DLF’s Reality Sports Online League: Eric Hardter’s Review

Eric Hardter

rso

Full disclaimer: I’ve never done an auction start-up before. RSO made me a man, and now that I’ve finished my cigarette I’m ready to recap the draft that was. First, some background…

Recently Jarrett Behar and I welcomed fellow DLF Senior Writer and auction aficionado Dan Meylor to the DLF Podcast. It was a great conversation for any interested party, and as a neophyte I certainly learned quite a bit from this pair of experts. Chiefest among them was the fact RSO truly offers a one-of-a-kind experience, harnessing auctions, contracts and a salary cap into the fast-paced nature usually reserved for your typical snake draft. It was a lot to take in at first, but after a practice session with the RSO software things were breezy – as a fantasy conservative I typically take the Ron Swanson approach to endorsement, but anyone looking to expand their fantasy boundaries should definitely check RSO out!

So let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Our league consists of 16 of DLF’s finest, with standard PPR scoring and a starting lineup of QB/2RB/3WR/TE/2FLEX. We started off with a two-round rookie draft (snake-style, and the only rookies eligible were those selected in the third round or later of the NFL Draft – all rookies selected received four-year contracts), and then filled out the remaining 23 roster spots with the following contracts available: four-year (2), three-year (3), two-year (four) and one-year (limitless), with a total salary cap of $143 million. Since getting 16 guys together presented numerous logistical obstacles, the draft was split into four segments.

What follows is a list of my roster, broken into groupings of starters, key subs and bench players. Also included are the salaries (2015 and total) and contracts bestowed upon each player. Here’s the damage:

Starters

starters

Key Subs

subs

Bench

bench

On a temporal basis, here’s how it shook down:

Rookie Draft

I was (un)lucky enough to pull the 13th pick, meaning the picking were slim given the diminished player pool. I took Seattle receiver Tyler Lockett in the first round, and then followed up with Chicago running back Jeremy Langford in the second. Nothing to write home about, but both seemed like solid picks given their respective price points.

Auction Round One

This is where my novice stature took its toll. I thought it would be a smart strategy to essentially sit this session out and let everyone else spend their money. Unfortunately, this yielded several bargains for my competitors and left me without a surefire stud on my roster. In retrospect I shouldn’t have let Jeff Miller walk away with Atlanta receiver Julio Jones, as he was the one guy I truly wanted – but alas, I closed my wallet entirely too soon and went home licking my wounds and waiting for round two.

Auction Round Two

[inlinead]I went in with one specific goal – to land one of the remaining top-two (in my estimation) receivers, and after getting bullied away from Alshon Jeffery (this time courtesy of The FFGhost) I was able to walk away with a consolation prize of Bills sophomore Sammy Watkins. He might not produce a ton this year given the ragtag nature of Buffalo’s offense, but signing him to a four-year contract ensures I should be receiving some of the theoretical upside from 2014’s (former) rookie WR1.

Channeling my inner Billy Beane, I attacked the rest of this session “Moneyball” style, dropping smaller stacks of Benjamins on Allen Robinson, Eli Manning, Jonathan Stewart, Doug Martin, Greg Olsen, Chris Ivory, DeSean Jackson and Eric Decker, essentially rounding out my starting lineup. I was particularly happy about the price points on both A-Rob and D-Jax, with the former blowing up at OTAs (and likely increasing his cost had I not grabbed him when I did), and the latter remaining one of my favorite (and most cost-effective) dynasty assets. I did get caught “price-enforcing” (i.e. trying to up the bidding so a player didn’t go quite so cheaply, only to get left holding the bag) on Decker, but as my WR4/5 I’m okay with his contract.

Auction Round Three

Still armed with two of my three remaining three-year contracts, I had a few guys in mind here – luckily, I was able to lock a couple of them down. Miami receiver Jarvis Landry might go down as my favorite “win” of the draft, as I got him for a miniscule $9 million per year. I can understand the concern, as the Dolphins added DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills, Greg Jennings and Jordan Cameron to their roster, but Landry was as steady as they came last season – he’ll never be an explosive fantasy difference-maker, but I still believe he’ll function as the team’s long-term WR2 behind Parker.

My last three-year contract went to Cincy tight end Tyler Eifert, who in my opinion has fallen in the eyes of many due simply to his season-ending injury last season. With that said, I’m no believer in either Marvin Jones or Mo Sanu, and the Bengals had no issue letting Jermaine Gresham and his 79 targets walk – I firmly believe Eifert will be the second option in the Bengals’ passing game, and view him as a worthy backup to Olsen and potential FLEX player.

I also drafted some more depth in this session, nabbing Giants running back Andre Williams and Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III. Williams was a wild card, but given the open nature of the Giants backfield I felt he was worth the chance. I paid a little more for RGIII than I would have liked, but it’s only a one-year contract, and quarterback is much more important in a 16-team setting – as someone who has proven QB1 ability before, it was nice to nab him as my second stringer.

Session Three/Four Interlude

I shipped Williams and Lockett to fellow owner Kyle Pollock for Tampa ball carrier Charles Sims, ensuring I should have the Bucs’ backfield locked up.

Session Four

Now we’re down to the end of the line. I paid a bit for Giants tight end Larry Donnell and Browns receiver Brian Hartline, as to me they represented some of the best guys left (again – there were 400 players drafted here). I also made sure to snag Bobby Rainey and Kirk Cousins, so as to sew up the Tampa ball carrying corps and Washington signal callers. These were all one-year contracts at this point, and as such it’s unlikely a “bad” contract would come back to haunt me. Everyone else I snagged was bench depth, as well as some minimum contracts so that I can augment my roster through waivers if need be.

The End Result

Overall I’m extremely happy with my team. I’m aware I don’t have guaranteed “heavy hitters,” meaning my weekly ceiling is definitively capped. However, I like my team’s floor, and don’t believe I’ll be run out of town on any given week. Speaking with more granularity, I think Manning offers legit top-ten potential at the quarterback position, and both Stewart and Martin could function as RB1-caliber guys – if nothing else, they’ve done it before, and the ball carrying landscape was truly desolate after Jacob Feldman lined his roster with a “Who’s Who” of running back talent.

Continuing, I’m extremely happy with my receivers, and firmly believe both Watkins and A-Rob offer WR1 viability. Jackson, Landry and Decker all have WR2 potential, and Olsen and Eifert should cement the tight end position for me. Perhaps most importantly, each of these players were signed to multi-year contracts, safeguarding against discontinuity at the pass catching positions.

All told, while I wish I was more aggressive in bidding on the upper echelon guys, I’m not upset with any of the contracts I doled out. It remains to be seen if paying 80 cents on the studs’ dollar will pay off (after all, how many championships have Beane’s Athletics won?), but this is a team I’m proud to go to war with every Sunday – perhaps more importantly, I was able to fill my roster with the players whose virtues I consistently espouse to the DLF faithful in both my writing and podcasting. Ultimately, considering I was swimming in some serious shark-infested waters while still wearing my arm floaties and goggles, I’m definitively okay with that.

So, what do you think of my team?

Follow me on Twitter @EDH_27

[ad5]

eric hardter