Fantasy Football Kickoff 2023

Another football season is here! While my Cubbies are in the thick of a division race with the Brewers, football is officially beginning. This is just one of the reasons that September is one of my favorite months every year.

The season kicked off last night, but I'm still saying that I'm not late with this post because I didn't have any fantasy players with my main team playing in the game. My annual NFL kickoff post is to present my work league fantasy team.

Without further ado, here are the 2023 Myopic Chihuahuas. All cards shown are cards in my collection.

QB: Lamar Jackson, Baltimore

This was the most I've ever spent on a QB, but since I missed out on some of my top WR targets early in the draft, I had a little extra cash and decided I should target a potentially high-scoring QB. I think Lamar could be huge this year.

 

RB1: Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas

Just a couple of weeks ago, I didn't think I would touch Jacobs with a 10-foot pole. But then he ended his holdout and I think he's ready roll for another big year. He was the lowest of my acceptable RB1 targets, but my competitors priced me out of the top guys I was really targeting. So I picked him and turned my eye to filling out a quality roster at discount prices after everybody else broke their budgets on the studs.

RB2: Dameon Pierce, Houston

This doesn't excite me too much. I haven't seen enough from Pierce yet to fully trust that he will be a big fantasy scorer. But the Texans are kind of void of talent, and with a rookie starting at QB, they have to give the ball to somebody. Hopefully Pierce can pull the volume to make him high-end RB2.

 

 WR1: Garrett Wilson, New York Jets

Wilson looked like a stud last year. This year, he has Aaron Rodgers throwing to him. This is 100% a pick based on a projected breakout. I hope it pays off.

WR2: Amari Cooper, Cleveland

Cooper has been in three uniforms since the one pictured on this card, but I don't own a Browns card of him yet. Rolling with him as my WR1 is scary to me. He has the talent and has produced in the past, but the Browns have a few different weapons and all of them are banking on Deshaun Watson returning to form and looking better than last year. I'm worried about my receiving corps, which feels kind of boom-or-bust, with a fairly high chance for bust.

TE: Darren Waller, New York Giants

Waller has proven in the past that he is effective for quarterbacks who aren't known for big, downfield plays. I'm hoping he's healthy this year and that Daniel Jones will be that QB for him.

FLEX1: Rachaad White, Tampa Bay

Leonard Fournette is gone. Tom Brady is gone. This is another boom/bust player who needs a breakout season.

FLEX2: Christian Watson, Green Bay

Watson showed flashes last year. I think he's ready to be the Packers' WR1. We'll just have to wait and see how well the offense runs with Jordan Love at the helm. You may notice that this is the fourth second-year player in my starting lineup. I actually have four more on my bench. I'm usually not the gambler that relies on lots of young, unproven talent and hopes for an explosion. But you take what the draft gives you, especially in an auction draft. With a 12-team league, I think I got a good collection of talent without overspending on any one player.

DEF: New England

As always, I'll stream defenses. New England gets the first call for me.

Bench:

Brian Robinson, RB, Washington
Jaylen Warren, RB, Pittsburgh
George Pickens, WR, Pittsburgh
Skyy Moore, WR, Kansas City
Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams

 As per usual, Yahoo doesn't love my team.

But FantasyPros does.

Once again this year, my work league is the one that I count. New this year, however, is a TCDB league. This one is a new experience: I've never played with a superflex before; I've never had 14 teams in a league before; and I've never played with any sort of buy-in before. The buy-in is cards and everyone involved is a TCDB user. Here is a quick glance at my roster in this league:

QB: Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia
RB1: Tony Pollard, Dallas
RB2: Dameon Pierce, Houston
WR1: Chris Olave, New Orleans
WR2: Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay
WR3: Jahan Dotson, Washington
TE: Evan Engram, Jacksonville
FLEX: Miles Sanders, Carolina
SUPERFLEX: Daniel Jones, New York Giants
DEF: Denver

I honestly think my TCDB team is a bit better than my other league. Fantasy Pros also likes this draft.

Let the games begin! I'm so glad it's football season again!

