Today we did the full season draft portion of the DFS Crossover Challenge, the brainchild of Kevin Adams, the DFS Analyst for FantasyGuru.com. The idea was to assemble seven season-long industry experts and seven DFS experts and put them in a hybrid league that combines both games. There's a prize ($2,000) for winning the season-long league playoffs, a prize for having the most total points in season long ($1,000) and a grand prize ($5,000) for having the most crossover points, i.e., season-long total points plus weekly points accumulated through 14 weeks of playing on Draft Kings. We're also putting in $50 each weekly for the Draft Kings contests, and whoever wins each DFS week will keep that money.
Today's draft was a 14-team PPR league with 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 FLX, 1 TE, 1 D and seven bench spots. The scoring was mostly basic PPR except passing TDs were worth six points. Here are the results:
RD | Mike Clay | Tommy G | Peter Jennings | Chris Liss |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Antonio Brown | Le'Veon Bell | Adrian Peterson | Dez Bryant |
2 | LeSean McCoy | Alshon Jeffery | Jordan Matthews | Brandin Cooks |
3 | Emmanuel Sanders | DeAndre Hopkins | Jimmy Graham | Keenan Allen |
4 | Carlos Hyde | Allen Robinson | Vincent Jackson | Todd Gurley |
5 | Drew Brees | Chris Ivory | Nelson Agholor | Sammy Watkins |
6 | Jason Witten | Tre Mason | Rashad Jennings | Joique Bell |
7 | Anquan Boldin | Pierre Garcon | Shane Vereen | Bishop Sankey |
8 | Duke Johnson | Eli Manning | Ryan Tannehill | Matt Ryan |
9 | DeVante Parker | Markus Wheaton | Teddy Bridgewater | Ronnie Hillman |
10 | Jonas Gray | Antonio Gates | Cody Latimer | Charles Sims |
11 | Andre Williams | Tyler Eifert | Jerick McKinnon | Knile Davis |
12 | Jordan Reed | Reggie Wayne | Dolphins D/ST | Dwayne Bowe |
13 | Malcom Floyd | Texans D/ST | Lorenzo Taliaferro | Vernon Davis |
14 | Percy Harvin | Bilal Powell | Greg Jennings | Josh Huff |
15 | Karlos Williams | Jeremy Langford | Cole Beasley | Panthers D/ST |
16 | Chiefs D/ST | Mohamed Sanu | Justin Hunter | Terrelle Pryor |
RD | Back/Prince | John Paulsen | Jennings/Bales | John Hansen |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Eddie Lacy | Demaryius Thomas | Jamaal Charles | Julio Jones |
2 | Aaron Rodgers | Lamar Miller | Matt Forte | Justin Forsett |
3 | Mark Ingram | Frank Gore | Amari Cooper | Jarvis Landry |
4 | Brandon Marshall | Greg Olsen | Andre Johnson | Latavius Murray |
5 | Mike Wallace | DeSean Jackson | Joseph Randle | C.J. Spiller |
6 | Martellus Bennett | Giovani Bernard | Steve Smith | T.J. Yeldon |
7 | Kendall Wright | Russell Wilson | Tom Brady | Marques Colston |
8 | Isaiah Crowell | Stevie Johnson | Torrey Smith | Roddy White |
9 | David Cobb | Breshad Perriman | Victor Cruz | Matthew Stafford |
10 | Tyler Lockett | Delanie Walker | Brandon LaFell* | Kyle Rudolph |
11 | Michael Crabtree | Phillip Dorsett | Darren Sproles | Julius Thomas* |
12 | Zach Zenner | Seahawks D/ST | Larry Donnell | Bills D/ST |
13 | Dwayne Allen | Doug Baldwin | Joe Flacco | Kenny Britt |
14 | Jaelen Strong | Kevin White* | Terrance West | Marcus Mariota |
15 | James Starks | Carson Palmer | Ladarius Green | Lance Dunbar |
16 | Bengals D/ST | Brandon Bolden | Cardinals D/ST | Eric Ebron |
RD | Kevin Adams | Kitchen/Loughran | Smizzle/Levitan |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Odell Beckham | Marshawn Lynch | Rob Gronkowski |
2 | T.Y. Hilton | Mike Evans | DeMarco Murray |
3 | Andre Ellington | Ameer Abdullah | Davante Adams |
4 | Julian Edelman | Jeremy Maclin | Jonathan Stewart |
5 | Alfred Morris | Eric Decker | Melvin Gordon |
6 | Tevin Coleman | Ryan Mathews | Larry Fitzgerald |
7 | Jordan Cameron | Darren McFadden | Devin Funchess |
8 | Ben Roethlisberger | Sam Bradford | Brian Quick |
9 | Terrance Williams | Zach Ertz | Rueben Randle |
10 | Roy Helu | Jeff Janis | Cam Newton |
11 | Javorius Allen | Khiry Robinson | Reggie Bush |
12 | Damien Williams | Donte Moncrief | Philip Rivers |
13 | Corey Brown | Jameis Winston | Richard Rodgers |
14 | Chris Polk | Patriots D/ST | Broncos D/ST |
15 | Vikings D/ST | Josh Hill | Jarius Wright |
16 | Theo Riddick | Jay Ajayi | Chris Conley |
RD | Brad Evans | Drew Dinkmeyer | Jeff Mans |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Andrew Luck | C.J. Anderson | Calvin Johnson |
2 | A.J. Green | Jeremy Hill | Randall Cobb |
3 | Golden Tate | Travis Kelce | Arian Foster* |
4 | Doug Martin | Charles Johnson | Alfred Blue |
5 | John Brown | Martavis Bryant | LeGarrette Blount |
6 | Danny Woodhead | Peyton Manning | Devonta Freeman |
7 | Eddie Royal | David Johnson | Brandon Coleman |
8 | Matt Jones | Michael Floyd | Tony Romo |
9 | Denard Robinson | Marvin Jones | DeAngelo Williams |
10 | Allen Hurns | Dorial Green-Beckham | Owen Daniels |
11 | Daniel Herron | Kenny Stills | Kamar Aiken |
