2020 DobberHockey Fantasy Football League Tier I: Season 10

[Axeman33]

Yay for avoiding relegation! It's the small victories at this point.

[hockeyrobot]

Going to need a massive week from someone to upset pmorrow and one of the hottest teams in the league. Six wins to close out the year.

[Pengwin7]

Final Regular Season Standings:

*1 Ebronnie McMurray 9-4-0 1456.26
*2 Got MaHomee's Gurley 9-4-0 1417.54
*3 Extreme Frostbite 8-5-0 1489.70
*4 Don Bosco Eagles 8-5-0 1425.22
*5 Hockeyrobot 8-5-0 1405.00
*6 Mostferatu 8-5-0 1353.76
...
7 Zorro's LongSnappers 8-5-0 1338.84
8 The Frisky Hobbit 7-6-0 1381.38
9 Goon Squad 6-7-0 1398.78
10 Redbulls 6-7-0 1284.26
11 TD's N Beer! 5-8-0 1226.04
12 Tacklin Turtles 5-8-0 1213.74
...
13 My Endless Chubb 4-9-0 1363.68
...
14 Sony Side Up 0-13-0 0.00

Notes:
Looks like 1400pts was the magical number this year. The five teams that scored over that finished top five.
horrorfan sneaks into the 6th spot with an output lower than... Bomm's "My Endless Chubb" - who is relegated.
Congrats to all the playoff teams and all those that avoided relegation.
It was definitely the "tightest top of standings" ever. One win separated 1st (9-4) to 7th (8-5). Crazy.

[Axeman33]

Just for poops and follies, I went back to see my teams history in this league and how I have fared over the years.

2012 - 5th
2013 - 6th
2014 - 12th (avoided relegation)
2015 - 6th (only 12 teams this year)
2016 - 2nd (back to 14 teams)
2017 - 6th
2018 - 12th
2019 - 7th
2020 - 11th

Really been all over the map with little consistency LOL!

[Pengwin7]

^Yeah, I don't think anybody has consistently been bottom, middle, or top.
I know rataylor has had 3 or 4 very good straight years lately though.

[Eskimo Brother]

It's not all in tier one, but I have three straight years of top-3 finishes, and a good shot at a fourth
I chalk that all up to some stupid luck though and I think it's going to run out very soon.

Fun breakdown Peng. I had also noticed the points spread between 6th and 13th. Pretty jarring split of fortunes.

[Pengwin7]

^It's pretty impressive your run this year with selecting Mahomes 1st round.
In past seasons of our league, teams high-selecting a QB (round 1 or 2) usually don't find the RB/WR strength to have a good team.

One thing I learned - from rataylor - a couple years ago was value-selecting a QB about to *pop* in his 2nd or 3rd year.
rataylor did that with Mahomes the season he popped.
I remember when he picked him, I was like "Who is this?" - but I quick got the tactic after that season!!!

I found great value doing that with Lamar Jackson last year (I finished 2nd) and with Kyler this year (1st regular season).
I think one of the hidden strategies in fantasy football IS to get that ONE QB... because holding just one bonafide QB opens roster space for stocking hope&wait&pray young RB/WRs that might rise during season.

[Axeman33]

^It's pretty impressive your run this year with selecting Mahomes 1st round.
In past seasons of our league, teams high-selecting a QB (round 1 or 2) usually don't find the RB/WR strength to have a good team.

One thing I learned - from rataylor - a couple years ago was value-selecting a QB about to *pop* in his 2nd or 3rd year.
rataylor did that with Mahomes the season he popped.
I remember when he picked him, I was like "Who is this?" - but I quick got the tactic after that season!!!

I found great value doing that with Lamar Jackson last year (I finished 2nd) and with Kyler this year (1st regular season).
I think one of the hidden strategies in fantasy football IS to get that ONE QB... because holding just one bonafide QB opens roster space for stocking hope&wait&pray young RB/WRs that might rise during season.

Was not an advantage for me when I took Lamar in the 2nd round. Then again, I wasn't expecting Fournette to be dealt the hand he was given this year either. That certainly set my team back. Same for Ertz.

[Pengwin7]

^Yeah, that Fournette pick killed you.
And Lamar... yeah, that's what I was saying... there's just no value in a 2nd round QB pick that could easily perform like a 4th/5th round pick.
Mahomes is a different beast - he's basically lock points, with a very high "floor"... like drafting Crosby or Pat Kane.

Lamar is more of a Patrick Laine sort of pick. LOL.
Great pick in a mid-round, risky pick in an early round.

[Axeman33]

^Yeah, that Fournette pick killed you.
And Lamar... yeah, that's what I was saying... there's just no value in a 2nd round QB pick that could easily perform like a 4th/5th round pick.
Mahomes is a different beast - he's basically lock points, with a very high "floor"... like drafting Crosby or Pat Kane.

