League Details

I decided to join my friends over at the Future 1st Pod and jump into a bestball startup. Going into it, I knew some of the people in the league, but hadn't done a league with them before. It would've been useful to research their tendencies, but who has the time?

This was a 12-team, start-11 league with a 16-man bench—pretty typical starting requirements for that size with 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE.

This league is Tiered PPR, so RBs get 0.5 PPR, WRs get 1 PPR, and TEs get 1.75 PPR. You can see above what that does compared to a standard league. WR doesn't change too much, but RB contribution drops significantly and shifts those points over to TE with some points from QB as well. This fed into my strategy a bit, but more on that later. One bonus is that there's an extra point for 40+ yd TDs. Not predictable enough or strong enough to matter too much, but enough for a little fun.

Enter The Derby

Through randomized selection, I ended up with the first pick of the derby. That means that I could choose my draft slot. While I usually prefer the end of the round, this was my chance to do something that I don't usually do and start at the beginning. I knew that the draft was a third-round reversal (after the first 2 rounds, the 3rd reverses order and then continues snaking). This meant that I'd have a long wait between my first 2 picks, then a shorter wait, followed by 2 picks in a row. Love a good double pick at the turn. This also let me take Jahmyr Gibbs and anchor my RB room. With the RB impact lessened, combined with bestball, this was a prime opportunity to go Hero RB, lock in some points with a single elite player, and then fill the other spot with volume—first pick selected.

Early Rounds (1-4)

Starting with Jahmyr Gibbs at the 1.01, let me ignore RB for a while and focus on the format. In superflex bestball, I'd really like to get 4 QBs, so at my next pick (2.12) Justin Herbert was an easy selection. 6 QBs had already come off the board, but I was comfortable here. The top 4 TEs had also come off the board thanks to the high premium.

By the time the board came back to me at 3.12 and 4.01, thanks to the 3rd round reversal, I was ready to grab my next QB and the last of my 2nd tier of TEs. That added Jordan Love and Tucker Kraft to my team, establishing a strong core at RB, QB, and TE. There had only been one trade in the league so far, but I'd been chatting with other managers. It felt like a good time to make a move.

The Double Trade

Being at the turn, I had a long time in between picks to chat with others and shoot offers around. The manager next to me at the 2 spot had been wanting to trade in using his future picks. He found a partner during the 4th to send his 27 1st round pick for the 5.05, but I kept the discussion going and eventually landed on my 5.12 for his 27 2nd and a 28 1st. He later traded the 5.12 and a 13th to it to move into the 4th for Nico Collins, but that didn't really affect my plans.

The calculator says that I lost the trade by value, but I'm happy to bank the picks for later. This trade would leave me with 1 fewer startup pick, but in too early a range for my tastes. I wanted to recoup that startup pick and consolidate some later picks into the top 10 rounds. This led me to the second trade that I arranged at the same time.

I sent my 6.01 along with my 14th, 16th, 18th, and 20th, so I've now basically skipped my 5/6 turn, but I get back the 8.09, 8.12, 10.09, and 13.04. This meant that I'd now have 3 picks in the 8th and consolidate some picks, moving up from the later rounds. Again, I gave up more startup picks than I got back. At this point, I'm down 2 picks, but I have an extra 2 future picks, and I've moved up in the startup. Banking that credit for the missing picks is great because I can pick up players off waivers after the draft, while the managers with too many picks will actually have to drop players after the startup.

Rounds 7-13

The hardest part of trading like this is waiting. I knew that I'd be missing out, but watching those players come off the board was tough.

Eventually it got back around to me at the 7.12, and with my two picks in a row, I had some choices to make. A bunch of QBs went in the time since my last pick, but the gamble paid off. There were a few remaining QBs, so I tried to start a QB run and took the Super Bowl champ Sam Darnold and also Daniel Jones. This locked up my 4 QBs while I attempted to cause others to jump on the remaining ones due to the scarcity. Only Kyler Murray went, so the plan didn't quite work... yet.

Thanks to my trade, I had two more picks that round, so I was up again at the 8.09 and 8.12, where I got my first WRs. Parker Washington and Michael Wilson join the team. Both have a shot at high upside and target share, great fit for waiting so long.

In the 9th is when the QBs finally started to hit, slightly delayed, but the effects of my QB room still worked. 4 QBs come off the board, and soon I'm up again at the 9.12 and 10.01. Adding 2 more WRs with Quentin Johnston and Josh Downs. Both stack with my QBs, and my team is starting to take shape. Thinking back to my Pillars of Dynasty Bestball, I still have some work to do. Looking for at least 3 more RBs with jobs, 2 more WRs, and some TEs.