12 | Leonard Hankerson | Ty Montgomery | Marquess Wilson |
13 | Cecil Shorts | Cameron Artis-Payne | Rams D/ST |
14 | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | Jets D/ST | James White |
15 | Tyrod Taylor | Branden Oliver | Charles Clay |
16 | Packers D/ST | Colin Kaepernick | Devin Smith |
I picked fourth and honestly didn't know who I was going to take. Had Le'Veon Bell or Antonio Brown fallen to me, it would have been an easy call, but once they were off the board - as I expected them to be - I was hoping Adrian Peterson would go next. While I wanted to draft him in a league after reading this, I didn't want to start a 3-WR PPR draft with a running back who wasn't a great pass catcher. Still, he would have been hard to pass up. Once he was gone, I knew I was taking a receiver, but which one? There are four I consider roughly equal: Dez Bryant, Demaryius Thomas, Julio Jones and Odell Beckham. I took Bryant because along with Rob Gronkowski, he's the best touchdown scorer in the league, and his volume might increase with DeMarco Murray now in Philly. But you could make a strong case for any of the four.
Round 2 it was a toss-up between Brandin Cooks, Alshon Jeffery and Jordan Matthews. I went Cooks because I decided I'd be more upset if I took one of the others and missed out on him than the other way around. All three should be monsters in PPR. Jeffery would probably have been the pick were he not nursing a calf injury. Of course, after I took Cooks Matthews and Jeffery were the next two picks. It wasn't a soft room.
Round 3 was my worst pick of the draft. Coming around the turn, I wanted either Emmanuel Sanders or DeAndre Hopkins, but both were taken a couple picks before me. There were still plenty of serviceable backs left, and my plan was to get Todd Gurley and/or Arian Foster in Rounds 4 and 5 and cobble together whatever I could for three weeks before having a monster team for three quarters of the season. So I preferred a third receiver, and the top two on my board were Keenan Allen and Davante Adams. I nearly took Adams, but it felt "reachy" early in Round 3 (I was happy to reach for him late in Round 3 in the Yahoo Friends and Family Draft), but this was pushing it, given Adams is only getting his chance because he's next in line, i.e., he might or might not be any good. It's entirely possible he doesn't play well early on, and Aaron Rodgers grows to trust Ty Montgomery, Jeff Janis or tight end Richard Rodgers instead. So I took Keenan Allen who has performed at a high level already and should be the top target in San Diego. Still, that pick felt a bit "safe" which is code for "cowardly and not safe after all." Adams went seven picks later to Smizzle/Levitan.
While Jeff Mans killed my Foster plan by taking him with the last pick in Round 3, I was able to get Gurley in Round 4 and Sammy Watkins (my best pick) in Round 5. After all, Amari Cooper went in Round 3, and it's unlikely Tyrod Taylor will do worse than Derek Carr (5.5 YPA, 32nd) did last year. I was especially happy to start a 3 WR/FLEX PPR draft with four clear No. 1 receivers and a back.
Of course, I needed to have some backs to plug in early on while waiting for Gurley, so I took Joique Bell and Bishop Sankey at the next turn. Everyone was playing chicken on quarterback, so it was safe to wait another orbit. In Round 8, the QBs were thinning out, and my timing was good as I got Matt Ryan right before Ryan Tannehill and Eli Manning went, i.e., had I waited until Round 9, I might have missed out on a second tier QB.
Even though I had some marginal starting backs to tide me over until Gurley gets up to speed, it was still a weakness, so I stocked up on high upside PPR backups: Ronnie Hillman, Charles Sims and Knile Davis. I took a couple receivers late (Dwayne Bowe - didn't realize he might get cut, but maybe that would be a good thing - Josh Huff and my favorite super sleeper Terrelle Pryor - think Calvin Johnson-level athlete who could throw a couple trick-play TDs.)
I drafted my only tight end, Vernon Davis, in the 13th round. Davis seems to be mis-priced by the industry based on one bad, injury-riddled season. He's been a top-five tight end for most of his career, he's free of Jim Harbaugh with whom he didn't always see eye-to-eye, and top tight ends generally age well, e.g., Antonio Gates, Jason Witten, Tony Gonzalez, Shannon Sharpe, etc.
Overall, I'm pleased with the draft. My only mild regret is taking Allen over Adams, but that was pretty much a coin flip. I just don't like that I chose the "safer" option. When in doubt, make the aggressive pick.
We'll see what happens on the DFS side. While I'm up to speed on baseball after playing and blogging about it all year, I haven't done more than dabbled in DFS football. It seems pretty obvious, but maybe I'll find out how much I don't know over the next few weeks.