Lamar is more of a Patrick Laine sort of pick. LOL.
Great pick in a mid-round, risky pick in an early round.

I really thought he would take another step forward, instead it was almost like he took a step backwards LOL!

[Pengwin7]

Ha! I don't know if there IS a step forward after a 36 TD/6 INT, MVP Season!
That's usually when all the other teams say "Ooooo... we've got MVP-Lamar on our schedule, let's crunch tape to see how he was so successful".
Even Mahomes took a step back after his s2 50 TD/12 INT season.

Goon Squad took Mahomes (s3) in the 3rd round last year... and finished 11th.

Again - it's why I say I'm surprised that EB pulled off a 2nd place finish with taking Mahomes in the 1st round!
Beasley(FA-add)/C.Davis(FA-add)/Hockenson (who I wanted!)/Rodrigo(FA-add) ended up being some great value.
He basically "won the FA/waiver wire" this season.

[Pengwin7]

My prep consisted of two speed mocks on ffpros.
So... honestly, my research was between 10-15min... with some IN-DRAFT quick internet searches in mid-to-late rounds on "value picks" and "sleepers".
I use that to replicate my draft position (#5) in a league of non-standard size such as ours (14-teams)...
and see what players fall to me.

RB was a lock at #5, I think everybody agrees.
For me, it's Dalvin Cook over Henry in 0.5ppr.
I just have more faith in Cook's floor over Henry... and I'm trying not to get relegated with my minimal effort level here!!!

On the return, I'm not really fond of Chris Carson at #24... but I'm even less fond of what was left on the table: D.Johnson/Fournette/Taylor.
I was prepared for the heart-break of watching exactly the five I was hoping slip... three RBs (A.Jones/Ekeler/Connor) and two TEs (Kittle/Kelce).
Meh, that's fantasy football with keeners... the guys get picked.
As much as it was nice to pick at #5... it felt like the talent drop off was in round 2 from pick #23 to #24 (mine).

I was pretty sure that if I take a RB, there's still a good WR left on the table for my 3rd rounder at #33 - which there was - in Mike Evans.
I don't see a shitload of difference if I would've picked Golladay or A-Rob or Godwin or Thielen... though I did want to own Thielen for a season.


I kind of would've liked Mostert - but he was pegged in that big 18 pick range between my 3rd rounder (33) and my 4th rounder (52).

After having RB-RB-WR... I basically wanted a solid WR/TE/QB to fill the starters.
4th - DeVante Parker (meh, solid)
5th - Kyler Murray (excited at that potential)
6th - Evan Engram (I think there are big things, I reached)

Then solid back-ups
7th - Julius Edelman (He runs easy routes, so whoever is NE QB1 should be able to feather the ball in there)
8th - James White (Doubling down on easy-throw NE targets)
9th - Adrian Peterson... I needed a Week 6 bye RB after having two.

After round 9, I went with high-upside players... not caring if I was reaching:
10th - Jerry Jeudy (WR-DEN)
11th - Alan Lazard (WR-GB)
12th - Gardner Minshew (QB-JAX)
13th - Eric Ebron (TE-PIT)
14th - Jam.Williams (RB-GB)
15th - got internet booted... I think I auto-drafted the PHI-D

I don't have a kicker yet... but I'll pick one up the morning of first Sunday.
One or two or five of my picks will be duds by then!!!
Ebron and Jam probably gonna hit the wire sooner than later!

On review of my write-up... not a bad season (1st: Regular Season) for a guy who spent about 10-15min researching!!!
(Which is why I can bonafide claim that a LOT of fantasy football is *LUCK*)

Missed a week or two from Dalvin.
4-5 weeks from Carson.
Kyler was incredible value - so glad I gut-drafted him in 5th.

My picks from round 7 onwards stunk...
I did see good upside from Lazard - but had to cut him to patch BYE weeks after he got injured.
Jeudy was a tease. Hitting one or two weeks big... but the DEN-QB/O situation is a shit-show.

I patched Ebron in a fewtimes... fantasy gods rewarded him/Murray for the namesake and sexy logo.

Patched several good D-outings in this year.
Struggled with kickers first 8 weeks, but great the past 5 weeks (Fairburn-HOU).

The winning part is FUN.
The agony of defeat that others experience... even MORE FUN.

All that said, I'll probably put up 53pts in my semi-final match-up two weeks from now!!!
LOL.

[Axeman33]

1.3 - Ezekiel Elliott. The easiest choice I had to make at 3rd overall. I actually had them pre-ranked at CMC, Zeke and Barkley so I was more than happy to have Zeke at 3rd overall.

