I’ve selected five teams so far, and it’s starting to become apparent which players I’m higher on than other folks. They’re the guys who are on most of my teams.
I’ve drafted five teams so far. Randall Cobb is on every one of them. I think he’ll be great. Apparently, others aren’t as high on them, because he keeps winding up on my roster.
Julian Edelman, Lamar Miller, Roddy White and Stephen Gostkowski, those guys are on 80 percent of my teams.
Seven other players are on three of my five teams: Brandin Cooks, Brandon Bolden, DeAndre Hopkins, Kyle Rudolph, Markus Wheaton, Tom Brady and the Saints defense. Of those players, Cooks, Rudolph, Brady and Wheaton very easily could have been on a fourth team.
| PLAYERS ON MULTIPLE IAN TEAMS | |
|---|---|
| Player | Teams |
| Randall Cobb | 5 |
| Julian Edelman | 4 |
| Lamar Miller | 4 |
| Roddy White | 4 |
| Stephen Gostkowski | 4 |
| Brandin Cooks | 3 |
| Brandon Bolden | 3 |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 3 |
| Kyle Rudolph | 3 |
| Markus Wheaton | 3 |
| New Orleans Saints | 3 |
| Tom Brady | 3 |
| Andy Dalton | 2 |
| Bryce Brown | 2 |
| Chris Polk | 2 |
| Denver Broncos | 2 |
| Jared Cook | 2 |
| Knowshon Moreno | 2 |
| Matt Ryan | 2 |
| Pierre Thomas | 2 |
| Ray Rice | 2 |
| Shane Vereen | 2 |
And here’s the blow-by-blow. The five teams I’ve selected, in chronological order.
Starting off is a mock for Rotowire’s magazine. This was a 14-team league. No PPR. This league won’t actually be played out, but I picked it like it would be.
(note: players with dots - • - were picked by me more than once)
| ROTOWIRE MOCK | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pick | Pos | Player |
| 5.08 | QB | •••Tom Brady |
| 6.07 | QB | ••Matt Ryan |
| 1.08 | RB | Eddie Lacy |
| 2.07 | RB | Zac Stacy |
| 12.07 | RB | •••Brandon Bolden |
| 3.08 | WR | •••••Randall Cobb |
| 4.07 | WR | ••••Julian Edelman |
| 8.07 | WR | •••DeAndre Hopkins |
| 9.08 | WR | Tavon Austin |
| 10.07 | WR | •••Markus Wheaton |
| 7.08 | TE | Greg Olsen |
| 11.08 | PK | ••••Stephen Gostkowski |
| 13.08 | ST | ••Denver Broncos |
Next up is the mock auction I did for our own magazine. Note that in this one, I paid more for Knowshon Moreno than I did for Lamar Miller. This was before Miller moved ahead of Moreno on my board.
For this league, it’s 12 teams, standard scoring (no PPR). Start 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, with no flex. No moves are allowed in this league (hence the need to select two kickers and two defenses).
| FANTASY INDEX AUCTION | ||
|---|---|---|
| Salary | Pos | Player |
| $26 | QB | Drew Brees |
| $12 | QB | Nick Foles |
| $17 | RB | ••Knowshon Moreno |
| $16 | RB | ••Ray Rice |
| $16 | RB | Chris Johnson |
| $6 | RB | Bernard Pierce |
| $3 | RB | ••••Lamar Miller |
| $2 | RB | •••Brandon Bolden |
| $1 | RB | Jonathan Dwyer |
| $23 | WR | •••••Randall Cobb |
| $21 | WR | Andre Johnson |
| $15 | WR | ••••Roddy White |
| $12 | WR | ••••Julian Edelman |
| $7 | WR | •••Brandin Cooks |
| $5 | WR | •••DeAndre Hopkins |
| $7 | TE | •••Kyle Rudolph |
| $2 | TE | ••Jared Cook |
| $2 | TE | Coby Fleener |
| $3 | PK | ••••Stephen Gostkowski |
| $1 | PK | Mason Crosby |
| $2 | ST | ••Denver Broncos |
| $1 | ST | Buffalo Bills |
In early June I participated in the slow-crawl Fanex Analysis Draft. This is PPR scoring, with 12 teams. Teams start 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE and a flex player. With this kind of scoring, I made pass catchers a priority. No waiver moves in this one (so again, select 2 PKs and 2 defenses).
