After reading Ian’s piece, and the discussion following it, it occurred to me that one of the things we’ve all be struggling with is understanding what the baseline for success for a #1 or #6 etc pick looks like. Last year’s rookie class was headlined by guys like Odell Beckham Jr and Mike Evans, who both look like bargains, but what about in normal or quiet years. How good does a QB or DE have to be to justify a #1 pick, compared to say an RB or WR? That’s what I’m going to attempt to answer. Continue reading
Alternative Uptown Top Ranking the 2014 Season
Some of you may remember that at the end of the last season of the DynaBowl, when tallying up wins and losses and working out the draft order there was some ‘heated’ debate. I forget who was involved or exactly what the outcome was, aside from Dyna Hard, the 4th top scorers in the league in 2014, getting the first pick in the draft.
Anyway, it got me thinking. Firstly, how did a possible perception of unfairness occur and secondly is there anything that could be done to rectify this?
So, one of the quirks with Fantasy Football is how short the season is and how few games are played in a typical, traditional season. 13 games is not very many. It’s less than are played in the NFL, let alone football, basketball, ice hockey or let alone baseball. As such, it’s really difficult to use the season as a marker of true quality.
This is often noted in NFL, but at least in the NFL your opponent on any given weekend (or Thursday night. Or Monday night) has an impact on how you play your game. In fantasy football it would theoretically be possible to be the second highest scorer every single week and not win a game. Or be the second lowest scorer every week and win every game. Obviously the chances are ludicrously small, but it is just about possible. Therefore a win/loss record doesn’t necessarily reflect the strength of the teams.
Extrapolating from this, not only does it mean that the order the picks are made in could be compromised, but so too could the teams making the playoffs. In theory the best 4 teams should make the playoffs, but in 2014 The Brees made the playoffs despite scoring more regular season points than only 2 teams. Again, this isn’t like the NFL (or the Premier League) where a low scoring team can be successful by having a really good defence. A low scoring team has no control over whether they get beaten or not – it’s entirely based on luck.
In a venture like the ChatterBowl this is less of an issue (to me, at any rate), but the DynaBowl is a comparatively serious endeavour, given the time spent assessing rookies for the draft, assessing the value of contracts, managing the cap etc and so on. Given the time spent on managing teams, shouldn’t we work to reward the best teams rather than leaving it up to luck?
Of course, luck will always be present (as will Luck, the unbreakable man). This can be in the form of a defensive player getting 3 of his 5 sacks in one week or a 90 yard pick 6, or it can be that your opponent loses his bets 3 players to a bye the week you play him. I’m not saying we completely eliminate luck – we couldn’t.
What I am saying is that we should look to ways to reduce it so that the best teams are rewarded and the worst teams get the chance to pick from the new players before everyone else.
“But wait!” I hear you cry, “How much does the schedule really affect the standings?”
With our schedule in 2014, every team ended up with 5, 6, 7 or 8 wins. But complete fluke we were really bunched together. With a random re-arrangement of the fixtures, ensuring that no one played the same team in the same week they had before (so every fixture was new), the first variation I have produced the following results:
| Team | Wins | Losses |
| Dyna Hard | 11 | 2 |
| Dynasore Losers | 10 | 3 |
| Kelkowski Don’t Play By No Dyna Rules | 9 | 4 |
| Tamworth Two | 7 | 6 |
| DynaForOne Firebirds | 6 | 7 |
| Dynablaster Bombermen | 5 | 8 |
| Champions of the Sun | 5 | 8 |
| East Flanders Dungeoneers | 4 | 9 |
| Here Comes The Brees | 4 | 9 |
| The 4th Dynmension: Dynasty of Sadness | 4 | 9 |
I promise this was complete fluke that the worst team in 2014 ended up on top with this schedule and The Brees came in second from bottom.
Under this scenario our 2014 champions, DynaForOne Firebirds, didn’t make the cut for the playoffs.
The point of this is merely to say that schedule plays a massive part of success and perhaps we should look to remove that element as best we can.
I’m not saying we should just work on total points or anything like that. We all like the weekly competition. But there may be other options that operate as halfway houses, which are just as fun but more representative. Specifically two other options (with further variations thereon).
OPTION 1 – DOUBLE HEADERS
This is pretty simple. Everyone plays two fixtures a week. That’s it. It just doubles the number of games per season giving you a better chance of producing a record that is more representative of a team’s talent.
