2023 DobberHockey Fantasy Football League Tier I: Season 13

[Eskimo Brother]

I usually like to get at least one RB early, focus on them, then WRs, then TE/QB. Didn't do a ton of prep though so I was just going to see who fell and go with the flow of the draft.

The Lockett (M)Akers (Not sure if I eventually come up with a better team name, but that's what I have for now):

1. (11) Stefan Diggs (BUF - WR) - Wanted an RB, but none of the first rounders were left. Figured I would take Diggs and let an RB be decided for me with my second pick.
2. (18) Derrick Henry (TEN - RB) - Top RB left on the board. Not overthinking it.
3. (39) Lamar Jackson (BAL - QB) - The top QB left on the board, and there weren't any WRs or RBs really sticking out. The top two TEs were off the board so I was going to wait there.
4. (46) Cam Akers (LAR - RB) - One of the few guys with reasonable RB1 upside left, so I decided to grab my second RB and then wait on WR to see who was left for my next pick.
5. (67) Tyler Lockett (SEA - WR) - Knocked down draft lists because of his age, I think the floor is still decently high, so may not have the huge upside anymore, but decent as a WR2.
6. (74) Isaiah Pacheco (KC - RB) - Right now the top RB in KC, who may be playing from ahead a lot. Best upside of the remaining RBs, and I wanted a few extras, especially getting one to fill my flex spot first.
7. (95) Michael Pittman Jr. (Ind - WR) - Was hoping to get my TE here, but apparently I wasn't the only one. The last three TEs I wanted here went right before me, so I took a WR instead to continue the balance on my bench.
8. (102) De'Von Achane (Mia - RB) - I thought I had a bigger gap between picks here, and that it wasn't at the shorter turn, and I timed out. At least I got an upside guy from my queue, but a couple rounds earlier than I might have reached for him. At this point in the draft though, not a huge loss other than missing Penny or OBJ who I would have picked instead.
9. (123) Clyde Edwards-Helaire (KC - RB) Not sure there's room for multiple fantasy relevant RBs in KC, but I'm hoping to have the main one. Spending 6th and 9th round picks for it doesn't feel too expensive.
10. (130) Michael Mayer (LV - TE) - Who knows, throwing darts at the TE spot with a rookie.
11. (151) Rashee Rice (KC - WR) - Needed another WR, and thought another dart throw at a rookie might be fun.
12. (158) Kansas City (KC- DEF) - Fourth Chiefs share. Figured they would be a decent defence having a solid floor with sacks, and likely playing with the lead a lot.
13. (179) Chuba Hubbard (CAR - RB) - RB with an injury risk in front of him.
14. (186) Graham Gano (NYG - K) - One of last season's biggest upside kickers (that I managed to grab off waivers when he was on bye), and hopefully with a slightly better offence around him too.
15. (207) Tyler Conklin (NYJ - TE) - Drafting the Oilers' old goalie will give me some depth at a very volatile position.


Not exactly happy, but at least content right now with my QB/WR/RBs. TE will be a struggle, but then again it is for most teams. I have some upside at DEF and K, which will hopefully play out well, but if not I can pivot. Hoping to finish in the top-half with some luck, but I definitely don't think I'm going to be winning many blowouts.

[hockeyrobot]

1.4 - Travis Kelce
Well as I said, when I was given 4th I knew I was going Kelce if he was there. I've always waited on a TE in this league but it felt GREAT to get it out of the way with the future HOFer.

2.25 - Josh Allen
I also always wait on QB here. Last year I ended up with Cousins and his 15-22 pts just wasn't cutting it. Hurts and Mahomes went and I thought for sure someone after me would have taken Allen. I saw a lot of options I liked for my next pick.

3.32 - Chris Olave
Year 2 breakout baby. Carr is a major upgrade over Winston/Dalton. He does have Thomas to contend with but I don't see him staying healthy.
4.53 - Christian Watson
Could have went RB here but I liked the upside and kind of had Conner teed up for my next pick.

5.60 - James Conner
When he's healthy, he's a workhorse for this team. Could have went Taylor but didn't want to take that risk.

