The numberFire Fanium Draft Recap

ESPN was always channel 12.

Not on this Saturday morning, though. I was 11-years old, and my local cable service was trolling me. I walked downstairs, turned on the tube and switched it from NBC to ESPN – channel 12.

“Who is this guy with an afro painting trees?” I said to myself.

Bob Ross was my new ESPN. I frantically hit the channel up button, seeing where I could find Stuart Scott’s mug. 21...22...23. Nothing. Finally, at channel 31, I saw Florida Marlins highlights. I found SportsCenter.

The muscle memory in my fingers were used to hitting 12, so I had to get used to the change. Slowly but surely, I remembered that the channel was switched. Eventually, I got used to going to channel 31. Things were going to be fine. (#FirstWorldProblems)

Change can be frustrating, even when it’s as small as a channel switch up. But you get used to it, and most of the time, you end up thoroughly accepting it. I loved the fact that they made ESPN to channel 31. It ended up being just one spot away from ESPN2 – channel 32 – so I was able to hit one button to go from one to the next.

(That was when ESPN2 was all edgy and talked about hockey.)

Change in fantasy football doesn't happen often. It's always set at channel 12. After all, how frequently do we switch up our fantasy lineup slots? Other than a few alterations, we don’t do it much.

That’s why the Fanium draft that the numberFire.com team (plus a nF Twitter follower) did last week was so interesting. Fanium, a new mobile fantasy platform, doesn’t incorporate the typical fantasy lineup. Instead, your 8-team league starts two quarterbacks, two running backs, four receiver and two tight ends. No kickers. No defenses. It’s that simple.

So how did our draft strategies change? Well, take a look for yourself.

Round 1

Owner	Pick Number	Selection
Michael Worthington, CTO	1	Adrian Peterson, RB
Tom Berger, Intern	2	Tom Brady, QB
Adam Kaplan, VP Sales and Bus. Development	3	Aaron Rodgers, QB
Twitter Follower X	4	Doug Martin, RB
JJ Zachariason, Editor-In-Chief	5	Calvin Johnson, WR
Nik Bonaddio, CEO & Founder	6	Cam Newton, QB
Payom Dousti, Software Engineer	7	Arian Foster, RB
Keith Goldner, Chief Analyst	8	Brandon Marshall, WR

Keep in mind, with more wide receivers and quarterbacks to start each week, the elite players at those positions see an increase in value. Oh, and in addition, all touchdowns – passing included – are worth seven points. Rushers and receivers are awarded a point for every five yards. Passers get one for every 20 passing yards. That's probably important to mention as you look through these results.

We saw three signal-caller leave the board in Round 1, and surprisingly, none of them were named Drew Brees. The number of passers drafted in Round 1 is mostly due to the supply and demand aspect of the game, as two quarterbacks are started in these Fanium leagues as opposed to one. The fact that Brees wasn’t a top-3 quarterback selected was surprising, but Brady, Rodgers and Newton clearly have enough upside themselves.

Megatron and B-Marsh both went as well, which shouldn't be considered as reaches due to the four wide receiver lineup requirement. At numberFire, we like both to have top-4 wide receiver numbers this season.

Round 2

Owner	Pick Number	Selection
Keith Goldner	9	Drew Brees, QB
Payom Dousti	10	LeSean McCoy, RB
Nik Bonaddio	11	Ray Rice, RB
JJ Zachariason	12	A.J. Green, WR
Twitter Follower X	13	Dez Bryant, WR
Adam Kaplan	14	Trent Richardson, RB
Tom Berger	15	Victor Cruz, WR
Michael Worthington	16	Peyton Manning, QB

I went with another receiver in the second, snagging the dependable A.J. Green in the middle of the round. I wasn’t alone; our fan grabbed Dez right after me, and Tom snagged Victor Cruz as the fifth receiver off the board. The Cruz pick was probably a slight reach, but we do like him more than most, as he ranks as our 9th-best wideout entering 2013.