Wolverine Pride Fantasy League, Year 5

As always, I have multiple fantasy leagues, but the one league that really counts is our school league that I started five years ago. Entering our fifth year, we have a new defending champ. Actually, we've never had somebody win our league twice. I'm looking to be the first one after having won it in 2019. I had a great shot at it last year, but lost in the first round in the playoffs, despite that week's score being the second-highest point total in the entire league last season. Yes, my opponent happened to put up the highest total against me in the same week. What are the odds?

This year, I'm not as confident in my draft. We had a couple of new players last year who figured things out and drafted much better this year, making our auction a lot more competitive. But that's good; competitive is fun. Here is my roster for 2021.

 

QB: Dak Prescott, Dallas

I wasn't expecting to spend as much as I did on a QB, but when Dak came up on the board, I had him highly rated and an excess of budget. So I took a bigger QB than I intended. If he's fully healthy, I think he'll have a big year.

I don't have a Gibson card. Image from TCDB

 

RB1: Antonio Gibson, Washington

When I do a standard draft, I target RBs in the first round. For an auction draft, I just make a list of top-tier players that I would like and give myself a budget. Typically what happens is the top running backs go for far beyond my budget and I get the top receivers in my budget. It also means I can find ball carriers who are "the guy" in their backfields for a good price because everyone's money is gone. Gibson is the undisputed guy in Washington, so I'll take him as my RB1.

I don't have a Robinson card either. Image from TCDB

RB2: James Robinson, Jacksonville

I found another workhouse back for my team. Neither Robinson nor Gibson are spectacular, but to have two running backs who aren't part of a committee in my fantasy backfield is a win to me. On a card note, I haven't found many cards to buy on the shelves in 2020 and 2021, so I don't a card of either of the second-year RBs on my team.

 

 

WR1: Stefon Diggs, Buffalo

 

Diggs was on my shortlist of top-tier players to target. I got him within budget after all of the other top-tier players had been bid up. Again, the lack of card purchases in the past two years means I don't have a Bills card of him.

 

 

 

WR2: DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona

 

So I'm sitting there bidding on Hopkins, thinking I was only going to bid him up to certain point and let somebody spend their money on him. Suddenly, I have a bid of a mere $20 in and the time is ticking down. With one second on the clock, I'm thinking I just got him for $20?! I'd take that any day. Then somebody bid it up at the last second. In the end, I got Nuk for $24, which is still a major steal to me.

 

 

TE: Rob Gronkowski, Tampa Bay

 

Last year, I wouldn't have touched Gronk. Now that I know he is back in football shape after his retirement, I think he still has major value working with Tom Brady. I'm banking on that at least, as I elected not to spend big money on a tight end.

 

 

FLEX 1: Calvin Ridley, Atlanta

 

I make my list of top-tier and set my budget, hoping to get at least one. Then I get my second-tier list and hope for one or two. I got two of my second-tier receivers this year: Ridley and Hopkins. With Julio Jones gone in Atlanta this year, Calvin Ridley will end as a WR1 this year. And he's my WR3. I'm set at receiver, barring injury.

 

 

FLEX 2: Darrell Henderson, Los Angeles Rams

 

Our league got rid of the kicker position this year in favor of another flex. As commissioner, I just decided that kickers were too unpredictable, so to use a little more fantasy skill and knowledge, we put another flex on the field. Henderson is a borderline RB1 in LA. Many people are worried about Sony Michel taking carries from Henderson, but I think he'll still command the majority of the touches.

 

DEF: Indianapolis . . . 

for now. I will stream defenses through the season.

Bench:

Myles Gaskin, RB, Miami

Phillip Lindsay, RB, Houston

Tony Pollard, RB, Dallas

Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco

Laviska Shenault, WR, Jacksonville

Marquez Callaway, WR, New Orleans

What I really learned from my fantasy draft this year is that I need some 2020-2021 football cards. I don't have last year's rookies and Diggs, Hopkins, and Gronk are on teams that I don't have cardboard representation for.

How do you feel about my team? This is how Fantasy Pros graded it:

Last year, PoinkDaChamp and I were flipped, and Poink won. So maybe I'm just where I need to be.

