SDMB Fantasy Football DYNASTY league: Year Ten

The Game Room
1

Last year’s thread

We’ve got some changes to deal with this year. Varlos and Stringer will be leaving us, to be replaced with Overly Sentimental and Ol’Gaffer. Varlos was the comissioner, and unfortunately we have no way of regaining control of the league in his absence, forcing us to create a new and eventually identical league to the old one. I will attempt to preserve the old ones for historical records (or transplant the old historical records onto the new league) when I figure that out. Everyone will have received an invite to the “SDMB-Dynasty league” (“SDMB Dynasty League” is the old one) which is the new league. I will complete the rules, rosters, and hopefully league history in the next few weeks as we hold drafts.

We’ve decided to use the unique opportunity of losing two owners in one year as a way for the new owners to have greater control in creating the team they take over. To do so, we’re going to take all players owned by VarlosZ and Stringer and put them into a draft pool for the new owners, who will then select players from those rosters to construct their new team. That draft will take place in thread, and start today. I will list the available players in a subsequent post. The draft picks the absent players owned will be assigned in a way that will be finalized today, after we determine if both new owners will be sufficiently available to do an ABABABA draft, rather than drafting two at a time.

We’ve got some rule proposals and clarifications to discuss, which I will try to round up in a later post.
2017 Champion: VarlosZ
2016 Champion: SenorBeef (Exploding Pancakes)
2015 Champion: VarlosZ
2014 Champion: Stringer (We Do HGH)
2013 Champion: VarlosZ
2012 Champion: Hamlet (CuteWiddleBunny)
2011 Champion: SenorBeef (Exploding Pancakes)
2010 Champion: Stringer (We Do HGH)
2009 Champion: Really Not All That Bright
Points Leaders by Year (including Weeks 15-16)
2017: RNATB: 2095.71
2016: Petey; 2018.97
2015: VarlosZ; 2183.64
2014: Stringer; 2177.27
2013: SenorBeef; 2132.81
2012: Stringer; 2095.83
2011: Stringer; 2229.75
2010: Stringer; 2167.03
2009: Hamlet; 2207.00
2017 Final Results:

  1. VarlosZ
  2. RNATB
  3. Jules Andre
  4. Stringer
  5. Ellis Dee
  6. SenorBeef
  7. Petey
  8. Retrovertigo
  9. Omniscient
  10. Justin Bailey
  11. Hamlet
  12. dalej42

Thanks to Jules for throwing the draft list together for me. The relevant trades were that SenorBeef traded his 2018 2nd round pick to Varlos for Varlos’ third round pick (3.12 for 2.06) and that RNATB gave Justin his 1st round pick (1.11) and Justin gave RNATB his third round pick (3.03). We have no outstanding trades (no last pick swaps) to deal with - this is the complete draft order going into the draft, where the new owners will inherit the draft picks of Stringer and Varlos.

2018 Draft Order:
1.01 - Warner’s Brothers (dalej42)
1.02 - CuteWiddleBunny(Hmlt (Hamlet)
1.03 - JB’s Gusterrhoids (Justin_Bailey)
1.04 - Ides of Martz (Omniscient)
1.05 - New York Fanboys (Ellis Dee)
1.06 - Exploding Pancakes (SenorBeef)
1.07 - Isotopes (Petey)
1.08 - RetroVertigo (RetroVertigo)
1.09 - * We Do HGH (Stringer)
1.10 - HungryHungryHaruspex (Jules Andre)
1.11 - JB’s Gusterrhoids (Justin_Bailey) From RNATB
1.12 - * Varlos’ Zzzzzzz (VarlosZ)

2.01 - Warner’s Brothers
2.02 - CuteWiddleBunny(Hmlt
2.03 - JB’s Gusterrhoids
2.04 - Ides of Martz
2.05 - New York Fanboys
2.06 - * Varlos’ Zzzzzzz (from SenorBeef)
2.07 - Isotopes
2.08 - RetroVertigo
2.09 - * We Do HGH
2.10 - HungryHungryHaruspex
2.11 - Nine Inch Neils
2.12 - * Varlos’ Zzzzzzz