So I had the original schedule and the schedule used to create the above standings. Using those templates I just rearranged the order of the teams (so if, in week 1 team 1 played team 2 etc, I just changed who team 1 was and who team 2 was (etc and so on), which then created effectively a new schedule. I then created tables for how the season would have gone with the new double fixture lists. There are several versions to demonstrate how different results would have been, each of which is reproduced below for illustrative purposes and because I have no limit on space. The first of these tables uses the original schedule and the revised one produced above as the two schedules (I used total points, not head to head, as a tie-breaker, for simplicity):
| Team | Total Points | Wins with schedule 1 | Wins with schedule 2 | Total Wins | Total Losses |
| Dynasore Losers | 2478.93 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 8 |
| Kelkowski Don’t Play By No Dyna Rules | 2494.355 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 9 |
| Dyna Hard | 2396.135 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 10 |
| DynaForOne Firebirds | 2397.8 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 13 |
| Tamworth Two | 2388.085 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 13 |
| Dynablaster Bombermen | 2297.19 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 14 |
| Here Comes The Brees | 2258.885 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 14 |
| Champions of the Sun | 2392.665 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 15 |
| East Flanders Dungeoneers | 2138.915 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 17 |
| The 4th Dynmension: Dynasty of Sadness | 2008.795 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 17 |
| Team | Total Points | Wins with schedule 1 | Wins with schedule 2 | Total Wins | Total Losses |
| Dynasore Losers | 2478.93 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 7 |
| Champions of the Sun | 2392.665 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 10 |
| Kelkowski Don’t Play By No Dyna Rules | 2494.355 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 11 |
| DynaForOne Firebirds | 2397.8 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 11 |
| Tamworth Two | 2388.085 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 13 |
| Dynablaster Bombermen | 2297.19 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 13 |
| Here Comes The Brees | 2258.885 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 14 |
| East Flanders Dungeoneers | 2138.915 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 16 |
| Dyna Hard | 2396.135 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 17 |
| The 4th Dynmension: Dynasty of Sadness | 2008.795 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 18 |
| Team | Total Points | Wins with schedule 1 | Wins with schedule 2 | Total Wins | Total Losses |
| Dynasore Losers | 2478.93 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 9 |
| Kelkowski Don’t Play By No Dyna Rules | 2494.355 | 7.5 | 9 | 16.5 | 9.5 |
| DynaForOne Firebirds | 2397.8 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 10 |
| Dyna Hard | 2396.135 | 7.5 | 7 | 14.5 | 11.5 |
| Dynablaster Bombermen | 2297.19 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 12 |
| Champions of the Sun | 2392.665 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 14 |
| Tamworth Two | 2388.085 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 14 |
| Here Comes The Brees | 2258.885 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 16 |
| East Flanders Dungeoneers | 2138.915 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 17 |
| The 4th Dynmension: Dynasty of Sadness | 2008.795 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 17 |
| Team | Total Points | Wins with schedule 1 | Wins with schedule 2 | Total Wins | Total Losses |
| Kelkowski Don’t Play By No Dyna Rules | 2494.355 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 7 |
| Dynasore Losers | 2478.93 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 9 |
| DynaForOne Firebirds | 2397.8 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 11 |
| Dynablaster Bombermen | 2297.19 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 11 |
| Here Comes The Brees | 2258.885 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 11 |
| Tamworth Two | 2388.085 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 14 |
| Champions of the Sun | 2392.665 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 15 |
| Dyna Hard | 2396.135 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 17 |
| The 4th Dynmension: Dynasty of Sadness | 2008.795 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 17 |
| East Flanders Dungeoneers | 2138.915 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 18 |
| Team | Total Points | Wins with schedule 1 | Wins with schedule 2 | Total Wins | Total Losses |
| Dynasore Losers | 2478.93 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 7 |
| Dyna Hard | 2396.135 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 10 |
| Tamworth Two | 2388.085 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 10 |
| Kelkowski Don’t Play By No Dyna Rules | 2494.355 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 11 |
| Champions of the Sun | 2392.665 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 11 |
| DynaForOne Firebirds | 2397.8 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 13 |
| Here Comes The Brees | 2258.885 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 14 |
| Dynablaster Bombermen | 2297.19 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 16 |
| The 4th Dynmension: Dynasty of Sadness | 2008.795 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 17 |
| East Flanders Dungeoneers | 2138.915 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 21 |
| Team | Total Points | Wins with schedule 1 | Wins with schedule 2 | Total Wins | Total Losses |
| Dynasore Losers | 2478.93 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 8 |
| DynaForOne Firebirds | 2397.8 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 10 |
| Kelkowski Don’t Play By No Dyna Rules | 2494.355 | 8.5 | 7 | 15.5 | 10.5 |
| Here Comes The Brees | 2258.885 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 11 |
| Dyna Hard | 2396.135 | 8.5 | 6 | 14.5 | 11.5 |
| Tamworth Two | 2388.085 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 13 |
| Champions of the Sun | 2392.665 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 14 |
| Dynablaster Bombermen | 2297.19 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 14 |
| The 4th Dynmension: Dynasty of Sadness | 2008.795 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 18 |
| East Flanders Dungeoneers | 2138.915 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 20 |
So with this method we end up with more match-ups and more rivalries, but there’s a risk that too many games are happening at once and we lose a bit of focus. It could be more fun or it could be confusing and, frankly, I don’t think we’d know until we did it.
