My Fantasy Team

So, I had my fantasy draft last night. It didn't go well. It often doesn't. That's because I don't take fantasy football as serious as most. Even though I've been involved in a league of some sort for most of the past 35 years I've always viewed it as a fun side to the real game. A little addition to the game that I already follow so closely. My fantasy successes, and failures, have always been secondary to the real game. As a result, I prefer to draft a team of players that I like. For example, I have a particular distaste for receivers that have trouble with the simple act of catching a football. Terrell Owens, all of Matt Hasselbeck's Seahawks receivers, and Drew Brees' Saints receivers of the 2000s had no place on my team. Those are players that scored a few points in fantasy football. Also, as a big Minnesota Vikings honk I tend to end up with a lot of players from my real team on my fantasy team. Typically, the more Vikings players I have the worse I do. Although Adrian Peterson did carry me to the 2012 title. Go Vikings! Go Me! My current league has been going strong since 1999. From the paper days to the computer days. It's a keeper league but a keeper league with a twist. Your keeper costs you a pick that corresponds to the round in which he was picked the year before. He moves up a round each year. If you keep Le'Veon Bell? No first round pick for you! If you get so lucky as to draft a somewhat unknown rookie like David Johnson in the 12th round you have a simply ridiculous player as your 10th round pick this year. So a fantasy-wiz unaware of our ways will stare at our draft board amazed. Johnson in the 10th? Devonta Freeman in the 15th? Jordan Howard in the 16th? These guys are idiots. Personally, I wasn't so lucky in the keeper department this year. The only viable keeper that I had on my sad 2016 roster was Todd Gurley. Last year was disappointing for him and the Los Angeles Rams. Moving to a new city and the head coach getting fired didn't help. This is a different Rams team in so many ways. A young, innovative, offensive head coach, a more comfortable Jared Goff, an improved offensive line. Perhaps all of that can help Gurley look like the back that opened eyes during a string of games two years ago. Anyway, he was my keeper this year and he cost me my third round pick. I had the second pick of a typical, 10-team snake draft. Seeing as David Johnson was gone as a keeper and Ezekiel Elliott has done what he's done there was little question that Le'Veon Bell would be the first pick. He was. So, I entered the fray with the strategy that I would take one of Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, and Odell Beckham Jr. I was leaning towards Beckham until he got hurt. One reason for my lean towards Beckham was the real football fact that he was the only one of the three that doesn't play the Vikings this year. Xavier Rhodes shuts down everyone. Brown was my pick and that was about the last thing that went right during the draft. That's not quite true. I like that New Orleans Saints receiver Michael Thomas was still available when the draft got back to me for the ninth pick in the second round. So, after all of that, here's my fantasy team for the 2017 season.

Marcus Mariota
Ben Roethlisberger
Teddy Bridgewater
Todd Gurley
Adrian Peterson
Rex Burkhead
Darren McFadden
Antonio Brown
Michael Thomas
Demaryius Thomas
Sammy Watkins
Corey Davis
Matt Bryant
Kai Forbath
Vikings
Giants

I got Peterson!

If the Vikings presence on my team is any indication of my 2017 success I should do well. I ended up with only their defense, kicker, and Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater was simply a sentimental pick with my last pick of the draft. I went into this draft with Dalvin Cook and Stefon Diggs as my Viking targets. Obviously, I got neither. My league had a crazy early run on rookie runners. A run that started with Christian McCaffrey as the fourth pick of the draft! Leonard Fournette went sixth! My Dalvin Cook dream was dead went he was taken with the fourth pick of the second round. I thought that I'd be drafting him a little early if I took him at the end of the second round but he didn't even make it to my pick. As for Diggs. In hindsight, I kinda wish that I had picked him when I picked Demaryius Thomas in the fourth round but that just felt too early. Diggs was gone before I had another shot at him.

Overall, I like Marcus Mariota and Ben Roethlisberger as my quarterbacks. I like my receivers despite Diggs not being one of them. Corey Davis (13th round) might be my keeper next year. My running backs are a train wreck. But you really never know. Maybe Gurley can thrive in Sean McVay's diverse offense. Maybe Adrian Peterson can continue be a genetic freak. Maybe Ezekiel Elliott really is forced to sit out six games and Darren McFadden can run behind that dynamite line for damn near half a season. Rex Burkhead is the one back that I targeted before the draft that I was able to get on my team. I really think that he can make an impact with the Patriots. The only question/problem is that the team has several talented, versatile backs. And they play them all. Trying to match my fantasy plans for Burkhead with the Patriots plans for him could be frustrating.

It should be noted that we have no tight end position in our league. This is an archaic rule that started in the late 1980s when tight ends were more blocker than fantasy producer. We start three receivers rather than two receivers and a tight end. Tight ends can be drafted but they are played as receivers. It may be silly but it's a continuity thing and our scoring records reflect it. The tight end presence is growing. We actually had a record seven tight ends drafted last night. Maybe we are moving to a change.

Best of luck to all of you in your various fantasy football efforts.