Yahoo's not quite as bullish on my draft:

 

I want to hear your thoughts in the comments. And how does it stack up against your team? And are you ready for some football?!

A 12-Team Auction Draft Goes Nuts!

I play multiple fantasy football leagues each year. This year I have two public leagues: one that had an auction draft and one that had a snake draft. I just wanted to do both types of drafts. Honestly, draft preparation research and the draft are my favorite parts of fantasy football. This probably stems from my great love of the NFL Draft. Even though I join several leagues, I never count my public leagues as my "league of record." Even if I win a public league, I can't count myself as a champion unless I can win my workplace league. That one is my "real" team every year.

We held our draft on Wednesday. This draft was a fun, unique one because we had never done an auction before, and for the first time we had the majority of the participants together in a classroom. Once again, I learned that you can mock draft all you want, but when you get real people in there with their own strategies, all of your planning and preparation can go out the window. The draft started and suddenly the money was flying around. Patrick Mahomes, whose average salary in Yahoo drafts was somewhere in the low 40s, went for $65. Christian McCaffrey went for $75. Somebody spent $80 on Lamar Jackson! Apparently, our league held quarterbacks at a premium, which doesn't make sense to me because we don't do any special QB scoring or start 2 QBs. But some guys had drafted 3 QBs before I had one. Our principal joined in with an interesting strategy: draft any guy he could find who came from a local university. 

Overall, though, I think my plan held up. I was targeting Davante Adams for up to $60, Kenyan Drake for up to $52, and Miles Sanders for up to $50. While everybody was spending huge chunks of their salary caps for other players, I was able to snag Adams for a discounted price of $47 and I stole Sanders for a measly $21. I missed out on Drake, but made up for it with Julio Jones for only $43 (compared to his average salary of about $49). The only wrench in my plan was that somebody else had the same idea for a late-round pick. Here was my idea: save a little cash and spend my max bid on a Cam Newton flyer late in the draft. The only problem was one other guy had the exact same idea. And he had a higher max bid. He put an opening bid on Cam that was higher than my max, and Newton disappeared from the board right before my eyes. All in all, though, I think I may have the best team in my league because I didn't go crazy when the bids started skyrocketing.

Here is my official 2020 fantasy team:

QB: Josh Allen, Buffalo

Not my first choice of quarterback, but he has more talent around him this year and I think he can still get me some points with his legs.

 

RB1: Miles Sanders, Philadelphia

One of two running backs that I think will get workhorse touches, but weren't going to cost me half my salary caps. I wanted at least Sanders or Drake (but preferably both) going into the draft. I got Sanders to be my RB1.

Photo from TCBD. I don't have a Taylor card yet.

RB2: Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis

I shied away from rookies this year because they've had no live reps to get them ready. I think many will struggle as the year begins. But then again, Clyde Edwards-Helaire stole the show in KC last night, so maybe I'm completely wrong.

WR1: Davante Adams, Green Bay

This wasn't a homer pick for me. I just don't see too many other players receiving targets in Green Bay, so I think Adams will have a monster year. He was the guy I wanted going in, and I got him.

WR2: Julio Jones, Atlanta

He may be getting older, but he is still The Man in Atlanta. I put in a bid on him when I saw that it was still low, and nobody beat me out. I got two bona fide WR1s for this team without sacrificing too much at the RB position. I'm extremely happy.

TE: Hayden Hurst, Atlanta

Two Falcons pass catchers in a row may be an issue, but I think Hurst will soak up the targets Austin Hooper left behind. For a late, low-risk price, I'm banking on a breakout year for Hurst. If it doesn't work out, I'll just stream the scraps of the TE position. As per usual.

Flex: Robert Woods, WR, Los Angeles Rams

I had Robert Woods last year. I spent half the season trying to get rid of him because he couldn't find the end zone. I think he will this year. My top choice for this spot would have been Juju Smith-Schuster, but I was drafting with a Steelers fan.

 

DEF: Philadelphia

For now. I rarely keep defenses for longer than a few weeks. Of the defenses left available to me, I thought the Eagles had the best Week 1 matchup, so here we are.

K: Jason Myers, Seattle

Ditto above.