OPTION 2 – VICTORY POINTS
So, under this scenario, each team would get 2 points for a win and 1 for a tie, rather than the traditional W/L result, but what we add in is 2 further points for the top 3 scoring teams in the week, 1 point for the 4 teams that score in the middle and 0 points for the 3 lowest scoring teams. This way, if you are the second top scoring team in a week, and you lose to the top scoring team, all is not lost! You still get 2 points towards your playoff push.
Want examples? Why sure. In week 1 of the 2014 season, the top scoring team beat the 4th top scoring team while the 2nd top scoring team beat the 3rd top scoring team. So under the victory point scenario, Dynablaster Bombermen would have scored 1 point despite the loss and Dyna Hard 2 points, despite their loss.
What would last season’s table have looked like?
| Team | Victory Points | Scoring Points | Total Points |
| Kelkowski Don’t Play By No Dyna Rules | 16 | 18 | 34 |
| Dynasore Losers | 16 | 17 | 33 |
| DynaForOne Firebirds | 14 | 15 | 29 |
| Here Comes The Brees | 16 | 12 | 28 |
| Dynablaster Bombermen | 14 | 12 | 26 |
| Champions of the Sun | 12 | 14 | 26 |
| Tamworth Two | 12 | 13 | 25 |
| Dyna Hard | 10 | 14 | 24 |
| The 4th Dynmension: Dynasty of Sadness | 10 | 8 | 18 |
| East Flanders Dungeoneers | 10 | 7 | 17 |
Less of an impact – the same 4 teams in the playoffs and a little shuffling lower down, but I think you’d agree that it is a slightly more fair representation of the quality of teams.
The advantage is that even if you’re clearly beaten or going up against a team that is much stronger you still have something to cheer and getting a few more points in your Monday night game could give you an extra point and push you a step closer to the playoffs.
OPTION 3 (?!?) – COMBINED DOUBLE HEADERS AND VICTORY POINTS!
Using the first double header table to construct a double header and victory points table, we get the following:
| Team | Total Wins | Total Losses | Victory Points | Scoring Points | Total Points |
| Dynasore Losers | 18 | 8 | 36 | 17 | 53 |
| Kelkowski Don’t Play By No Dyna Rules | 17 | 9 | 34 | 18 | 52 |
| Dyna Hard | 16 | 10 | 32 | 14 | 46 |
| DynaForOne Firebirds | 13 | 13 | 26 | 15 | 41 |
| Tamworth Two | 13 | 13 | 26 | 13 | 39 |
| Champions of the Sun | 11 | 15 | 22 | 14 | 36 |
| Dynablaster Bombermen | 12 | 14 | 24 | 12 | 36 |
| Here Comes The Brees | 12 | 14 | 24 | 12 | 36 |
| The 4th Dynmension: Dynasty of Sadness | 9 | 17 | 18 | 8 | 26 |
| East Flanders Dungeoneers | 9 | 17 | 18 | 7 | 25 |
Ian Kulkowski’s 2014 Rookie Valuation Rankings
Guest submission from DynaBowl GM Ian Kulkowski
The previous article and the upcoming Dynabowl Rookie draft got me thinking about the value of rookies. This is an area that if a GM gets right could be the key to long term Dynabowl success which after all is what we all crave. In 20 years time the only thing that will matter is the numbers of Championships you have won.
The 10 Dynabowl GM’s have employed different strategies when it comes to building their rosters. Some have taken a ‘win now’ approach (Firebirds, Losers, Kelkowski) and applied a correspondingly low value to rookies. Some have taken the ‘dominate in the future’ approach (Bombermen, Dyna Hard, CotS) and have loaded their rosters with potential and don’t mind paying for it. Some have taken the radical ‘win never’ approach (Sadness) and loaded up on valuable Safeties.
Which will turn out to be the triumphant strategy only time will tell. Or maybe there is no correct way, maybe it’s all just down to dumb luck in the end.