2.26 - Lamar Jackson I said I wanted to stick to my pre-draft rankings as much as possible but would drift up and down a spot or two if it fit my roster better. I was hoping to snag my 2nd RB with this pick and the guy I was looking at as the draft was rolling was Chris Carson. Unfortunately he went two picks before mine. I normally never take a QB this early, but there's so very few guys I consider to be elite (I hate that word) at each position and Lamar definitely fits that, and I love running QBs so I said screw it and took the next guy on my list.

3.31 - Leonard Founette - He was next on my ranking and I won't like and say I am a big Fournette pick, but as I say, he was next and it was nice to get my 2nd starting RB. Is it sad that this early in the draft, no one really excited me to draft?

4.54 - Stefan Diggs - As per Yahoo's draft grades, I was the last GM to draft a WR at this point, which I had no idea of. That played nothing into my choice to draft Diggs. I actually think Buffalo is going to have a solid offense and Diggs will be a huge part of it. I was quite happy to see him at this point. My hope was to get Mark Andrews but again, went two picks before mine.

5.59 - Zack Ertz - After missing out on Andrews, I was happy to see Ertz roll down to me. In my rankings, the first tier of TEs ended with Ertz so his being in my drift range worked good enough for me. I did look at Montgomery and Singletary for a backup RB at this point as well, but both had question marks around them that scared me off.

6.82 - Deebo Samuel - Samuel was next on my rankings and as a Niners fan, I was happy to see him there. He might miss the first week due to foot surgery but he might be back in time too. Either way, I was happy to see Samuel and think once he's back, he can be huge.

7.87 - Brandin Cooks - Wasn't looking for another WR but again, trying to stick to my rankings, there wasn't much around here for RBs without reaching too far. I am hoping Cooks can have a bounceback season after his trade to Houston. Hopkins left a big hole and I am hoping Cooks can fill it.

8.110 - Sony Michel I generally tend to avoid NE RBs because they are always such a damn crapshoot as to whos getting the rock but Michel was next in my queue from my rankings and was there for quite a few picks. I had him pretty much right after Cooks. I assume his injury kept some from taking him prior to this, seeing as he's one of the few incumbent starters still left anywhere in this range. That and he's battling Damien Harris for snaps too maybe. Stand by for more on that.

9.115 - Mike Williams - I actually had Williams down as one of my "sleepers" for this draft and hoped he would slide due to his injury to his shoulder. At this point, I am drafting backups anyway so I can afford to wait on his return. I hope this one pays off later in the season.

10.138 - Mecole Hardman - This was probably the one pick that hurt the most. I was waiting for Zeke's handcuff, Pollard, to drop down to me. I guess I waited one round too long on taking him as he went three picks before me, again to rataylor. Hardman was next up in my queue so I grabbed another backup WR.

11.143- Damien Harris - I figured at this point I might as well grab the NE handcuff to Michel. Both right now are bench guys but both could turn out to be smart picks if both start producing.

12.166 - KC Defense - Only a few rounds left so I snagged my 7th ranked team D. There was a bit of a run on D in this round and didnt want to get left behind so I reached off my draft rankings here but at this point, does it really matter.

13.171 - Robby Anderson - At this point, its just scrubs/WW fodder but Yahoo liked my Anderson pick as my "biggest steal" in my draft recap. We'll see I guess.

14.194 - Zane Gonzalez - I figured I'd do something different and not wait until the last round to get my kicker, so I did it one round earlier.

15.199 - Teddy Bridgewater - Last pick and I wanted to grab a backup QB or TE here just to have for bye week. I didnt see much for TE, or QB for that matter, but I do like Teddy so I said screw it. We'll see if he's even still on my roster come Lamar's bye week but who knows. There wasnt much for either TE or QB left at this point.

I still dont think my draft went badly other than some bad luck. Yahoo was right when they said Robby Anderson was a nice sleeper pick for me. I think he started most weeks for me. Safe to say when you finish as low as I did, most of your players didn't live up to their draft spot and that's easily said for most of my roster.

Zeke went 3rd overall and hes currently the 7th best RB on Yahoo for points. Boo! Lamar is the 10th best QB. Ugh!! Dont even get me started on Fournette or Ertz. Diggs worked out well and so did Anderson (probably my best pick). Both NE RBs were a flop and I should have known this. Never draft NE RBs!! Idiot!!

[Eskimo Brother]

Ha! I don't know if there IS a step forward after a 36 TD/6 INT, MVP Season!
That's usually when all the other teams say "Ooooo... we've got MVP-Lamar on our schedule, let's crunch tape to see how he was so successful".
Even Mahomes took a step back after his s2 50 TD/12 INT season.

Goon Squad took Mahomes (s3) in the 3rd round last year... and finished 11th.

Again - it's why I say I'm surprised that EB pulled off a 2nd place finish with taking Mahomes in the 1st round!
Beasley(FA-add)/C.Davis(FA-add)/Hockenson (who I wanted!)/Rodrigo(FA-add) ended up being some great value.
He basically "won the FA/waiver wire" this season.