6.81 - David Montgomery
I thought Kamara was coming back to me for sure. I knew I could have survived 3 weeks at RB waiting for him so I was pretty disappointed he was gone. Then Swift went as well. Ugh. Hoping for the Jaamaal role for Monty.

7.88 - Khalil Herbert
Wanted Dotson here. Damn. Herbert was the best player on my board. Not bad for a flex in a 14 team league. I know Fields set records last year, but they still utilized their RBs.

8.109 - SF Baby
Shocked myself here. I'll probably regret it given some of the talent available, but it's just another piece that I don't have to worry about replacing every week.

9.116 - Michael Thomas
I also didn't expect JSN and Burks to go right after. Hoping the upside is still there.

10.137 - Nico Collins
Surprised he last to me here. I was happy to see some piss poor TEs go in these rounds.

11.144 - Jeff Wilson Jr
Gaskin cut from the Dolphins. JWJ won me some weeks last year. Easy pick up.

12.165 - Daniel Carlson
Had Miller lined up but made the call once I started to see some Kickers go. He can boot it so I like that advantage.

13.172 - DJ Chark
WR1 on Carolina?

14.193 - Sam Howell
Wish I went Kyler here. Oh well. Im sure he'll be a drop.

15.200 - Jake Ferguson
Likely drop. But hey maybe someone gives me a depth RB for him in 2 weeks.

[Axeman33]

1.9 - Nick Chubb - I was looking at one of Bijan Robinson, Saquan Barkley or Nick Chubb here. Considering the other two went just before my pick, that made this choice easier. I considered Cooper Kupp here as well, who went right after my pick, but I try to avoid a WR in the 1st round unless it's Jefferson.

2.20 - Garrett Wilson - I was really hoping for Henry to fall to me in the 2nd round but when that didnt happen, I didnt really like the other RBs in this area so I went with my BPA and that was Wilson.

3.37 - Breece Hall - Again, I got sniped on my target just before my pick when Stevenson went a couple before my pick. It was down to Hall or JK Robbins (who coincidentally went right after this pick) for me. I prefer Hall, who I know has some competition but to me he's still a legit starter on what should be a very good offense this year.

4.48 - Joe Burrows - I figured the QB run would start soon and I wanted one of the better ones so I grabbed JB while he was sitting there.

5.65 - Darren Waller - IF he can stay healthy, he could be money for me here. He's already fitting in well in his new offensive system. Health, as always, is the concern.

6.76 - Mike Williams - See Darren Waller as far as the health concerns. I think Herbert is going to take a big step this year with his new offensive coordinator and Williams could be a big benefactor of that.

7.93 - George Pickens - I considered AJ Dillon here but felt Pickens upside was just too high pass up. I am at that stage in the draft when I am looking for upside and breakout status. Pickens could be that guy this year.

8.104 - Tank Bigsby - We are into that bench player area/bye week guys and looking for upside still. I was going to snag Achane but as usual, he went a couple picks before mine came up so I went with the next guy I like a lot for potential to have a big rookie season. FWIW, this is the one pick in my Yahoo grade that Yahoo didn't like at this point in the draft LOL! We'll see.

9.121 - JuJu Smith-Schuster - Has the potential to be a big steal at this point in the draft if they can get him the ball.

10.132 - Dalton Schultz - At this point, I am looking for insurance for Waller if he goes down. Schultz could be a nice security blanket for Stroud, especially in the red zone.

11.149 - Tyler Boyd - Looking for a bit of a match with Burrows. Boyd's a 3rd option in that offense but he's still money for 750-800 yds and 5TDs. Good insurance at this point in the draft.

12.160 - Roschon Johnson - Honestly, at this point in the draft, I am just looking for depth and potential for a surprise. I dont know what will happen with the Bears backfield this year but the research I did had Johnson as RB2 on the depth chart there over Foreman. At this point, it may work out.

13.177 - Miami D - Grabbed the best available D to work on completing the starting roster.

14.188 - Jake Elliot K - See 13.177

15.205 - Jordan Love - Figured I'd grab a backup QB for insurance purposes, and to me he was the best available, but wont surprise me if this turns into a streaming spot for me.

Surprsingly got an A+ from Yahoo grades for this draft. I cant say I was happy with all my picks. There was lots of times I had my eyes on guys I really wanted, only to see the gone a pick or two before it got to me. Probably happened to most of us in this draft a few times. Time will tell how this roster works out. Fantasy football is such a gong show from week to week. I draft not to get relegated as much as to win.

