A Fantastic Return

Well, it has been awhile since I dropped off the radar.  I’m still around, but I haven’t had much opportunity to accumulate more cards, let alone write about them.  We are in the middle of selling and buying a house and moving.  In fact, moving day is tomorrow so I’m still way too busy to be posting this.  But since I’m trying to keep my blog football-centric, it seemed to me that I couldn’t let the opening of the NFL season without trying to get this blog rolling again too.

With the first game of the season come fantasy football drafts.  I have two teams this year, but I always try to keep one team as my “official” team.  The second team is just because I like to try the draft again and try a different track.  But I hold myself to my original thinking for evaluating my fantasy season.

Here is my team for this year:

QB-Blake Bortles

I picked up Bortles in the ninth round, and I’m happy with it.  He’s not the flashiest, sexiest pick at QB, but he was solid last year, and I expect he can improve in Year 3.  Plus, I can’t deny the weapons around him.

RB-Todd Gurley

Here is my first round pick.  I had him higher on my draft board than I actually took him, so I’m happy.  I tried a zero WR strategy because I figured that with the myriad receiving yards and TDs in to be had in the NFL, I’ll take a chance on a bunch of middle tier receivers while I stock up on the few guys who could be workhouse runners.  Gurley will be options 1-3 for the Rams, so I’m expecting a lot of quantity from him.  I hope he can hold up.

RB-Jamaal Charles

Here’s another back that I hope survives.  And it already appears he’s out for Week 1.  But he’s a good bet when healthy, and the ability to insure one injury-prone workhorse with another workhorse is another reason for my zero WR strategy.

WR-Jordy Nelson

Jordy was my first receiver choice, and I broke a little with my strategy, but when one of my favorite Packers is on the board in the 3^rd round, after his ADP, the fan in me won’t let me pass him up.  (Incidentally, the same reasoning explains the presence of Eddie Lacy on my secondary team.)  I hope Jordy hasn’t lost a step, and fantasy is just a small reason for that.

WR-Kelvin Benjamin

My second receiver choice, I hope he picks up where he left off his rookie year and Cam keeps playing lights out with some actual talent around him.

WR-Donte Moncrief

I listened to all the pundits who are predicting a breakout season for Moncrief, and took a shot.  This isn’t a sleeper pick, but I am counting on the prospect of production here.

TE-Jordan Reed

I didn’t plan to take a tight end this early, but I had just taken my 3^rd running back and I liked Reed’s projection compared to his peers compared to taking my pick among similar WRs.  Maybe it was the wrong choice, but I thought that since Reed is projected to be so much more dominant than the other TEs that were left on the board, I’d try to give myself a leg up there.

DEF-New York Jets

Does this pick even matter?  The way I stream defenses, don’t expect this DST to stay on my roster beyond Week 4, at the latest.  But this seemed to be the best team available to start the season.

RB3-Matt Forte

I could list my kicker here (Dan Bailey), but they don’t really make kicker cards very often anymore.  For better or worse.  That could be the topic of future post, now that I think about it.  But I don’t want to write about the kicker on my team.  Instead, I’ll add Matt Forte, since he was my 4^th round pick and is sure to play a big part on my team.  I don’t think he’s lost too much, and I feel sorry for the poor guy because he’s always been so underrated.  For me to show as much love to a Bear as I do tells you how much I really think of him.  Now that he is no longer a Bear, I have no qualms with picking him up in hopes that he becomes a major cog in my machine. 

And my bench:

Gio Bernard

John Brown

Sterling Shepard

Rishard Matthews

Dak Prescott

This is one of my favorite fantasy teams I’ve ever had on Draft Day.  My biggest concern is injuries.  Three of my top starters (Charles, Nelson, and Benjamin) are coming off of season-ending injuries.  But if they make it back, I like the potential.

I’m thinking of creating a fantasy binder that chronicles my fantasy teams—each team gets a page of top contributors.  It would add an interesting dimension to my collection, and I wind up cheering for new guys each year and I get attached to them.  I may not want nine new PCs each year, but sporting a page chronicling some of the new players I find myself rooting for each year could be interesting.