One thing we do know going into the 2015 rookie draft is what the initial costs of our drafted rookies will be. There’s a handy table in the rules section of the Dynabowl website (www.dynabowl.com) –
| Pick | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 |
| 1 | $20, 4 years | $10, 3-4 years | $6, 2-3 years | $3, 1-3 years |
| 2 | $19, 4 years | $10, 3-4 years | $6, 2-3 years | $3, 1-3 years |
| 3 | $18, 4 years | $10, 3-4 years | $6, 2-3 years | $3, 1-3 years |
| 4 | $17, 4 years | $10, 3-4 years | $6, 2-3 years | $3, 1-3 years |
| 5 | $16, 4 years | $9, 3-4 years | $5, 2-3 years | $2, 1-3 years |
| 6 | $15, 4 years | $9, 3-4 years | $5, 2-3 years | $2, 1-3 years |
| 7 | $14, 4 years | $9, 3-4 years | $5, 2-3 years | $2, 1-3 years |
| 8 | $13, 4 years | $8, 3-4 years | $5, 2-3 years | $2, 1-3 years |
| 9 | $12, 4 years | $8, 3-4 years | $4, 2-3 years | $1, 1-3 years |
| 10 | $11, 4 years | $7, 3-4 years | $4, 2-3 years | $1, 1-3 years |
| 11 | $11, 4 years | $7, 3-4 years | $4, 2-3 years | $1, 1-3 years |
| 12 | $11, 4 years | $7, 3-4 years | $4, 2-3 years | $1, 1-3 years (and all deeper picks) |
So I thought if I applied to these costs to each of the rookies selected in 2014, ranked by their initial auction value I could somehow gage where, if at all any value could be achieved.
Round 1
Pick 1 – Sammy Watkins
Auction value $37, Rookie Value $20
Watkins was one of the highest ranked rookies going into last season (behind only Sankey possibly) so it’s no surprise he attained the highest auction value. At $37 this is way above what he would cost as a rookie. Watkins was the 26th ranked WR in our game last year with 133 points which in any normal season would be stellar for a rookie. Still Watkins will likely improve and should become a fixture in the top 20 WR’s. If he ever had someone decent throwing to him his value would be even greater.
So the conclusion is if you’d taken Watkins with the first pick at $20 I think you’d be pretty happy with the value you’d got. See where I’m going with this now? No? Not sure I do either. Anyway….
Pick 2 – Brandin Cooks
Auction value $33, Rookie Value $19
The second highest ranked rookie WR prior to last year’s draft was probably Cooks, especially given his nice landing spot with the Saints. The $33 the Bombermen paid is again more than the $19 the 2nd pick in the rookie draft would have cost. Cooks ended up as the 59th ranked WR last year with just 88 points. This came however in an injury shortened season where Cooks missed the last 6 games with a broken thumb. His per game points were 8.8 ranking him 25th amongst WRs. Looking forward Cooks is now the only receiver remaining in New Orleans so has tremendous potential, however the future remains unclear for the Saints so it’s difficult to judge how good a position being their no. 1 WR will be going forward.
At $19 though I think you would be pretty pleased with your investment of the no. 2 pick in Cooks.
Pick 3 – Teddy Bridgeater
Auction value $30, Rookie Value $18
Manboob clearly has the biggest mancrush on Teddy. It makes me sick. Of last season’s rookie QB’s he was probably most people’s no 1 by a small margin though I doubt many would have him ranked as the no. 3 rookie. Bridgeeater was the 22nd ranked QB last season behind the likes of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Alex Smith and just ahead of Kyle Orton. He should improve this season and possibly trouble the top 10-15 QB’s.
$18 would represent reasonable value for Bridgeeater, there are however a number of ‘safe’ older top 15 QB’s in our league who cost much less (Rapistberger $8, Tannehill $2, Manning $1, Romo $4) so maybe using the pick differently would be wiser.
Pick 4 – Mike Evans
Auction Value $30, Rookie Value $17
Evans had an exceptional season as a rookie last year finishing as the no. 10 overall WR in our game with 177 points. He has the opportunity to improve this season with a potentially improved QB situation with Heisman trophy winner and No.1 overall pick in this years NFL Jameis Winston behind center.
Evans is up there with the elite WR’s straight away so $17 represents exceptional value.
Pick 5 – Carlos Hyde
Auction Value $28, Rookie Value $16
Hyde was backup to Frank Gore in his rookie season with the 49ers hence he ended up as the 50th ranked running back with 69 points. With Gore now gone Hyde will get his chance as feature back so this year will be when his value is revealed. If Hyde doesn’t produce competition will come from Reggie Bush so he’s by no means a cert.
Determining Hyde’s value is difficult at this stage. If he makes the 49ers backfield his own and ends up as a top 15-20 back then the $16 investment is worthwhile. If he ends up in a committee then that price may not end up looking that good.
Pick 6 – Bishop Sankey
Auction Value $22, Rookie Value $15
Sankey was the no.1 ranked rookie going into last season but didn’t achieve that position amongst our rookies. We must have known something as Sankey disappointed last year finishing 43rd amongst RB’s despite being the lead back at Tennessee. He will get another shot as the lead back but will be on a shorter leash with this year’s 5th round pick David Cobb competing for time in the Titans backfield.
At this point $15 looks like poor value as there is a big chance Sankey could be a bust.
