Today I will be analyzing the performance of my fantasy team through just over a third of the way through the season. I desperately need monies at the moment and this is the best idea I came up with for media, so here goes.
First round pick - #1 overall - Mathias Hanyadi - Running Back - Yellowknife Wraiths
Stats: 151 rushes, 704 yards, 4.7 avg, 4 TD, 14 receptions, 163 yards
Being a newcomer to this league, I don’t know all the players very well yet, so my draft strategy coming in was a combination of looking at last year’s stats and the TPE tracker. It seemed to me that Hanyadi was the obvious first overall pick, and he has not disappointed. Through just six games, Hanyadi leads the league by nearly 200 rushing yards. This is partially because of Yellowknife’s run-heavy offense, as he also leads the league in rushing attempts by over 30. He’s also made some contributions on the receiving end of things, bringing in the fifth most receptions for a running back in the league (fullbacks don’t count). So far he’s also second in the entire league in total fantasy points with 110.7 and first among running backs. Hanyadi has led the defending champs to a 4-2 record, and as long as he doesn’t die of exhaustion by the end of this season, this is a home run of a pick.
Second round pick - #12 overall - Easton Cole - Quarterback - Austin Copperheads
Stats: 124/209 (59%), 1671 yards, 8 TD, 2 INT, 93.6 passer rating, 9 rushes, 40 yards
Generally in fantasy leagues I never go for a quarterback this early but with such a small draft they were beginning to fly off the board so I had to snag one before all the good ones were gone. I ended up picking Cole, who has turned out to be having one of the best if not the best season for quarterbacks in this league. While the Copperheads have been scuffling a bit with a 2-4 record, it’s certainly not because of Cole’s play. He has the least interceptions of any quarterback in the league, combined with the second most passing yards - that’s good for the second best passer rating in the league. Cole has accumulated 90.84 fantasy points so far, good for sixth overall in the league and third among quarterbacks, making this a successful pick for the only team that really matters, my fantasy team.
Third round pick - #13 overall - Rayne Gordon - Wide Receiver - Sarasota Sailfish
Stats: 26 receptions, 515 yards, 2 TD
Next up with my second of the back to back picks I decided to go with a receiver in Rayne Gordon. The thing with receivers in fantasy football is that there's quite a bit of luck involved as one touchdown is worth the same as 60 receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns can often be pretty random. Especially in a non-PPR league, players with more receiving yards and less touchdowns get the short end of the stick in a way. Gordon is kind of in that category for me, as he’s fourth in receiving yards but only has two touchdowns so far, which is only good for 24th overall in fantasy points. It often evens out over time so I’m hopeful for that, but for now I’d say this pick was a miss.
Fourth round pick - #24 overall - Raphtalia Chan - FLEX - Sarasota Sailfish
Stats: 63 attempts, 247 yards, 3.9 avg, 1 TD, 17 receptions, 204 yards
We have officially entered “what the hell were you thinking” territory. I don’t really have a great defense for this pick, I definitely relied far too heavily on the TPE tracker to make my picks, since on paper Chan looks like one of the top running backs in the league. I clearly failed to recognize that Sarasota doesn’t really run the ball often outside of their quarterback. Chan has done a bit better than I thought he had at first glance after seeing his receiving stats, but still only good for 39th in total fantasy points, which at 24th overall is not great value. I feel like I should probably use a waiver claim here but generally it seems like anytime I drop someone in a fantasy league they instantly start playing better so I may hold off for a little bit longer.
Fifth round pick - #25 overall - Earl Sauce - TE - Colorado Yeti
Stats: 15 receptions, 120 yards, 1 TD
Picking a tight end outside of the top two or three is usually a crapshoot in real fantasy football, and it seems that’s no different in the ISFL. There’s only a couple that have any real value over the others here, and unfortunately Earl Sauce is not one of them. This is another place that I could consider picking someone up but it honestly seems like it won’t gain or lose me a ton either way, so I’d rather just stick with the guy I drafted and see where it leads me.
Sixth round pick - #36 overall - Yellowknife Wraiths - DEF
Stats: 5 INT, 18 sacks, 3 FR, 1 TD, 23.2 points allowed/game
I really had no idea where to go with my defense so I just went safe with the defending champs in Yellowknife. I definitely should have done more research, as the Wraiths are middle of the pack defensively but probably the best offensive team in the league. It doesn’t seem to differ too much though, as the Wraiths defense has 60 fantasy points total, which is only ten less than the first place Sailfish, who have had a ridiculous defensive season so far and are probably going to come back down to Earth eventually. All in all, not a season-determining pick either way.
Seventh round pick - #37 overall - Bender B. Rodriguez - WR - Chicago Butchers
Stats: 16 receptions, 226 yards, 2 TD
Another case of me going a little too TPE heavy. Rodriguez plays second fiddle to Sean O’lEary in Chicago, despite them both being around 1100 TPE, so it feels to me like Rodriguez is a bit under-utilized. It may be a case of just a small sample size, but we’re getting to midway through the season so the clock is ticking for Rodriguez to start contributing to my team. Again, that’s all that should really matter to the players I drafted.
Eighth round pick - #48 overall - Matthew McDairmid - K - San Jose SaberCats
Not a whole lot to say about the kicker pick, it seems like nobody really misses field goals in this league. Kickers as a whole are 117/125 (93.6%) on field goals this season, which is just comically good. So there’s not a ton of room for error here. McDairmid has been solid for me and that’s all that can really be asked.
So, where does this leave us? I’m currently in third place in my group with 474.84 total fantasy points, which is pretty far behind second (540.06) and first (568.62). Not an awful draft for my first ISFL fantasy draft but there’s certainly a lot to improve on for next time.
