While Ezekiel Elliott continued his training in Cabo San Lucas and Melvin Gordon remained away from the Chargers this past Saturday, I participated in the NFFC Classic Draft, held at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. It's a first-class event that's been running strong for 16 years, held by the folks over at NFC, who offer high stakes fantasy sports contests in multiple sports.
The contest I entered offers participants an opportunity to win some pretty big cash from an overall prize pool of over $350,000, including an $85,000 grand prize. Despite the competitive nature of the event, it's always a pleasure to interact with the other draftees, an astute group that includes some familiar faces (a few sporting their classic team jerseys and apparel) now that I have three of these live drafts in the books.
The NFFC Classic is a 14-team, full-PPR, 20-round draft, using a third-round reversal format. The results are posted below. The draft order was determined by a Kentucky Derby Style (KDS) process, and I wound up with the No. 3 pick overall. I was pretty happy with that slot, as it ensured that I'd be able to land a top-tier running back. With Elliott still a holdout, that tier went three deep in my mind: Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara. My second choice in terms of selection slotting would have been pick No. 14, in order to take advantage of the reversal/back-to-back component, but knowing that
While Ezekiel Elliott continued his training in Cabo San Lucas and Melvin Gordon remained away from the Chargers this past Saturday, I participated in the NFFC Classic Draft, held at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. It's a first-class event that's been running strong for 16 years, held by the folks over at NFC, who offer high stakes fantasy sports contests in multiple sports.
The contest I entered offers participants an opportunity to win some pretty big cash from an overall prize pool of over $350,000, including an $85,000 grand prize. Despite the competitive nature of the event, it's always a pleasure to interact with the other draftees, an astute group that includes some familiar faces (a few sporting their classic team jerseys and apparel) now that I have three of these live drafts in the books.
The NFFC Classic is a 14-team, full-PPR, 20-round draft, using a third-round reversal format. The results are posted below. The draft order was determined by a Kentucky Derby Style (KDS) process, and I wound up with the No. 3 pick overall. I was pretty happy with that slot, as it ensured that I'd be able to land a top-tier running back. With Elliott still a holdout, that tier went three deep in my mind: Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara. My second choice in terms of selection slotting would have been pick No. 14, in order to take advantage of the reversal/back-to-back component, but knowing that I'd land either McCaffrey or Kamara at the top looked like a good way to go this year.
When order preferences were locked in last week, the news on the Elliot front was not encouraging, but by draft day the narrative had improved to the point that he went fourth overall. Before that, he'd started to slip some, but as this recap is being put together, he's still away from the Cowboys, albeit hopefully progressing toward an extension.
Interestingly, Team 14 went with with a K.C. combo at the first turnaround, landing Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes, both ranked No. 1 at their positions. Risky, but it's a strategy that can work. The only time I ever had my picture taken with a big check was in 2007. Thank you Tom Brady and Randy Moss...
Given the experience and knowledge around the draft table, there weren't many big surprises early on, and as usual there were several times where players I'd hoped would fall or sleepers I had ID'd, were grabbed in the picks leading up to my turn. As a result, I just missed out on a couple of running backs that would have changed the makeup of my team, but I was at least happy to land Zach Ertz in round three. With the top tier of tight ends three-strong (Kelce, Ertz and George Kittle) this year, followed by a big drop-off, I'm content to avoid a mix-and-match approach at the position, especially in a 14-team league.
Because I elected to go with a pair of PPR-friendly wide receivers (Adam Thielen and Julian Edelman) in rounds two and four, respectively, I had to patch together a running back room that includes Tevin Coleman, Kenyan Drake and Nyheim Hines behind Kamara. It's a bit dicey, but an approach that could work if either Coleman or Drake pan out. My backup darts at RB are Ryquell Armstead (behind Leonard Fournette) and Wayne Gallman (behind Barkley), but of course, like everyone else in the league, I'll be looking to find this year's Phillip Lindsay to round things out via the FAAB route.
My WR3 could be a work in progress to start the season, but I have options at least in Courtland Sutton, DeSean Jackson and Golden Tate, once he returns from his suspension. Kenny Stills could be a nice late-round snag now that he's with the Texans (the MIA/HOU blockbuster had yet to happen when I picked him) and Nelson Agholor, my last pick, could be serviceable. Or he could be the first player I drop.
With Noah Fant as my backup tight end, I'll probably have to look for someone else to emerge at the position in order to further insure my investment in Ertz, but that's what the waiver wire is for.
A QB duo of Russell Wilson and Mitchell Trubisky provides some decent streaming options, though I was hoping to throw an upside dart at Lamar Jackson, who went just before Trubisky.
As is, I think this is a team that can compete, and with some tinkering, as well as some luck with regard to injuries, perhaps I'll be back in the winners' circle this year!
For those who missed out on the recent Bellagio event, there's still plenty of opportunities to participate in the Rotowire Online Championship, which has over $1 million in prizes, including the $200,000 grand prize. Drafts in that contest will continue all the way through Sunday morning.
Good luck with all your teams/leagues!
Draft Board:
