The first $100K NFFC "Beat Chris Liss" league of the summer took place Tuesday night. It's part of the RotoWire Online Championship the NFFC offers, wherein you compete both for a smaller ($1,500) league prize as well as the overall one. It's a 12-team, full PPR league with 1-QB, 2-RB, 3-WR, 1-FLEX (RB/WR/TE), 1-TE, 1-K, 1-D and 10 bench spots. There's also third-round reversal (3RR), meaning the team that picked last in Round 1, picks first in Round 3 and last in Round 4. I drew the seven-slot, so 3RR hardly affected me.
Here are the results:
1.7 A.J. Green - He's who I thought I would get after the big-three RB were off the board, and people took Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham and Julio Jones. Green was on pace for a monster season before he got hurt last year, and he's healthy now. In a three-WR and a flex PPR, I didn't consider anyone else.
2.6 Brandin Cooks - I was glad Jordan Howard got taken one pick ahead of me so I wasn't tempted to value-pick. Cooks was the guy I wanted in an overall contest. Maybe he's just a 100-target deep threat in New England a la DeSean Jackson, but if it turns out the 23-year old Cooks can run 31-year Julian Edelman's routes better than Edelman? There's Antonio Brown upside.
3.6 Todd Gurley - No one enjoys pulling the trigger on Gurley, but once Terrelle Pryor went off the board two picks before me, I wasn't taking a receiver, and Gurley was my top remaining back. I have no idea if he'll bounce back, but if he does, this will be the steal of the draft.
4.7 Golden Tate - A boring pick who should catch 90 passes as the clear No. 1 WR in a dink-and-dunk offense.
5.6 Jimmy Graham - He's still arguably a top-five pass catching TE in NFL history, and he's healthy again and playing with a good QB. Moreover, Seattle has only Doug Baldwin and a bunch of other little (and unestablished) pass catchers.
6.7 John Brown - A rising star before being derailed last year with an illness, Brown is healthy again and should serve as the deep-throw happy Cardinals top outside WR. Larry Fitzgerald might get more targets, but he's 34 and profiles as the team's de facto pass-catching TE. The Cardinals lack depth at WR (at 154 pounds, J.J. Nelson is a one-dimensional deep threat), and only David Johnson will see significant targets besides Brown and Fitzgerald.
7.6 DeSean Jackson - I missed Mark Ingram by two picks and got a little tilted. It was the only pick for which I used up the entire clock, and settled on an established target.
8.7 Hunter Henry - After feeling disappointed in myself for playing it safe with Jackson, I shot for upside again here. I already had Graham, but Henry can play in the flex, there are bye weeks, and chances are one of them gets hurt. Rookie TE rarely do anything, but Henry when healthy last year was an exception. With Antonio Gates on his last legs and Mike Williams possibly out for the year, Henry could lead the team in red-zone targets.
9.6 Duke Johnson - I like drafting one rock solid RB and then going volume in the other slot. In full PPR, it's even easier with pass-catchers like Johnson around this late. He's a lock for 50 catches if he stays healthy, and there's upside for more.
10.7 Kenneth Dixon - He's suspended a few games, but he was good when he played, and I doubt Terrance West is long for the job. Danny Woodhead siphons off some of the upside, but the Ravens throw to all their backs, and Woodhead will be 34 in December and is coming off an ACL tear.
11.6 Alvin Kamara - Another potential PPR specialist, Kamara has even been lining up at WR in OTAs. The Saints burned an early third-round pick on him too, so I imagine they intend to get him involved.
12.7 Andy Dalton - It was finally time to pull the trigger on a QB. I have Dalton as my No. 12, but there's major upside if John Ross (No. 9 overall pick, 4.22 40) makes an impact, and Tyler Eifert stays relatively healthy.
13.6 Tyrod Taylor - I was unhappy to get sniped on Marqise Lee two picks earlier, but Taylor is the perfect complement to the steadier Dalton. If Sammy Watkins were relatively healthy, Taylor could be Cam Newton.
14.7 Austin Hooper - Why would I take a third TE? Because you can use one in the flex, there are byes, and there's a good chance either Graham or Henry misses time. Hooper is a second-year player who showed occasional flashes as a rookie, and the Falcons have no good pass catchers after Julio Jones.
15.6 Stephen Gostkowski - I was bummed to miss out on Justin Tucker who went at the 12/13 turn, but Gostkowski and his guaranteed 50 PATs is the next best thing. I get the wait-till-the-last-round-on-kickers dogma, but I'll make exceptions in extreme cases. Tucker is the ultimate extreme (greatest kicker of all-time), and Gostkowski is a very good kicker on the greatest NFL dynasty of all time.
16.7 Jeremy McNichols - I took him because Tampa's backfield is unsettled, and I d0n't think Doug Martin is good enough that if McNichols won the job and played well, Martin would necessarily ever get it back.
17.6 Giants Defense - It's a loaded unit with all the key players back. Or maybe I'm just influenced by growing up watching this:
18.7 Paul Richardson - I'd prefer Tyler Lockett, but Richardson's nearly free, and it's an open question who gets the targets in Seattle after Baldwin and Graham.
19.6 Falcons Defense - They were much improved in the second half last year, and they get the Bears while the Giants get the Cowboys.
20.7 Robert Turbin - I've bet against Frank Gore every year, and I've been wrong, but at 34 and grading poorly even in pass blocking last year, Gore is on his last legs. Maybe Marlon Mack (Round 12) is the replacement, but I'd much rather gamble on Turbin eight rounds later.
Full Squad By Position
QB Andy Dalton
RB Todd Gurley/TBD
WR A.J. Green/Brandin Cooks/Golden Tate
TE Jimmy Graham
FLX: John Brown
K: Stephen Gostkowski
D: Giants
B: RB: Duke Johnson/Kenneth Dixon/Alvin Kamara/Jeremy McNichols/Robert Turbin
B: WR: DeSean Jackson/Paul Richardson
B: TE: Hunter Henry/Austin Hooper
B: QB: Tyrod Taylor B: D: Falcons