First round pick - #1 overall - Mathias Hanyadi - Running Back - Yellowknife Wraiths
Stats: 151 rushes, 704 yards, 4.7 avg, 4 TD, 14 receptions, 163 yards
Being a newcomer to this league, I don’t know all the players very well yet, so my draft strategy coming in was a combination of looking at last year’s stats and the TPE tracker. It seemed to me that Hanyadi was the obvious first overall pick, and he has not disappointed. Through just six games, Hanyadi leads the league by nearly 200 rushing yards. This is partially because of Yellowknife’s run-heavy offense, as he also leads the league in rushing attempts by over 30. He’s also made some contributions on the receiving end of things, bringing in the fifth most receptions for a running back in the league (fullbacks don’t count). So far he’s also second in the entire league in total fantasy points with 110.7 and first among running backs. Hanyadi has led the defending champs to a 4-2 record, and as long as he doesn’t die of exhaustion by the end of this season, this is a home run of a pick.
Second round pick - #12 overall - Easton Cole - Quarterback - Austin Copperheads
Stats: 124/209 (59%), 1671 yards, 8 TD, 2 INT, 93.6 passer rating, 9 rushes, 40 yards
Generally in fantasy leagues I never go for a quarterback this early but with such a small draft they were beginning to fly off the board so I had to snag one before all the good ones were gone. I ended up picking Cole, who has turned out to be having one of the best if not the best season for quarterbacks in this league. While the Copperheads have been scuffling a bit with a 2-4 record, it’s certainly not because of Cole’s play. He has the least interceptions of any quarterback in the league, combined with the second most passing yards - that’s good for the second best passer rating in the league. Cole has accumulated 90.84 fantasy points so far, good for sixth overall in the league and third among quarterbacks, making this a successful pick for the only team that really matters, my fantasy team.
Third round pick - #13 overall - Rayne Gordon - Wide Receiver - Sarasota Sailfish
Stats: 26 receptions, 515 yards, 2 TD
Next up with my second of the back to back picks I decided to go with a receiver in Rayne Gordon. The thing with receivers in fantasy football is that there's quite a bit of luck involved as one touchdown is worth the same as 60 receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns can often be pretty random. Especially in a non-PPR league, players with more receiving yards and less touchdowns get the short end of the stick in a way. Gordon is kind of in that category for me, as he’s fourth in receiving yards but only has two touchdowns so far, which is only good for 24th overall in fantasy points. It often evens out over time so I’m hopeful for that, but for now I’d say this pick was a miss.
Fourth round pick - #24 overall - Raphtalia Chan - FLEX - Sarasota Sailfish
Stats: 63 attempts, 247 yards, 3.9 avg, 1 TD, 17 receptions, 204 yards
We have officially entered “what the hell were you thinking” territory. I don’t really have a great defense for this pick, I definitely relied far too heavily on the TPE tracker to make my picks, since on paper Chan looks like one of the top running backs in the league. I clearly failed to recognize that Sarasota doesn’t really run the ball often outside of their quarterback. Chan has done a bit better than I thought he had at first glance after seeing his receiving stats, but still only good for 39th in total fantasy points, which at 24th overall is not great value. I feel like I should probably use a waiver claim here but generally it seems like anytime I drop someone in a fantasy league they instantly start playing better so I may hold off for a little bit longer.
Fifth round pick - #25 overall - Earl Sauce - TE - Colorado Yeti
Stats: 15 receptions, 120 yards, 1 TD
Picking a tight end outside of the top two or three is usually a crapshoot in real fantasy football, and it seems that’s no different in the ISFL. There’s only a couple that have any real value over the others here, and unfortunately Earl Sauce is not one of them. This is another place that I could consider picking someone up but it honestly seems like it won’t gain or lose me a ton either way, so I’d rather just stick with the guy I drafted and see where it leads me.
Sixth round pick - #36 overall - Yellowknife Wraiths - DEF
Stats: 5 INT, 18 sacks, 3 FR, 1 TD, 23.2 points allowed/game
I really had no idea where to go with my defense so I just went safe with the defending champs in Yellowknife. I definitely should have done more research, as the Wraiths are middle of the pack defensively but probably the best offensive team in the league. It doesn’t seem to differ too much though, as the Wraiths defense has 60 fantasy points total, which is only ten less than the first place Sailfish, who have had a ridiculous defensive season so far and are probably going to come back down to Earth eventually. All in all, not a season-determining pick either way.
Seventh round pick - #37 overall - Bender B. Rodriguez - WR - Chicago Butchers
Stats: 16 receptions, 226 yards, 2 TD
Another case of me going a little too TPE heavy. Rodriguez plays second fiddle to Sean O’lEary in Chicago, despite them both being around 1100 TPE, so it feels to me like Rodriguez is a bit under-utilized. It may be a case of just a small sample size, but we’re getting to midway through the season so the clock is ticking for Rodriguez to start contributing to my team. Again, that’s all that should really matter to the players I drafted.
Eighth round pick - #48 overall - Matthew McDairmid - K - San Jose SaberCats
Not a whole lot to say about the kicker pick, it seems like nobody really misses field goals in this league. Kickers as a whole are 117/125 (93.6%) on field goals this season, which is just comically good. So there’s not a ton of room for error here. McDairmid has been solid for me and that’s all that can really be asked.
So, where does this leave us? I’m currently in third place in my group with 474.84 total fantasy points, which is pretty far behind second (540.06) and first (568.62). Not an awful draft for my first ISFL fantasy draft but there’s certainly a lot to improve on for next time.
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