Vox Talks

Nathan Powell

voxer

Hello everybody, and welcome to the inaugural edition of Vox Talks. What exactly is Vox Talks, you ask? Well, this article series is the brainchild of the DLF partners and they bestowed upon me the honor of bringing it to you. You see, there is a communication app called Voxer that the DLF team uses to talk about DLF, dynasty in general and football. In the app you can communicate through voice like a walkie talkie, or through text like a normal chat room.

The crew at DLF uses Voxer each and every day to talk about a variety of hot topics, formulate article ideas and connect with each other on a more personal basis. The great thing about the app is the fact we get a ton of opinions about a whole host of fantasy football related issues in real short order. I’ll be taking the hottest topics from our “Vox Talks” and bring you the nitty gritty and most talked about subjects.

The Rookie Fifth Year Option

The NFL and its contracts can be confusing at times, especially if you haven’t watched the 04/19 edition of Dynasty Dudez with former NFL cap guy Matt Papson (shameless plug). A popular topic in the Washington DC area, per our Karl Safchick, is whether or not Washington should pick up the fifth year option for Quarterback Robert Griffin III. It seems like most of the public doesn’t quite understand the logistics of the fifth year option. Karl thinks they should definitely to pick up the option, especially if they plan on shopping him this offseason, because the only way the option becomes guaranteed money is if Griffin sustains a major injury and it is likely if a team trades for him, they would want that fifth year anyways. The problem here is, in my opinion (along with a couple other writers at DLF), if anyone is going to be a high risk have a major injury, it is going to be Robert Griffin III. If Washington picks up his option, he suffers a major injury which makes him unable to pass a physical and they want to move on at quarterback, they will either be losing a large chunk of salary cap, or they will have a very expensive backup quarterback. I agree that this is a lot of ifs, but they are ifs that aren’t extremely unlikely.

Will the Titans draft a running back?

The 2014 class of rookie running backs will go down as one of the worst in recent memory. The first running back selected in the NFL Draft last year was Bishop Sankey at #54 overall. While Sankey did disappoint in his rookie campaign, I don’t think this means the Titans will be going back to the running back well again in 2015 (even if they probably should). On Twitter and Voxer recently, I’ve been talking about how much of a bargain Sankey is in MFL10s (re-draft), Sankey has an ADP of RB32 and I’ve taken him as low as RB38 in a recent MFL10. If I’m correct about the TItans not drafting a running back, barring injury, I see RB32 as his absolute floor due to the amount of volume he is going to get behind what is considered a good offensive line. Scott Fish didn’t agree with my prediction, he thinks there is a good chance the Titans select a running back and Sankey may end up toiling in fantasy irrelevancy. I just think the Titans have many needs across their roster and General Manager Ruston Webster does not want to admit failure on the teams 2nd round pick after just one season.

Does Mentorship Matter?

An interesting topic that caused some chatter recently was the concept of mentorship between veterans and incoming rookies and receivers going to teams with existing studs at the position. The example for this year is some people are mocking Kevin White to Chicago to fill their hole at the WR2 position. There are many examples of players going to teams with stud wide receivers and growing into one of the top receivers in the league (like Randy Moss coming into a situation with Cris Carter or Julio Jones joining a receiving corp with Roddy White). There are also situations where a wide receiver goes into a situation where he is immediately the number one receiver, with no multi-time pro bowler to learn from, like AJ Green when he was drafted by the Bengals. Eric Coleman who brought up the idea/question and he will have a more detailed look at this concept and math to show how much it matters, if at all.

Spoiler Alert: More on this topic tomorrow!

Should we account for the potential of leagues folding in our team building?

Jeff Miller raised this question when he asked both Twitter and DLF team, what % of Dynasty players stay in a league for five years? There was a wide array of answers, from under 30% to 70%. While these answers were interesting, Nick Whalen and I agreed that it doesn’t really matter the percentage of leaguemates that stay five years, it just matters if the league folds. If you are building your team for the long haul, it doesn’t matter how many leaguemates cycle in and out, it only matters if you stay and the commissioner keeps the league running with replacements each time they are needed. I have only been playing dynasty for four years, so I don’t exactly have a wealth of experience in this department, but I have never been in a league that folded. Ryan McDowell who has been playing much longer said he has only ever been in one league that folded, and he said folding the league was his decision. So, while I will never account for the possibility of a league folding in my team building, maybe I will think twice if I ever fall victim to have an awesome young team in a league that folds.

DLF Voxer Inside Joke of the week

You may have seen the hashtag #ThanksArob find its way onto Twitter recently – this originated in the DLF Voxer chat. Occasionally, DLF writers will ask for opinion on trades in their leagues and it seemed like every time someone asked about a trade involving Jaguars Wide Receiver Allen Robinson, I would favor the Robinson side, along with me claiming my love for him over and over again. This lead to Jeff Miller starting long winded fictional stories about Robinson, like Allen Robinson doesn’t wipe down equipment after using it at the gym or leaving unwanted magazines at doctors offices – it’s not illegal or anything, it’s just something that he does.

What are your thoughts on RGIII, the Titans drafting a running back, veteran wide receiver mentorship or leagues folding? Share your comments below.

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