[rataylor22]

1.01 - Justin Jefferson - Seriously debated CMC here but stuck with the unanimous 1.01 in pretty much any format

2.14, 3.01 - Mark Andrews, Jahmyr Gibbs - Was between 4 of Tee Higgins, the two I picked, and Calvin Ridley. Ultimately, the positional advantage Andrews gives was too much to pass up, and starting out with 1WR, 1RB, and a onesie position felt good. In hindsight with how the rest of the draft went, wish I would have gone Lamar over Gibbs here.

4.14, 5.01 - Alexander Mattison, Drake London - Was hoping a Fields/DJ Moore stack was going to fall to me here but no dice. Then was planning a Herbert/Williams stack and Herbert went too. Mattison has the profile of guys that were gone by round 3 but doesn't get that credit because people don't think he was talented. Easy choice for me with what was on the board. I didn't love the London pick, but again just felt he was the clear best option on the board, especially with McLaurin's toe injury. I don't love drafting players who already have injuries that could linger all season especially in the early rounds.

6.14, 7.01 - Jahan Dotson, Deshaun Watson - I knew I had to take a QB here so Richardson was the play. Unfortunately he went 4 picks before me. I absolutely hate having the r****t on my team but he was the clear top choice at QB left. Jahan Dotson has been a stud all preseason and has clear chemistry with Sam Howell, and might have a locked in WR1 role with McLaurin having an (albeit minor) injury

8.14, 9.01 - Zay Flowers, Treylon Burks - With how the board fell, this was always going to be 2WR picks. I think Flowers is going to be the WR1 in Baltimore with a new pass happy offense and an up tempo scheme, and Burks looks ready to break out. I'm not worried about Hopkins here. Other considerations were JSN, who went two picks before me and Quentin Johnston, who went one pick after. I considered Daniel Jones here but decided not to go 2QBs.

10.14, 11.01 - Kenneth Gainwell, Tyjae Spears - I think Gainwell has stand alone value every week, and has a pretty big upside case especially with Swift and Penny's injury history's as well as the trust of the coaches and organization. Spears showed in preseason he has the juice and Henry has a ton of carries on his body.

12.14, 13.01 - Harrison Butker, NE Def - I usually leave K and DST to my last two picks but decided to jump the gun and not have bottom of the barrel options left. Love having a piece of the KC offense and Reid is historically pretty conservative with kicking FGs, and NE was simply my top rated DST based on the rankings I use. Probably will have to find a different option for week 1.

14.14, 15.01 - Evan Hull, Luke Musgrave - Just dart throws. Hull could be the starting RB for Indy or they could sign someone, Musgrave has had great camp reports but we'll see. Both could end up dropped before week 1.

Invested heavily in second year WR breakouts, overall pretty happy with the draft outside of QB. That also terrifies me, as QB completely sunk my season last year (6 different weeks with a QB score of less than 8), so I hope I'm not chasing that all year again.

[hockeyrobot]

JWJ to IR. Well that frigging sucks.

[Pengwin7]

JWJ to IR. Well that frigging sucks.

Does it?
He was definitely/obviously injured (from what I've read).
I had him on my "paper" as a 153-ish draft pick with IR potential.

I think we have an IR position - seems like a good use of it.
Hopefully he recovers and is fantasy playoff eligible.

[hockeyrobot]

I don't think IR was expected here though.

And yes when you start a draft with QB and TE....I need all the depth I can get. JWJ was pretty great after he was traded to Miami last year.

[Eskimo Brother]

I have some extra RBs and need a TE. Maybe we can find a flip

[hockeyrobot]

I have some extra RBs and need a TE. Maybe we can find a flip

HA you wish. Im happy with the 40 point minimum I should get from QB and TE every week. Just has to stay healthy.

[hockeyrobot]

Yuckkkkk Yahoo changed their Desktop view to be lighter vs dark. I do not like it.

[Eskimo Brother]

Yeah it just looks like a giant table on Microsoft word

[pmorrow]

And the drop down menu in the top left to go to your leagues or your team...now only links to your team page. FOOLS!

