I always enjoy going up against the best to test my mettle. That challenge was taken head on Thursday when I participated in the 6th annual SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio Experts Draft. Picking 8th out of 12 teams in the PPR setup, I was determined to put together a strong squad. You can read my diary, written while drafting about how the draft played out below.

PARTICIPANTS

1 - Raph Rabe
2 - Scott Engel
3 - Lisa Ann
4 - Tony Cincotta
5 - Dan Clasgens
6 - George Kurtz
7 - Tom Kessenich
8 - Ray Flowers
9 - Greg Ambrosius
10 - James Adams
11 - Howard Bender
12 - Joe Pisapia

SETUP

This is a 12-team PPR league with starting rosters of 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex, 1 kicker, 1 team defense and 6 bench spots.

RULES

Points awarded will be standard -- 4 pts for a passing TD, 6 pts for rush/rec TD, 1 pt per reception, 1 pt per 25 pass yards, 1 pt per 10 rush/rec yards, -2 per fumble lost/interception, 3 pts per FG 39 yards and under, 4 pts for FG between 40-49 yards, 5 pts for FG over 50 yards, defensive scoring will have pts bonus for shutouts, 1-6 pts, 7-14 pts, etc

MY TEAM

*Round listed in parenthesis.

QB: Tom Brady (7th round), Ryan Tannehill (14)

RB: LeSean McCoy (3), Ryan Mathews (5), Duke Johnson (6), Tevin Coleman (9), Kenneth Dixon (12), Wendell Smallwood (13)

WR: A.J. Green (1), Mike Evans (2), Larry Fitzgerald (4), Vincent Jackson (8), Dorial Green-Beckham (11)

TE: Dwayne Allen (10)   

K: Brandon McManus (16)

DEF: Los Angeles Rams (15)

My real-time diary from the draft…

FIRST ROUND: Thought I was going to get Todd Gurley who went off the board one pick before me. Shoot. Had to choose between Green, who I took and the field at wide receiver. Not going QB or TE this early, and I can’t trust Ezekiel Elliott at this point. Folks don’t seem to know how good Green is by the way.

SECOND ROUND: I was tempted to take Le’Veon Bell since he was there, but true to my word, I will not be drafting Bell this season. That left me with an either/or at wideout – Evans, who I took, or Demaryius Thomas. Ultimately I went with Evans for the better feel I have with his quarterback situation. It sounds like three quarterbacks could make starts for the Broncos this season, and that scares me.

THIRD ROUND: Tom K. sniped me taking Thomas one pick before me in this round. How annoying is that, to be sitting there and waiting, waiting, waiting, thinking you’re gonna score, only to be hosed one pick before you draft? Where is my auction league? After that debacle, I was down to McCoy or C.J. Anderson at the running back spot. My thought was that McCoy was more likely to be taken than Anderson so I’ll take McCoy and hope Anderson is there next round. If he’s not, it’s certainly possible I will take my third wideout. Here is some audio about the process.

FOURTH ROUND: Always been an Anderson fan, and I think this is the year he finally establishes himself as a bonafide RB1… for Greg A. Back-to-back rounds the guys from NFFC hosed me. Twice in a row. Talk about a gut punch. Jeez guys, come on, help a fella out. I took Fitzgerald who gives me the best 1-2-3 grouping out wide in the league in my opinion. Fitz will pull back, but a WR3 he is on this team and 75 catches, 950 yards and seven scores seems totally achievable, with the potential for a bit more in that offense.

FIFTH ROUND: Here’s the plan. At Fantasy Alarm we are big fans of Mathews in that offense in Philly. Can he stay healthy? No. We know that. Means I will be targeting a running back next round to be safe. I’m hoping Duke Jr. falls to me. Love his ability to rack up catches, 61 last season as a rookie, and now has Hue Jackson calling the shots. That would, in essence, give me three running backs I should be able to go with each week, or at least two when Mathews is injured.

SIXTH ROUND: For the first time, my plan didn’t get ruined by the NFFC guys. Johnson fell to me, perhaps I was aggressive to target him here, but with the uncertainty the health of Mathews brings I felt the need, the pressure if you will, to get a back I feel certain will be passable as an RB2/flex option. Also like that Duke has a late Bye Week, Week 13, which opens up all the other backs who have earlier time off as a potential fit for my squad in the later rounds.

