We held the RotoWire Vegas league last week in a section of tables in the Aria buffet last Monday. Because our Vegas trip is so big these days, we had to split what was last year a 16-team league into two 12-team divisions, the best teams of which will square off in the playoffs. (That means a team in Division 1 might face a team in Division 2 that has some of the same players).
This is a standard scoring (non-PPR) league except that QB touchdown passes are only three points.
All other scores are six, and you get a point every 20 yards passing and 10 yards rushing/receiving. Team kickers and defenses, 1-QB, 2-RB, 3-WR, 1 (RB/WR/TE) and six reserves.
Here are the results:
Division 1
Rd | Derek Van Riper | Paul Bruno | Adam Wolf | Jason Brown | Mike Gay | Mark Stopa |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | LeSean McCoy | Jamaal Charles | Matt Forte | Adrian Peterson | Calvin Johnson | Eddie Lacy |
2 | Le'Veon Bell | DeMarco Murray | Peyton Manning | Keenan Allen | Alfred Morris | Marshawn Lynch |
3 | Aaron Rodgers | Drew Brees | Andre Ellington | Randall Cobb | Victor Cruz | C.J. Spiller |
4 | Michael Crabtree | Percy Harvin | Shane Vereen | Andre Johnson | Cordarrelle Patterson | Antonio Brown |
5 | Jeremy Maclin | Pierre Garcon | DeSean Jackson | Chris Johnson | Andrew Luck | Torrey Smith |
6 | Ben Tate | Eric Decker | Jordan Reed | Zach Ertz | Darren Sproles | Terrance Williams |
7 | Dennis Pitta | Jason Witten | Dwayne Bowe | Rashad Jennings | Marvin Jones | Ladarius Green |
8 | Golden Tate | Pierre Thomas | DeAndre Hopkins | Steven Jackson | Danny Woodhead | Tony Romo |
9 | Emmanuel Sanders | Julian Edelman | Joseph Randle | Tom Brady | Devonta Freeman | Colin Kaepernick |
10 | Andre Brown | Anquan Boldin | Brandin Cooks | Josh Gordon | Greg Jennings | Kendall Wright |
11 | Andre Williams | Martellus Bennett | Stepfan Taylor | Ahmad Bradshaw | Eric Ebron | Carlos Hyde |
12 | Reggie Wayne | Donald Brown | Brian Hartline | Tre Mason | Russell Wilson | Kyle Rudolph |
13 | Marcus Lattimore | DEF CAR | Tyler Eifert | Justin Hunter | Knile Davis | Fred Jackson |
14 | DEF BUF | Ben Roethlisberger | DEF STL | Odell Beckham | DEF SF | C.J. Anderson |
15 | Antonio Gates | Stephen Gostkowski | Robert Woods | DEF CIN | Jordan Todman | DEF NYJ |
16 | Nick Novak | Jonathan Stewart | Dan Bailey | Alex Henery | Robbie Gould | Justin Tucker |
Rd | Erik Jastrowski | Kevin Payne | Jake Letarski | Chris Liss | Peter Schoenke | Clay Link |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dez Bryant | Montee Ball | Jimmy Graham | Demaryius Thomas | A.J. Green | Julio Jones |
2 | Zac Stacy | Giovani Bernard | Arian Foster | Jordy Nelson | Brandon Marshall | Alshon Jeffery |
3 | Doug Martin | Bishop Sankey | Vincent Jackson | Julius Thomas | Reggie Bush | Ryan Mathews |
4 | Toby Gerhart | Larry Fitzgerald | Jordan Cameron | Michael Floyd | Vernon Davis | Rob Gronkowski |
5 | T.Y. Hilton | Roddy White | Nick Foles | Mike Wallace | Stevan Ridley | Joique Bell |
6 | Greg Olsen | Wes Welker | Maurice Jones-Drew | Robert Griffin | Frank Gore | Marques Colston |
7 | Matt Ryan | Matthew Stafford | Sammy Watkins | Ray Rice | Trent Richardson | Cam Newton |
8 | Cecil Shorts | Bernard Pierce | Terrance West | Mike Evans | Knowshon Moreno | Riley Cooper |
9 | Tavon Austin | Aaron Dobson | Kenny Stills | Lamar Miller | Hakeem Nicks | Kelvin Benjamin |
10 | Charles Clay | Jordan Matthews | Darren McFadden | Christine Michael | Jarrett Boykin | DeAngelo Williams |
11 | Danny Amendola | Garrett Graham | David Wilson | Mark Ingram | LeGarrette Blount | Marqise Lee |
12 | Philip Rivers | DEF SEA | Markus Wheaton | Khiry Robinson | Jeremy Hill | Roy Helu |
13 | Ronnie Hillman | Jared Cook | Kenny Britt | Bryce Brown | Jay Cutler | Dri Archer |
