NFLUK Fantasy League

If you’ve followed my twitter feed you will have seen my NFLUK Fantasy League fantasy draft and the occasional pick explanation. Now I have a whole team I can give a little insight and analysis into my team.

It’s a 20 team game with effectively standard scoring but with a few quirks. 20 team leagues really do make having a deep squad really difficult. Teams I’ve picked up over the years have had the likes of Bruce Ellington on the bench and Sanu as the WR1… 

Getting to draft from scratch and against other UK fantasy pundits too was both a thrill and a huge honor and I'm grateful to be involved and hope I can develop more both on this blog and in tandem with the other great content producers here in the UK. 

Anyway, this is the team I ended up with and how I ended up with it.

NFLUK		The Fantasy Thinker	Bye
QB		J.Goff (LAR)	x12
RB		E.Elliott (DAL)	x8
RB/WR		N.Agholor (PHI)	x9
WR		A.Thielin (MIN)	x10
WR		L.Fitzgerald (ARI)	x9
TE		D.Walker (TEN)	x8
K		D.Carlson (MIN)	x10
DST		Broncos (DEN)	x10
BN		J.Flacco (BAL)	x10
BN		J.Rosen (ARI)	x9
BN		C.Clement (PHI)	x9
BN		J.Wilkins (IND)	x9
BN		K.White (CHI)	x5
BN		JJ.Nelson (ARI)	x9
BN		A.Seferian-Jenkins (JAX)	x9

Pick 1.1 – Ezekiel Elliott, DAL

The pressure of having the first overall pick in a redraft is quite high but it’s hard to make a bad decision. I ruled out Le’Veon Bell since as a Steelers fan I feared what might be coming. I’m not a full Todd Gurley believer since they really bulked up their receiving options so it came to Zeke vs DJ since my 2^nd pick wouldn’t be until another 39 names were off the board and getting a playable RB1 after then isn’t straightforward. I opted for Zeke purely because the Dallas passing game doesn’t look like it’s up to much so I can see then feeding Zeke pretty much everything. The Cardinals still have Fitz although that won’t stop DJ going for the 1000 + 1000. In hindsight losing their starting centre Travis Fredericks makes me think I should have gone for DJ instead of Zeke but only time will tell if I got this right.

Pick 2.20 – Adam Thielin, MIN

I got hooked on a Thielin here. The Minnesota man has been in my higher tiers all off season despite his injuries after an impressive season in 2017 and when he fell to pick 40 I knew that was a value not to miss. Diggs, Rudolph and Thielin should all see plenty of the ball from Kirk Cousins and I can easily see them all being elite options. The injury risk must have been the reason for the fall, but even if he starts a little slow, Thielin will be a great play most weeks.

Pick 3.1 – Larry Fitzgerald, ARI

The walking advert for the fountain of youth never seems to fade into irrelevancy. Early in the off-season he wasn’t being drafted as most felt he’d retire, but right now he’s still thinking about another year after this one. With a limited number of options for Sam Bradford and Josh Rosen also waiting in the wings I can see Fitz surpassing 100 yards again and being the high scorer he’s been for so many years.

Pick 4.20 – Delanie Walker, TEN

After seeing another 39 people come off the board there was a run on tight end and there was only one left who I felt to be a weekly starting elite. In a 20 team league it’s very hard to stream positions so Walker, being the best man available became a part of the team. Corey Davis, Rishard Matthews and a mix at WR3 will arguable be the best receiving corps Mariota has had in a while, but Walker is often a favoured target and usually a safe play.

Pick 5.1 – Nelson Agholor, PHI

One of my “My Guys” this season. I’ve said in many places that Agholor will finish the season above Alshon Jeffrey as the top WR for the Eagles and I’ve been drafting him as such. He has a great chemistry with Wentz and didn’t drop off much with Foles and he just has that look of a guy who could pull off anything at any time. He’s dynamic and going to see a lot of volume in a team with a good defence. These are all reasons why I want him on my team.

Pick 6.20 – Jared Goff, LAR

6 rounds in it was time to get my QB and with most top options gone it was time to pick another person I’m high on which many will not agree with. The Rams have Brandin Cooks, Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, Todd Gurley and Gerald Everett to throw the ball to and the one constant in all of that will be the guy throwing the ball. They should have their offence on the field a lot and with so many mouths to feed he’s got a lot of work to do. When you don’t know which WR to draft, you might want to look at getting the QB.

