This 12-team devy superflex league is entering year 2. Rosters are very flexible with only one of each position required, 4 flexes and 1 superflex. After loading up heavily on devy picks in the start-up, I finished in the middle of the pack. I have been extremely active in the trade market this offseason, building this team into a serious contender. The Devy draft is two rounds annually but the twist is only 2 Devy can be placed on the taxi squad. Any additional Devy players cost active roster spots.
Draft Prep
I entered the offseason with 4 devy picks but after multiple trades (both buying and selling devy picks), I was left with picks 1.05 and 2.07. 12 of the 24 devy selected in year 1 declared for the 2017 NFL draft, and 12 remained in school, depleting the devy pool. When building my draft board, I focused on players eligible for the 2018 NFL draft first. Only a few 2019 and 2020 players made my draft board due to roster space constraints. With a strong quarterback group (Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston and Matt Stafford), as well as the hit rates of Devy quarterbacks, drafting one of the top players at that position was not in play for me. This left two top tier devy players eligible for the 2018 draft on my board, Notre Dame WR Equanimeous St. Brown and Michigan State RB L.J. Scott.
The Draft
This draft quickly showed why it is a fool’s errand to attempt to project what other teams will do as teams clearly had a different approach than I did. 2019 and 2020 eligible players flew off the board early, and 2018 prospects seemed to slip. When Cam Akers and Devwah Whaley were selected in the top 3, I had hopes that Equanimeous St Brown would fall to my selection at 1.05, and felt great about L.J Scott being my consolation prize.
When St. Brown was selected at 1.04, I re-engaged trade talks with a rebuilding team. We had been close to a deal before the draft began and I knew he was looking at drafting a quarterback. Since Josh Allen was still available, I figured the deal might get a bit more traction this time around. After some quick back and forth, we agreed on a deal.
Trading 1.05
Gave 1.05, 2.07, Isaiah Crowell, Martavius Bryant, Evan Engram
Received LeVeon Bell, DeSean Jackson, 2.03, 2018 Devy 2
This deal accomplished two major things for my team; I consolidated two roster spots, and improved my starting lineup. While Crowell is a nice value piece this year, moving up to LeVeon Bell is a major improvement. For 2017, DeSean Jackson is very likely to produce a similar season to Martavius Bryant. While I like Evan Engram, he is an expendable piece on a roster that includes Rob Gronkowski and Hunter Henry. I did not know at the time, but moving from 2.07 to 2.03 might have been the best part of this deal.
As players continued to be drafted and L.J. Scott continued to fall, I began sending trade offers to move up. Unfortunately, everyone was looking for me to include a future devy 1st in order to move up a few slots which I was unwilling to do.
2.03 L.J. Scott
Again proving that predicting a devy draft is impossible, Scott fell to me and I ran to the podium to make my selection. While I was not expecting him to slip this far, moving up from 2.07 to 2.03 as part of the earlier trade is likely the reason why I was able to add Scott. Never be afraid to ask for more or underestimate moving up even just a few slots in a draft.
Roster Highlights
*Starting Lineup is 1-1-1-1, 3Flex, 1 SFlex*
Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, Matt Stafford
Ezekiel Elliott, LeVeon Bell, Samaje Perine, Ty Montgomery, James Conner, Jonathan Williams
Amari Cooper, A.J. Green, Davante Adams, Brandin Cooks, DeSean Jackson, Mike Wallace, Tavon Austin
Rob Gronkowski, Hunter Henry, Vernon Davis
Devy: Derrius Guice, Royce Freeman, L.J. Scott, Mike Weber
2018 Rookie: 1,2,3,4,5
2018 Devy: 1,1,2,2
With a solid core of top end talent at every position, this team is primed for a run this year and for years to come. The challenge with this roster will be to continue to consolidate roster spots every year as space is already tight.
