2022 FSGA Experts Draft

For the gazillionth year in a row, I was fortunate enough to be part of the 2022 FSGA Champions League. The 14-team, 16-round draft PPR draft will be detailed in what follows to see just how my team came together.

THE PARTICIPANTS

1. ESPN – Mike Clay 
2. Encore Fantasy Sports – Ben Stecker 
3. USA TODAY Sports Weekly/Advance Local – Steve Gardner & Howard Kamen 
4. Game Night Sports – Digger Turnbull 
5. US Integrity – Matt Holt & Nick Bellanca 
6. Colton & The Wolfman – Glenn Colton, Rick Wolf & Stacie Stern 
7. Fantasy Pros – Pat Fitzmaurice & Dan Harris 
8. DFS Karma – Trevis Waters 
9. SiriusXM – Ray Flowers 
10. The Huddle – Cory Bonini & Ryan Bonini 
11. Rotowire/Gambling.com – Nick Whalen 
12. RT Fantasy Sports – Tim Jensen 
13. Fulltime Fantasy Sports – Scott Atkins & Billy Muzio 
14. Sports Info Solutions – Rob Dougherty & Noah Gatsik 

THE RULES

Lineup:

1 Quarterback, 2 – Running Backs, 3 – Wide Receivers, 1 – Tight End, 1 – Flex Player (RB, WR or TE), 1 – Kicker, 1 – Team Defense/Special Teams

Team Bench 6 – Reserves

Scoring:

PASSING: • 1 point every 25 yards Passing • 4 points for every passing touchdown • 2 points for every 2-Point conversion • minus 1 point for every interception and fumble lost

RUSHING: • 1 point every 10 yards Rushing • 6 points for every rushing TD • 2 points for every 2-Point conversion • minus 1 point for every lost fumble

RECEIVING: • 1 point every 10 yards Receiving • 6 points for every receiving TD • 1 point for every reception for RB’s, WRs & Tight Ends, • 2 points for every 2-Point conversion (rushing or receiving) • minus 1 point for every lost fumble

KICKING: • 1 point for every extra point • 3 points for every field goal from 1-39 yards • 4 points for every field goal from 40-49 yards • 5 points for every field goal from 50-59 yards • 6 points for every field goal of 60 or more

DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS: • 1 point for every sack • 2 points for every interception or opponents’ fumble recovery • 6 points for every touchdown (interception return, defensive fumble return, punt or kickoff return, blocked field goal return, blocked punt return). All special teams and defensive points are awarded to the team responsible, not the individual player. • 2 points for every safety • 6 points for a shutout by the entire team • 3 points for allowing 2-10 points by the entire team

Playoffs:

The ‘top 6 teams’ in league: Seed #1: Best H2H Record (points is the tie-breaker) Seed #2: Next Best H2H Record (points is the tie-breaker) Seed #3: Next Best H2H Record (points is the tie-breaker) Seed #4: Next Most Points Seed #5: Next Most Points Seed #6: Next Most Points

RESULTS

Here is a link to the draftboard.

THE TEAM

*NOTE: Normally my write is a live diary that I write during the draft. This year, things are different. Why? I was doing double duty Monday as a draft participant and host on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio. As a result, I wasn’t able to do my normal in-draft write up, so the comments below are written after the draft was completed.   

ROUND 1: This was an “old school” room. By that I mean, of the first 12 picks, there were nine running backs chosen. Per the NFBC ADP since June 1^st, only seven are running backs come off in the top-12 overall. As a result, I almost had Cooper Kupp fall to me, just one pick off. I was then left with the choice of two Bengals. I passed on Mixon and went with Ja’Marr Chase. I felt that I would be able to roster Chubb/Jones in the second round, and thought to myself, I like that build a hair better than Mixon than a Deebo in the second if it came to it.

ROUND 2: Chubb was drafted so I ended up with Aaron Jones. Some are worried about Dillon taking work, I’m really not. Jones should also have at least three catches a game to help him have a nice floor on a weekly basis, and it wouldn’t be a shock to me if he averaged four catches a game which is always a nice floor setter for a back.

ROUND 3: I normally wouldn’t go a tight end this early, but thinking more about ‘get elite guys at all the positions’ I took the leap and drafted Kyle Pitts. If healthy, it is nearly impossible to create a scenario where he isn’t a top-3 tight end, and he might see nearly 10 targets a week in that Falcons’ offense that is bereft of pass catchers.

ROUND 4: I nearly went QB here. I expected the room to wait on QBs, they always do, so I was hoping that Mahomes-Allen-Herbert would fall to me in the 5^th round (which obviously didn’t happen). I grabbed D.K. Metcalf who is an ideal WR2 in a smaller league, and an excellent one in a 14-teamer. As I’ve said previously, no DB in football can match up to the physical freak that is DK, and even in a down season last year he still scored 10 times. Crappy QB play or not, DK is gonna get his.

ROUND 5: No elite QB was left, so I went the running back route. Is Miles Sanders a star? No. Is he a lockdown top-20 RB? No. Should he be an RB2 in a 14-team league? Yes. Sanders sure seems to have enough of a role to be a decent weekly play, and in a run heavy offense, with his ability to rip off chunk plays, he’s a fine option at this point of the draft.

ROUND 6: Easily could have gone running back here, but I figured I would do something that is a bit anti-Ray, and push all my chips into my pass catching advantage. Chase-Metcalf-Pitts is an elite trio, and I added to it with Chase Claypool. Line those four guys up in their swimsuits and I’ve got the top-4 pass catchers in this league. Of course, there is more to football than looking good on Baywatch, but these four guys are all young, potentially dynamic options. It wouldn’t shock if all four went 1,000-8 this year, would it?

