Recently, we were invited by the Fantasy Players Network to participate in our first Experts League draft of the year, which is exciting to say the least. On July 14, we put our drafting skills to the test against the best fantasy websites in the industry. We’re in a 12-team league, while ultimately competing against 35 websites overall during the course of the season. Read directly below for more league details if you'd like or skip right to our draft analysis.
What Is It?
The Fantasy Players Network Draft Challenge is the 'Battle Royal' of Expert Leagues. Only teams that are a part of the Fantasy Players Network are eligible. This year we have 36 teams participating. The overall field is divided into 3 separate 'Divisions'. Each division of 12 conducts their own draft. The highest scoring team across the 3 divisions is crowned the Fantasy Players Network Draft Challenge Champion. See all the participants here.
What Is The Format/Scoring System?
The format is a "DraftMasters" (or Best Ball). In this format, your best performing players at each position are automatically used for your lineup, based on that week's results. The leagues are entirely points-based, not head-to-head. Weekly lineups are 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 Flex (RB, WR, TE), 1 K, and 1 DEF.
This draft couldn't go much better for us and we heart our squad. See the full draft results HERE
1.9- Steve Slaton, RB Texans
Kerry: We went into our first pick about 90% sure we were taking Steve Slaton. We were trying to indentify reasons to pick Andre Johnson over Slaton (if they both fell to our draft position), but we believe Slaton has a shot to possibly be the fantasy points leader in ’09.
Slaton added eight pounds of muscle this offseason and has worked on his leg explosiveness in order to become a better short yardage runner. Slaton and Johnson are both very stable because the Texans are a top-flight offense. The downside to both is that they would suffer if Matt Schaub were to get injured. In the end we had the gut feeling about Slaton and it was nice that he fell to us.
2.4- Steve Smith, WR Panthers
Vince: We were targeting a Top-4 WR and expected our fifth-ranked WR, Reggie Wayne, to be worst-case scenario, but all five wideouts got picked right in our face. DeAngelo Williams slipping to the middle of the second round is sick value and was very tempting but the smart PPR play was our next best receiver, Steve Smith. He’s as consistent as it gets and we expect a bump in TDs this year, since it’s probable that Panthers running backs are not going to repeat 30 TDs this year.
I can’t believe Roddy White did not get picked in the second round of an experts draft. Taking Brian Westbrook, Clinton Portis, and Reggie Bush over him is suspect if you ask us.
3.9- Ronnie Brown, RB Dolphins
Kerry: This was another pick where we knew what we wanted and got it. We were going to take Ronnie Brown if he was there, as long as no crazy-insane value fell our way. Our Plan B was Pierre Thomas, who we like nearly as much. So when Pierre went at the top of the third round, it made us a little nervous because Plan C was to take Roy Williams, who we like but it’s a fact that would be overpaying for him in the third. Every selection before our pick that wasn’t Ronnie was a sigh of relief. Luckily, he finally he fell to us.
We felt like billionaires after this pick. He’s a guy that provides small downside risk and first round upside. We also know he can catch the ball and expect his catches to increase.
Ronnie and Brandon Jacobs were the best value of the round while the Terrell Owens pick at 3.7 was the worst.
4.4- Roy Williams, WR Cowboys
Vince: If we didn’t land Brown in the third, we would have strongly considered Williams in that spot because he offers serious WR1 potential, so we were willing to make that calculated reach if it came down to it. Fortunately for us, we landed Brown AND Roy came back to us in round four anyways.
Many fantasy experts don’t believe in Roy and feel that he’s an underachiever, but we see way more positives than negatives here. He’s the No. 1 WR on an explosive offense with a Pro Bowl QB. He’s only 27, his skills haven’t gone anywhere, and he’s working harder than ever to hulk up for his hometown team. We’ll take our chances.
Knowshon Moreno and Darren McFadden selections were bold at 4.1 and 4.2 but I like the guts. We prefer Derrick Ward over those two though. He went mid-fourth.
5.9- Anthony Gonzalez, WR Colts
Kerry: The fifth round is very deep in 12-team drafts. There is an assortment of value but it gets thin at the end of the round. Anthony Gonzalez is someone we talked about loving to have in a PPR draft as a WR3. He is now Peyton Manning’s second target and has a great understanding of the offense, now in his third year with the Colts. Gonzalez surprisingly fell to us along with Tony Romo, whom we also felt was good value as a fifth round selection. We selected A-Gonz over Romo because we knew we would have a great shot to take Donovan McNabb at the top of the sixth.
There were some shocking selections in this round. Cedric Benson, Santana Moss, and Felix Jones all fell off the board. We don’t consider any of these guys fifth-rounders and were glad some of these odd moves allowed us to land Gonzo.