3.01 - Warner’s Brothers
3.02 - CuteWiddleBunny(Hmlt
3.03 - Nine Inch Neils (from Justin Bailey)
3.04 - Ides of Martz
3.05 - New York Fanboys
3.06 - Exploding Pancakes
3.07 - Isotopes
3.08 - RetroVertigo
3.09 - * We Do HGH
3.10 - HungryHungryHaruspex
3.11 - Nine Inch Neils
3.12 - Exploding Pancakes (from Varlos)

Opening day is Thursday, Sept 6. The third week of preseason runs through Aug 25. We will begin the general draft on Aug 26 and finish up before the season begins. The last day to submit cuts will be Aug 24 at 11:59pm eastern, giving us at least a day before the draft begins. Which I suppose means that the new owner draft can also take up to that date if needed (although obviously it should be finished much quicker) since it wouldn’t hurt anything up until that point.
Archive
Year One League Thread
Year Two League Thread
Year One Trade Log
Year Two Trade Log
Notable Waiver Wire Transactions, Year Two
Year Three League Thread
Year Three Trade Log
Year Four League Thread
Year Four Trade Log
Year Five League Thread
Year Five Trade Log (plus addendum)
Notable Waiver Wire Transactions, Year Five
Year Six League Thread
Year Six Trade Log
Year Seven League Thread
Year Seven Trade Log
Year Eight League Thread
Year Eight Trade Log
Year 9 league thread
Year 9 trade log

2

New owner draft:

Realizing that we’ve got over a week before cuts have to be finalized, I think we’ve got plenty of time to do the new owner draft in an ABABAB format, one pick at a time, rather than the ABBAABBAA format we discussed previously. I’ll randomly determine who goes first, but then I suggest that whoever is selected as the B player gets to decide if they inherit Stringer or Varlos’ draft picks. Neither set is clearly more desirable - Stringer drafts in the 1.09 slot, giving him earlier picks, but Varlos picked up an extra second round pick, potentially making his picks more desirable depending on what you value.

Varlos has the 1.12, 2.06, 2.12, [no third rounder], 4.12, 5.12, etc. picks.
Stringer has the 1.09, 2.09, 3.09, etc. picks.

One of you will have the 1, 3, 5, 7, etc. picks and the other the 2,4,6,8 etc picks. Whoever has the second set will be able to decide (at the start of the draft) if he wants Varlos’ or Stringer’s set of picks. Simple enough.

We have 25 roster slots in this league. Each year, we cut players before the draft, and however many unfilled slots you have up to 25 becomes your number of draft picks. In this new owner draft, you will essentially do the same thing but as part of the process of the draft. At some point you can decide to simply stop drafting, and the rest of the picks (out of 25) become picks in this year’s general draft. For example, if you draft 21 players in the new owner draft, that will give you 4 draft picks in the general draft, which will include all rookies and all unowned players. You can choose whenever you stop drafting in the new owner draft, and hence, decide how many picks you have in the general draft.

These are the available pool of players to be drafted in the new owner draft.
QB
Cam Newton
DeShaun Watson
Jared Goff
Matthew Stafford
Tyrod Taylor

WR
Odell Beckham Jr
Antonio Brown
Randall Cobb
Emmanuel Sanders
Michael Crabtree
DeVante Parker
Paul Richardson
DaVante Adams
Robby Anderson
Kelvin Benjamin
Corey Coleman
Sammy Watkins
Josh Doctson
Tyrell Williams
Allen Hurns
Taywan Taylor
John Ross
Malcolm Mitchell

RB
LeSean McCoy
Alvin Kamara
Duke Johnson Jr
CJ Anderson
Theo Riddick
Johnathan Stewart
CJ Prosise
Giovanni Bernard
Rex Burkhead
Rod Smith
Javorious Allen
Malcolm Brown
TE
Greg Olsen
Zach Ertz
Coby Fleener
Ed Dickson
AJ Derby
Chares Clay

K
Stephen Gostkowski
Giorgio Tavecchio
Kai Forbath

DEF
Baltimore
Carolina
New England
Tampa Bay
Jacksonville

If Ol’Gaffer and Overly Sentimental will check in to the thread today and confirm that they’re okay with this draft format and they understand it, we can randomly assign who goes first and begin today. Any questions?