Yeah, I didn't see a difference in the RB/WR value from round 1 to round 2, and I wanted to try taking the top QB for once. I think I lucked into it working this time, but I'm not sure I could do it again.

- - - Updated - - -

I also have the most trades in the league if anyone cares

[Eskimo Brother]

Usually my strategy is to get at least 2RBs in the first three rounds, round out with five total RBs and WRs by round 5, then grab a TE and QB in round six and seven. RBs and WRs from there, with team D in about round 12 to get ahead of the curve a little, and then kicker in round 14, again to get ahead of the curve.

I did almost no research for this, and didn't even have a top 10 set for my first pick.

Got MaHomee's Gurley:

1.10 - Mixon was probably the pick here, but I don't trust Cincy and I didn't like his injury history. A first round pick can't lose the year for you, like it did with Bell for me last year. Mahomes won't lose me the year anyways, so that was my logic taking the top QB in my mind, and seeing who slipped to 19.

2.19 - Really wanted a RB here, and Jones was the best available. Debated a TE too but going QB/TE with the first two pick probably would have set me too far back elsewhere.
Doing things again I probably would have grabbed Drake in round one and then one of the QBs in round 2, but I'm curious to see how this all plays out.

3.38 - Basically going to my normal draft strategy with early RBs but a round late. Gurley was the next best option and he was at the top of my list from the start of the round.

4.47 - Needed my first WR and it came down to the Seattle pair. I love Metcalf and he makes some huge plays, but Lockett has similar upside and is a little safer. Metcalf went three picks later.

5.66 - Debated between Swift and Landry, but felt I needed the WR more. Owned Landry last year and he was pretty solid. I like hearing about the rebound year from Mayfield too and that should help the offence.

After round five, between Mahomes, Gurley, Landry, and Lockett, I had some good names to come up with a team name too. Wanted something with my star player Mahomes, and I liked the fit of the sound of Mahomees with Gurley. Couldn't come up with much better than what I have now, but I'll keep thinking on it. Tough to follow up the all timer name from last year.
Updated the name mid-draft too just for some added spice.

6.75 - Dobbins went right before me, so I took the best RB still on the floor in Howard. Hopefully he at least gets some volume in Mia. Didn't know Breida was also there or I may have tried to grab him next.

7.94 - Needed my TE, and I owned Gronk last year. Might as well roll the dice again this year when he's actually playing. Not much to lose at this point in the draft and a lot to gain. Sounds like he's looking good, and still has Brady feeding him the ball.

8.103 - Surprised to see no one jumped on the upside of Hockenson yet, so I took him for a second high-upside TE option. We'll see how that plays out, but I like having options there as TE is always a mess for me.
Breida went three picks later.

9.122 - Sammy Watkins has some nice upside to pair with Mahomes. He'll be hurt at some point, but so is just about everyone else in the NFL.

10.145 - Tevin Coleman was the guy I wanted and he got sniped right before my pick. Decided to get my second QB in Mayfield. Can cover the bye week and means that if Mahomes goes down I have a decent filler. Pairs with Landry too.

11.164 - AJ Dillon was the first of the RB handcuffs I wanted to shore up my top two. Sounds like there were one or two guys also eyeing him soon after.

12.173 - I thought I could wait on Freeman and/Ito Smith, and really I had no idea which would be in line for the workload if Gurley went down, so I decided to get my round 12 defence. They don't have Brady this year on offence to minimize the number of plays against them, but I'm hoping for a little more TD magic from my D.

13.192 - Well, Freeman went, so I grabbed Smith. Also was looking at Zuerlein here but he went the pick before me as well.

14.201 - Got my kicker - Matt Gay. I usually try to go for guys that have more projected 40+ yard FGs, as I find they tend to have bigger games. It's worked surprisingly well for me the last few years.

15.220 - DeSean Jackson. Drafted him late last year and he got 30 points in week 1 before I flipped him for a RB. Why not hope for the same?

All in all, I feel like I'm average across RB, and WR. TE I like the upside, QB I love my duo. DEF and K are crapshoots but I'm comfortable with them.
Yahoo loved my draft and has me with an A- grade, an 11-2 record, and the weakest quality of competition through the season. So that means I'm going to finish last and this will be my last ever year in tier 1. It was nice knowing you guys!

Draft recap:
Rd 1:Well I'm glad I didn't go Mixon or Drake which is who I was considering instead of Mahomes. Ended up with Jones falling to me.
Rd 4:Looks like Metcalfe would have been a better overall pick than Lockett, but Lockett's explosive games won me a couple weeks that I would have otherwise lost.
Rd 7/8: Took my TEs in Gronk and Hock. Ended up dropping Gronk too early, but Hock has been a rock all season.
None of my late round picks panned out.

The WW definitely saved me this year.