[The Comish]

When I learned that I would draft in the 14 slot, I was only mildly disappointed. I naively thought that I had an outside shot at taking Travis Kelce…lol! Yeah, that hope was dashed quite early with the top TE coming off the board with the fourth pick. I won last year in part due to drafting and then trading away Kelce when I ran into some RB issues. I had no real strategy picking this late and waited to see what dropped to me at the turn.

1.14/2.1 - I ended up taking the best remaining (on my list anyway) WR-CeeDee Lamb DAL and RB-Josh Jacobs LV

3.14/4.1 – Really was hoping for a TE (Mark Andrews or T.J. Hockenson)/RB (Breece Hall/Ken Walker) turn, but had to settle for WR-Amari Cooper DAL and RB-Dameon Pierce HOU. In hindsight, probably should have ranked WR-Keenan Allen LAC ahead of Cooper

5.14/6.1 – There was a mini-run of 4 TE’s in the fifth round, which left only Freiermuth (meh, too early for me) from the group that I had hoped to get my starter from, but decided to fill out my Flex (WR/RB/TE) spot with RB-Miles Sanders CAR and then went uncharacteristically early on a QB as only DeShaun Watson and Dak Prescott remained from my desired starter cut off. Went with QB-Dak Prescott DAL thinking he is in a better position to succeed

7.14/8.1 – Would have liked Freiermuth to drop to these picks, but that was unlikely – he and two other TE’s came off the board before my picks. Really wanted WR-George Pickens PIT, but he went five picks earlier. Took the best players available from my list, WR-Brandin Cooks DAL and RB Jamaal Williams NO, thinking at least Williams will get three games as the number one before Kamara comes back. Hindsight again, I hope I don’t regret taking Cooks over WR-Treylon Burks TEN, whom I had ranked higher. If Burks had a different bye week than Cooks, I would have taken him. Hope that doesn’t bite me in the butt

9.14/10.1 – Went with the best player from my list, WR-Kadarius Toney KC, hoping that he can show some of that upside on a new team. Wanted one of the top four fantasy Defences and with SF and BUF already off the board, I took Dallas. This might be the earliest I’ve ever taken a team defence

11.14/12.1 – Wanted to take Chigoziem Okonkwo for my vacant starting TE spot, but he went six picks earlier. Decided to go for QB-Jared Goff DET to back up the sometimes injured Prescott and TE-Greg Dulcich DEN. Underwhelming, I know

13.14/14.1 – Probably should have taken my starting kicker with one of my previous picks as all of the ones I wanted were taken. Lesson learned – when you pick at the corners, you either go get what you want, sometimes earlier than you want or you go home. Sadly, I was a home body in this draft and got sniped several times. Took a depth WR-Zay Jones JAX and K-Brandon McManus JAX

15.12 – Very disappointed with my TE situation, so I took a back up for my squad with TE-Dawson Knox BUF

Overall, I’m okay with my team. I cursed rataylor and Axeman the most for taking players I hoped would fall to me. I have too many starters from the Cowboys and I will be easy pickings in Week 7, when I have five starters on bye weeks. Here’s hoping that Dallas has a stellar season!

[Kofax]

Drafting second, there were pros and cons; great high end talent choice at the top, long wait for the second pick. I did a number of mocks, and liked how they turned out far better then our actual draft. I knew from experience that the draft ends up being much more difficult and way more in line with my actual rankings, so I didn't get my hopes up regardless.

1.2 - Christina McCaffrey (SF-RB) was an easy choice for me and probably would have taken him 1st overall. I find throughout the season I have a harder time finding RB fill ins then WR. WRs seem to be more abundant and more easily obtained, while it seems every year almost all of the starting/timeshare/handcuff RBs are taken during the draft and finding one on the waiver wire is next to impossible. I owned McCaffrey in 2019 where he carried my team to an 8-5 record that lost in the quarters and again in 2020, where he was injured most of the year and I struggled to avoid relegation finishing at 5-8. Honestly, that season was almost more exciting as I was fighting for a place in the league. He's a great talent when he's on the field and SF has a strong team so hoping for big things this season.

