Dynasty draft recap

Sunday night, I had my first dynasty/rookie draft in my dynasty league with a bunch of local fantasy experts.  It wasn't the first time we had picked players, as we had our inaugural auction last year, but this was the first time we actually had a chance to overhaul our rosters through a draft.

First, a dynasty league is an interesting concept.  It basically means you just draft your team once, then you have those players as long as you want them.  Therefore, when I grabbed AP in the auction last year, I knew I was paying for the chance to own him as long as I wanted.  During the season you can make trades, adds, and drops, and whatever roster you end up with when the season ends you carry over to the following year.  At that point, there is a draft for all unrostered players, which includes free agents and rookies.

The draft starts with the last place team from a year ago picking first, and the first place team picking last, the the draft is NOT a serpentine format.  Whoever picks first in round one gets the first pick in round two also...(which is basically the Montreal Screwjob for the team who won the league, but we'll get back to that later), so that team has a chance to recover pretty quickly.  When your spot comes up in the draft, you can pick or pass, and the proceedings continue until everyone has passed on their pick and is satisfied with their roster moving forward.

Now, there were certainly some free agents that were almost as appealing as the rookies, particularly in the wide receiver category.  No one had Floyd, Gaffney, Aromashodu, Doucet, or Schillins, for example.  So it was going to be interesting to see how those guys worked into the mix.  Also, when you draft a player in this league, you drop someone at the same time, and that dropped player immediately becomes available for the next owner to draft...an interesting concept, which adds an element of luck, I believe.

The final point to make before getting to it is that this league has small rosters.  You can have 14 players at any time (with an IR that can only be used if you player is out for the season), and start 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 non-QB flex, 1 TE, and 1 K.  We don't play with defenses.  So, you start eight guys and have six bench spots.  That isn't Shawn Johnson-like flexibility when you consider bye weeks.  I make this point for two reasons.  One, you can't hoard players on your roster for future seasons, there just isn't room for that, at least not for more than one.  Think about bye weeks, injuries and such. Two, there are going to be useful players available at all times when only 168 total players have been taken.

So, the draft began.  I was the Bret Hart of the league, and had the 12th pick after winning the first season's title (thanks again, Jamaal Charles, or is it Jamar?).  Here is the roster I took into the proceedings.  I guess it may be worthwhile to note that Kurt Warner was also a part of my team a year ago.

QB  Roethlisberger
QB Stafford
RB Peterson
RB Charles
RB Barber
RB Ward
RB Choice
RB Ganther
WR A. Johnson
WR Bryant
WR Crabtree
WR Evans
TE Davis
K Kaeding

Clearly, I needed WR depth, as Bryant is nothing, and Lee Evans simply cannot be counted on.  I could use a QB too, as I may need one until Ben gets back if Stafford doesn't meet my expectations.  Ganther and Bryant were going to be the guys I cut, with an outside chance of letting Ward go if I saw anything interesting in the third round.

Round one (in order)

Add Ryan Matthews-drop LenDale White
Dez Bryant-No drop (he only had 13 guys)
Jahvid Best-Willie Parker
CJ Spiller-Vince Young
Montario Hardesty-Brian Westbrook
Malcom Floyd-Braylon Edwards
Demaryius Thomas-Jerious Norwood
Braylon Edwards-Steve Breaston
Julian Edelman-Bernard Berrian
Willis McGahee-Ryan Moats
Devin Aromashodu-Roy Williams
Jabar Gaffney-Quinton Ganther

Some round one impressions.  The first four guys were pretty predictable, especially with the Bills running back injuries.  My buddy with the fifth pick claimed before the draft that there was a pretty obvious choice there too, although I think cases could have been made for others, Hardesty was his guy.  After that, I was left shaking my head.  I know he drops passes, but isn't Edwards a better bet than Floyd in any format, let alone a dynasty league?  As a 2011 free agent he could end up with a passing team and have more value.  It wasn't a surprise to see him get gobbled up two picks later--that's where luck comes into play, I would have gambled on Edwards had I been given the chance.  Breaston was cut as well, and you'll see he didn't last either.  The McGahee owner must be buying into trade talk, and I was sniped on Aromashodu.  I took Gaffney because of need, and I believe he's Denver's number one guy heading into the season.  At least the 21 catches, 282 yards and two touchdowns from weeks 16 and 17 would seem to indicate as much.  I could have opted for rookies Mike Williams, Golden Tate or Brandon LaFell, but I wanted someone who could contribute right away.

Round two

Mike Thomas-Fred Davis
Golden Tate-David Akers
Steve Breaston-Donnie Avery
Jordy Nelson-Carson Palmer
Mike Williams-Jason Snelling
Toby Gerhart-Matt Moore
Anthony Dixon-Matt Leinart
Early Doucet-Davone Bess
Carson Palmer-Antonio Bryant

Three teams passed in round two.  The Nelson pick surprised me a bit, and I would have rather had 5-10 different WRs than anyone who catches balls in Jacksonville (Mike Thomas included).  I made a decision before the draft that I wasn't going to waste a roster space on Gerhart, even if I have AP.  Let's face it, when you have AP, if he gets hurt, you aren't winning the league.  Why waste a spot on someone who only will play for me if I can't win anyway?  With Leinart, Cassel, and Palmer on the board for my pick, I had a decision to make.  I went with Palmer because I feel he is safer than the other two, and I have risk at QB already, but I do have Cassel and Leinart higher in my rankings for their upside.  Admittedly, the QBs from 11-20 are bunched so tightly, but I may have to revisit my rankings.  Another reason I went Palmer over Cassel is that Cassel has been a free agent since well into last season, I think I can get him down the road if I want, I felt the league may have valued Palmer more, so I took him there.  Still, I may make a move before the season starts and just play matchups with my QBs.

Round three, four and five

David Akers-Lawrence Tynes
Chaz Schillins-Alex Smith
Fred Davis-Mario Manningham
Josh Freeman-Rashad Jennings
Dan Carpenter-Kris Brown
Dexter McCluster-Matt Hasselbeck
BenJarvus Green-Ellis-James Jones

That was it.  I passed after two rounds.  I now have Alex Smith in that mix and match list as well as those other guys if I should choose to play musical QBs.  It's interesting that Sam Bradford didn't get picked in a dynasty league.  I'd rather have him right now than Freeman.

One more note...how did I end up with a team full of running backs with a week four bye?  Ugh.  I'm sure our commissioner is stacking the league schedule as I type.

Cheers,
TFAM