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14 Team and deeper leagues

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 4:58 am
by Bac2Basics
How if at all does your draft strategy change in deeper leagues?

I've never played in one deeper than 12 before, and a former coworker invited me to a 14 team league this season. (League will be non-ppr)

Typically, I'll save K & Def for the last picks.
I'll typically wait on QB & TE after I've got most if not all of my starting RB's and WR's chosen

Are there positions that I can't wait as long on or other ones I should wait longer on.

Roster will be

1-QB
2-RB
2-WR
1-RB/WR
1-TE
1-K
1-DST
7-Bench

Re: 14 Team and deeper leagues

Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 9:23 pm
by vincecarter4pres
I don't even know why people still do non-PPR.

Another beef I has is with big league's, normally talking 16 team and up and especially 18 and 20 team leagues where they have to starting QB's. Worst leagues ever.

Anyway, 14 team leagues absolutely draft differently.

If there are guys you love and are targeting specifically don't be scared to reach a little early, especially if you're at a point in the snake where you don't pick for double digit picks, you'll be sad when you see them go 5 to 10 picks before you pick again and 20 picks and higher then they should.

If you don't get one of Gates, Finley or Clark and maybe Witten, do not bother wasting a pick on a TE until you're in the double digit rounds.

There will undoubtedly be an early run on QB's, don't panic, but if there is a guy you really feel you must have like a Brady, Rivers or even Romo, etc., don't wait, take them early.

Pick wisely, especially if you wind up at either far end of a round. Don't make a panic move and take a guy just because you're shocked he slipped and is "such value" unless you really like the guy.

Like let's say for example a guy like MJD starts sliding but you hated him pre-draft and swore you were going to stay away from him and a guy you love, say for example Jahvid Best is on board but it's a little too early to pick him, don't make a panic pick and go with MJD, let him keep slipping and go with your gut, you'll feel better about it in the end, especially if it pans out.

And then Best will get snatched up a couple picks before your next one and 15 picks too early from where you thought he would go and 25 picks ahead of his ADP if you have savvy experienced drafters and you're stuck with a guy you wanted no part of while your guy is gone and you have instant buyers remorse and ruin your big board and start a domino effect on the rest of your draft.

Now I'm not taking a shot at MJD or propping up Best, those were two completely random examples of players in that type of range and situation, don't try to read into it lol.

People say to leave defenses out there til late in all forms, it goes even further in 14 team leagues.

Kickers. Never take a kicker before the last 2 rounds and never ever draft a backup kicker.

Try to target a guy in a friendly offense with a late bye who doesn't coincide with too many of your projected starters bye weeks.

Don't take your super sleepers even really late. Leave them on waivers and take more of a value pick until there's a Yahoo or ESPN or other big name fantasy outlet article written about them.
You're going to bring attention to a guy the casual players would have never thought of and alert the other obsessed GM's that someone knows about their sleeper too and as soon as you have to drop him in the early weeks when there's an inevitable injury they're going to scoop him off waivers themselves instead of leaving him out there.

If you're waiting super late for your starting QB and going with a high risk huge upside guy like a Stafford, Kolb, Freeman, Bradford, etc., don't wait too long to take another one of the same type, he might not just be your backup, you may have to go by committee based on matchups or your first pick went bustola or got injured.

Go with RB depth, but don't forget about receivers. Receivers are one of the hardest positions to fill off waivers, especially in the middle of the season, there will always be RB2 options out there to grab though.

Pay attention to rushes on a position. Don't panic and follow the trend and go for a huge reach, but also don't leave a guy out there that you love even if you have to snatch him a round early, it's guaranteed someone else loves him to and they will panic.

On the other hand within that same concept, that is just the time to grab guys at a different position that are good value picks right there, especially if you're stacked at the position a run is happening on. You'll get your guy and leave the board thin on the next position before the next run starts forcing them to make huge reaches.

Enough help? :D

Re: 14 Team and deeper leagues

Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2011 1:33 am
by Bac2Basics
The guy that setup the league for us screwed up so we ended up having to take exactly

2 - QB
4 - RB
4 - WR
2 - TE
2 - K
2 - DST

I'm assuming he's going to fix it, but right now we're locked into that configuration, should make waivers interesting once it's fixed. In spite of that problem, I think my draft turned out alright, all things considered for a 14 team league.

QB - Joe Flacco
RB - Ray Rice, Amhad Bradshaw
WR - Mike Wallace, Wes Welker
Flex - Mike Tolbert
TE - Jimmy Graham
K - Shawn Suisham
DST - Lions

Bench

Matthew Stafford
Rashad Jennings
Malcom Floyd
Danny Amendola
Brent Celek
Ryan Succop
Rams DST

Re: 14 Team and deeper leagues

Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 6:25 am
by TSE
Your RBs and WRs are too weak overall. I would sell off every player you have and every position you have to consolidate to some better RBs/WRs, and not be afraid to even use up some of your RBs/WRs and leave a blank spot for each to then pick up FAs that will strategically fall through the cracks.

That's if this is a 14 team league though, cause a 16 team league is probably too sparse on RBs and WRs for the blank spot strategy. And I would sell Stafford last or only if you get a really good deal cause most people will probably undervalue him and he might be worth more to keep than trade, but just about every player on your team is a tradeable asset. I don't really like Flacco that much myself, I'd rather start Stafford. Kind of hard to really know without seeing all the roster designs and knowing what kind of trade mentality you have in the group.

Re: 14 Team and deeper leagues

Posted: Fri Sep 2, 2011 7:32 am
by vincecarter4pres
Is that a backup kicker? SMH!

I'm not so mad at that team but I have a feeling if I saw the draft results I would have done a lot different.

Starting Flacco over Stafford is a major fail. You play the matchups with them and always lean towards Stafford, if he stays healthy he'll be an every week starter by week 5, kid is sick value late.

I don't like Flacco at all and imagine you wasted a pick on him in some sort of back to back fashion with Stafford.

I love Rice, love him, I'd take him second in any league, well at least PPR, even 0.5 PPR.

Bradshaw I actually like a lot too.

Welker was an absolutely awful pick in a non-PPR.

Tolbert is overrated this year, even as a late pick, if Mathews doesn't go down, you'll wind up dropping him by week 7 or stubbornly keeping him and for some unknown reason starting him, I bet there were monster high upside guys available at that pick with a solid floor.

Jimmy Graham, Lions D, Suisham, St. Louis D, what can I say? I love them. Haha.
Seriously though, I do.

The rest of your bench is ass juice though.

I liked Jennings a lot, but he's had a concussion and knee injury so far this preseason, he seems like the high upside pick everyone loved that's going to be first to hit the waiver wires when a solid option comes up.

Flloyd, meh... I mean I really want to love him, cause I love Rivers, think Jackson will take pressure off him and Gates will miss some game again to open opportunity, but I don't see much upside, just a solid situational bye week play.

With some waiver wire work your team should be competitive with the outside shot of taking the whole thing, but I'm not loving your actual draft at all.