6.4- Tony Romo, QB Cowboys
Vince: Surprisingly, Romo, our fourth-ranked quarterback, was available to us in the sixth round, so it was a no-brainer. Amidst all the hoopla that surrounds Romo, he’s a gamer and a damn good football player. Despite the loss of T.O., he still has plenty of weapons that he is familiar with. Miles Austin has grown another year and is certainly ready to contribute too. Hey you never know, a quieter personal life as a single man might help Romo as well.
This round was full of nice picks, including McNabb, Philip Rivers, Beanie Wells, Santonio Holmes, and Lee Evans to name a few. We wanted to punch holes in the wall when Ray Rice was picked here!
7.9- Devin Hester, WR Bears
Kerry: This was one round we weren’t quite sure who we were taking. In discussions leading up to the draft, one of the first things we agreed on was “Ray Rice in the seventh.” Rice ended up going mid-sixth, causing harsh cussing. We still needed a TE and a flex in our starting lineup. We didn’t feel any of the RBs left were flex caliber. LeSean McCoy and Donald Brown could be huge at the end of the year, but this league format does not have playoffs. We love the TE depth this year so we decided to pass on the last set of TE1’s (Owen Daniels, Greg Olsen, and Chris Cooley).
Our pick was Devin Hester because we strongly believe in his ability as a WR not to mention Cutler can get him the ball deep. He wasn’t the safest WR to take here, but you can’t win a league with 36 teams without a taking couple calculated risks.
8.4- Matt Schaub, QB Texans
Vince: Sky’s the limit for Schaub and the explosive Texans offense this year. We loved him heading into last season and we feel the same way this year. He has no business lasting until the eighth round, so we couldn’t pass him up as our QB2. Now we have two quarterbacks with 4000-yard potential, seemingly guaranteeing a nice optimal QB performance weekly, as long as they both are healthy.
Olsen, Daniels, and Cooley are appropriate tight end options this round. You can most likely land Cooley later in regular drafts though, after scoring only one TD last year. He’s a sure bounce-back this year. If you don’t have a tight end after these three are picked, it’s best to wait until the 10th or later for some nice value TEs i.e. Celek, Dustin Keller, Zach Miller, etc.
9.9- Ahmad Bradshaw, RB Giants
Kerry: Selecting Ahmad Bradshaw here is a bet that he will assume the role Derrick Ward had last year. To add on to that, there is a good chance that Jacobs will be injured for 3-5 games. Now that Jacobs has signed his big deal, will he play through the pain? Don’t underestimate Bradshaw’s playmaking ability.
10.4- Jerious Norwood , RB Atlanta
Vince: Jerious Norwood’s ADP is currently 11.9, but we made a play on him in the 10th, given Michael Turner’s probable regression and/or injury, plus Norwood’s weekly boom-or-bust style is perfect for this optimal scoring format. He’ll likely play himself into our starting lineup a bunch of weeks. Plus, the rumor is that Atlanta wants to expand his role to lessen Turner’s load. I remember this pick felt good (like most).
I like that Mark Clayton pick this round, fresh after Derrick Mason’s retirement.
11.9- Brent Celek, TE Eagles
Kerry: We waited on a TE because we knew we could get a guy like Celek in the 11th. Celek is in a much diversified offense and late last season he proved that he can be a heavily targeted pass-catcher in the Eagles attack. His playoff average last year (3 games) was 6.3 receptions, 50 yards, and a TD.
12.4- Dominik Hixon, WR Giants
Vince: Until further notice, Hixon is the best Giants wideout to own in fantasy. Steve Smith is not far behind as a potential reception hulk, but Hixon can give you more bang for your buck overall, including TDs. Smith is a fixture in the offense, so it’s up to Hixon to hold off highly touted rookie, Hakeem Nicks. We were happy to land Hix, because we nearly picked him in the 11th. He’s currently entrenched as a starter and teammate Mathias Kiwanuka predicts a “breakout”. He also says Hixon is one of the fastest players he’s ever seen. Interestingly, Nicks was selected two picks after Hixon.
13.9 San Diego Chargers DEF/ST
Kerry: We were actually targeting the Chargers in the 13th so this pick was a piece of cake. Shawne Merriman is coming back and Antonio Cromartie will be healthy. This could completely turn things around and should make them a Top-5 fantasy defense. Football Outsiders KUBIAK system projects them to be the No. 2 fantasy defense. We were already on the SD trail but that info from the Outsiders seals the package.
14.4- Jamaal Charles, RB Chiefs
Vince: With uncertainty surrounding Larry Johnson’s future and role in KC under the new regime, we’re diggin’ Charles in Charge as a nice late round pick. He’s one of the fastest players in the league and can make a Norwood-like impact as L.J.’s backup with potential for more if given an expanded role. Word is that Charles is a better fit than L.J. in Todd Haley’s spread out scheme. Charles and Michael Bush were the best picks this round. We were debating which one to pick, until our decision became easier when Bush was selected a couple spots ahead of us.
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