Because we are at a lull in the NFL and most dynasty fantasy football news, I thought this would be a great time to give full disclosure on my teams in all eight of the leagues that I am in. I will cover each one in an article, the good and the bad. Some are championship contenders and some are fixer uppers. It is so easy to fall into groupthink and lose sight of what you are trying to build. Hopefully this will give some insight into my philosophy and won’t be boring “let’s talk about my team” pieces. I will start with my most recent dynasty team, Darwin’s Theory 3. All touchdowns are worth 6 points, 1 PPR for all positions, and tackle heavy scoring. You can find the league herehttp://www24.myfantasyleague.com/2014/home/32962#0 :
QBs- Drew Brees, Jay Cutler, and Saints backup Ryan Griffin (start one)
This is an older quarterback squad than I usually carry. The production, if injury does not strike, could be the top or near the top of the league. Of course, injuries can affect any position, but with two quarterbacks well into their 30s and an unproven backup, this is a risky proposition. This is the very first time I have Brees on any dynasty squad in my nine years of playing dynasty. I am hopeful this will work out well.
RBs-Gio Bernard, Le’Veon Bell, Joique Bell, Jonathan Stewart, LeGarrette Blount, CJ Anderson, Dexter McCluster (start two to three)
I am very pleased with my running backs. All three of my starters catch a fair amount of passes and should get at least 15 to 20 touches per game (two of them are only in their second year in the NFL). If Stewart can give me five healthy games each year for the next two to three years, I will be ecstatic. Blount may or may not be an important handcuff to have, but well worth it at his draft pick. In the case of Anderson, Montee Ball had a good end of the year stretch, but grabbing his backup in the 30th round all I saw was value if Ball fails in his role for any reason. McCluster could produce like Danny Woodhead in a similar offense and might be a huge value that late. This is a strength of my team
WRs-Michael Crabtree, Brandin Cooks, TY Hilton, Emmanuel Sanders, Kenny Stills, Riley Cooper, Josh Huff, Bruce Ellington, Jericho Cotchery, Devin Street, Mohammed Sanu (start two to five)
Let’s be frank. I have zero superstar wide receivers. Crabtree is the only WR1 of any NFL team on my dynasty squad, will that be enough? Cooks and Stills could cancel out each other or they could be monsters depending on the week. Hilton and Sanders play in pass first offenses with excellent quarterbacks, but targets will vary from week to week. Cooper had a few super productive games last season and his fellow Eagle, Huff, whom I feel is more talented, but might not have much of an impact year one. Cotchery was my solid bye week selection to give guys like Ellington and Street the chance to get comfortable as their teams WR4s or WR5s. Sanu was a young flier, because sometimes you need to take a chance. Time will tell if my waiting on receiver technique worked or not.
TEs-Julius Thomas, Mychal Rivera, David Ausberry, CJ Fiedorwicz (start one to three)
I’m heavy at the top with Thomas, who will flourish in the Peyton Manning led offense. As far as the Oakland tight ends go, both Raiders quarterbacks have found success targeting that position and I have the starter either way it rolls. The Houston coaching staff wants to run two tight end sets and Fiedorwicz could be very sneaky as a goal line receiver. Looking back, I should have secured my second tight end sooner than I did. Truth is though that unless you have two superstar tight ends, you are better starting at least four receivers, because you cannot start more than three backs.
Ks-Greg Zuerlein, Matt Bryant (start one)
Who cares, I got two kickers with different bye weeks late in the draft.
DLs- Greg Hardy, LaMarr Houston, Mario Williams, Michael Bennett, Akiem Hicks (start two to three)
I let the popular defensive ends go first: Quinn, Watt, and JPP. If Hardy beats his legal battles, he should be an outstanding DE1. The Bears revamped their defensive line and brought over a solid youngster in Houston. Williams faded down the stretch last season, but will need to be a leader since Alonso went down. There will be a new Seahawks defensive front with Bennett stepping out of the reserve role into a starter, can he be more productive? I hope he is ready and the Saints are talking big things from Hicks opposite Cam Jordan. I think I have a solid deep crew on my defensive line.
LBs-Jarod Mayo, Paul Worrilow, CJ Mosely, Wesley Woodyard, Vincent Rey, Jason Worilds, Lamin Barrow (start three to four)
Once again, I am solid at the top of my linebacker corp. Mayo when healthy is a top five backer, and Worrilow surprised last season to be a dominant player. I just missed on rookie Ryan Shazier and had to settle for once again (actually in three drafts) for Mosely. He is ultra-athletic and if he can stay healthy (I say that about all Alabama players), Mosely should be a top 15 linebacker for the next 10 years. Woodyard got signed in free agency for the prime role as the WILB for Tennessee and should excel there. Rey was a hopeful pick as he surprised in his reserve role in 2013. He might end up being the best linebacker not starting in the NFL, if things fall apart. Worilds came on late in 2013, especially as a pass rusher, and is playing for a contract somewhere next season, so hopefully he will have a fire in his belly. I have publicly bashed Barrow, but if he gets the chance to start in Denver, he could lead the team in tackles.
DBs-Morgan Burnett, Calvin Pryor, Deonne Bucannon, Mike Mitchell, Lamarcus Joyner, Jason Verett (start three to four)
If you have the choice of starting safeties or corner backs, try to always start the safeties (five of my six defensive backs are safeties). Safeties will usually get more opportunities for tackles and the younger players tend to get picked on more often than not. This is why I drafted four rookies out of my six defensive backs. Burnett gets to drift back into a more strong safety role, which should help his tackle numbers. Pryor, Bucannon, and Joyner can be the most physical safeties on their teams. Mitchell takes over an older Ryan Clark in Pittsburgh, playing beside the gambling Troy Polomanu. I love the upside with these guys.
Chance to win the league: I’m a top four team out of twelve with plenty of youth, except at quarterback. I feel good about a playoff run, what happens after that is out of my hands.
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