Fantasy Unit Draft Recap

The first ever team unit draft is in the books. It took 14 of us 9 calendar days to finish the 9 rounds, but we fought through the weddings, holidays, and laziness to get our teams set in time for the Cowboys/Giants kickoff. Here’s a brief round-by-round recap of what transpired. Please note that D, K, P, and R represent Defense, Kicking, Passing, and Rushing, respectively. If you need a reminder of what the hell we’re talking about, here's the original article I posted a month ago outlining my idea on how to revolutionize fantasy football.



Draft order: Ryan, Tim, Keith, Geoff, Kerry, Tom, Charlie, Steve, Doug, John, Nick, Jeff, Mike, Aaron

Round 1: Car R, GB P, NO P, NE P, Det P, Phi R, Hou R, NYG P, Min R, Oak R, Atl P, Den P, Dal P, SF D

Thoughts:
I was not happy with my draft position. Getting stuck with the 5th spot when there are only 4 elite units leaves you to hope and pray that one of your friends is a dumbass. No such luck. The four-headed Panthers rushing attack was rightly the first unit off the board, followed by the likes of Rodgers, Brees, and Brady. Now I’m stuck banking on Stafford and Megatron having a second consecutive injury free season. Let’s just say I’m not holding my breath. Also, I can honestly say I did not foresee the Denver passing unit being a first or even a second round pick. It seems Jeff has a lot of faith in Peyton’s doctors.

Round 2: SD P, SF R, Bal R, NO R, Hou P, Sea R, Bal D, NE R, Chi D, Hou D, KC R, SD R, Chi R, Phi P

Thoughts:
Mike has set himself up very nicely with the Dallas passing attack and the 49ers rushing attack. Frank Gore may be plummeting in the “normal” drafts, but between Gore, Jacobs, Hunter, James, and Alex Smith, I honestly considered taking them with the 5th overall pick, knowing they would never fall to me in the 2nd round. It also bears mentioning that we took 3 of Houston’s units with our first 24 picks, making them our de facto AFC Champion prediction.

Round 3: GB D, Buf R, Cin D, Pit D, Was R, NYG R, Pit P, Ten R, Chi P, Det D, Atl R, Pit R, Den R, NYJ R

Thoughts:
Only 8 of our first 42 draft picks were defenses and none of them were kickers. I expected a disconnect, since the offensive units score 2 more points than the defensive units on average, but I didn’t think the split would be quite this drastic. Already contemplating inflating defense/kicking points for next year so all 4 units are relatively even. I definitely reached a bit for the Redskins rushing game – based on 2011 stats, they should have been a late 6th round pick – but I believe in RG3. Or, I believe in him to the point that I want to get some return for his rushing stats if I have to live in a Redskins market that has already consumed a lifetime supply of RG3 Kool-Aid.

Round 4: NO K, SF K, Ind P, Phi D, NE K, Oak K, GB K, Sea D, Cin P, Cin R, Den D, Dal K, Det K, Phi K

Thoughts:
In the midst of a massive run on kickers, Charlie gets the steal of the draft: Sea D. 27 picks before that, I was torn between whether to make Houston or Seattle my primary defense. Well done. Meanwhile, Jeff makes his 4th consecutive curious draft pick, leaving him with a roster of Den P, Bal R, Pit R, and Ind P. I have no idea who’s going to win the league, but I have a pretty good feeling about who will finish at the bottom.

Round 5: Ten P, NYJ D, Oak P, Cle R, SD K, NE D, Hou K, SF P, NYG D, Was P, Chi K, Ari D, Bal P, Ten K

Thoughts:
Boy, it did not take long at all for this to get ugly. In most cases, you’re either drafting your 3rd starter on offense or your 2nd starter at defense/kicker, and we’re coming up with gems like Oakland’s passing unit, Arizona’s defense, and Cleveland’s rushing unit. More so than in an individual player draft, these middle rounds will be the ones that make or break your season. Drew Brees can only carry you so far if Carson Palmer is dragging down your third offensive unit on a week to week basis. I feel pretty good about getting San Diego’s kicking unit, provided Nate Kaeding doesn’t tear his ACL on the first play of the season again. I also like Steve and Nick respectively grabbing San Fran passing and Chicago kicking.

Round 6: Buf P, Atl K, StL K, Cin K, Den K, Mia R, Mia K, Dal R, Atl D, Jac R, Mia D, Ten D, Buf D, Dal D

Thoughts:
The MJD holdout terrified everyone, but I can’t pass up the Jaguars rushing attack in the 6th round. 11 of our 14 owners were more concerned with filling out their starting roster than just grabbing the best remaining option; hence, I was able to go with a minimal risk, massive reward pick.

Round 7: Car P, TB R, Min P, Sea P, StL R, TB P, SD D, Ari P, StL P, Sea K, Ari R, GB R, Car K, KC P

Thoughts:
Why does the 7th round have considerably more bright spots than the previous 2 rounds? Certainly some ugly picks here – particularly Aaron grabbing KC P a round after grabbing Buf P – but it’s comical how much better you do drafting your first bench spot than your last starting spot.

Round 8: Was K, NYG K, Car D, NYJ P, Ind R, Was D, Det R, KC D, Bal K, Jac D, NYJ K, Cle D, Ind K, Buf K

Round 9: Mia P, KC K, Jac P, TB K, Cle K, Cle P, Jac K, Pit K, Min K, NO D, StL D, Ari K, TB D, Oak D (Free agents: Min D, Ind D)

Thoughts:
As sad as some of the picks in these last 2 rounds are, and as long as it took to get us there, I’m really looking forward to seeing how this plays out. I stand by my league/roster size, and I think these late round picks will result in a lot of trade discussions picking up once those bye weeks hit, because I’m pretty sure no one wants to be forced to start Brandon Weeden or Blaine Gabbert under any circumstances.