3 important lessons learned from the FSTA fantasy football experts draft
On June 13, a fantasy football league assembled in New York City at the Fantasy Sports Trade Association’s summer conference for a 14-team, 16-round draft of industry heavyweights that proved to be worth everyone’s travels.
SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio broadcast live from Times Square to give listeners play-by-play action to the big event.
Each owner was asked questions about their more controversial and formative picks on air, myself included.
Here’s a quick look at Round 1.
1. Mike Clay, ESPN: WR Antonio Brown, PIT
2. Greg Ambrosius, Stats Inc.: WR Julio Jones, ATL
3. Brett Baker/Tai Ward, Big Game Software: RB Le'Veon Bell, PIT
4. Chris Liss, RotoWire: WR Odell Beckham Jr., NYG
5. Steve Gardner, Paste BN Sports: WR DeAndre Hopkins, HOU
6. Charlie Wiegert, CDM Sports: RB Todd Gurley, LA
7. Nando Di Fino, FNTSY Network: WR A.J. Green, CIN
8. Rick Wolf, Glenn Colton and Stacie Stern, Colton & The Wolfman: RB Adrian Peterson, MIN
9. Ray Flowers, SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio: RB David Johnson, ARI
10. Jeff Mans and Ted Schuster, Fantasy Alarm: TE Rob Gronkowski, NE
11. Cory Bonini, Paste BN Fantasy Sports: RB Ezekiel Elliott, DAL
12. John Hansen, Fantasy Guru: WR Dez Bryant, DAL
13. Anthony Perri, Fantistics: WR Allen Robinson, JAC
14. Mike Dempsey, Football Diehards: WR Alshon Jeffery, CHI
3 big takeaways
The draft reinforced three lessons that even seasoned fantasy drafters cannot forget. Expect the unexpected, know your competition, and be more than willing to take risks that may draw laughs from the crowd.
-- The first lesson was best illustrated with my team when Dallas Cowboys rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott was available with the 11th overall pick, much to my surprise. I fully intended to go wide receiver-wide receiver to begin my draft, but Elliott’s availability reminded me that flexibility is crucial.
-- Next up was the element of knowing your competition. Traditionally, this group consistently avoids quarterbacks early, which held true with the first one (Cam Newton) coming off the board in Round 4. Furthering this point, it goes both ways. I didn’t expect so many wide receivers to come off the board early on, but that ultimately helped me land Elliott.
-- Not being afraid to go out on a limb … there’s something rewarding about putting your money where your mouth is, especially if you are right in the end.
I have talked up Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill for what is now the third straight offseason. A string of coaching changes has led to his best fantasy situation to date. The offensive line is greatly improved, the receiving corps is legit, and new head coach Adam Gase immediately improves Tannehill’s chances of success. Don’t forget, this fifth-year quarterback is a pup when compared to most passers of his age and experience. He was a wide receiver before converting to quarterback in college.
I won’t continue with justifications, but the purpose serves a greater point: Don’t be afraid to take chances. If you are confident that a player will wildly outperform expectations, reaching a few rounds is perfectly fine. In this case, I didn’t see a clearer path to a breakout quarterback left on the board, and all of the locks were long gone.
My team was built with an upside focus. In this league, the last-place team is given the boot. Seriously. That team is removed from the league and replaced by a new owner. As our Steve Gardner reminded us in the latest podcast, going first to worst happens. So does fantasy redemption.
The final two points work in concert. Knowing my competition — in this case, it happens to be the best of the best — changed my draft strategy from the start. It increased my willingness to take big chances.
I am perfectly fine being kicked from the league because I swung for the fences and didn’t clear the wall. That tends to happen in June drafts. Someone has to win, and my squad doesn’t look the sexiest on paper, but it has more of one thing than all of the other squads: Upside.
It also has a tremendous amount of risk. When that many unproven players are incorporated into a roster’s core, something is bound to go wrong. Hitting on each of those sleepers is highly unlikely, but all it takes is being right with most and not dead wrong with the others.