At Dynasty Football Factory, we are always trying to become the best version of ourselves in all facets of the fantasy game. That is why we like to expand our horizons every chance we can and do things outside of our comfort zone. In comes our redraft league, where myself and 13 other staff members participated in. So today I invite you to grab something to drink, get comfortable and I’ll tell you the tale of how I brought out my boomstick and decimated the league, going 13-1 and walking away with the title and an overall record of 15-1. I’ll recap my draft and my thought process behind it along with the moves that made me look like Rainman at the blackjack tables in Vegas and not some idiot having to eat a “one chip challenge” because Houston won more than two games.
The Draft
Draft day was filled with much anticipation and like usual, I was in a glass cage of emotions. This was my first year playing in this league and I anticipated it to be the most competitive league I had been a part of since our staff of writers here has some serious experience. Roster setup was the first hurdle I had to overcome as this wasn’t your standard PPR, single quarterback-flex, league. This league had three flex positions, coupled with two running backs and two wide receivers. This made the selection of wide receivers more important than ever but like the Spartans at Hells Gates, I held on to the strategy that had won me the day before and I was going to go down swinging. The first two picks are running back, and I want to have three by the end of the fifth round. I do this because I am a staunch believer that you need three quality running backs in your arsenal as injuries will occur and not having a QUALITY starting running back can be the Achilles heel that keeps you out of the playoffs.
I left the first five rounds with the league winner in Cooper Kupp, taking him in the fourth round. While this is the point where I could laud over everyone with my prowess, secret time, he wasn’t even in my top three wide receivers of whom I was expecting to be available at the 12th spot in the fourth round. Before this pick, I had drafted in order: Ezekiel Elliott, David Montgomery, then my primary tight end target not named Darren Waller or Travis Kelce in T.J. Hockenson (which now looks crazy but he paid dividends when I cover trades). When my pick came in the fourth round for my first wide receiver, based on my mock drafts, I was hopeful for CeeDee Lamb, Robert Woods, or Amari Cooper in that order. But the joke was on me as CDL, Bobby Trees, and Cooooop were all gone before the end of the third and I was scrambling for an answer like a White House Press Secretary.
With the clock ticking down, I was left with this quandary; trust a second-year quarterback coming off major knee surgery and young wide receivers or go with someone who was just two years removed from a top-five season with a proven gunslinger at quarterback albeit new to the team? I didn’t “Chase” after Higgins and went with Cooper Kupp because I was planning on drafting Matthew Stafford at quarterback in the later rounds. Why Stafford? I blame Tim. Who is this Tim you ask? He’s my diehard Lions fan of a neighbor who had put enough sweet nothings in my ear about Matt’s success in Detroit and whiskey down my gullet to convince me the night before our draft he was worthy. Cooper was the first of two picks that won me this league. Quick circle back, don’t ever draft a quarterback early in single quarterback leagues. In every league I won this year, I didn’t draft a quarterback until the rounds had reached double digits. Try it in your mocks this upcoming season and you’ll be surprised who is still hanging out in the bar at closing time.
The other pick that won me the league was the perfect blend of the two things you need to win your league. What are those magical unicorns? First, it’s a subscription to the knowledge drop we give you here at DFF, and the second, is pure, unadulterated, luck. Anytime you are drafting a non-kicker, quarterback, or defense with the 100th pick or later, there are going to be more question marks surrounding them than there are in the decision matrix for Chargers coach Brandon Staley, deciding to go for it on fourth down. Those questions were about his health as he had a history of injury and quarterback play. Enter Deebo Samuel who was finally fully healthy for training camp. Brandon Aiyuk had already been drafted in the fifth round and I had taken Mike Williams in the sixth so I knew I needed to add another wide receiver with upside. My options were DJ Chark, Antonio Brown, Jaylen Waddle, Brandin Cooks, Michael Pittman, and Deebo Samuel. Why did I go with Deebo? I considered all of those other names but rookie and/or unknown quarterback play turned me off of Chark, Cooks, and Pittman and I believed Waddle would be there in later rounds. Antonio Brown was almost the pick but him being the third mouth to feed in “TOMpa Bay” turned me off of him and thank goodness I did.
Overall, I ended up leaving the draft with a team that had me feeling like I just ate Taco Bell, sure it was good but we all know if you’re not careful, it’s going to end up being disastrous and you’ll be ugly-crying. The quarterbacks leading the charge were Matthew Stafford and Deshaun Watson, running backs were Zeke, Montgomery, Hunt, Singletary, Darrynton Evans, and Samaje Perine. The wide receiver corp was Cooper Kupp, Mike Williams, Deebo Samuel, Rashod Bateman, Breshad Perriman and Quintez Cepheus with Dawson Knox and T.J. Hockenson filling the roster out at the tight end position. I knew I was going to need to make trades, be active on the free-agent market but most importantly, trust my gut filled with Chalupas and Baja Blast to bring me to glory. Curious how the full draft went? Click this.