14 | Matt Prater | Ryan Tannehill | James Jones | Chris Ivory | Charles Sims | Johnny Manziel |
15 | DEF ARZ | Matt Bryant | DEF KC | Phil Dawson | DEF NE | Steven Hauschka |
16 | Allen Robinson | Brandon LaFell | Greg Zuerlein | DEF BAL | Mason Crosby | DEF HOU |
Division 2
Rd | Tim Schuler | Jeff Erickson | Alex Rikleen | Tim McCaigue | Ken Crites | Nick Shlain |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | LeSean McCoy | Calvin Johnson | Jimmy Graham | Jamaal Charles | Matt Forte | Adrian Peterson |
2 | Le'Veon Bell | Drew Brees | Giovani Bernard | Alshon Jeffery | Jordy Nelson | Zac Stacy |
3 | Antonio Brown | Alfred Morris | Keenan Allen | Randall Cobb | Andre Ellington | Julius Thomas |
4 | Jeremy Maclin | Michael Crabtree | Cordarrelle Patterson | Chris Johnson | Vernon Davis | T.Y. Hilton |
5 | Rob Gronkowski | Roddy White | Torrey Smith | Joique Bell | Nick Foles | Percy Harvin |
6 | Cam Newton | Ben Tate | Colin Kaepernick | Jason Witten | Jordan Reed | Matthew Stafford |
7 | Riley Cooper | Zach Ertz | Russell Wilson | Matt Ryan | Terrance Williams | Golden Tate |
8 | Tavon Austin | Trent Richardson | Pierre Thomas | Kendall Wright | Eric Decker | Mike Evans |
9 | Knowshon Moreno | Maurice Jones-Drew | Julian Edelman | Kenny Stills | Steven Jackson | DEF SEA |
10 | Justin Hunter | David Wilson | Ladarius Green | DeAngelo Williams | Anquan Boldin | Hakeem Nicks |
11 | Darren McFadden | Christine Michael | Danny Woodhead | Brian Hartline | Brandin Cooks | Josh Gordon |
12 | Team DEN | Danny Amendola | DEF SF | Andy Dalton | Doug Baldwin | Knile Davis |
13 | Robert Woods | James Jones | Chris Givens | Greg Jennings | Donald Brown | Carlos Hyde |
14 | Fred Jackson | Jordan Matthews | Brandon LaFell | Chris Ivory | DEF KC | Jermaine Kearse |
15 | Jared Cook | DEF STL | Khiry Robinson | DEF BUF | Team NO | Andre Williams |
16 | DEF DEN | Team SD | Team GB | Team PHI | Eli Manning | Team DAL |
Rd | Vlad Sedler | Mike Doria | Andre' Snellings | Dan Kennedy | Nate Lutterman | Mario Puig |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Demaryius Thomas | Montee Ball | A.J. Green | Julio Jones | Eddie Lacy | Dez Bryant |
2 | DeMarco Murray | Aaron Rodgers | Arian Foster | Peyton Manning | Marshawn Lynch | Brandon Marshall |
3 | Victor Cruz | Doug Martin | C.J. Spiller | Reggie Bush | DeSean Jackson | Ryan Mathews |
4 | Bishop Sankey | Pierre Garcon | Larry Fitzgerald | Andre Johnson | Vincent Jackson | Michael Floyd |
5 | Marques Colston | Jordan Cameron | Wes Welker | Rashad Jennings | Andrew Luck | Toby Gerhart |
6 | Stevan Ridley | Mike Wallace | Robert Griffin | Sammy Watkins | Greg Olsen | Shane Vereen |
7 | Tony Romo | Ray Rice | Tom Brady | Terrance West | Dwayne Bowe | Dennis Pitta |
8 | Emmanuel Sanders | DeAndre Hopkins | Darren Sproles | Charles Clay | Frank Gore | Jay Cutler |
9 | Kyle Rudolph | Cecil Shorts | Marvin Jones | Kelvin Benjamin | Martellus Bennett | Philip Rivers |
10 | Mark Ingram | Lamar Miller | Jeremy Hill | DEF CAR | Jarrett Boykin | Rueben Randle |
11 | Markus Wheaton | Aaron Dobson | Eric Ebron | Jonathan Stewart | Ben Roethlisberger | Bernard Pierce |
12 | Tyler Eifert | Devonta Freeman | DEF CIN | Johnny Manziel | DEF ARZ | Reggie Wayne |
13 | DEF NYJ | Team NE | Antonio Gates | Team SEA | Team SF | Delanie Walker |
14 | Stepfan Taylor | DEF NE | Coby Fleener | LeGarrette Blount | Marqise Lee | DEF HOU |
15 | Team CHI | Tre Mason | Bryce Brown | Odell Beckham | Davante Adams | Team BAL |
16 | EJ Manuel | Garrett Graham | Team ATL | Jermaine Gresham | Shonn Greene | Malcom Floyd |
Notice the difference between the two drafts. Division 1 went mostly by the book early, while Division 2 saw Calvin Johnson come off the board at No. 2, Jimmy Graham at No. 3, while Adrian Peterson slipped to sixth and Eddie Lacy to 11th.
