This week I went 2-0 in my keeper and dynasty leagues. It’s week three and I moved off my lineups from the past two weeks.  This was mostly due to certain bench players moving into starting roles this week.

Keeper League

At 189 points, I finished second for the week in total points scored (first place scored an impressive 246 points). This week I faded Spencer Ware who was in a timeshare against the NYJ, and a banged up Tyler Lockett. I played Melvin Gordon and Charles Sims in their place — both of whom were put into starting roles with high anticipated volume.  I remain the only undefeated team in this league.

Dynasty League

At 126 points —  I scored the third most points for the week — but had a few misfires with Eric Decker and Brandin Cooks. I faded Spencer Ware for Charles Sims, and replaced an injured Antonio Gates with Hunter Henry.  I am the only undefeated team in this league.

This week I was traveling, and only played the Sunday slate. I placed most of my entries in cash games with “safe” chalky rosters. It was one of those weeks where you move on, and continue to trust the process.

  .

I also played in a few free roll tournaments with the same outcome.

Overall Results

This week I went 2-0 in my keeper and dynasty leagues. It’s week two and I found the match ups to be much closer. For both teams, my strategy was to stick with the same lineups I played in week one — as I typically give those lineups three weeks unless there are injuries or significant changes in playability.

Keeper League

At 139 points, I finished fifth for the week in total points scored. The score was much closer than it appears, with the match being won by the Minnesota DST. I’ll take it as this makes me the only undefeated team after two weeks in this league — a testament to the skill of the managers.

Dynasty League

At 147 points —  I scored the most points for the second straight week. My opponent this week was the second highest scorer at 145 points — making this an incredibly tight match through the final two minutes of the Oakland / Atlanta game. I am one of two undefeated teams in this league.

This week I went 2-0 in my keeper and dynasty leagues. It’s week one and this is going to be a LONG season — but the results validate my offseason and draft strategies for both teams. Now it is time to be a waiver wire hawk once opportunities present themselves.

Keeper League

It’s a high scoring league including PPR, multiple yardage bonuses, and return yard scoring (both for D/ST and individual players). At 182 points, I still finished third for the week. I am particularly proud of this team as I started fresh keeping no players prior to the draft (max 3). This week I played a tough opponent — the two-time league champion, and came out on top.

Dynasty League

This league has favorable scoring — however, it is not as high octane as the Keeper League. At 171 points scored the most points — and was 20 points higher than second place. My opponent this week also took over an orphaned team this offseason, but was less active in the offseason trade talks and drafted poorly.

If you are taking a look at daily fantasy sports this season, check out RosterCoach. Their free videos give a great overview of how to be competitive in daily fantasy sports, and their paid content takes it to  the next level. I dabbled with daily fantasy sports last season, but overall was not very successful. It’s a small sample size — but had much better results in Week 1.

Sunday Slate

I placed most of my entries in cash games, and won all of the match ups. Left roster was used in head-to-head contests, and the right was used in double ups. I also played in a few tournaments — including a free roll, and lost miserably.

Full Slate

I placed all of my entries in cash games. The left roster was used in triple ups, and the right was in a 10-person tournament (3 places paid). This was the only cash game I lost — and the mistake was to use a roster with less “chalk”.

Overall Results

I am in a few annual redraft home leagues — both of which had drafts this weekend.

Standard Scoring, WR Favored

PPR Scoring, WR Favored

Thanks to Footballguys for the great cheat sheets.

Saturday was the rookie and free agent draft in my dynasty league, and that morning started with a dollop of drama. About an hour before the draft, the Commissioner sent a notice that certain draft pick trades from the prior season had not been recorded — including my 2.05 pick. Coincidently, it had been traded to the owner of this team along with Jordan Cameron — for Dion Lewis.  Given I had two spots to fill and a five-player shortlist, I went into the draft open to making a trade along the way.

Pick One (1.05) – Sterling Shepard, WR, NYG: At this point in the draft, I had the choice to acquire any of my targeted players. At this position — it was between Shepard and Doctson. I opted for Shepard as I expect him to have a bigger impact this season. Although I do not need an immediate starter, having an extra option is always nice. Fantasy twitter also agreed with the pick.

Pick Two (2.05) – Tajae Sharpe, WR, TEN: At the beginning of the second round, the current holder of my pick offered to trade it back to me for a 2016 3rd and my 2017 2nd (which was previously his). This was essentially a straight trade of 2nd round picks, as my 3rd round pick would be nullified once my roster was full. I let the draft unfold, and accepted the trade as Sharpe was the last player on my short list remaining. Owner of the 2.06 pick was disappointed as he was targeting Sharpe as well — affirming my decision to move up.

Post draft, I dropped Tony Romo who fractured a vertebrae a few days earlier, and replaced him With Bilal Powell, RB, NYJ. Counting that move, this is how my roster stands (original roster can be found here).