3

Seems fair and I don’t have any objections. No preference as to picking 1st or 2nd - coin flip is fine unless Overly Sentimental has a preference.

I’m available today until 6pm (PST) and all day tomorrow and Monday, but will be out of town this weekend and can’t guarantee that I’ll be online.

Question for the draft - since, depending on the number of cuts, everyone has a different number of draft picks I’m assuming that once you’ve reached a full roster we just skip your spot and continue on until everyone has a full roster? I just mean that if I only have to fill three roster spots in the draft I can’t deal my 4th round pick, correct?

4

That’s correct. This is last year’s draft, for instance - once you start getting into the later rounds only some people have picks. Other people effectively used their picks in that round to keep people already on their roster.

5

I proposed ABBAABBAABB… as a parity measure. The fact that it’s faster is just a nice side effect.

In an ABABABAB… draft, whoever picks #1 overall also gets 2 of the top 3 picks. ABBAABB… is better because it gives one guy the #1 overall, and the other guy 2 of the top 3 picks.

6

That’s a good point Ellis Dee. I hadn’t considered it from the parity angle, but you’re right. Still, I’m down for whatever gets us rolling. I don’t want the new guy draft to hold anything up.

7

Yeah, that’s fine. We can do ABBAABB for parity, and which set of draft picks people get (Varlos or Stringer) can be something they draft. Obviously you can’t draft both.

As soon as Overly Sentimental checks in to make sure we’re on the same page and ready, we can begin. If he has an A/B preference he can have it (since Ol’Gaffer has no preference), or if he declines to pick one I’ll just pick it randomly.

8

Alright, I got an e-mail back from Overly Sentimental saying he also has no preference for draft order, so I went ahead and flipped a coin. Overly Sentimental will have pick A in the ABBAABBAA sequence, so he’s on the clock. Ol’Gaffer will then have the next two picks.

We also have to distribute Varlos’ picks (1.12, 2.06, 2.12, 4.12, 5.12) and Stringer’s picks (1.09, 2.09, 3.09, 4.09). Those are pretty close in value on account of the extra second rounder of Varlos, but at some point probably late in the draft you can pick having one of those sets of picks for the upcoming league draft. Obviously only one - you can’t sneak in and declare you’re taking both sets.

At any point, you can decide to stop drafting and however many unused picks you have (out of 25) become your draft picks in the league draft. So if you draft 21 players now, and took Varlos’ picks, you’d own the 1.12, 2.06, 2.12, 4.12 picks in the main draft, and for Stringer 1.09, 2.09, 3.09, 4.09.

Any questions? If not, go ahead and start, Overly Sentimental is up.

Jules helpfully summarized some of the rule changes and clarifications we’re discussing. I’ll post some messages on the league thread for votes (to avoid cluttering this too much) once we’ve worked out exactly what we’re voting for.

9

Thanks Beef, sounds good. I’ll only be around for a bit more today and then likely offline all weekend but back Monday morning. I’ll monitor the thread though until I leave for the day in case Overly Sentimental jumps in.

10

I think it might be faster if Gaffer and I each ranked a list? It would be a little work for beef but if you’re up for it I think it would be much quicker. Am I missing something?

11

It would be faster, but strategies often change in a draft as players disappear. Maybe you ranked a few running backs just behind where he ranks them, and you end up expecting to get 2-3 running backs and get 0-1, so then you’d have to change your valuation mid-draft to make sure you got something at RB. That sort of thing can go awry with a pre-rank list.

We’ve got a little over a week to complete this without interfering with anything else, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to get it done in that time.

12

Ok those are good points and I withdraw my suggestion.

I’m on the clock then?

So I can take as many of the players in the pool I want, and then we do the full draft, which is rookies and other unowned commodities?