SEVENTH ROUND: Trying something different here. Just don’t see any value at the wideout spot. There are plenty of runners I can turn to as my fourth running. Therefore, I took Brady. I plan on drafting two quarterbacks anyway, so I just need to make sure I don’t take a quarterback with an early bye and I will be fine. Been wanting to try this, so let’s see how it goes since I know a bunch of you out there are thinking of trying to do the same thing in your home league.

EIGHTH ROUND: VJax ain’t a bad 4th wideout at all. I’ll look to get runner four with my next pick, or potentially grab my tight end depending on how things play out. I look at that wideout crew and things are starting to get a bit thin so I really wanted to get a fourth that ain’t bad, Jackson fits there, so I made the move on the still physically strong Jackson. I will hope Coleman or Jennings falls to the next round at the running back spot.

NINTH ROUND: Coleman ended up there, no go with Jennings, so I’m fine with the result. Coleman could emerge as a weekly flex option this season, no doubt, and it’s possible that with an injury to Freeman that Coleman could enter the RB1 ranks. I thought Coleman could have been “the guy” last season in Atlanta, even wrote an article about it before the season began (Filling the Void). As you can tell, I’m a Coleman fan. You should be too. Really hoping Mr. Allen falls to me in the next round as those tight ends are starting to get thin since I don’t trust Ladarius Green or Jimmy Graham.

TENTH ROUND: Allen was the selection. Here’s why. (1) I love his quarterback. (2) I love his scheme (TE guru Rob Chudzinksi is there). (3) He has no Coby Fleener to deal with. (4) Just a season ago he scored eight times. In this offense a double-digit touchdown, 65 grab season is doable, maybe more, if he can stay healthy (something he has long struggled to do).

ELEVENTH ROUND: My first, ugh, pick. This guy, DGB, is a flake who can’t seem to put it all together. Still, at this point of the draft, there aren’t going to be any wideouts with more talent available. If he doesn’t develop, oh well. He’ll be the guy I drop when I have a need early in the year. He will be on a short leash. Running back next.

TWELFTH ROUND: At this point I have five wideouts and five running backs. That’s the way I would draw it up if I could. He has no clear path to playing time at the moment with the Ravens with Allen/West/Forsett all in the way, but things rarely go according to plan in August. Dixon is a 3-down talent who if given a chance to run would be a weekly starter in that offense, period.

THIRTEENTH ROUND: I needed to handcuff Mathews, so I grabbed Smallwood. Of course, it’s not clear who the handcuff is for the Eagles, meaning it may not be Smallwood, but I targeted him as the highest upside backup in Philly, so there it is. The quarterback is next.

FOURTEENTH ROUND: I was tempted to go Carr, but ultimately went with Tannehill. It’s been an uneven run for Tannehill to this point, but he’s surrounded by talent and if Foster/Parker step up this season the offense could be scary good. Either guy would be an ideal second quarterback.

FIFTHTENTH ROUND: Taking a defense, great. Trying to find one with a later bye week so I have the option of holding them for a while before hitting waivers, since there is virtually no way I would ever carry two defenses on my roster. The Rams (Bye Week 8) fit that bill.

SIXTENTH ROUND: Who cares? Late bye Week. Solid offense. Indoors. Something? Give me McManus, with altitude, a big leg and a Week 11 bye. We gotta get rid of kickers as a position.

FOR THE RESULTS OF THE ENTIRE DRAFT, PLEASE CLICK ON THE PRECEDING LINK.

I really like this club. The running back spot is filled with young upside and with a few breaks that unit could be dynamite. The wideouts are strong, I really likely be top-4, and I took a shot on a fifth guy (DGB) that could certainly develop into a weekly play in the second half. A solid squad given that I was snipped three times in the first four rounds (Gurley, Thomas, Anderson). 

Some audio from the draft follows…

Scott Engel talks about opening up a draft with three wideouts. AUDIO.

Tom Kessenich talks about the potentially great Todd Gurley. AUDIO