SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio Host League Draft

We’re getting down to crunch time here as the NFL season opens in just one week and fantasy football drafts kick into high gear. I’m always a big proponent of pushing your draft to as close to the start of the regular season as possible in an effort to have the most recently updated news on players and position battles for each team. This last week of preseason games, which start tonight (Thursday), is usually a final audition for those on the bubble of making the final 53-man roster, so by the end of Labor Day weekend here, all situations should be sorted out. That should make it easy for you to finalize your own personal rankings and give you everything you need to crush your drafts.

Speaking of crushing drafts, Wednesday was the final draft for the SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio hosts and yours truly, along with my co-host Jim Bowden, squared off with another 10 of the top hosts on the channel for a 12-team, half-point PPR snake draft. I drew the 10^th pick in the draft, a spot I have found to be quite enjoyable, and think I turned in an extremely strong effort. Here’s a look at how things went for me and from there, I’ll give my team rating according to the Scoville Scale.

League Specifications

12-team, ½-pt PPR with four points for a passing touchdown and all the usual scoring for rushing, receiving and passing yards. No big surprises here and no oddball scoring. We’re going with 10 starters – 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 DEF – and a six-player bench. Waivers are handled through FAAB bidding with a $1,000 budget.

The Participants (in draft order)

My Strategy Going In

In typical fashion, it’s all about loading up on running backs and wide receivers through the first six or seven rounds and from there, based on the flow of the draft, I would make a move on my quarterback and tight end. Knowing this is a group of channel experts, the usual “wait on a quarterback” should be in play, so I’m not going to worry too much about needing to act earlier than usual for the position. I’ll look to add some of my favorites such as a seventh or eighth-round Zach Ertz and a ninth or 10^th-round Derek Carr, but again, will go with the flow based on what this group of hosts is showing me. Defenses and kickers wait until the very end.

One thing to note here and something I have preached very strongly about over the years – knowing your opponents in the draft room can be just as important as your knowledge of the player pool. I know everyone in the room, but I do believe I have a distinct advantage with my draft position. I co-host with Jim Bowden five days a week and we talk regularly, both on-air and off, about players we like and don’t like. I have a pretty good idea as to which way Jim is going to go with his picks. On the other side of me are Clay Link and Jeff Mans. The fact that they are the only two owners to my right is huge. I haven’t drafted in football with Clay but am familiar with his work. With Jeff – oh baby! I’ve worked alongside Jeff for nearly seven years. I know who he likes, who he doesn’t like and how he scouts players for fantasy. I know how he looks at systems, how much he values them over individual players and how he breaks down a draft. I have a sneaking suspicion that I will be sniping players from Jim and Jeff and making all my necessary moves at the appropriate times. Giddy up!

Final Draft Board

My Picks

Round 1

LeSean McCoy, RB BUF – The first round started off business as usual, but much to my surprise, there were a few twists which, in my opinion, helped me out in a big way. Brandin Cooks, Jordy Nelson and Jay Ajayi all went right before my pick, leaving me with a decision between McCoy, Melvin Gordon and Mike Evans. Considering how much I value high-end running backs, especially ones who will see a ton of volume, this was an easy pick for me. Yes, Shady has had his injury concerns, but who hasn’t? Even with a mediocre passing attack, defenses won’t be able to stack the box against him.

Round 2

Amari Cooper, WR OAK – Based on the receivers who went in the first round, I figured some were going to inflate the position’s value with the ½-pt PPR scoring, so I wanted to grab a high-end wideout with this next pick, especially after Jeff took both Mike Evans and Michael Thomas at the turn. It was down to Cooper and A.J. Green for me and Clay made my choice an easy one. I love Cooper for a breakout campaign this season and even though Michael Crabtree is still a prevalent target, Cooper should take another step forward this season.

Round 3

Carlos Hyde, RB SF – With 10 of the 18 picks between my second and third-round selections being running backs, I knew I had to grab one here, especially with Clay having just one and Jeff having none. I actually had Hyde ahead of Marshawn Lynch (who was taken two picks before mine) on my board, so when he fell to me, I had to grab him. The Joe Williams and Tim Hightower talk has died down and while Hightower will still have a role, Hyde is the featured back. And we all know how much we love featured backs in a Kyle Shanahan offense, right?

Round 4

Davante Adams, WR GB – Mission accomplished. I got my two lead running backs and Jeff is completely on-tilt right now, messaging me some pretty choice yet funny comments. Time to go back to the receivers and Adams was next on my board. He took a real nice step forward last season and has a fantastic on-field rapport with Aaron Rodgers. He’s a pretty strong commodity to slot in as my WR2.