Pick 7 – Johnny Football
Auction Value $21, Rookie Value $14
Manziel’s rookie season was a disaster as he failed spectacularly to live up to the hype and spent the majority of the season as backup to Brian Hoyer for the Browns, ending up with a stint in rehab. It’s doubtful whether Manziel will make any impact this or any year although competition in Cleveland is never too fierce so his time may come one day.
Currently Manziel has very little dynasty value so $14 would be wasted.
Pick 8 – Jadeveon Clowney
Auction Value $20, Rookie Value $13
The no. 1 overall pick in last year’s NFL draft Clowney was unsurprisingly the highest priced rookie defender in our auction. Last year was a write off for Clowney after having two lots of surgery on his knee. Health will continue to be a question going into the 2015 season and it remains to be seen if Clowney can get back to where he was. If he does he will surely cement himself amongst the top LB’s in the game.
A fit Clowney should be amongst the top scoring LB’s but does $13 represent good value even here? Probably just about although if you look at the top scoring LB’s from last season only 5 of the top 25 cost more than $4 with most costing only $1.
Pick 9 – Ryan Shazier
Auction Value $19, Rookie Value $12
A surprise pick at no. 9 in our draft it’s fair to say the Steelers 1st round pick was probably not regarded as one of the top fantasy prospects. Like Clowney Shazier suffered with injuries in his debut season reducing him to only a handful of starts making it impossible to make a judgment at this stage.
Similarly to Clowney if Shazier delivers a fully fit season he could be amongst the top LB’s. It is however doubtful whether this is enough to represent value at $12.
Pick 10 – Tre Mason
Auction Value $16, Rookie Value $11
Mason was amongst the top RB prospects in last year’s rookie class and ended up rounding out our first round of rookies. After quickly usurping Zac Stacy & Benny Cunningham atop the Rams RB depth chart Mason performed well finishing 27th amongst RB’s despite not playing in the first 5 games. Going into 2015 Mason again finds himself 2nd on the Rams depth chart behind this year’s first round pick (and best of class amongst 2015 rookie backs) Todd Gurley. He undoubtedly has the ability to be a serviceable back but the situation doesn’t look great for the time being in St Louis.
At $11 Mason was decent value last year but the situation in St Louis makes the future uncertain.
Kommish Komment Korner
It’s worth noting that all of these players (I believe – I’ve not researched this Komment) were taken in the auction and the rookies taken in the post-auction roster filling exercise went much, much cheaper. Partially this was down to the by-then depleted finances of franchises but it was also, I believe, influenced by the fact that people were not directly bidding against each other. It is much easier to say “$19” for Ryan Shazier when someone has just said “$18” directly before you than it is to say “I’ll pay a maximum of $20 for Shazier” when you have no idea what else is also going on. The roster-filling stage had lots of bet-hedging going on and players went much cheaper than at auction. At least that’s how I’m explaining my overspending.
Drafting the 2014 Rookies
The 2014 DynaBowl season is in the books and the 2015 rookie draft is just around the corner so now seems like a good time to look back at how the 2014 rookie draft might have gone, had it been a thing and had we known what we know now about the last year’s rookies.
I’m not looking at this from a team need perspective, merely ranking the players in the order that I might have had them on my draft board if I knew then what I know now. Maybe.
1. Odell Beckham Jr – New York Giants/Dynasty of Sadness
The star of the season, the star of the Madden cover for 2015 and the star of Tinder profiles around the world. Probably.
Also, the player most likely to become a super hero.
2. Mike Evans – Tampa Bay Buccaneers/Champions of the Sun
The consensus number 2 rookie last year is the number 2 rookie in this revision. Only he’s behind a different guy this time. He’s very tall, which may help prevent some of the many INTs Jameis Winston is going to try to throw this year.
3. Sammy Watkins – Buffalo Bills/Dyna Hard
Had a more typical rookie WR season, and one which, in normal years, would be considered outstanding. Last year was not a normal year for rookie WRs. If Buffalo ever find someone who can throw a football (or even look like they’ve seen a football before), he could turn out to be very special indeed.
4. Jeremy Hill – Cincinnati Bengals/Dynablaster Bombermen
A weak year for rookie running backs, but Hill overcame the odds and has left the Bengals with a nice decision to make over how best to utilise him and Geovani Bernard.
5. Brandin Cooks – New Orleans Saints/Dynablaster Bombermen
He got injured, yes, but that doesn’t really matter for this. The key was he looked like he belonged and, given his mentality, he’s only likely to improve. May not become an elite guy – he’s too small for that – but if he becomes Randall Cobb 2.0 I’ll be very happy.
6. Kelvin Benjamin – Carolina Panthers/Dynablaster Bombermen
He was basically the only WR the Panthers had last year. Now they have Funchess to play opposite him he won’t attract quite so much attention. However, he drops a few too many balls. Improve that stat and he would leap a few slots.
