Staying Flexible: Austan’s DLF Live Draft Recap

Austan Kas Posted On August 8, 2016

First of all, I want to express how much of an honor it is to be a part of a league like this and a website like DLF. There are so many people in this league I really respect. So many writers who, when I was first getting into the dynasty format, I looked to their content and ideas to help me try and figure out what in the world I was doing. To get to meet them — nonetheless play in a league with them — is really special, and even if they mercilessly destroy me, it’ll be fun to be a part of it.

Pre-draft Strategy (Written Before the Draft)

As for my plan, let’s start with quarterbacks. When it comes to signal callers in superflex leagues, I typically don’t take a quarterback until the after the first three or four rounds, and then I try to scoop up two or three guys with the intention of playing the matchups throughout the year.

As of writing this, I don’t know what pick I have, but if I’m late in the first round, I am open to taking the route of grabbing one stud and then trying to stream that second spot. I have Russell Wilson as my QB1. I think there is a chance he will be there at the back half of the first, and if he is, I’ll be very enticed. If I do take a quarterback really early, I probably won’t select another passer until later in the draft. I have never spent two early picks on a quarterback, and I have no intentions of doing so in this draft. However, as with any draft, it’s dangerous to go in with a set mindset because you never know how things will play out.

As a lover of wide receivers, I am always tempted to pass on top-end quarterbacks in this format in favor of elite wideouts. I am almost certainly foregoing running backs early. The chances of me taking a running back in the first three or four rounds is some non-zero number, but it’s extremely unlikely. I feel like tight end is pretty deep right now, so I’ll probably wait on that, too, even with the TE-premium scoring.

My plan is to build my team around really good receivers and hopefully hit on a few running back lottery tickets later in the draft. However, with running backs getting .25 points per carry, I may regret it if I wait too long to take one.

When it comes to specific players, a few who I’d like to get my hands on in the later rounds are Jerick McKinnon, Zach Miller, Kirk Cousins, Andy Dalton, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Will Tye, Frank Gore, Chris Thompson and Willie Snead. I think all of them can be a nice value at their current cost.

Post-Draft Thoughts

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Well, I think it went OK. Typically, I like to build around receivers, but I ended up with a pretty balanced team through my first eight picks. The selections of Tyler Eifert and Doug Martin, in the fifth and sixth round, respectively, were two picks which weren’t on my radar at the start of the draft, but I felt like the value was too good to ignore in each spot. I’m not crazy about Martin, but at RB11, I can handle it.

I was pleased to get Aaron Rodgers 22nd overall. I assumed the top four signal callers would be long gone by the time it got back to me for my second pick. I was also pretty happy to land Tony Romo in the eighth. He was one of the last quarterbacks on the board before we got to the Alex Smith range.

I usually go receiver heavy early and then load up on running backs in the middle rounds. Even though I didn’t nab too many wideouts early, I still took a bunch of running backs in the middle rounds because receiver was pretty decimated. Jeremy Hill, Ryan Mathews, LeGarrette Blount and Danny Woodhead are four backs who should see a decent amount of work this year. I’ll be honest: I have no idea what to expect from Hill. If we didn’t get .25 points per carry, I probably would’ve stayed away from him, but I thought it was a worthwhile gamble in the ninth.

Picking next to Ryan McDowell and Brian Malone, who shared a team, proved to be troublesome. Before the draft, from just reading their (great) work, I thought both Ryan and Brian had similar thoughts and strategies as me. Well, if you’ve read their draft recap, you know they ended up with several players — Gore, McKinnon and Thompson, to name a few — I was targeting.

I thought Eric Decker in the seventh and Bruce Ellington in the 17th were two of my better picks. On the other hand, I didn’t have a ton of conviction in my choice of Josh Doctson in the fourth, and the same goes for Maxx Williams in the 15th. I don’t necessarily think either was a bad pick, but I was really indecisive when I was on the clock. It had been so long since I’d done a live draft, I forgot how it feels to be up and not know what to do. It’s equal parts awesome and agonizing.

Here’s my final roster:

QB: Rodgers, Romo.

WR: Martin, Hill, Mathews, Blount, Washington (OAK), Woodhead, Davis.

RB: J. Jones, Hilton, Doctson, Decker, D. Jackson, V. Jackson, B. Ellington, Peake, S. Smith, D. Smith.

TE: Eifert, M. Williams, Z. Miller.

Moving forward, I like my roster, but I am always open to trades. I wouldn’t mind dealing away Eifert for a quality wideout or trying to find some way to get my hands on McKinnon. The problem for me is, Ryan and Brian know I want him, so I don’t have a much leverage.

As for other owners, I really like what Dan Meylor did. He waited on quarterbacks and tight ends, stocked up everywhere else and still ended up with decent quarterbacks and tight ends. I think he’ll be in the hunt right away. I also like Dan Sainio’s roster quite a bit. He has a good mix of young players who could be top-end assets for a long time and veterans who should put up very good numbers in 2016. Ryan Finley’s draft was also interesting. I can’t bring myself to go running back early like he did, but he got two top four backs and isn’t that weak at receiver.

I’ll end by echoing what I said earlier. This was so much fun. I really enjoyed meeting everyone, and I couldn’t help but get smarter sitting in a room with this many intelligent fantasy minds. More importantly, it’s great to get to spend time with so many good, kind people. Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible, and I hope you, the readers, find this useful.

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