| FANEX ANALYSIS DRAFT | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pick | Pos | Player |
| 13.03 | QB | Sam Bradford |
| 7.03 | QB | •••Tom Brady |
| 19.03 | RB | •••Brandon Bolden |
| 1.03 | RB | LeSean McCoy |
| 10.10 | RB | ••••Lamar Miller |
| 20.10 | RB | ••Chris Polk |
| 8.10 | RB | Stevan Ridley |
| 6.10 | RB | ••Pierre Thomas |
| 2.10 | WR | •••••Randall Cobb |
| 11.03 | WR | •••Brandin Cooks |
| 3.03 | WR | ••••Julian Edelman |
| 5.03 | WR | Larry Fitzgerald |
| 12.10 | WR | •••Markus Wheaton |
| 4.10 | WR | ••••Roddy White |
| 14.10 | TE | ••Jared Cook |
| 9.03 | TE | •••Kyle Rudolph |
| 15.03 | PK | ••••Stephen Gostkowski |
| 16.10 | PK | Steven Hauschka |
| 17.03 | ST | St. Louis Rams |
| 18.10 | ST | •••New Orleans Saints |
In mid-June at the Fantasy Sports Trade Association convention in San Francisco, I participated in a sit-down draft for a 14-team league. PPR scoring, with 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE and a flex. Smaller rosters in this one, but waivers and trades are allowed throughout the season.
As with the Fanex leagues, I emphasized pass catchers in this kind of format.
| FSTA EXPERTS LEAGUE | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pick | Pos | Player |
| 6.04 | QB | •••Tom Brady |
| 10.04 | QB | ••Andy Dalton |
| 3.11 | RB | ••Shane Vereen |
| 5.11 | RB | ••••Lamar Miller |
| 11.11 | RB | Khiry Robinson |
| 13.11 | RB | Tre Mason |
| 14.04 | RB | Mark Ingram |
| 16.04 | RB | ••Bryce Brown |
| 1.11 | WR | A.J. Green |
| 2.04 | WR | •••••Randall Cobb |
| 4.04 | WR | ••••Roddy White |
| 7.11 | WR | •••Brandin Cooks |
| 9.11 | WR | •••DeAndre Hopkins |
| 8.04 | TE | •••Kyle Rudolph |
| 12.04 | PK | ••••Stephen Gostkowski |
| 15.11 | ST | •••New Orleans Saints |
Finally, the Fanex Auction League. It’s just like the other Fanex leagues in terms of scoring – 12 teams, with the PPR and the flex player. You can (I will) start four wide receivers.
But trades and waiver moves are allowed in this league throughout the year.
| FANEX AUCTION | ||
|---|---|---|
| Salary | Pos | Player |
| $19 | QB | ••Matt Ryan |
| $4 | QB | ••Andy Dalton |
| $19 | RB | ••Shane Vereen |
| $15 | RB | ••Ray Rice |
| $9 | RB | ••Pierre Thomas |
| $7 | RB | ••••Lamar Miller |
| $3 | RB | ••Knowshon Moreno |
| $2 | RB | ••Bryce Brown |
| $1 | RB | James Starks |
| $1 | RB | ••Chris Polk |
| $1 | RB | Shonn Greene |
| $1 | RB | Carlos Hyde |
| $24 | WR | ••••Julian Edelman |
| $27 | WR | ••••Roddy White |
| $30 | WR | Antonio Brown |
| $27 | WR | •••••Randall Cobb |
| $3 | WR | •••Markus Wheaton |
| $4 | TE | Zach Ertz |
| $2 | PK | Phil Dawson |
| $1 | ST | •••New Orleans Saints |
It may seem to you that I have a fantasy football addiction problem. That’s five teams (and I’ll be starting two more leagues next week). But of those five, only two require any decision making or maintenance during the season.
When the first game starts, I believe I’ll be in five leagues that need lineups and waiver moves. I think that’s about my limit in terms of remembering when the different waiver deadlines are.
—Ian Allan