan |
10.11 | WR | Cecil Shorts III | Holm |
10.12 | TE | Martellus Bennett | Panizo |
11.01 | WR | Anquan Boldin | Panizo |
11.02 | WR | Marvin Jones | Holm |
11.03 | WR | Brandin Cooks | Allan |
11.04 | RB | Bernard Pierce | Adams |
11.05 | WR | Danny Amendola | Cannon |
11.06 | RB | DeAngelo Williams | Rito |
11.07 | WR | Kelvin Benjamin | Harmon |
11.08 | WR | Jordan Matthews | Cahill |
11.09 | WR | Brian Hartline | Kellogg |
11.10 | QB | Joe Flacco | Panizo |
11.11 | WR | Greg Jennings | Dolfi |
11.12 | WR | Kenny Stills | Schauf |
12.01 | RB | Christine Michael | Schauf |
12.02 | QB | Alex Smith | Dolfi |
12.03 | RB | Khiry Robinson | Nease |
12.04 | RB | Andre Williams | Kellogg |
12.05 | WR | Jarrett Boykin | Cahill |
12.06 | RB | KaDeem Carey | Harmon |
12.07 | WR | Josh Gordon | Rito |
12.08 | WR | Chris Givens | Cannon |
12.09 | RB | Jeremy Hill | Adams |
12.10 | WR | Markus Wheaton | Allan |
12.11 | WR | James Jones | Holm |
12.12 | RB | David Wilson | Panizo |
13.01 | PK | Matt Prater | Panizo |
13.02 | TE | Eric Ebron | Holm |
13.03 | QB | Sam Bradford | Allan |
13.04 | WR | Aaron Dobson | Adams |
13.05 | TE | Garrett Graham | Cannon |
13.06 | TE | Heath Miller | Rito |
13.07 | TE | Ladarius Green | Harmon |
13.08 | WR | Odell Beckham | Cahill |
13.09 | WR | Jarvis Landry | Kellogg |
13.10 | TE | Coby Fleener | Nease |
13.11 | RB | Chris Ivory | Dolfi |
13.12 | TE | Delanie Walker | Schauf |
14.01 | RB | Dexter McCluster | Schauf |
14.02 | RB | Carlos Hyde | Harmon |
14.03 | WR | Robert Woods | Nease |
14.04 | QB | Teddy Bridgewater | Kellogg |
14.05 | WR | Doug Baldwin | Cahill |
14.06 | ST | San Francisco | Dolfi |
14.07 | QB | EJ Manuel | Rito |
14.08 | WR | Jerricho Cotchery | Cannon |
14.09 | WR | Miles Austin | Adams |
14.10 | TE | Jared Cook | Allan |
14.11 | RB | Knile Davis | Holm |
14.12 | RB | Mark Ingram | Panizo |
15.01 | QB | Ryan Fitzpatrick | Nease |
15.02 | RB | Jacquizz Rodgers | Holm |
15.03 | PK | Stephen Gostkowski | Allan |
15.04 | TE | Antonio Gates | Adams |
15.05 | PK | Justin Tucker | Cannon |
15.06 | PK | Phil Dawson | Rito |
15.07 | TE | Dwayne Allen | Harmon |
15.08 | QB | Josh McCown | Cahill |
15.09 | RB | Devonta Freeman | Kellogg |
15.10 | ST | Cincinnati | Nease |
15.11 | WR | Steve Smith | Dolfi |
15.12 | QB | Jake Locker | Schauf |
16.01 | WR | Kenny Britt | Schauf |
16.02 | WR | Marqise Lee | Dolfi |
16.03 | PK | Blair Walsh | Nease |
16.04 | TE | Tim Wright | Kellogg |
16.05 | WR | Cody Latimer | Cahill |
16.06 | WR | Marquess Wilson | Harmon |
16.07 | RB | Jonathan Stewart | Rito |
16.08 | QB | Geno Smith | Cannon |
16.09 | WR | Andrew Hawkins | Adams |
16.10 | PK | Steven Hauschka | Allan |
16.11 | QB | Johnny Manziel | Holm |
16.12 | TE | Jermichael Finley | Panizo |
17.01 | WR | Stevie Johnson | Panizo |
17.02 | PK | Dan Bailey | Holm |
17.03 | ST | St. Louis | Allan |
17.04 | TE | Jace Amaro | Adams |
17.05 | ST | New England | Cannon |
17.06 | PK | Shayne Graham | Rito |
17.07 | ST | Houston | Harmon |
17.08 | PK | Mason Crosby | Cahill |
17.09 | ST | Kansas City | Kellogg |
—Ian Allan