Welcome, #DFFArmy to Dynasty Football Factory’s Redraft season kickoff! This year looks to be even more competitive than last year as we added two teams to the league, bringing the total number to 14. Not only did we grow the league size, but we expanded rosters by adding a flex position as well, which makes hitting in the mid to late rounds even more important than normal. Let’s take a look at some of the starting lineup and intriguing league settings that we’ll be using this year:
14 Teams | 1 QB | 2 RB | 2 WR | 1 TE | 3 Flex | 1 K | 1 D | 7 Bench
Passing touchdowns are worth 6 pts. Interceptions are worth -3 pts. Rushing and Receiving first downs are worth 0.5 pts. Rushing attempts are worth 0.1 pts. Receptions are worth 0.5 pts. Tight ends earn an additional 0.5 pts for each reception for a total of 1 point.
The draft board can be found by clicking HERE.
My Strategy
It’s been a long time since I’ve seriously thought about Redraft leagues. Dynasty football has taken over my brain since Week 17 of 2020 started and I haven’t had to switch mindsets until now. My strategy going into this was simple from the 2-spot: let the talent come to me and don’t reach on the rookies that have been running through my mind for the past 6 months.
The result? Pretty good! I left the draft with 0 rookies on my team and even though rookies present some of the best value in redraft drafts, the harm they do sitting on short benches with such a deep roster can be even larger if they don’t produce within the first month of being on the field.
My Starting Lineup
My team is led by the one and only, Alvin Kamara. He’s a beast on the field and won many people’s fantasy championships last year with his 6 touchdown performance. No, I’m not just drafting him because of that. In fact, the decision for who I was going to take at the 1.02 was a lot tougher before news of Michael Thomas’ surgery came out and said that he’d miss about 3-4 months (for more info on the team ramifications of that injury, click HERE. For more info on the specific injury and what it means for Michael Thomas, click HERE). The information I found from diving into Kamara playing without MT made it clear he was set up to have a monster opportunity to start the year.
For the rest of my lineup, I felt really good about grabbing Ridley and Allen, two wide receivers who are the clear number one’s on their respective teams and have great quarterbacks leading to overall WR1 potential. In my RB2 spot, I went with a late value play, grabbing James Robinson in round 7, a whole 45 picks after his rookie counterpart Travis Etienne. Will Etienne take over? Possibly, but I believe Robinson will outperform ADP early in the year, and even if Etienne eventually takes over, Robinson should still hold value as the main interior runner on the goalline. At TE, I took Evan Engram in round 9 as the 12th TE off the board. It’s good value. I don’t love Engram this year, but adding Golladay and getting Barkley back should open things up for Daniel Jones and the rest of the offense. Engram could be a huge beneficiary, especially in a contract year.
In my flex spots, I aimed for the fences, looking for players who had week-winning potential with their home run ability in Marquise Brown, and a couple of sophomore receivers on offenses that should take the next step, in Laviska Shenault and Tee Higgins. In a potentially controversial decision, I took Higgins ahead of his rookie teammate Ja’Marr Chase. Higgins finished as WR28 last year and was on an even better pace when Joe Burrow was healthy. I’m betting on the connection staying strong this year as he gets another year under his belt. Marquise Brown is a player that isn’t getting much positive attention this offseason despite finishing the 2020 season with 6 straight double-digit scoring outings. On the other side of the coin, Shenault has been receiving loads of positive attention this offseason. Picking him at the end of the 6th round is a bit risky considering his modest year-end results last year, but I was a believer in his talent pre-2020 draft, and I believe with Trevor Lawrence at the helm, he has the chance to solidify himself as the number one receiver in Jacksonville.
