Since we are close to the fantasy playoffs, I wanted to take a moment and review the different strategies I have used, and give an update and breakdown of what my rosters look like. I also wanted to show what strategies will have me in the playoffs, and which will leave me waiting for next year.
94 Point Strategy
The basic concept behind the 94 point strategy is that if your team can score you 94 points each week, you will have a winning record at the end of Week 13. You can get those points in any number of ways, but if your team can score a total of 94 points, you have a very strong chance of making the playoffs.
Here is the first team I drafted with this strategy
*This league starts defensive players, so I will skip those picks and show what rounds I drafted other core players*
Drafted Team(Current Record 3-6)
1. Ray Rice, Bal RB
2. Stevan Ridley, NE RB
3. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jac RB
4. Vincent Jackson, TB WR
5. Tom Brady, NE QB
6. Marques Colston, NO WR
7. Rashard Mendenhall, Ari RB
8. Mike Wallace, Mia WR
9. Andre Brown, NYG RB
10. Josh Gordon, Cle WR
11. Broncos D/ST D/ST
12. DeAndre Hopkins, Hou WR
13. Kyle Rudolph*, Min TE
14. Tony Romo, Dal QB
16. Sebastian Janikowski, Oak K
Here is my team now
QB- Tony Romo, Jake Locker
RB- Knowshon Moreno, Eddie Lacy, Ray Rice, Stevan Ridley, MJD
WR- Kendall Wright, Vincent Jackson, Josh Gordon, Mike Wallace
TE- Charles Clay
DEF- Broncos and Titans
Kicker- Adam Vinatieri
Drafted Team (Current Record 6-3)
1. Adrian Peterson, Min RB
2. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jac RB
3. Jimmy Graham, NO TE
4. DeMarco Murray, Dal RB
5. Steve Smith, Car WR
6. Andrew Luck, Ind QB
7. Tavon Austin, StL WR
8. T.Y. Hilton, Ind WR
9. Giovani Bernard, Cin RB
10. Ben Tate, Hou RB
11. DeAndre Hopkins, Hou WR
12. Rams D/ST D/ST
13. Rueben Randle, NYG WR
14. Kendall Hunter, SF RB
15. Aaron Dobson, NE WR
16. Steven Hauschka, Sea K
Current Team
QB- Andrew Luck, Jake Locker
RB- Adrian Peterson, DeMarco Murray, Knowshon Moreno, MJD, Gio Bernard, Ben Tate
WR- T.Y. Hilton, Kendall Wright, Steve Smith, Riley Cooper
TE- Jimmy Graham
DEF- Chiefs, Titans
Kicker- Steven Hauschka
Drafted Team(Current Record 3-6)
1. C.J. Spiller, Buf RB
2. Alfred Morris, Wsh RB
3. Vincent Jackson, TB WR
4. Darren Sproles, NO RB
5. Lamar Miller, Mia RB
6. Tony Romo, Dal QB
7. Tavon Austin, StL WR
8. Andre Brown, NYG RB
9. Emmanuel Sanders, Pit WR
10. Jared Cook, StL TE
11. DeAndre Hopkins, Hou WR
12. Packers D/ST D/ST
13. Rueben Randle, NYG WR
14. Dan Bailey, Dal K
15. Jordan Cameron, Cle TE
16. Isaac Redman, Pit RB
Current Team
QB- Tony Romo
RB- C.J. Spiller, Alfred Morris, Zac Stacy, Darren Sproles, Lamar Miller, Mike James
WR- Vincent Jackson, Riley Cooper, Emmanuel Sanders, Rueben Randle, Marlon Brown
TE- Jordan Cameron, Colby Fleener
DEF- Panthers
Kicker- Dan Bailey
All Bye Week Strategy
This strategy was just to answer a question I normally hear tossed a round before drafts start. I always hear at least 1 person ask someone on SiriusXM if they should try to draft an entire team that has the same bye week. They will always say to avoid this because it is such a difficult thing to do, which I agree with, but I wanted to give it a try just to see what would happen. My team has not drastically changed that much, so I will not post my draft and current team. My strategy behind this was to key on running backs that I liked, and look at the bye weeks to find one elite running back and another starting running back that I liked. I chose Ray Rice and then added Matt Forte and Chris Johnson in the mix. I am currently 4-5 and I am impressed that I am close to 500 with this strategy.
Two Wide Receivers Same Team Strategy
Unfortunately I haven’t been able to fully see this strategy out. I drafted Julio Jones and Roddy White, as well as Randall Cobb and James Jones. The idea is that if you have two strong wide receivers on the same team, they will balance each other out when one has a good game and the other has a mediocre to poor game. For example, If Julio Jones went off for thirty points but Roddy White only scored 4, two of your wide receivers scored you 34 points, or an average of 17 each. There are less than a handful of teams you could do this for, but in theory this should be a strong strategy.
Here are the problems I have found with it though.
1. If the teams quarterback is injured, you now have two wide receivers whose value takes a dramatic hit.
2. If one player has an injury that sidelines him for a few weeks, you may have another wide receiver develop better chemistry with the quarterback and the injured wide receiver has a hard time working back into the scheme of things.
3. If both wide receivers become injured, you are out two players.
With that being said, all of these teams under this strategy have actually performed at a very high level. This has to do with making trades and hitting the waiver wire, but all three of these teams have a good chance to make it to the playoffs.