7. Jordan Matthews – Philadelphia Eagles/Dynablaster Bombermen
The Eagles have slowly removed every other potential WR1 from their books leaving Matthews as the main man. For now. Agholor could change that, but, for now, the leading WR in a Chip Kelly offense is a desirable component.
8. Aaron Donald – St Louis Rams/Here Comes The Brees
The first defensive player on the list and the first of two Rams/Brees rookies. High scoring in his rookie season, finishing 2nd at DT behind Suh. Unlikely to become JJ Watt (which is like saying a member of Coronation Street is unlikely to become Neo from the Matrix) (And I don’t mean unlikely to become Keanu Reeves, I mean actually Neo), but likely to remain a top scoring defensive player for years to come.
9. Carlos Hyde – San Francisco 49ers/Dynablaster Bombermen
Had a time share role with Frank Gore and showed he can be a solid, though not spectacular back. Probably a FF RB2 going forward now that the job is his alone to lose.
10. Tre Mason – St Louis Rams/Here Comes The Brees
On performance last year he might deserve to be a couple of slots higher. After the signing of Gurley in the 2015 rookie draft he might deserve to be a couple of slots lower. For now he can sit here.
11. Jarvis Landry – Miami Dolphins/Tamworth Two
OBJ’s college roommate. The pair practiced one-handed catches together. The Dolphins now have a crowded roster with Stills, Cameron, and the newly signed DeVante Parker, but Landry could play a big role going forward.
12. Charles Sims – Tampa Bay Buccaneers/Here Comes The Brees
Came in as the third man in line but Doug Martin is made of biscuits and the Buccs are thought to be promoting Sims to starter for 2015.
13. Teddy Bridgeater – Minnesota Vikings/Dynasty of Sadness
Terrible pro-day and his hands are too small. Isn’t that the received wisdom? In 2014 he was head and shoulders above the other rookie QBs.
14. Martavis Bryant – Pittsburgh Steelers/Dyna Hard
Solid first season that would be seen a good building block for a rookie WR were it not for every WR above him on this list.
15. Austin Sefarian-Jenkins – Tampa Bay Buccaneers/Dynablaster Bombermen
Tight Ends typically do very little in their first season. ASJ did very little in his first season, but he did a little more than Eric Ebron. He looked more up to speed with the NFL and he was playing with a terrible QB. In 2015, he’ll be playing with a slightly better (though considerably more rapey (allegedly)) QB.
16. Jerrick McKinnon – Minnesota Vikings/Champions of the Sun
Showed some decent glimpses in a time-share role with Matt Asiata and with AP’s role up in the air a chance could be there for the taking. Or he could be Christine Michael in colder climes and never amount to anything.
17. Kyle Fuller – Chicago Bears/Dynasty of Sadness
Had a fast start to his time in the league and managed to be one of the best defensive Bears – a title with much competition. Finished 2nd in CB points for the year. Spectacular arrival.
18. Andre Williams – New York Giants/Dynablaster Bombermen
Adequate.
19. Khalil Mack – Oakland Raiders/Champions of the Sun
Showed enough potential to get Raiders fans very excited. As the team rebuilds, should become the leader on defence and could become something pretty special.
20. Bradley Roby – Denver Broncos/Dynablaster Bombermen
An excellent first season, placing 12th overall in the league for CB points, and behind only Fuller in the rookie positional ratings.
21. Cody Parkey – Philadelphia Eagles/East Flanders Dungeoneers
The first real skill position player to make the list.
Mock Draft 3.1 – Maxwell takes it to the house by mocking rounds 3 & 4
Taking as his starting point James ‘Goody’ Goodson’s first 2 rounds of mock draft, Max Cubberley, erstwhile GM of the Champions of the Sun franchise has taken it upon himself to continue the simulation and mock draft rounds 3 & 4. So without further ado, let us begin…
3.01 – Dynahard – Marcus Mariota (QB – TEN)
With two premium skill position players in the bag already Dynahard may find the value of Marcus Mariota too much to pass at the top of the third round. Although Matthew Stafford and Eli Manning between them should be able to put up a decent season next year it would be a boon to have a QB with more consistency to slot in at the top of the roster and Mariota may become that in time.
3.02 – 4th Dynmension of Sadness – Jay Ajayi (RB – MIA)
How many running backs do the Dynasty of Sadness need to draft? How many do you have? Despite health concerns, Ajayi is the most talented skill position player left at this point who can make an immediate impact. This should be a no-brainer, particularly with Lamar Miller entering a contract year.