My Bench
My bench is a mixed bag of sorts. Handcuffing my first-round pick with Latavius Murray in round 11 wasn’t really a decision made by me wanting to handcuff. It was made because Murray has done an excellent job offering a solid opportunity floor in his time in New Orleans, averaging 11.26 touches per game in 2020. In a 14-team league, I’m pretty happy with him as my RB3. I went back-to-back tight ends in rounds 9 and 10, selecting Blake Jarwin after Evan Engram. Recovering from an ACL tear in week one last year, Jarwin now slots in as a post-hype sleeper after he was touted for greatness in the 2020 offseason. Yes, he has to compete with Dalton Schultz, the TE who filled in admirably for him, however, I believe Schultz has the chance to be a big part of a Cowboys offense that projects to be playing catch-up a lot this year.
Ty Johnson, Denzel Mims, Allen Lazard, and AJ Green all offer late-round upside this year as players in muddy situations. Who will win the RB1 spot with the Jets? Johnson as a 12th round pick is a nice risk/reward. Who will develop as the WR1 for rookie QB Zach Wilson? Denzel Mims taking a step in year two and as a 16th round pick is a great risk/reward. Lazard has Aaron Rodgers and a chance to finally step up as his number two receiver after Rodgers spoke so highly about him two years ago. AJ Green heads to Arizona where he should never see the best corner on the field with Hopkins across from him.
If I need to cut someone after the first week, my bet is on Cordarrelle Patterson… if he’s still on my team by then of course…
Snipe City
I was able to stay calm most of the draft, but there were a few moments where I pushed the clock due to getting sniped. The biggest moment was going into the 4/5 turn. I was all set to take Cooper Kupp, but then BAM. Taken right before me by someone I was on a call with…so I pivot to Tee Higgins and decide to bet on the Bengals being the Cowboys of the AFC, hoping to pair him with his teammate Ja’Marr Chase after the next two picks…but no…Chase went with the next pick. I was rattled, and despite what some say is a good pick in Justin Herbert, I was really unhappy for the next few minutes.
Favorite Values
Enough about my team. Here are some of my favorite values from the rest of the board:
Davante Adams at 2.6 – Well it was a risk during the draft, but a value now that Rodgers is back.
Kenny Golladay at 4.9 – Daniel Jones is better than the backups that Golladay put up big numbers with whenever Stafford was hurt. He has overall WR1 upside as the 19th WR off the board. I love it.
Tyler Lockett at 5.8 – Perennially undervalued. Can’t win the championship unless you make the playoffs and Lockett can win you 3 games on his own.
Damien Harris at 6.11 – It’s the Patriots backfield, but he’s most likely the starter and in a league where there are 28 mandatory RB starters, Harris is a value as the 31st one off the board.
Worst Reaches
Antonio Gibson at 1.08 – First-round picks are supposed to be safe, and I just don’t feel good about Gibson as my RB1. He had an amazing stretch last year as an RB1, but this round is drafting every player at their ceiling, and the floor seems much lower for Gibson than some of the other names available.
Raheem Mostert at 6.14 – Interesting pick by our resident PT to take the oft-injured Mostert here only 16 picks after Trey Sermon was taken (also a reach).
Michael Thomas at 6.9 – It’s too important to waste a starting spot draft pick on someone who won’t play for almost half of the regular fantasy season. I projected his ADP fall to WR48-ish. He was taken as WR35.
Any backup RB taken before round 10 – It’s still a starting spot for our league and the upside is only there if you are hoping for an injury which we should never be doing.
Rookie receivers taken in single-digit rounds – Ja’Marr Chase can have a pass here, along with the other 115+ he’ll be getting from Joe Burrow. However, the rest of the group is so risky and history tells us to stay away. It’s chasing upside in a position you need points from starting from the get-go. Sorry, Rashod Bateman, Jaylen Waddle, Devonta Smith, Rondale Moore, Elijah Moore, and Terrace Marshall
And We’re Off!
Well, there you have it! My breakdown of my team heading into the 2021 DFF Redraft Championship League. What do you think of my team? Let me know on Twitter at @DFF_JoeMem! And be sure to sign up for the DFF monthly subscription so you can have access to my Dynasty Rankings and be one step ahead of the competition!