Round 5

Golden Tate, WR DET – We saw a pretty heavy mix of running backs and receivers go in Rounds 4 and 5. There was a Travis Kelce sighting (second TE off the board), but interestingly enough, both Derek Carr and Matt Ryan came off as well which brought the QB total to five already. The Carr pick was completely unexpected and it now looks like maybe a reach for Marcus Mariota or Jameis Winston in the seventh or eighth round might be necessary. However, not here in the fifth. No way. I was targeting DeVante Parker as I knew with the running back position looking like crap, I would have to reach for him with Jeff behind me. When he went to Adam Ronis with the third pick of the round, I simply pivoted over to Tate. Bummed? Maybe a little, but Tate as my WR3? Come on.

Round 6

Brandon Marshall, WR NYG – I was thinking running back here, but Jeff sniped me on Fat Robert Kelley. I looked at Mark Ingram and Ameer Abdullah, but ultimately decided on Marshall for value sake. Odell Beckham is a beast, for sure, but he’s also dealing with a bum ankle and Marshall has been working extensively with Eli Manning here in the offseason. Plus, I know Jim is looking at Marshall, so why not throw a dagger into his heart as well.

Round 7

Terrance West, RB BAL – In truth, I was a little shocked to see West still on the board, especially with the way running backs were going. I usually go with Ertz right here, but he went to Dan Clasgens earlier in the round and, in truth, that was probably a good thing. West is the work-horse in Baltimore and with Danny Woodhead banged-up, West should see some extra touches his way, at least early on. He ain’t sexy, but 20 carries per game should be a distinct possibility, not to mention all that tasty goal-line work.

Round 8

Duke Johnson, RB CLE – How about a little extra running back depth? I know Jim has interest here as we’ve discussed the Browns at length in recent shows. The fact that they’re going to be running him out of the slot a ton is a huge bonus for his value, even if it’s only ½-pt PPR. As my fourth running back, I really couldn’t be happier.

Round 9

Philip Rivers, QB LAC – OK, so I got a little cute here. Hard for me not to, though. I’m adorable. Nevertheless, there were a ton of quarterbacks flying off the board and I missed out on Winston and Mariota. I could have gone with Cam Newton here, but thinking about how solid my first eight picks were, I wanted to play it safe. No need to spend time worrying about Cam’s shoulder. I’ll let Jeff have that one. Rivers is in a high-octane passing offense with a ton of targets. Sure, he’ll throw some INTs, but Rivers ranked sixth in overall fantasy points last year and eighth in points-per-game average. Yes, please. Thank you very much.

Round 10

Austin Hooper, TE ATL – Seeing all the tight ends taken, knowing how everyone in this draft room has heard me gush about Hooper and having such a solid squad, I felt I could and should reach for my guy here. It doesn’t matter that his ADP dictates a later round selection. I need to fill the position, it’s running thin and I don’t want to get stuck sifting through names like Jared Cook and Virgil Green.

Round 11

Cole Beasley, WR DAL – Poor Jim went with Sterling Shepard right before me, so I grabbed Beasley who remains a strong PPR option, especially this late in the draft. He is the No. 2 target for Dak Prescott and if Ezekiel Elliott is suspended, Dak is going to have to lean a lot heavier on the short-passing game. I need to take a shower having drafted a Cowboy, but it was worth it just to needle Jim a little more.

Round 12

Jacquizz Rodgers, RB TB – What’s he doing available down here? Doug Martin is suspended for at least the first two games of the regular season and the Bucs have made no secret of the fact that he is not guaranteed anything upon his return. He won’t be phased out, but Rodgers certainly has a chance to carve out an even larger share of the workload with a strong performance. Miami had a tough time stopping the run last year, so Week 1 should be a real nice start.

Round 13

Eli Manning, QB NYG – I don’t usually feel the need to grab a back-up quarterback but with the way they’ve been flying off the board and how Rivers facing Denver twice (starting off in Week 1), why not take a guy who has OBJ and Marshall as his leading receivers?

Round 14

Chris Carson, RB SEA – A lot needs to happen in Seattle for this late-round flier to be a success, but he looked strong in the preseason and he really only has Eddie Lacy and Thomas Rawls in front of him. That’s not exactly a formidable duo. Carson caught coach Pete Carroll’s eye and that’s exactly what you need to do when vying for a role in this offense.

Round 15

Miami Dolphins, DEF – Hey…they get the Jets twice!

Round 16

Josh Lambo, K LAC—He kicks for a high-scoring offense and the weather is beautiful in Los Angeles. All that was missing was a dome, but I’ll take it!

So I don’t want to sit here and pat myself on the back for a job well done, but I definitely feel like some accolades can and should be thrown my way. This team is both balanced and solid and definitely stands out as one of the ones to beat in this league. Feel free to disagree in the comments section below, but if I’m grading this draft on the Scoville scale, this has Trinidad Scorpion written all over it.