This season review is for a 12-team PPR devy league, start 1-1-1-1-4Flex-1Sflex with 26-man rosters. The league has a 2-round devy draft each year but only 2 devy players are eligible for a taxi squad per team. Any other devy will take an active roster spot. This was Year 1 of the league.
Startup Results
Jameis Winston, Russell Wilson, Matthew Stafford
Isaiah Crowell, Jonathan Williams, Terrell Watson, Dwayne Washington
Amari Cooper, Josh Doctson, Will Fuller, Tavon Austin, Davante Adams, Ty Montgomery
Clive Walford, Richard Rodgers
Devy Picks: 1.04, 1.07, 1.10, 2.05, 2.06, 2.09, 2.10
Year 1 Outlook
This was a very active startup where I made 6 trades to position myself to build a solid core. Being superflex, landing two young quarterbacks at the end of the 1st round as well as a proven veteran was ideal. My best pick of the draft was Davante Adams in the 17th round. Between rounds 5 and 15 of the draft, I took 7 devy picks with 10 overall selections. This fit into my strategy to look to arrive in 2017 as 5 of these devy players would be taking active roster spots due to the taxi squad rules.
The Devy Draft
- 1.04 Traded
- 1.07 Courtland Sutton
- 1.10 Derrius Guice
- 2.05 Royce Freeman
- 2.06 Samaje Perine
- 2.09 Christian Kirk
- 2.10 Mike Weber
- 2.11 Wayne Gallman
If you want more information about the Devy Draft, check out this Interrogation Room Pod.
The Trades
After 6 trades in this league during the startup and one in the devy draft, I only made three trades during the season.
| Give | Get |
| Kelvin Benjamin, Cameron Meredith, 2017 Devy 1, 2017 Rookie 2/4 | Derrick Henry, Jordan Matthews, 2017 Rookie 1st |
| Derrick Henry, Christian Kirk (Devy), Clive Walford | Corey Coleman, Hunter Henry, 2017 Devy 2nd |
These trades were made within a week of each other. Both were made with an eye on the future to help with my 2017 arrival. My focus was to add another running back to assist with my arrival, but as soon as I bought Henry, another owner came knocking on my door to buy him from me. With the value he offered, I had to accept.
Season Result
Thanks to my quarterback core and a hot start from late round picks Davante Adams and Isaiah Crowell I was in the playoff hunt by mid-season at 4-3. This is a challenging place to be for a UTH-built team in Year 1. It is very tempting to push all in for a Year 1 playoff run, but I held fast and unsurprisingly faltered down the stretch, finishing with a 5-8 record. My worst move of the year was dropping Ty Montgomery to pick up Peyton Barber when Doug Martin went down.
Current Roster
Jameis Winston, Russell Wilson, Matthew Stafford
Isaiah Crowell, Jonathan Williams, Dwayne Washington, Christine Michael
Amari Cooper, Davante Adams, Jordan Matthews, Josh Doctson, Corey Coleman, Will Fuller, Tavon Austin, Mike Wallace
Hunter Henry, Jack Doyle, Vernon Davis, Richard Rodgers
Devy: Courtland Sutton, Derrius Guice, Samaje Perine, Wayne Gallman, Royce Freeman, Mike Weber
Rookie Picks: 1.04, 1.08, 1.12, 3.04
Devy Picks: 1.05, 2.04, 2.05, 2.12
Offseason Plan
With my depth at all positions except running back, I am ready to make a push. Due to the relatively shallow rosters when you factor in the devy players, I will be looking to make moves this offseason to upgrade my talent as much as possible. I do not currently have the roster space to keep all of my picks. Consolidating before other owners begin to value roster spots will be vital.
Takeaways
Year 1 of a league is the most exciting but also the most delicate. I find myself spending the most time in my newest leagues because of their novelty. In order to be successful, you need to be patient and let your assets develop. The reason you take players like Josh Doctson or Will Fuller is that they are unlikely to lose value moving into year 2. Even though the market is down on Doctson after an injury-plagued season, he is still worth a late 1st round pick. This gives you capital that can be used entering year 2 when you plan to arrive. This does not mean you should be an inactive owner, but instead that you should only make deals that are clear wins from a value perspective. If you move too quickly, you will lack the depth needed to build a true dynasty. This roster now has the capital needed in both picks and players to contend for years to come.