I'll focus primarily on Division 1 because that's the draft in which I took part. Drafting 10th, I figured I'd wind up with two top wide receivers, and that's what happened when Demaryius Thomas slipped to me in the first round. I followed him up with Jordy Nelson, passing on backs like Arian Foster, Marshawn Lynch and Zac Stacy. I knew this would leave me thin at RB, but I don't trust that tier, and I wound up with the top receivers for the two best quarterbacks in the NFL. Also, in a 12-, as opposed to a 14-, team league, you can afford to stock up on certain positions and neglect others, as the waiver wire will be more generous, especially with only six bench slots.
In Round 3, I hoped C.J. Spiller would fall to me, but when Mark Stopa took him at 3.6, I was happy to take Julius Thomas and lock up Peyton Manning's two best red-zone options. In Round 4, I grabbed Michael Floyd, again neglecting the running back position. I could have gone with Toby Gerhart, but Floyd's physical skills, pedigree and development are beyond dispute while Gerhart is largely an unknown on his new team and in a bigger role. At this point, I realized I was largely punting both running back spots. I did a similar thing in the RotoWire magazine PPR mock draft, and unless the backs fall the right way, it's likely to be a theme of my teams this summer.
In Round 5, I kept at it because, again, I didn't love the RB options on the board, and Mike Wallace - whose contract almost guarantees him massive targets in what should be a better offense - could still slot into my flex. Then in Round 6, I snagged Robert Griffin, a quarterback with as much upside as any this year, given his improved weapons, pass-happy offensive coordinator, poor team defense and healthier knee. It was only in Round 7 where I finally caved and took Ray Rice - who is almost certain to miss 2-4 games with a suspension.
If I made a mistake it was grabbing yet another WR in Mike Evans in Round 8. Evans has the size and pedigree to produce even as a rookie, but I should have taken Terrence West (who went with the next pick to Jake Letarski) instead. When you punt RB, you make up for it with volume, and Round 8 is a good place to speculate on RBs whose roles could more easily grow than those in later rounds.
Even so, I was happy to land Lamar Miller - big, fast and with only Knowshon Moreno, who's already hurt, to beat - in Round 9, Christine Michael in Round 10 (Marshawn Lynch has carried a huge load the last three years), two Saints RBs in 11 and 12, Bryce Brown in Round 13 and Chris Ivory in Round 14.
Punting RB works especially well in drafts that take place in July or early August, because it's virtually certain that 1-3 starting RBs will go down in training camp, boosting a backup into a starting role. Not only do you avoid being the one who suffers that loss, but you maximally position yourself to profit from it, since you stock up on so many reserves.
One player on whom I waited too long was Knile Davis who went to Mike Gay in Round 13. I like Khiry Robinson, especially because I already had Mark Ingram, but Davis has first-round upside should anything happen to Jamaal Charles.
For an example of the opposite tack, check out Mark Stopa's squad that started out with Eddie Lacy, Marshawn Lynch and C.J. Spiller and didn't take a receiver (Antonio Brown) until Round 4. Of the teams drafting in the top six, three of them went RB-RB, while three of the bottom-six teams drafted WR-WR. Only one team in the bottom six (Kevin Payne's) went RB-RB. And no one in the top-six took two WR.
Bottom line, whether you go WR or RB heavy early on is in large part dependent on your draft slot. The WR-WR strategy plays better when you draft late, and the RB-RB one when you draft early.