13

Yes, you’re on the clock. The available players to you are the ones listed in post 2, which are the combined rosters of the leaving players. Draft as many as you want, up to 25. However, you can stop before you get to 25, and you get as many draft picks as you have players under 25. I’d recommend leaving enough for at least 3 draft picks, so drafting 22 at most. Once this new owner draft is finished up, everyone else will cut as many players as they want from their existing rosters, and then everyone will be assigned draft picks, and we have the normal draft, which includes all rookies and any unowned free agents (potentially including people that other players just cut before the draft)

We also have two different sets of draft positions to deal with (Varlos has 1.12, 2.06, 2.12, 3.12, 4.12, etc, Stringer had 1.09, 2.09, 3.09, 4.09, etc.) - you pick one of those sets of picks as part of your draft. Since there’s not a whole lot of difference between them, you’ll probably want to do that with a late pick. With one of your late picks, you can pick one of those sets of draft positions in lieu of player.

14

Are trades allowed between other members of the league that would involve draft picks this year for players currently rostered while they’re doing the new owners draft?

15

My preliminary keep/cut list:

KEEP

01 Marcus Mariota, QB, Ten
02 Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pit
03 Eli Manning, QB, NYG

04 Christian McCaffrey, RB, Car
05 Carlos Hyde, RB, Cle
06 T.J. Yeldon, RB, Jax
07 Kenneth Dixon, RB, Bal

08 Jarvis Landry, WR, Cle
09 Sterling Shepard, WR, NYG
10 Jamison Crowder, WR, Was
11 Devin Funchess, WR, Car
12 Carlos Henderson, WR, Den

13 Travis Kelce, TE, KC
14 David Njoku, TE, Cle
15 Adam Shaheen, TE, Chi

16 Harrison Butker, K, KC

17 Pittsburgh, DEF, Pit
18 Dallas, DEF, Dal
19 New York, DEF, NYG
20 New York, DEF, NYJ

CUT

Bilal Powell, RB, NYJ
Lance Dunbar, RB, LAR
ArDarius Stewart, WR, NYJ
Tavon Austin, WR,RB, Dal
Josh Reynolds, WR, LAR
Roger Lewis, WR, NYG
Josh Lambo, K, Jax
Note that our new league doesn’t have any roster history, so I posted all my keepers instead of just my cuts.

I reserve the right to post an updated keep/cut list at the deadline, but barring that, this list will stand. And that would give me 5 picks in the draft.

EDIT: My QBs and RBs are thin at best, my WRs are decidedly lacking, my K sucks and all four of my DEFs blow chunks, but damn if my TEs don’t kick some serious ass.

16

Yes, exactly right.

17
  1. Antonio Brown
18

Cuts in [del]strikethrough[/del], starters in bold, 2017 finish in parenthesis.

I’m in year three of my three year plan. I started with furt’s roster and finished 10th. I inherited a team that finished 2nd the year before, but I knew all along that team was fool’s gold. I was able to be much more aggressive in my second year, finishing 3rd last year. My team COULD compete with anyone, but lacked top-end explosion.

Of the team I inherited, only the following position players remain:

QB Russell Wilson
QB Jimmy Garoppolo
RB Jerick McKinnon
WR Stefon Diggs
WR T.Y. Hilton
WR Tyler Lockett

A solid core, for sure. But that’s a lot of change in only two seasons. I think it was wise to hold on to Jimmy GQ and McKinnon even though they didn’t help em for two seasons. I stayed aggressive throughout the last year, making several trades to turn over nearly my entire roster and put me in position to remain at the top of this league for years and years to come. I’m thrilled with where my roster is, and I think I have a very good chance this year.

MY ROSTER:
QB:
Russell Wilson, Sea (1)
Carson Wentz, Phi (6)
Jimmy Garoppolo, SF (32)

I think this is solidly the best QB group in the league. Wilson is still under 30 and the reigning #1 QB in the league. It’s fair to argue, being five years younger than Rodgers, if Wilson isn’t the best dynasty QB asset at this point. Wentz was #1 for a lot of the season and would have finished #1 had he not gotten hurt late. I gambled on him in 2016, and it paid off big time. Had Garoppolo played an entire season the way he finished 2017, he would have finished 4th in fantasy last season. I think I have 2 of the top 3 dynasty QBs in the league, and certainly 3 of the top 10.