ROUND 7: As expected, the QB run started this round. I almost took Burrow, but I ended up going with Matthew Stafford. Why? As much as some love the QB/WR thing, I’m just not a huge fan. In a game where the Bengals score 10 points, I get two rough marks. If the weather is bad, potentially two rough marks. If Burrow or Chase is hurt… that really dings the other. I have no issue going Burrow over Stafford, but I went with the champ for diversification purposes. I don’t have a regret for taking Stafford at all, but seeing that Russell Wilson lasted until the 10^th round…

ROUND 8: Commence… Operation RB Depth. James Robinson is coming back from injury, and his outlook is muddled. That said, is Travis Etienne a three down back? No. Could Robinson see a ton of early down work and be utilized at the goaline if healthy? Yes. The offense should be much better in Jacksonville, and Robinson could see 12-15 touches a week… if he is healthy and has his old burst back.

The 2022 #FantasyFootball #DraftGuide is available now from @FantasyGuruSite – Full-season coverage!!! Rankings, Projections, IDP, Best Ball Guide, Dynasty Guide, 24/7 Discord, Schemes, O-lines, Stategy Series, #podcasts & more https://t.co/L5lTXuztNZ pic.twitter.com/PcaEO2YuwB

— Ray Flowers (@TheRayFlowers) July 2, 2022

ROUND 9: Isaiah Spiller would step in to a starring, not starting but starring, role if Ekeler was hurt. Normally I would have been targeting Dillon to backup Jones, but he went in the 4^th round killing that dream early. I was hoping to get Gainwell/Scott later, that also didn’t happen, but at the time I went with Spiller and the upside play. Being that I invested in pass catchers earlier than normal, while fading the RBs as much as I ever do, the handcuff thing was impossible to implement here.

ROUND 10: Which Chief will emerge with the loss of Hill? JuJu seems likely to lead the wideouts in catches, but my thought is that Mecole Hardman has to be ahead of rookie Skyy Moore, and that means Hardman could be grabbing 4-5 passes a week with the potential to score eight plus times. He also has the ability to make huge splash plays. There is risk, Hardman certainly hasn’t stepped forward in his young career, but as a fourth wideout in this size league, sign me up for that potential.

ROUND 11: Does Robbie Anderson was to play football? Does he want to catch passes from Baker Mayfield? Is he a good fit for the Panther’s offense? Why not take a shot on an ascending talent like Terrace Marshall at this point?

ROUND 12: Raheem Mostert is really good – when he’s able to be on the field. He also heads to Miami with his former coach in SF, Mike McDaniel. It’s a complicated, messy backfield, and Mostert’s knee is made out of peanut brittle, but there simply wasn’t a higher end selection in the backfield that I could see at the moment. Go big or go home. I think I’ve heard Jeff Mans say that once or twice.

ROUND 13: Should I have gone Scott? Maybe. He and Gainwell likely would split work if Sanders went down. I was going to grab Hassan Haskins, but the Bonini Brothers snaked me right before my selection leaving me with… Damien Williams. I figured, if I’m going to go for it, I should see it through. So, I went with Williams who is just one injury to C. Patterson from a substantial role. As you know, we just don’t believe in C.P. around these parts.

ROUND 14: Normally, I would never draft this guy. But, this is a 14-team league and it was the 14^th round. There is probably a 25/75 chance that Sammy Watkins is hurt before Week 1. There’s probably a 75/25 percent chance that he plays 12 games this season. Still, as my last wideout, catching passes from a HOF QB with a wide receiving crew that can called motley without anything but an air of truth, why not?

ROUND 15: The Patriots and Bill Belichick. Never bet against that defense.

ROUND 16: The Bucs will score a ton of points, and they have a late by week so I don’t have to worry about replacing Ryan Succop early in the year.

*Round in parenthesis.

QB: Matthew Stafford (7)

RB: Aaron Jones (2), Miles Sanders (5), James Robinson (8), Isaiah Spiller (9), Raheem Mostert (11), Damien Williams (13)

WR: Ja’Marr Chase (1), D.K. Metcalf (4), Chase Claypool (6), Mecole Hardman (10), Terrance Marshall (12), Sammy Watkins (14)

TE: Kyle Pitts (3)

K: Ryan Succop (16)

DEF: New England Patriots (15)

FINAL THOUGHTS

Top-10 QB – check.

Top-10 RB – check.

Top-5 WR – check.

Top-3 TE – check.

That’s a great start.

Looking at the pass catchers on this team, I really don’t think it could have gone much better than Chase-Metcalf-Claypool-Pitts. That group could be dynamic, and I might need that since my running back group is solid, but certainly nowhere close to elite. I took more risk than normal at the position, that is what happens when you take a tight end early, so instead of having RB strength per my norm in this setup I have pass catching depth.

The team has tons of proverbial upside virtually up and down the entire roster, but that doesn’t minimize the fact that some of that comes with substantial risk (I’m looking at you Mostert and Watkins). In a 14-team league you don’t win with stable/boring, I’ve tried that, so we’re opening things up a bit more this season, trusting the rankings at Fantasy Guru and getting ready for some explosive point scoring this season which is bound to come forth from this collection of talent.

Still over 70% of the spots open in @UnderdogFantasy BBM3, with a $2 million top prize up for grabs. If you haven't already signed up or made your first deposit, use promo code ELITE to get a first time deposit match up to $100. Sign up now! https://t.co/raswmbPxla pic.twitter.com/oOXbDus2m5

— FantasyGuru.com (@FantasyGuruSite) July 12, 2022