The rookie and free agent draft for my dynasty league is coming up this Saturday. I have gained Duke Johnson, Charles Sims, and Derek Carr during the summer, while only losing Randall Cobb and Dion Lewis. Paired with several drops, I will have two overall spots to fill with picks 5 and 15 of the draft. I plan to carry one TE, leaving both spots open for WRs or RBs. I have good depth at both positions and do not need an immediate starter on either side. These are the players I am targeting, in no particular order:

• Sterling Shepard, WR, NYG – Plays on a team with a pass-heavy offense, with an elite counterpart,  that keeps talking him up,
• Tajae Sharpe, WR, TEN – Being targeted heavily in the preseason, and is noted for running excellent routes. A few links (one, two) explaining why this is important.
• DeAndre Washington, RB, OAK – According to Matthew Berry, “Hate has gone too far on [Latavius Murray]“. But Deandre Washington can still make an immediate impact, especially in passing situations.
• Josh Doctson, WR, WAS  – A top receiving prospect in the 2016 draft. Doctson has largely fallen off the radar due to his Achilles injury, but Head Coach Jay Gruden expects him to be ready for week one.
• Devontae Booker, RB, DEN – Booker profiles as an every down back, that has supplanted Ronnie Hillman as the backup to C.J. Anderson, in an offense tooled to run the ball.

Securing any two of these players would make this a successful draft.

Monday night was my keeper league draft and I stayed true to my draft strategy. Ultimately, I used MFL10 ADP data courtesy of rotoviz to build my draft board. I then focused on taking target players a round or two early, to ensure I did not lose them to sleeper-hunting league owners. This is how the draft played out (full results on the right):

Round 1: Allen Robinson, WR, JAC – Last year’s breakout performance (1,400 yards, 150+ targets, and 80 receptions) makes him a high floor, Bortles-proof WR. Add that he is only 22 and has the potential to be a long-time producer, Robinson is a keeper-candidate.

Round 2: Amari Cooper, WR, OAK – Finished his rookie year as a top-20 WR with over 1,000 receiving yards. Cooper is rumored to have become BFF with Derek Carr, which hopefully reinforces the rapport they already have with one another. Note, I encouraged the league owner to keep Cooper. 

Round 3: Devonta Freeman, RB, ATL – The league owner; against my advice, dropped Freeman in favor of Cam Newton. Going into the draft, I was expecting to go WR-WR-RB — hoping I could snag Jamaal Charles with that pick. Having Freeman — the top fantasy RB for 2015 — fall to the third round is insane. Stoked to grab him this late.

Round 4: Jeremy Maclin, WR, KC – Last season, Maclin carved out a nice role in KC under former HC Andy Reid posting performance just ahead of Amari Cooper. His situation in KC is stable, which limits his risk as a regression candidate for 2016.

Round 5: Melvin Gordon, RB, SD – I took Gordon early. If our draft occurred a week earlier, he would have fallen to the sixth or seventh round. However, I was concerned his 43-yard preseason TD reception would make him a target. I like Gordon because SD did not add any significant competition in the offseason, and they brought in a FB (Derek Watt who Gordon ran behind at Wisconsin).

Other Notable Picks:

• Tyler Lockett, WR, SEA (Round 7) – Yes, Lockett has the hype to be a breakout WR this season. But he also returns kicks — to the tune of over 1,200 yards last season — which can add serious value in our league this year.
• DeAndre Washington, RB, OAK (Round 10) – Potential to carve out a role behind Latavius Murray. Washington also performed well in his first preseason appearance with 75 all-purpose yards.
• Rishard Matthews, WR, TEN (Round 13) – This pick was a late-round instinct flier. The trading of Dorial Green-Beckham to Philadelphia eliminated a key barrier to Matthews’ success.

Tomorrow night is my first draft of the season — my coveted keeper league.  Although we only keep three total players, there is no penalty (or benefit) for keeping a player previously drafted in a later round — all keepers count against rounds one through three regardless of draft position. For example, if you keep one player — lose your first round pick; two players — lose first and second round picks; three players — lose first through third round picks.

Before I go further, it is imperative to walk through how our league is scored. The commissioner set the point structure to keep any one position from drastically outweighing another.

• QB: 6 points per TD; 1 point for every 20 passing yards; 3 point bonus at 300, 400, and 500 yards passing; -2 points for INTs and Fumbles.
• RB/WR/TE: 6 points per TD; 1 point for every 8 rushing or receiving yards; 0.5 point PPR; 3 point bonus at 100, 150, and 200 yards rushing; 3 point bonus at 80, 120, and 160 yards rushing; 1 point for every 20 return yards; -2 points for Fumbles.
• K: Standard
• D/ST: Liberal scoring that scores a “bad” day at 10 points.

As this is a rebuilding year, my approach is to target young skill players (not older than 25) with a demonstrated floor in the first half (17 rounds) of my draft.  The back half will be used to fill any open positions and take a few fliers. I spent the summer drafting a handful of MFL10s (team name @modestreality) and generally know which players I am targeting in these rounds. Of course, this is just a framework and depends on how the draft moves.

If you are looking for real draft advise, checkout Matthew Berry’s Draft-Day Manifesto.