Continuing with the season recaps, here are other installments in the series:
SiriusXM IDP League
Dirty Dozen League
Maximum Security League
Team UTH Dynasty League
Delta 11 Dynasty League
This league was originally drafted in 2013 and it was by far my worst startup draft result in recent years. After a 3-11 finish in 2013, I had middling hopes for a playoff push in 2014 and looking with the long-term lens, this roster left something to be desired on the back-end from a talent perspective.
- 12 teams, 0.5 RB PPR, 1.0 WR-TE
- 22-man rosters
- Start 1-1-2-1 with two RB-WR-TE flex
2014 Rookie Draft Haul
1.03 Brandin Cooks
Cooks was my chalk 1.03 pick if Watkins and Evans went 1-2 as was the case in >95% of leagues. Looks to be the first or second option in the Saints passing game in 2015 and beyond.
1.07 Bishop Sankey
I feel sick. I passed on Odell Beckham here, who went 1.08. As Doug would say ‘I hate myself’ and the impact long-term, even with a zoom up in value from Sankey next year, is pronounced. Sankey typically went earlier than this in rookie drafts, but Beckham was a slam dunk outside the top-4/5 and I passed. Lesson learned as I own Beckham in a bunch of other leagues.
2.08 Austin Seferian-Jenkins
More than happy to collect the talent at 20 overall. Evans and Jenkins will be red zone monsters in Tampa Bay for years to come…hopefully with a new quarterback starting in 2015.
3.04 Jerick McKinnon
McKinnon was the easy third round rookie pick for me in 2014 and has been a profitable move to-date.
4.11 James White
I liked White late with Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen scheduled for free agency and the possibility to cash out on the middling talent in the 2015 offseason with some buzz.
Noteworthy Moves
In addition to the rookie draft, here are the moves of note:
5.15.2014 Traded Toby Gerhart, Dwayne Allen, 3.02 for Tyler Eifert, 2.08
I was cashing out on Gerhart in the leagues I stashed him prior to the finish of 2013. This was the best I could get. I liked (still do) Tyler Eifert as a TE1 and the 2.08 upgrade in the rookie draft was key to land Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who I strongly prefer over Andre Williams – the ultimate 3.02 selection. Being able to land Jerick McKinnon at 3.04 still was an added boost.
7.11.2014 Was Offered Julio Jones for my Cordarrelle Patterson and 1.03
Accepting this trade would have certainly impacted my 2014 league finish as Brandin Cooks missed a chunk of the year landing on IR and Patterson being one of the bigger disappointments in the entire fantasy football landscape in 2014. We will see how this plays out in the coming years, but Julio Jones is certainly worth more than this pair if shopping today.
7.15.2014 Traded 5.03, 2015 2nd (ended up 2.03) for 3.04
I traded up for Jerick McKinnon here at 3.04. I expected teh future second to be the middle of the round, so this ended up more even than I thought at the time of execution. Josh Huff was the 5.03 selection.
9.3.2014 Added Robert Turbin
My favorite dirt-cheap running back stash throughout this season and into 2015 is on nearly every one of my rosters currently.
9.10.2014 Added Larry Donnell
I was aggressive adding Donnell across dynasty leagues and patched a hole left by Tyler Eifert in a few spots.
10.18.2014 Was Offered Odell Beckham, Brian Quick, Zach Ertz for Demaryius Thomas, C.J. Anderson, Luke Willson
I would easily accept this if going back in time. At best for Demaryius Thomas’ value, he and Beckham are an even swap and the remaining two-for-two prefers the Quick-Ertz haul. While keeping Thomas is not a bad situation for any dynasty team, considering my tepid 2014 result in this league, Thomas did not help in the short-term.
10.22.2014 Added Joseph Randle
Randle has looked good in limited time between DeMarco Murray this season. Murray is set to be a free agent. There is bound to be a sell window for Randle in January and February.
11.9.2014 Traded Kenny Britt, 2015 4th (ended up 4.03) for 2015 3rd (ended up 3.01)
I would looking to #PackageUp Britt for a rookie pick upgrade and was happy with this. The projected early third ended up as 25 overall.
11.13.2014 Traded Mark Sanchez for Brian Quick, Jace Amaro
I stashed Sanchez and capitalized on a contending team that caught the injury bug and poor quarterback train in-season. I was happy to stash Quick on IR and Amaro on my tight end committee for next year. Since, Sanchez has eroded and should be a roster bubble player in this depth of league.
11.19.2014 Added Charles Johnson
Metric favorite on my watchlist to start the season. Ran out of time to monitor him without rostering him with a big uptick in playing time mid-season.
12.3.2014 Added Dion Sims
Sims is my default stash when digging deep as Charles Clay is a free agent and Miami lacks a prototypical red zone threat in the passing game. Enter Sims, who could be a top-15 option in 2015 without added competition for targets.
The Season
I was 1-3 after the opening month of the season and 3-5 at the halfway point. The playoffs were not on the horizon this season as missing on Odell Beckham and that Julio Jones were probably the difference. The injuries to Brandin Cooks, Giovani Bernard, and Tyler Eifert plus the non-breakouts from Justin Hunter and Cordarrelle Patterson were also factors. I finished with the third-lowest potential points (how the league determines non-playoff draft position) for the season.
Season-Ending Roster
QB
Colin Kaepernick, Zach Mettenberger
RB
Giovani Bernard, Lamar Miller, Bishop Sankey, Mark Ingram, C.J. Anderson, Robert Turbin, Jerick McKinnon, Joseph Randle, James White
WR
Demaryius Thomas, Brandin Cooks, Cordarrelle Patterson, Justin Hunter, Brian Quick, Charles Johnson, Nick Toon, Malcom Floyd, Jaron Brown
TE
Tyler Eifert, Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Larry Donnell, Jace Amaro, Crockett Gillmore, Dion Sims
Rookie Picks
1.02, 1.03, 3.01
Outlook
As mentioned in the opening, this is by far my worst current dynasty roster situation. The two top rookie picks will help and consolidating down a few of the #PackageUp players in the offseason is a must. With only six starters between RB-WR-TE (compared to the typical seven or more in my leagues), I am only a piece or two away from being in the playoffs in 2015.