Pick 7.1 – Jordan Wilkins, IND

At this stage it was time to fill the bench with a few small gambles. Jordan Wilkins has he first crack at winning the Colts starting RB job. Mack is still injured, Hines is out of favour and Christine Michael is still not wide awake. It may take a few weeks but the role, volume and opportunity are there for him to end up being a very valuable piece and I’m willing in these deep leagues to be patient.

Pick 8.20 – Broncos DST, DEN

With an elite DST still on the board I decided to jump early rather than wait even though waiting on the Bears as I had planned in hindsight looks a good option. The Broncos have strengthened and have recently been a defensively strong team.  In theory it may have been wise to wait but a run on defences may have left me stuck has I waited the 39 picks and a weaker weekly starter. With 20 teams the streaming options won’t be the prettiest.

Pick 9.1 – Corey Clement, PHI

I’ve been high on him all off season purely because someone has to step up when Ajayi has his bad weeks. Ajayi is a beast when he’s on it, but on other days who else do the Eagles have to take the load now Blount has gone? Clement impressed me last year and looks a red zone and pass catching threat. Getting a guy who I can see being a good flex or bye week option in the 9^th round in a 20 team league (Pick 161) I had to jump.

Pick 10.20 – Austin Seferian-Jenkins, JAX

It turned out that the Bears would last until round 14 so my early call on Denver didn’t look so clever and in hindsight Keelan Cole should have been the pick but still, it’s not terminal. Instead I went for a different Jacksonville receiver, this time Tight End ASJ. With Marquise Lee down there is one less mouth to feed and ASJ could be a decent option. With very few decent RBs or WRs left on the board, going for what I felt to be the best TE keeps the squad competitive and with Walker not always being healthy, it allows that to not ruin the team.

Pick 11.1 – Joe Flacco, BAL

This is where being in deeper leagues hurts. The only starting QB remaining was Flacco and despite my massive hatred for the guy, I had to take him. If I didn’t week 11 when Goff was on bye would be a punt. If most teams pickup a 2^nd QB you have to follow. I hated the pick but I would have hated punting week 11 more.

Pick 12.10 – Josh Rosen, ARI

As it turned out, Josh Rosen was not taken by the Birdgang and I had the choice to take him. Sam Bradford has a well documented injury history so Rosen should get his shot this season and it may well be before week 11 comes. It allows Flacco to be a trade chip when teams need a bye week QB and I should be able to use Rosen later on. If not then I have Flacco. It’s covering off a risk and opening up an opportunity. With such little at RB and WR it felt the best use of a bench spot.

Pick 13.1 – JJ Nelson, ARI

At this stage I was hunting for WR2s on teams and after his early form last season I felt JJ Nelson was an option. I was hoping Ryan Grant would fall to me but when that failed I have to take a guess at the Arizona WR2. They have 3 options in Nelson, Kirk and Williams and it looks like it’ll be a rotation and with Williams on the waiver wire I’ll have a ticket for that lottery.

Pick 14.10 – Kevin White, CHI

This was a different type of gamble, but with the limited options, it’s more finding anyone who could be relevant. White has returned from injury and had an impressive off season and may just get a shot to be what everyone hoped he might be when he was drafted 7^th overall in 2015. While he’s got fitness and a place on the team he’s worth a flier. After Allen Robinson the Bears only really have rookie Anthony Miller and Gadget guy Taylor Gabriel. White may end up an effective WR2 for that team, especially if his pre-season form translates into the regular season.

Pick 15.1 - Daniel Carlson, MIN

And finally, I had to pick a kicker and of the options left I thought I’d take a punt on Daniel Carlson. Rookie kickers (not names Aguayo) seem to do pretty well and the Vikings should be offensively strong so it was one of those “why not him” moments. I mean, if a team can drop Kai Forbath who really helped me out last year, then he must be good, right?

So that’s my team. With 20 team leagues they’ll always look difficult but compared to the other 16, 20 and 24 teams I have on fleaflicker this seems much deeper and has a better type of risk. There may be work to do and holding 3QBs goes against the grain but is more of a longer term thought. It’s going to be a full league to interact with and I’ll probably provide a few updates through the year.