Katie’s well-chronicled startup journey continues as we creep into the vital middle rounds of talent acquisition. Catch up on the previous rounds:
Continuing the journey of my late season startup, this installment will cover rounds six through ten as rosters start to take shape.
The Format:
- 12 teams, .5 ppr, IDP tackle heavy scoring, 6 pts passing TD
- 40 man roster
- Start 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex (R/W/T), 1 K, 1 DT, 1 DE, 1 LB, 1 CB, 1 S, 2 IDP Flex
*My selections in green*
My Roster
WR Mike Evans, Brandin Cooks, Davante Adams, Allen Robinson
TE Rob Gronkowski
Teams were starting to show what they valued, predicting picks was getting easier. At this point I was really stoked with my roster and how the draft was going overall. I had 3-6 target QB choices and all of them were still on the board, I was hoping to wait at least until round 10 before even thinking about taking my first signal caller, I felt with the IDP in the mix, the QBs would fall. I wasn’t too worried about RB, there were still several target options for me, as well as the fresh legs in the 2015 rookie draft.
ROUND 6
- 6.01 Bishop Sankey RB20
- 6.02 Cam Newton QB7
- 6.03 Austin Sefarian-Jenkins TE5
I really like this guy and with TB having an early pick that they can use on a young QB, he will have time to get into a groove. If he explodes next season, I can play two TE, otherwise I will use him as bye week or injury fill in. If he really takes off like I know he can, I can trade Gronk while he is still fantasy gold. This pick gave me lots of upside and options.
- 6.04 Percy Harvin WR28
- 6.05 Ryan Mathews RB21
- 6.06 Golden Tate WR29
- 6.07 Christine Michael RB22
- 6.08 Brandon Marshall WR29
- 6.09 Lamar Miller RB23
I like Miller, but I wasn’t ready to pull the trigger early in round 6 to do it.
- 6.10 Robert Quinn DE2
- 6.11 Pierre Garcon WR30
- 6.12 Cordarelle Patterson WR31
ROUND 7
- 7.01 Reggie Bush RB24
- 7.02 Larry Fitzgerald WR32
- 7.03 Julian Edelman WR33
- 7.04 Jarvis Landry WR34
I like Jarvis Landry but not enough to move up, he would have been nice to have but not a strong need.
- 7.05 Von Miller LB4
- 7.06 Cody Latimer WR35
- 7.07 Devonta Freeman RB25
- 7.08 C.J. Anderson RB26
- 7.09 Charles Johnson WR36
- 7.10 Eric Ebron TE6
Editor’s Note: This is what I thought would happen at tight end, making the Travis Kelce in RD4 pick standout.
I would have liked Charles Johnson or Torrey Smith, though Smith is still too much boom or bust for my taste. I decided to go BPA and take Ebron. I like ASJ better, but this move gives me even more flexibility in the future at TE. I was hoping that this move would scare some owners into a TE run, and it did. If Ebron turns into what he is projected to be, my TE depth is strong.
- 7.11 Torrey Smith WR37
- 7.12 Mychal Kendricks LB5
ROUND 8
- 8.01 Tyler Eifert TE7
- 8.02 Dwayne Allen TE8
- 8.03 Marquess Wilson WR38
He was not my highest rated WR at this point on the board, however he was close enough and the Bears had played the night before and he had a decent game, I felt that he wouldn’t be on the board in the 9th.
- 8.04 Brandon Lafell WR39
- 8.05 Rashad Jennings RB27
- 8.06 Desean Jackson WR40
- 8.07 Greg Olsen TE9
- 8.08 Alec Ogletree LB6
- 8.09 Martellus Bennett TE10
- 8.10 Navarro Bowman LB7
- 8.11 Terrance West RB28
- 8.12 Doug Martin RB29
ROUND 9
A QB run in this round helped move some key players my way, I still haven’t drafted my first RB and many have their 2nd IDP by now.
- 9.01 Coby Fleener TE11
- 9.02 Philip Rivers QB8
- 9.03 Tom Brady QB9
- 9.04 Blake Bortles QB10
- 9.05 Harrison Smith S1
- 9.06 Matt Ryan QB11
- 9.07 Jordan Cameron TE12
- 9.08 Joique Bell RB30
- 9.09 Chandler Jones DE3
- 9.10 CJ Spiller RB31
I had CJ ranked as my RB25 so for him to still be here was a plus. I had Charles Sims ranked higher, but based on the way the draft was going I felt that he wasn’t a name that most of these guys would even consider yet. It was another gamble that would pay off later in the draft, paying attention to leaguemates’ tendencies can really help.
- 9.11 Jordan Reed TE13
- 9.12 Muhammad Wilkerson DE4
ROUND 10
- 10.01 Marcell Dareus DT1
- 10.02 Vontaze Burfict LB8
- 10.03 Knile Davis RB32
I don’t expect him to be my RB1, but when Charles is injured he has shown that he can score like an RB1. On top of that he will get credit for KR/PR yards. Eventually he will be the depth on my RB roster, selecting him as the 2nd RB does not mean that this is where I value him, it was where I felt that I needed to draft him.
- 10.04 Richard Sherman CB1
- 10.05 Justin Hunter WR41
- 10.06 Michael Crabtree WR42
- 10.07 Vincent Jackson WR43
- 10.08 Zach Ertz TE14
I was really shocked to see him fall this far, good value pick for this team.
- 10.09 Ben Roethlisberger QB12
- 10.10 Mike Wallace WR44
- 10.11 Trent Richardson RB33
Another pivotal moment in the draft, my next two picks were 12.03 and 13.10, still a long way off. The guy who had the back to back picks at 10.12 and 11.01 was not around for 9 hours. Reviewing the draft and rosters, I decided to make a move to go ahead and get my QB and another key RB. I offered 14.03, 16.03, and my 6.03 and 7.03 rookie picks for 10.12, 11.01, and 40.05. He accepted and I was on the clock.
Editor’s Note: Even in IDP, that is a ridiculously cheap price to get back into the top-120 of the startup draft.
I sent Chad a tweet and asked him who he rated higher, Tannehill or Kaepernick, they were both pretty close for me. His response:
“They are close. Love Tanny outside the top 10 QB, lock him up now!”
10.12 Ryan Tannehill QB13
My Roster
QB Ryan Tannehill
RB C.J. Spiller
WR Mike Evans, Brandin Cooks, Davante Adams, Allen Robinson, Marquess Wilson
TE Rob Gronkowski, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Eric Ebron
Editor’s Note: Ryan Tannehill this late is stealing. The tight ends have been interesting to track. Similar to Chad and Doug’s startup draft from the spring of 2014, taking Gronkowski early should not dissuade the best-player-available approach in the middle rounds if Ebron or Seferian-Jenkins, or even Tyler Eifert are available in the TE5-10 range.