At 10.09, I added another WR in Jayden Higgins, a rising star (hopefully) in Texas, while a variety of players continued flying off the board. Rounds 9 and 10 had a lot of WRs and TEs go, and RBs are starting to dry up. Keeping an eye on the RBs, it was time to grab a crusty old vet with volume and upside, so at 11.12, Rhamondre Stevenson it is. Then at 12.01, a young TE with upside, adding Terrance Ferguson who should be in line for an expanded role this year.

Another trade gave me 3 total picks in the 13th while continuing to shed later picks. With my picks in the 13th, I was able to pick up Jordan Mason, Jalen Coker, and Gunnar Helm. At the end of the 13th, I'm now sitting at 4 QBs, 3 RBs, 6 WRs, and 3 TEs. This also finalized my side of the earlier trade. Not a bad return. I'm completely satisfied with my side and how this one worked out.

Rounds 14-20

With the earlier trades, this meant more waiting. By the time the 17th rolled around, I had already noticed that one team was heading for a productive struggle/rebuild out of the startup, so I shot him an offer of my 27 3rd for his 17.05. Offer accepted. This brought Marshawn Lloyd onto my team, hitting my 4th RB spot. He's supposedly healthy now and has been lighting up camp, while Josh Jacobs is old, in potential legal trouble, and has a lot of miles on him. For the cost of a future 3rd, I'll take the gamble.

Up next at the 17.12, I picked up Adonai Mitchell. It's bestball, and he's got plenty of upside as the supposed Jets WR2, and he spent some of the summer working with Geno Smith. It's worth a shot. Then in round 20 I snagged the Eagles' WR2 with Dontayvion Wicks. This wrapped up another trade. Again, happy with the return although I do like Pat Bryant. He's on the rise in Denver. The trade was made before the players were selected.

Rounds 21-27

At this point, I'm back to my remaining original draft spots, and with solid enough construction, I was able to grab some lotto tickets and keep filling things out. I probably waited too long on RB, but the upside WRs were there, so I took Caleb Douglas and Malik Benson at the 21.12 and 22.01 to get some big-play rookies. During the 23rd round, I got deliberately sniped on a sleeper TE and tagged in the chat when he did it. That's what I get for sharing things publicly. It's round 23 though, I'm not mad. I still got one at 24.01 with Erick All and a shot at the starting gig in Cincinnati.

As the draft came back to me at 24.12 and 25.01, I double-tapped the remaining RBs that I liked, adding Brashard Smith and Phil Mafah. Maybe they're something, maybe not, but again, it's bestball and depth, so no harm if they're duds and I can ditch them later.

Since I had the first pick of the draft, I also got the last pick of the draft, adding one last WR with Demario Douglas. He's always had great efficiency stats and needs to get more volume, so we'll see.

Post-Draft

Thanks to my pick strategy, I left the draft with 2 free roster spots. I was trying for more, but the trade volume just wasn't there. At one point I had 3 free, but I got a pick back when I sent that 3rd for Marshawn Lloyd. In any case, this let me pick up Matt Hibner and Roman Wilson on waivers after the first run, while other teams needed to cut players that they had drafted with the extra picks. Having no draft capital invested in these players also helps psychologically as I want to use the last 2-3 spots on the roster to churn during the season.

Final Roster And Thoughts

The result is a team with good depth and flexibility, including the extra 27 2nd and 28 1st, so if I'm doing well or need reinforcements during the season, I can go shopping. If things aren't working out, I've got plenty of future capital to inject into the team. I would've liked to act a little earlier at RB and maybe go for some higher-end WRs, but overall, it's a solid starting point for the team.

Roster construction fits perfectly with:

QB(4): Justin Herbert, Jordan Love, Sam Darnold, and Daniel Jones
RB(6): Jahmyr Gibbs, Rhamondre Stevenson, Jordan Mason, Marshawn Lloyd, Brashard Smith, and Phil Mafah
WR(12): Parker Washington, Michael Wilson, Josh Downs, Quentin Johnston, Jayden Higgins, Jalen Coker, Adonai Mitchell, Dontayvion Wicks, Caleb Douglas, Demario Douglas, Malik Benson, and Roman Wilson
TE(5): Tucker Kraft, Terrance Ferguson, Gunnar Helm, Erick All, and Matt Hibner

Now that the draft is over and the NFL season is around the corner, we'll see how this turns out...