Today, some of the good folks of Rotowire, myself included, had a draft for the Rotowire Fantasy College Football League. It is a 10 team league, starting one QB, two RBs, three WRs, one TE, one D/ST, and last and certainly least, one K. That may be a tad bit shallow, but it can be used to provide some insight into how people are seeing some of the players available this year. Here is some analysis of the first six rounds, plus a few more picks that interested me personally.
Fantasy college football is an entirely different beast than pro football. Players graduate leaving you wondering how their replacements will do, highly touted freshmen make big splashes (or don't), and a team's scheme may have a lot more to do with who you pick than a player's talent. For example, SMU might not get the best players, but with a June Jones offense you know the QB and the WRs will likely put up some big numbers. Plus, they play in a lesser conference with lesser opponents, something else you have to consider. A running back in the WAC and a running back in the SEC are going to be playing very different defenses.
Scheme and talent of opposition came into play with the first pick, which was QB Case Keenum of Houston. The first round was loaded with QBs, as eight went. Four of them were not from the so called "BCS conferences," Keenum, Colin Kaepernick of Nevada who went fourth (to me), Dan LeFevour from CMU went seventh, and Austin Davis from Southern Miss who went eighth. The three early (very early) Heisman favorites McCoy, Bradford, and Tebow, all went in the first round as well, in that order. Taylor Potts, who is stepping into the QB job at Texas Tech, went ninth overall and could be a steal at that point. The other two first round picks were WRs, including Dez Bryant third overall.
The second round was all WRs and RBs. The first RB off the board was Kendall Hunter from Oklahoma State, who went with the second pick in the round. Jahvid Best, who I think could be in for a huge year, went fourth in the round. Four smaller school RBs went as well, Eugene Jarvis from Kent State, Bryce Beall from Houston, Andre Anderson from Tulane, and MiQuale Lewis from Ball State. The names might not be familiar, but if you remember them on draft day it could make your team.
Once again, the third round was all WRs and RBs. A couple people in the draft championed the strategy of taking the best WRs you can get early. Wide receivers certainly seem to have a bit more value than RBs in fantasy college football, especially at the higher levels of talent. I think Mardy Gilyard of Cincinnati is in for a big year, so I was disappointed to see him drafted right before I picked, leaving me to take Arrelious Benn. Two RBs of particular interest to me were taken in this round in Jacquizz Rodgers of Oregon State and Harvey Unga of BYU. Rodgers is 5'7'' and about 190 pounds, Unga 6'0'' and about 240. However, both could yield equally excellent results. Rodgers may be a bit of a heath risk, but man can he ever make people miss.
The fourth round saw the first TE come off the board in Jermaine Gresham from Oklahoma. There are only a few TEs of any real note this year. If you don't grab one of them, you might as well wait. Two running backs taken in this round, LeGarrette Blount from Oregon and Johnathan Dwyer from Georgia Tech, intrigue me quite a bit. Some might fear the ACC figuring out the triple option, but I don't see it happening, and Dwyer is talented enough to perform well in any system.
The fifth round saw some notable names come off the board. Wide receivers A.J. Green of Georgia and Golden Tate of Notre Dame were the first two picks. There might be QB questions at Georgia sans Stafford, but Green has the talent to put up numbers anyway. The shifty Noel Devine of WVU went next, followed by Penn State's Evan Royster going to yours truly with the next pick. With the top three WRs at PSU graduating last season, Royster should get the ball even more this season, and what I saw from his last year really impressed me. The round ended with Charles Scott from LSU and C.J. Spiller from Clemson getting taken. Spiller underperformed a bit last season, but I expect him to bounce back this year if he stays healthy. The second TE came off the board as well in Dennis Pitta from BYU.
Round six lacked panache, but a couple of picks still stuck out to me. James Rodgers, Jacquizz's older and less fancily named brother, was taken. I had Rodgers last season and he disappointed me. The old fly sweep just wasn't working last season, I suppose. I don't know if he'll bounce back this season, but he might be worth a gamble late. WR Dexter McCluster runs the "Wild Rebel" at Ole Miss, making him an itriguing prospect this season, especially with Jevan Snead a year older as well.
Here are some names that stick out to me from the rest of the draft: Juice Williams (QB, Illinois), Jewel Hampton (RB, Iowa), Rob Gronkowski (TE, Arizona), and Todd Reesing (QB, Kansas) all went in round seven. I took Gronkowski, who I think is one of the few TEs worth concerning yourself with getting.
In round eight, I took Michael Floyd the WR from Notre Dame who I think could be in for a big campaign, and I say that as somebody who doesn't like Charlie Weis or Jimmy Clausen. In round nine, I took Mark Ingram from Alabama who will probably carry most of the load at RB now that Glen Coffee is gone. Although I am a little wary of all those SEC defenses. Jeff Moturi a WR from UTEP is of interest as a late round flyer. Brandon West of Western Michigan is one of those RBs you may not have heard of that you should keep in mind. Signal callers Robert Griffin of Baylor and Max Hall of BYU also went in this round as backups. Griffin in particular I think could be in for an impressive season, he is a tremendous athlete
I took Terrelle Pryor as my backup QB in round 10, somebody else took TE Garrett Graham from Wisconsin. Not a bad pick at all. After that it was pretty much a collection of backups, kickers, and defenses. I don't concern myself too much with getting one of the "best" defenses. If they come up against a team the likes of Texas Tech they might not do you much good. It might be wiser to stream defenses going against mediocre competition quite frankly. That, or get a really good defense in a less than stellar conference (think TCU). As for kickers, just take one. Don't bother thinking about it, you'll just be wasting precious mental energy.
That's my overview of the draft. Some intresting picks to be sure. In college football you never know who is in line for a breakout season, so it never hurts to take a flyer late. If you are looking for an overall strategy, I'd say go with QBs and WRs early and aim for excellent offenses in conferences with easier competition and players from those high powered spread offenses we see so often now. If you do that, you'll likely contend for your league's title.