3.03 – Here Comes The Brees – Vic Beasley (DE – ATL)
With needs all over the shop at the Brees it may seem odd to go with back-to-back picks at defensive end after taking Dante Fowler Jr. in the 2nd but you need to play 2 DEs in this league and the Brees didn’t have 1 that cracked 100 points last year. Sure, maybe Michael Bennett had a down year and Fletcher Cox is still improving but I’d want a piece of that Dan Quinn defence if I was the Brees.
3.04 – The Tamworth Two – Hau’oli Kikoha (LB – NOS)
The Tamworth Two have a pretty strong roster with Amari Copper and David Cobb already adding talent and depth to the skill positions in round 1. The glaring hole is at LB and while it may seem strange to take Kikoha with the likes of Dupree, Kendricks and Anthony (all drafted above him) on the board, Kikoha is the most pro-ready pass rusher in the class and one who can make an immediate impact in New Orleans.
3.05 – Champions of the Sun – Philip Dorsett (WR – IND)
With both of Smokin’ Jay Cutler’s potential replacements off the board by this time, the Champions need to look to other needs. Although they could use more running back help, the number of backs taken so far has left that field lagging behind the receiver talent. For that reason it becomes a case of taking the best on the board. The Colts have to pay Andrew Luck soon and there’s a good chance they let TY Hilton walk at the end of the season. If that happens Philip Dorsett could become a top target for one of the top QBs in the league.
3.06 – DynaForOne Firebirds – Eric Kendricks (LB – MIN)
The Firebirds love to hit the field with a pair of beastly DTs up front and with the recruitment of Leonard Williams in the first round they can certainly do that. Looking at the rest of the roster shows a need at running back and linebacker. With the running back well looking a little dry, it’s time to bolster the defence further and Eric Kendricks goes here. A combination of his natural ability and the chance to join a Mike Zimmer defence means that Kendricks could be an absolute tackle machine in Minnesota and a steady weekly scorer for the ‘Birds.
3.07 – KDPBNDR – Malcolm Brown (DT – NEP)
Relying on Jay Ratliff for your production at defensive tackle is not a good place to be in. Although the big guy produced last season it’s an obvious depth-need for the Rules. The two most-likely contributors have already gone and taking a run-stuffer like Malcolm Brown is a little risky but with Chandler Jones, Rob Ninkovich and Dominique Easley causing trouble around him he should be able to get penetration into the backfield and make some nice tackles for loss and even a couple of sacks. He has the potential to be beast at the heart of a good defence for years to come.
3.08 – Dynasore Losers – Jeremy Langford (RB – CHI)
Duke Johnson addresses the lack of RB depth at the Losers to some extent but it’s an obvious problem that you can’t really throw enough solutions at. There are a few options on the board here but Jeremy Langford is the stand-out for the Losers, being both an explosive talent and also at least a partial handcuff for Matt Forte if he goes down.
3.09 – Here Comes The Brees – Devin Smith (WR – NYJ)
With the defensive ends taken care of and a plug-and-play running back it’s time to address those holes at wide receiver. Whilst there may be some choices out there that could make a more immediate impact than Devin Smith, the Jets’ new deep threat has big play potential and could easily move alongside Eric Decker at the head of the depth chart by the end of the year with Brandon Marshall’s age and health concerns. It’s an upside pick but the payoff could be worth the gamble.
3.10 – DynaForOne Firebirds – Landon Collins (S – NYG)
This is the only defensive back you’ll see me suggesting taking in this mock report. To be honest, I didn’t even do much research into them, I have no intention of drafting any. What I do know though is that Landon Collins is a big, fast, aggressive safety who’s gone to a team where I could probably get a game at safety. He should be a day 1 starter for the Giants and could be a top 20 fantasy safety in his first season easily.
4.01 – Dynahard – Jeff Heuerman (TE – DEN)
This draft class is very shallow for tight ends but Dynahard are in some pretty dire straits with their current situation at the position. With Maxx Williams off the board already, Jeff Heuerman is the only prospect worth looking at left but could be a great pickup. He comes into a great offence in Denver, one that’s just lost its starting TE. He is in a good position to buck the usual trend of tight ends not performing in their first season and his full stud potential.
4.02 – 4th Dynmension of Sadness – Randy Gregory (DE – DAL)
Having taken nearly every running back available in the draft already it’s time for a change, although not that much of one. The defensive line is a position of great need for the Sadness and there is better value at end than at tackle here. Randy Gregory has some character questions but all the talent in the world and will enjoy working with Rod Marinelli in Dallas. Plus the Sadness love a Cowboy.
4.03 – East Flanders Dungeoneers – Jaelen Strong (WR – HOU)
Welcome to the later rounds, Dungeoneers! Even with Kevin White already on-board the Flanders crew need more help at WR and Jaelen Strong figures to make an immediate impact in Houston playing across from De’Andre Hopkins. The ceiling on Strong may be a bit lower than some but he’s a nice bridging piece, particularly in the 4th round.