RB:
Leonard Fournette, Jax (8)
Jordan Howard, Chi (13)
Jerick McKinnon, SF (17)
Derrick Henry, Ten (33)
Joe Mixon, Cin (36)
Chris Carson, Sea (85)
[del]DeAndre Washington, Oak[/del] (62)
[del]Mike Davis, Sea[/del] (77)

I think RetroVertigo has a better top 3, but nobody comes close to fielding a better group top to bottom. I have five no doubt starters, and Chris Carson is quietly, unassumingly grinding out starter reps every time he’s healthy. While my best RB is a little lower on the list, I think I have 5 of the top 20 dynasty RBs available. Only McKinnon is older than 24, and he’s 26. This is probably as good of a group as you will ever find in a competitive, well-managed league.

WR:
Doug Baldwin, Sea (13)
Stefon Diggs, Min (20)
Tyler Lockett, Sea (25)
T.Y. Hilton, Ind (26)
Amari Cooper, Oak (36)
Donte Moncrief, Jax (85)
Mack Hollins, Phi (124)
[del]Chester Rogers, Ind[/del] (102)
[del]Chad Williams, Ari[/del] (176)

This group has a ton of potential, but really let me down last season. Hilton is a perennial top-8 guy, but Luck’s injury sunk his season. Baldwin was up and down, mostly down, and he was a mid-season trade acquisition. Diggs and Cooper are top dynasty assets, but both are slight question marks. Tyler Lockett is stranegly pretty much always a top 25 WR, but not someone I can ever start on this team. Moncrief is an athletic marvel, and only 25 years old (and now paid to be a #1 on a new team). Mack Hollins is extremely efficient, even downfield, and someone I think will surprise people in a couple years.

This isn’t a bad group by any means, but it lacks top-end talent aside from Hilton. I’ve got a solid group with four easy starters on any given week. If Diggs and Cooper reach their potential, and Hilton returns to form, this is a top-3 unit in this league. Only Hilton and Baldwin are older than 27, with Cooper and Diggs both only 24.

TE:
Evan Engram, NYG (5)
Hunter Henry, SD (14)

This is an excellent group. Both are 24 or younger, and while Henry is hurt this season, he’ll be able to rebound with over a full year to rehab. Both are locked in to starting roles and have already proven to be top 5 dynasty assets.

K:
Dan Bailey, Dal (26)

Bailey was hurt for most of last season, but should rebound and take advantage of a steady offense.

DEF:
New Orleans (6)
Seattle (10)
Tennessee (15)

Seattle’s dominant run is over, but I like what New Orleans and Tennessee have done. Both will be improved, and I don’t foresee any changes needed here.

Preliminary cuts:
RB DeAndre Washington, Oak
RB Mike Davis, Sea
WR Chester Rogers, Ind
WR Chad Williams, Ari
With Chris Carson coming off IR, that gives me 3 picks.

19

Wow. Just looking over my team again, I can tell this is going to be a LONG season.

I have a feeling my cut list may slightly change before the deadline (why do I have so many borderline WRs?), but here’s my preliminary roster…

Cuts
Orleans Darkwa NYG - RB
Wayne Gallman NYG - RB
Paul Perkins NYG - RB
Kenny Britt NE - WR
Jason Witten Dal - TE

Keepers
Drew Brees NO - QB
Andy Dalton Cin - QB

Aaron Jones GB - RB
Devonta Freeman Atl - RB
Tevin Coleman Atl - RB
Frank Gore Mia - RB

Julian Edelman NE - WR
Alshon Jeffery Phi - WR
Larry Fitzgerald Ari - WR
DeSean Jackson TB - WR
Zay Jones Buf - WR
Mike Wallace Phi - WR
Cordarrelle Patterson NE - WR
Ryan Grant Ind - WR

Jimmy Graham GB - TE
Austin Hooper Atl - TE

Matt Bryant Atl - K
Stephen Hauschka Buf - K

Cincinnati Cin - DEF
Minnesota Min - DEF

20

I’ll be keeping Josh Gordon. The rest doesn’t really matter.