2.13 / 3.2 - Here I would be targeting a second RB, WR or premier QB. I didn't have much of a choice as both Hurts and Mahomes were gone. I did consider Andrews here, but preferred the Tee Higgins (CIN-WR) / Rachaad White (TB-RB) combo. Andrews went right after my Higgins pick. I regularly ended up with Mixon at this spot in my mocks so was somewhat hopeful, but knew it was a pipe dream. Bit of a reach on White compared to the Yahoo rankings, but he was high on my list with a clear path to a 3-down role on TB, albeit a weak offensive team.

4.13 / 5.2 - This was typically where I was taking my QB in the mocks, generally with another WR. Hurts was a breakout target for me last year who I ended up taking at the end of the 3rd round, which paid off. Similarly, Fields was the target this year at the end of 4, however I'm less confident in his breakout given what I've read. The choice was made for me as he went 4 picks ahead of me, followed by my next choice in Herbert who went right before me. All of the WRs I liked at this spot had been taken as well, so I was in scramble mode. Trevor Lawrence (JAX-QB) was rated higher on my list than Herbert, but I have less confidence in him. I might have taken Ridley over Higgins at the 2nd/3rd turn had a I known I'd end up with him. I didn't like the WR options remaining so pivoted a bit a took a chance on George Kittle (SF-TE) with my next pick. If he can stay healthy he should be a solid option in that offense.

6.13 / 7.2 - I needed to add additional WRs here. Choice was between Brandon Aiyuk, Mike Williams, Skyy Moore (KC-WR) and Gabe Davis (BUF-WR). Aiyuk and Williams were taken ahead of me so the choice was easy. Happy to get a share of the KC and BUF offenses. Hoping Moore can do what Ja'Marr Chase did for me in 2021 when he was a big part of my 1st Championship in this league. Hoping Davis can build on his development as a bit of a post-hype sleeper.

8.13 / 9.2 - Time to start filling the depth with high upside rookie WRs and backup/handcuff RBs. Was hoping to get one of Charbonnet, Dillon, Achane or Bigsby here but all went ahead of me. Had me scrambling a bit and went with Samaje Perine (DEN-RB). No idea if this pick will be useful. Next target was Quentin Johnston (LAC-WR) who I was happy to get. Third string in a high octane offense with a number of injury prone receivers in front of him.

10.13 / 11.2 - Wasn't loving what was remaining so took a chance on Deuce Vaughn (DAL-RB) in the off chance Pollard goes out. Not a lot of upside, but a solid role if there's an injury. Bryce Young (CAR-QB) was my next pick due to my lack of confidence in Lawrence. However, the more I read on Young and Carolina the more I am discouraged with this pick. Probably should have taken someone with a bit more of a floor.

12.13 / 13.2 - More depth and lottery tickets here. Ty Chandler (MIN-RB) backing up Mattison and Sean Tucker (TB-RB) backing up my own Rachaad White.

14.13 / 15.2 - Kicker and Defense time. Will Lutz (DEN-K) and Green Bay (GB-DEF) purely for the week 1 matchups. Hoping it works out.

I didn't love my draft as everyone in this league has a pretty solid idea of what they're trying to accomplish. I don't think I've ever come out of a draft feeling like I've had a championship team in this league, which is a good thing for the competition. Yahoo! gave me a rank of D, which is encouraging as I tend to perform better with poorer ranks from them. Hoping for a relatively healthy season that keeps me away from the stress of relegation as well as for some luck that elevates me to competing for another championship. Challenging draft as always and am looking forward to the season!

[Pengwin7]

Knock on wood... but...

My team (O-Bijan Kenobi) is 4-1 out of the gates.
I've only had one injury of significance so far... gotten just 3 healthy quarters from Aaron Jones (round 3 picks, ~ 32 overall) in game1.
Fortunately, Gus Edwards as the Dobbins-IR-patch has given me a suitable RB2.
Four darts at veteran WRs... and one has HIT: Adam Thielen is back to glory for the Carolina Panthers!!!
(Gives me 4 WR options with DJ Moore rd2, Chris Godwin rd4, and Christian Kirk!)

I'm curious to see how far into season I can get without an "add".
Looks like possibly to week 9/10/11 when I'm forced to replace BYE week solo positional picks: QB Mahomes, TE Engram, K Koo, and D-New Orleans.