Acquisitions
You can luck into drafting a roster that will take you to the playoffs like my buddy in another league with Cooper Kupp, Gronkowski, Josh Jacobs, and Justin Herbert. However, he fell short in the Week 16 semi-finals after running into a buzzsaw of a team that started free agents Justin Jackson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and trade acquisitions of Mark Andrews and David Montgomery. Secret time, that was my team where I averaged 158.55 points during the playoffs in a 14-team, single-flex, half-PPR league. Needless to say, this hammers the point of in-season management and I did that in this league as well.
I made two trades and one addition in one day that defined my waltz to the title. Picture it, the date is October 19, 2021, there’s a slight chill in the air, and Week 6 of the NFL season is in the books, Rob Gronkowski and David Montgomery are currently injured, T.J. Hockenson is TE6, Rashod Bateman is coming off an injury, Mike Williams is the fourth-best wide receiver in the game and Jaylen Waddle isn’t even a top-24 wide receiver. As for Josh Jacobs and Rashaad Penny? They were being dropped or traded quicker than $GME stock futures. Knowing bye weeks were coming up and with injuries mounting, I needed to make sure I had pieces available to cross the finish line victorious.
Addition of Josh Jacobs
David Montgomery was placed on the injured reserve list in Week 4 and I was making things work out fine with Kareem Hunt as my second running back until he went down with a knee injury at the end of Week 6. I immediately started putting feelers out for trades like a bum looking for a buck or two and found someone who needed wide receiver help. Trading Mike Williams for Josh Jacobs on the surface appeared to be a terrible idea but I trusted the numbers. He was averaging double-digit carries per game along with three to five receiving targets. While his rushing production was low, him getting double-digit carries meant the production potential was there. In addition, his yards per rush were almost a full yard below his career average so to me, he was destined to end up improving as the year progressed. As for Mike Williams who was having a career year and due to my wealth at the wide receiver position, I felt comfortable with sending him packing. Did I overpay for Josh at that moment? Yes, but when you have Deebo Samuel and Cooper Kupp, it was addition by subtraction to the overall improvement of my team. Sometimes, something fast is slow, and slow is fast. You get the idea.
The Blockbuster Trade
I had my sights set on Jaylen Waddle after he was drafted to Miami back in April due to his history with Tua. During our draft, I felt comfortable with him being around in the later rounds considering the Miami offense had a lot of mouths to feed and from my mock drafts, I expected him to be available after the 10th round which is where I was comfortable with drafting him. Unfortunately, playing with people who know what they are doing put a fork in that idea as he came off the board in the seventh round. Not great, Bob. So in the later rounds, instead of taking Waddle, I took my other favorite rookie wide receiver in Rashod Bateman despite him being injured. Again…
T.J. Hockenson for me coming into the season was on the verge of a breakout year despite the downgrade at quarterback. But it’s Detroit so what’s a little downgrade and disappointment? Many people scoffed at the idea but I trusted the data on Jared Goff. With the Rams, he had targeted the tight end position at over 20% the last two years in Los Angeles, and coupling that with the lackluster receiving corps in Detroit meant one thing and one thing only, more cowbell. Naw, just kidding, to me it meant that TJ was going to be on fire and I wanted a piece of that action. I reached in the third round and was instantly heckled for it, but he produced and helped carry me in two of the first three weeks. Overall, I was very content with holding on to him for the rest of the season as my starting tight end and I knew I had a boom or bust back up in Dawson Knox so I had no intention of trading him away.
Enter Rob Gronkowski. He was currently injured at the time which is what I believe ultimately made the manager decide to approach me with an offer I couldn’t refuse. Lesson to all of you, that is how EVERY trade conversation should start. He knew I had a soft spot for Jaylen Waddle from my complaining about him drafting him before I could bring him on board and I had someone about to come off an injury that was pegged to become an instant impact for his quarterback Lamar Jackson. I gave up TJ Hockenson and Rashod Bateman quicker than it takes for Mike McCarthy to blow game management for Gronk and Waddle. MIKE MCCARTHY IS ADAM GASE.
A Penny For Your Thoughts
Honestly, picking up a running back from the Seahawks is about as dangerous as trying to answer my wife’s question of “Do these jeans make me look fat?” but I needed depth more than anything in the world. Seattle was in turmoil with injuries to “dangeRUSS” and the calendar was about to turn to November so I knew “Pound The Rock Unless It’s The Super Bowl” Pete Carroll was going to start running the ball. Enter Rashaad Penny. He was mostly a bench player during the season, but he brought me the depth I needed to have while I was waiting for Montgomery to come off the injured reserve list. In addition, he gave me success down the stretch in my flex position when he gave me over 60 points during the semi-finals and championship game.
There you have it Mafioso’s. This is how yours truly came into our redraft league like a wrecking ball and destroyed it. I ended up averaging over 175 points per week, scoring 200 plus on the regular and only losing once when Kupp and Stafford were on the bye in Week 11. As always my Heady Mafia, thanks for taking the time to read this article, if you have more questions, comments, or just want to express your love, reach out to me on Twitter. But most importantly come back to DFF for all your fantasy football needs. Until next time!