4.04 – Tamworth Two – Bud Dupree (LB – PIT)
At this point the Tamworth Two’s biggest need is safety but, as mentioned above, I don’t see another safety in the draft that’s worth passing on a prospect at a more stable position. With that in mind the Two take Bud Dupree here. Between him and Kikaha in the round before there should be at least one good fantasy pass rusher going forward, even if Dupree doesn’t figure to make as much immediate impact in Pittsburgh.
4.05 – Here Comes the Brees – Devin Funchess (WR – CAR)
Synergy is a glorious thing so why not take a pair of Devins back-to-back? The Brees need all the help they can get at WR as fast as possible so, with that in mind, Funchess comes off the board here. If Devin Smith has a high ceiling but a low floor for the season ahead, Funchess is the opposite. He may not have the upside of Smith but he comes into a team with a good QB who need help at receiver. With Kelvin Benjamin taking the strongest corner on the defence, Funchess may be able to bully his match up and leave the season with a good few scores.
4.06 – Dynablaster Bombermen – Stephone Anthony (LB – NOS)
After sleeping in and missing round 3 due to their feasting in the first two rounds, the Bombermen finally join the party again midway through the 4th. One of the favourites for the season to come, the Bombermen have already addressed a lot of issues in the first two rounds and can afford to look at the best players left on the board. Stephone Anthony answers a slight need at linebacker and figures to be an integral part of the Saints offence from week 1, racking up tackles.
4.07 – KDPBNDR – Chris Conley (WR – KCC)
Taking a Kansas City wide receiver as famous for his home-made Star Wars movie as his ball skills is just the type of maverick move we’d expect from Kelkowski. Conley has some questions over his hands and his productivity in college but has great size and blazing speed to do damage after the catch from Alex Smith’s noodley 5 yard slants. You don’t like taking any Kansas receiver but Conley is going straight into competition for a starting spot opposite Maclin and is worth a gamble.
4.08 – Dynasore Losers – Michael Bennett (DT – JAC)
Have I lost my mind? A defensive tackle drafted in the 6th round of the real draft taken in the 4th?! A defensive tackle drafted by the Jags no less?! Maybe it’s just me but I love the skills and the fit for Bennett in Jacksonville. Gus Bradley gets a hell of a rush from his guys and Bennett figures to be a dangerous interior pass rusher, which is what you want from your fantasy tackle position. Sure, maybe there’s a reason he slipped down the board but there’s also a chance you’ve got the closest thing this year’s draft has to Aaron Donald.
4.09 – Champions of the Sun – Javorius Allen (RB – BAL)
In a year that’s weak on exciting names, Javorius Allen is a solid effort. More than that he comes into a strong Baltimore running game with a far from certain future. Allen is unlikely to get ahead of Justin Forsett this season, barring injury, but at this point in the draft taking more depth at RB is the obvious choice for the Champions and Allen is the last RB left on the board that has significant upside.
4.10 – DynaForOne Firebirds – Nate Orchard (DE – CLE)
The Firebirds need no help on offence and having taken a tackle, a linebacker and a safety so far it’s time to look at defensive end. It was a tough call here between Orchard and Preston Smith in Washington. Either would be a good pick but the Browns are needier on the line so I think Orchard will see more immediate impact.
4.11 – Dynahard – Justin Hardy (WR – ATL)
For the first of our supplemental picks Dynahard pick up a player that has flown under the radar of many. Sure, Roddy White and Julio Jones are ahead of Hardy on the depth chart but he figures to work his way into the starting position at the slot on a pass-happy offence. Hardy’s a tough runner with good routes and hands. He’s unlikely to ever be a fantasy stud but he could be a solid WR3 for a good number of years and there’s value in that too.
4.12 – 4th Dynmension of Sadness – Bernardrick McKinney (LB – HOU)
No, you’re not hallucinating. It took until a supplemental pick in the 4th round but the Sadness have taken a player that isn’t a running back or a defensive end. McKinney walks into a Texans team desperate for help at ILB. The knock on him is that he may be no more than two-down run-stopping bruiser due to weak coverage skills but if you look down the list of interior linebackers that’s a common concern. McKinney has the best position of the other options, playing for a good defence.
4.13 – Dynablaster Bombermen – Lorenzo Maudlin (LB – NYJ)
Bringing up the rear it’s the Bombermen, picking up another linebacker to help out. There’s no science to this, Maudlin is the best choice left on the board. The Jets are going to be blitzing until the cows come home this season and they have no outside pass rushers to speak of. Maudlin is their answer to that problem and there’s a chance he turns into a sack beast over the next few seasons in a Todd Bowles defence. His talent ceiling may not be up to it, time will tell, but I like the possibilities.