One week ago, I traveled to Canton, Ohio to participate in the 5th annual CFF King's Classic, one of the most prestigious expert leagues and a marquee event at the Fantasy Football Expo. Half of the 14 participants attended in person, while others drafted remotely -- with all of us making our picks on Fantrax, the home of college fantasy football.
Our draft location didn't have quite the same aura as last year, which was my first time participating. Unfortunately, the media room just a few paces away from the Hall of Fame Gallery was not available this year, so our draft was relocated to a hotel conference room. While it was still a lively, fun draft, it was also noticeably quieter, largely because Eric Froton of NBC Sports was unable to attend in person this year. IYKYK.
John Laub and Matt Hicks of Rookie Big Board livestreamed the event with each drafter making an appearance to discuss his picks (except Joe Arpasi of Let Purple Reign, who had technical difficulties).

Draft Recap
After participating in several drafts and observing other analysts' drafts leading up to the CFF King's Classic draft, I had a clear game plan. I knew that I wanted to lock in top running backs with two of my top three picks. I felt like I could wait until the fifth round and still get a high-end QB1. I also wanted to lock in a top 5 tight end, so I would go with the flow of the draft and hope that there wouldn't be a run on the position between my picks. The wide receiver position is deep, so I was comfortable focusing on my QB, RB and TE gameplan and filling in the gaps with WRs.
Heading into the draft knowing that I had the third overall pick, I had running back Bryson Washington queued up as my top pick.
Going forward I had the mindset that I might have to reach for "my guys," as having the third pick in a 14-team draft meant I'd have long waits between picks, where a run on a position could leave me out in the cold. But as it turned out, I couldn't script a better first six rounds, and I love some of the value that I got later in the draft.
Late in the second round, I was surprised that West Virginia running back Jahiem White was still available, and I didn't hesitate to grab him. Georgia State wide receiver Ted Hurst might be considered a bit of a reach early in the third round, but he was clearly quarterback Christian Veilleux top receiving weapon (as evidenced by his 98 targets).
In the fourth round, I went with a RotoWire favorite in Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson. Then in the next two rounds, I was able to pair UTSA's Owen McCown with his top wide receiver David Amador. In a league where we start two quarterbacks, I had my eye on Baylor's Sawyer Robertson in the seventh round. However, Matt Hicks selected him with the pick immediately before mine, so I decided to lock in my starting TE Matthew Lauter, who I have rated second at the position (behind Eli Stowers).
In the eighth and ninth rounds, I double-clicked wide receiver, first grabbing WR Devin Voisin then Danny Scudero.
Over the next seven rounds, I added three QBs: East Carolina's Katin Houser, Vanderbilt's Diego Pavia and West Virginia's Nicco Marchiol.
I filled out the rest of my roster with three wide receivers who I expect to attract over 70 targets (UTEP's Kenny Odom, Duke's Que'Sean Brown and Buffalo's Victor Snow), three running backs who could be highly productive if they can avoid a committee situation (Rutgers's Antwan Raymond, UConn's Cam Edwards and SMU's TJ Harden) and a tight end who could be the first or second option in his offense (Maryland's Dorian Fleming).
Here are the draft results for the first 10 rounds:

View full draft results here.
You may ask, who are all of the participants? In draft order: 2023 champ John Laub (Fantrax, Rookie Big Board), Matt Hicks (Rookie Big Board), me, 2022 champ Shane Hallam (Draft Sharks), Chris Battistel (Fantasy in Frames), Jared Palmgren (Campus2Canton, Chasing the Natty), Josh Chevalier (Fantasy Points), Tom Harvey (Devy Degenerates), Mike Bainbridge (CFF Site), 2024 champ Dwight Peebles (Campus2Canton), Eric Froton (NBC Sports), Jeremy Miller (CFF Lists), Joe Arpasi (Let Purple Reign) and JD Yonke (Fantasy Points/Covers).
Analyzing My Draft
This season my draft preparation involved a lot more studying of coaching movement and offensive schemes, not just recruiting and player production. As a result, I leaned into players who have continuity and proven production in their systems. Scudero, Fleming and Harden are the only players who I drafted who transferred to new programs this offseason.
- As planned, I solidified my running back room early, locking in three of the top 15 backs based on RotoWire's custom rankings.
- Bryson Washington accumulated over 900 total yards in the last six regular season games of 2024, as the Baylor offense found its stride, piling on over 40 points per game in six straight wins. With Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator and starting quarterback all returning, I have high expectations for Washington and that offense.
- When Dana Holgorsen took over as Offensive Coordinator and play-caller for the final 4 games of 2024, Emmett Johnson really took off, recording 484 total yards and two TDs. We project more of the same this season with Holgorsen expected to make the play calls all season.
- I should be set at tight end too, as Lauter (3rd) and Fleming (9th) project as top 10 players at their position.
- At wide receiver I'll be relying heavily on Group of Five players, as I ended up with six of seven players from the G5. Most are the clear top target on their teams.
- Three of Hurst's least productive games came when QB Veilleux was out or limited, so a full, healthy season together could realistically mean over 1,100 yards and double-digit touchdowns.
- Voisin has the upside to become the fourth 1,100+ yard receiver in Head Coach Major Applewhite's offense since 2021, while Scudero is in the mix to see targets out of the position that made Nick Nash an All-American last season in the San Jose State offense.
- Quarterback is arguably the least stable position for my team, as I was one of five teams that did not have two QBs rostered until after the ninth round.
- McCown is a safe pick with upside, as seven of his top eight receivers are back, as are his Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator.
- Katin Houser, is the high-upside play in leagues like this that score 6 points per TD pass, as evidenced by a five-game stretch last season with 1,502 yards and 16 TDs.
- Diego Pavia is a high floor play with his rushing ability, while Nicco Marchiol could be a boom or bust in Rich Rodriguez's no-huddle, zone-read spread option offense.
The Final Word
There were plenty of groans as participants got sniped throughout the draft, but with the entire FBS player pool in play there is enough depth of talent that each participant surely walked away feeling good about his draft.
So who "won" the draft? According to the RotoWire MyLeagues Power Rankings, Tommy Harvey's team enters as the top-ranked team. I came in at second, which makes sense, considering my picks were certainly influenced by our projections at RotoWire. Matt Hicks, Mike Bainbridge and Eric Froton round out the top five.
For full draft coverage and interviews and analysis with each participant, check out last Saturday's livestream on the Rookie Big Board.