Drafted Team(Record 4-5)
1. C.J. Spiller, Buf RB
2. Demaryius Thomas, Den WR
3. Wes Welker, Den WR
4. Reggie Bush, Det RB
5. Rob Gronkowski, NE TE
6. Russell Wilson, Sea QB
7. Rashard Mendenhall, Ari RB
8. Tavon Austin, StL WR
9. Mark Ingram, NO RB
10. Fred Jackson, Buf RB
11. Golden Tate, Sea WR
12. Brandon Pettigrew, Det TE
13. DeAndre Hopkins, Hou WR
14. Ravens D/ST D/ST
15. Steven Hauschka, Sea K
16. Robert Turbin, Sea RB
Current Team
QB- Russell Wilson, Phillip Rivers
RB- C.J. Spiller, Reggie Bush, Danny Woodhead, Fred Jackson, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Rashad Jennings
WR- Demaryius Thomas, Wes Welker, Riley Cooper, Golden Tate
TE- Charles Clay
DEF- Charles Clay, Gronk
Kicker- Steven Hauschka
Drafted Team( Current Record 7-2)
1. Adrian Peterson, Min RB
2. David Wilson*, NYG RB
3. Randall Cobb*, GB WR
4. Reggie Bush, Det RB
5. James Jones, GB WR
6. Andrew Luck, Ind QB
7. Montee Ball, Den RB
8. T.Y. Hilton, Ind WR
9. Ben Tate, Hou RB
10. Josh Gordon, Cle WR
11. Golden Tate, Sea WR
12. Packers D/ST D/ST
13. Kenbrell Thompkins, NE WR
14. Jordan Cameron, Cle TE
15. Justin Blackmon, Jac WR
16. Mike Nugent, Cin K
Current Team
QB- Drew Brees, Andrew Luck
RB- Adrian Peterson, Reggie Bus, Zac Stacy, Ben Tate, Mike James
WR- T.Y. Hilton, Vincent Jackson, Golden Tate, Terrance Williams, Danny Amendola
TE- Jordan Cameron, Coby Fleener
DEF- Panthers
Kicker- Mason Crosby
Drafted Team(Current Record 6-3)
1. Adrian Peterson, Min RB
2. Julio Jones*, Atl WR
3. Roddy White, Atl WR
4. Reggie Bush, Det RB
5. Rob Gronkowski, NE TE
6. Andrew Luck, Ind QB
7. Giovani Bernard, Cin RB
8. Bengals D/ST D/ST
9. Rashard Mendenhall, Ari RB
10. Fred Jackson, Buf RB
11. Rueben Randle, NYG WR
12. Bilal Powell, NYJ RB
13. Kenbrell Thompkins, NE WR
14. Zach Sudfeld, NYJ TE
15. Santana Moss, Wsh WR
16. Steven Hauschka, Sea K
Current Team
QB- Andrew Luck, Nick Foles
RB- Adrian Peterson, Reggie Bush, Mike James, Fred Jackson, Lamar Miller
WR- Eric Decker, Keenan Allen, Cecil Shorts, Riley Cooper
TE- Gronk, Garret Graham
DEF- Chiefs, Titans
Kicker- Steven Hauschka
Quarterback First Strategy
I have never been a fan of taking a quarterback in the first round. There are circumstances where it is warranted, and if you think at your position in the draft that a quarterback is the most valuable player on the board, then you should by all means draft him. What I have found out from this strategy is that you take away the risk of having your first round running back be a dud. I had the 12th pick in this draft, and I chose Drew Brees and Trent Richardson. Think about what my season may have looked like if I took Ray Rice and Trent Richardson, or if I went Trent Richardson and David Wilson? Picking one of the elite quarterbacks seems to somewhat minimize the potential first round running back bust damage. Taking a quarterback early also allowed me to focus on running backs and wide receivers through later rounds, where I normally would look to pick up a quarterback.
Drafted Team (Current Record 7-2)
1. Drew Brees, NO QB
2. Trent Richardson, Ind RB
3. Maurice Jones-Drew, Jac RB
4. Reggie Bush, Det RB
5. Steve Smith, Car WR
6. Torrey Smith, Bal WR
7. Giovani Bernard, Cin RB
8. Tavon Austin, StL WR
9. Fred Jackson, Buf RB
10. Bengals D/ST D/ST
11. DeAndre Hopkins, Hou WR
12. Kenbrell Thompkins, NE WR
13. Jordan Cameron, Cle TE
14. Bilal Powell, NYJ RB
15. Kenny Stills, NO WR
16. Greg Zuerlein, StL K
Current Team
QB- Drew Brees
RB- Reggie Bush, Fred Jackson, MJD, Trent Richardson, Gio Bernard, Jonathan Stewart
WR- Keenan Allen, Riley Cooper, Steve Smith, Torrey Smith
TE- Jordan Cameron, Delanie Walker
Def- Bengals, Cheifs
Kicker- Greg Zuerlein
So those are all the strategies I have followed this year. I think you can see that no matter what strategy I used, my current teams are a lot different then the ones I drafted. Now I normally don’t have two tight ends on my team, but since some of them are on byes in Week 10, I had to pick some people off of waivers. In my Two Wide Receivers Same Team strategy where I am 7-2, I drafted David Wilson and Montee Ball. People banked on those two guys leading them to fantasy glory, but through trades and waiver wire pickups, I was able to win 7 games to put my team in first place, despite Wilson and Ball and loosing Randall Cobb. I lost Julio Jones for my 6-3 team, but I made moves to give myself a chance to win. Yes, it does help having Adrian Peterson and Reggie Bush on some of my teams, but they are only two players. You are the coach of your fantasy football team and you can’t sit back waiting for things to happen.
I think fantasy football is on course to change in a big way in the next few years with drafting, and I think we are more likely to see wide receiver-wide receiver as the first two picks for people as opposed to the running back-running back strategy we have all been preached to about. Despite loosing my elite wide receivers, it looks like my Two Wide Receivers Same Team Strategy and my Quarterback First Strategy have proven the best. I will break down these rosters at their core and figure out why they performed like they did, but for now I am focused on the playoffs.
C.J.
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