I couldn't be happier with my starters. But I think my bench is great, too. We added two extra bench slots this year to accommodate any increase of players sitting out with illness this year. Have you heard about this COVID thing, guys?  It sounds like a situation to keep your eye on.

Bench:

Gardner Minshew, QB, Jacksonville

Jordan Howard, RB, Miami

Boston Scott, RB, Philadelphia

Zack Moss, RB, Buffalo

Chase Edmonds, RB, Arizona

Michael Gallup, WR, Dallas

Marvin Jones, WR, Detroit

Robby Anderson, WR, Carolina

What do you think? Are you as confident in my as I am? Do you view my draft as Fantasy Pros sees it?

 Or do you see it a Yahoo does?

That's a pretty big difference in projections. Yahoo doesn't like my draft, but I do.

Fantasy Football Team 2019

NFL football is back tonight!  I can think of no better way to kickoff the season than watching my Packers take on division rivals, the Bears.  With real football always comes fantasy football, and I'm actually in four leagues this year.  I'm in a league at work, one on TCDB, and two Yahoo public leagues that I joined because I wanted to try out auction drafts for the first time.  I only count one as my league of record, however, and that is my work league, of which I am commissioner.  So while I have many fantasy players this year, I present to you the Myopic Chihuahuas of the Wolverine Pride Fantasy Football League.  This league standard, no PPR, by the way.

QB-Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City

I've never taken a QB as early as I did Mahomes this year, but there he was near the top of my board in the 3rd round.  I know my colleagues in this league and they love to start runs on quarterback in Rounds 4-6.  I knew that if I waited, I'd be stuck without a QB that I wanted this year, so I took the plunge.  Here's hoping to another dominant season by Mahomes.

RB1-Joe Mixon, Cincinnati

Mixon worked out well for me last year.  I'm worried about his offensive line this year, but I feel like I could have done worse with a second rounder.

RB2-Chris Carson, Seattle

I think I ended up with Carson in every league this year.  I never targeted him, but he always seemed to be the right value at the right time.  He has less competition in the backfield this year, so unless Rashaad Penny drastically changes everybody's minds, Carson could be a bellcow back in Seattle.

WR1-DeAndre Hopkins, Houston

With the 5th pick in the draft, I went with the first receiver.  With a new offensive tackle to help out Deshaun Watson and Kenny Stills as a new running mate, Nuk may get even more opportunities this year than in the past.

WR2-Brandin Cooks, Los Angeles Rams

Sorry, I don't have any Rams cards of Cooks

Sean McVay hopes Cooks continues to be a deep ball home run threat.  So do I.

WR3-Christian Kirk, Arizona

Kirk was less than impressive in the preseason, which has me a bit worried.  But I'm thinking that Klif Kingsbury's offensive will put up some big passing yards and Kirk has the potential to be the guy that rookie Kyler Murray looks for.

TE-O.J. Howard, Tampa Bay

I've had O.J. Howard on a few teams in the past.  He's a pretty good producer, but I kind of need him to have that breakout year everybody keeps talking about.

FLEX-Mark Ingram, Baltimore

No Ravens card yet

I ended with Mark Ingram on a couple of teams this year.  I like how he ran as a second option in New Orleans.  The Ravens say they'll go with the hot hand in the backfield, but Ingram is a proven commodity and I feel pretty confident he will often be that hand.

K-Wil Lutz, New Orleans

Image from TCDB. I have no Lutz cards and this is the only card with an image in the database.

I mean, here is my kicker to start the season.  Lutz is good, so I may keep him around for awhile, but one kicker is like another in fantasy football.

DEF-Philadelphia

I picked the Eagles because I liked their early season matchups.  By Week 5, I will probably be streaming a different defense weekly, though.  But I like my chances with a defense that has Fletcher Cox up front.

Bench:
Duke Johnson, RB,Houston
Tevin Coleman, RB, San Francisco
Devin Singletary, RB, Buffalo
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Green Bay
Deebo Samuel, San Francisco

I like my guys.  Coleman may be replaced shortly after Sunday; we'll have to see how he performs.  I feel like I've got a good mix of established and proven players and some potential sleepers waiting in the wings.

Now let's play some football!