It’s crazy to see big name running backs leave the board so late, but it’s what happens when league restrictions and scoring change. This is just another reminder to check your league's scoring before you start drafting.

Round 3

Owner	Pick Number	Selection
Michael Worthington	17	Roddy White, WR
Tom Berger	18	Marshawn Lynch, RB
Adam Kaplan	19	Jamaal Charles, RB
Twitter Follower X	20	C.J. Spiller, RB
JJ Zachariason	21	Demaryius Thomas, WR
Nik Bonaddio	22	Andre Johnson, WR
Payom Dousti	23	Jimmy Graham, TE
Keith Goldner	24	Larry Fitzgerald, WR

Payom, a numberFire software engineer, grabbed Jimmy Graham here in the third. Considering the multiple tight end lineup obligation, he got a potential steal with the Saints pass catcher.

numberFire’s fearless leader, Nik, grabbed Andre Johnson as his WR1. I can’t say it enough: Andre Johnson is a monster in full-point PPR leagues, such as this one. According to our rankings, Andre goes from the 31st-overall pick to the 12th-best one when moving from standard to full-point PPR league formats.

Round 4

Owner	Pick Number	Selection
Keith Goldner	25	Chris Johnson, RB
Payom Dousti	26	Julio Jones, WR
Nik Bonaddio	27	Reggie Wayne, WR
JJ Zachariason	28	Matt Forte, RB
Twitter Follower X	29	Randall Cobb, WR
Adam Kaplan	30	Matt Ryan, QB
Tom Berger	31	Jason Witten, TE
Michael Worthington	32	Marques Colston, WR

Again, there weren’t a ton of surprises as we moved along the draft. The multiple tight end format forced Tom to go with Jason Witten, while many continued to get their wide receivers, the most important position in a Fanium league. If I went tight end here, I’d definitely go with Gronk. Instead, I picked up my first running back, Matt Forte, who should see a good number of receptions in Marc Trestman’s offense this season. I’m fine with him as my RB1 in PPR formats.

Round 5

Owner	Pick Number	Selection
Michael Worthington	33	Vincent Jackson, WR
Tom Berger	34	Steve Smith, WR
Adam Kaplan	35	Wes Welker, WR
Twitter Follower X	36	Tony Gonzalez, TE
JJ Zachariason	37	Alfred Morris, RB
Nik Bonaddio	38	Steven Jackson, RB
Payom Dousti	39	Colin Kaepernick, QB
Keith Goldner	40	Maurice Jones-Drew, RB

You won’t see Steven Jackson and Maurice Jones-Drew fall to Round 5 in any normal league. Both were great value picks for Keith and Nik at this point in the draft. Jackson has tremendous opportunity in Atlanta’s offense, and MJD is a sneaky selection coming off a 2012 injury.

Tony Gonzalez left the board too, while Gronkowski stayed put. In a multiple tight end league, I was a bit surprised to see that. I suppose most are still worried about the Patriot tight end’s health.

Round 6

Owner	Pick Number	Selection
Keith Goldner	41	Dwayne Bowe, WR
Payom Dousti	42	Reggie Bush, RB
Nik Bonaddio	43	Rob Gronkowski, TE
JJ Zachariason	44	Tony Romo, QB
Twitter Follower X	45	Antonio Brown, WR
Adam Kaplan	46	Mike Wallace, WR
Tom Berger	47	Frank Gore, RB
Michael Worthington	48	DeMarco Murray, RB

And there he goes. Nik stole Gronk in Round 6, a value that, looking back, I should’ve gone for in Round 5. I instead settled for my RB2, Alfred Morris.

I really liked Payom’s Reggie Bush pick here, who could end up being an RB1 in this full-point PPR format. He’s already been highly targeted in the preseason, and could be a security blanket for the pressured Matthew Stafford. Bush is our 16th-ranked back with a lot of upside.

Round 7

Owner	Pick Number	Selection
Michael Worthington	49	Russell Wilson, QB
Tom Berger	50	Andrew Luck, QB
Adam Kaplan	51	Hakeem Nicks, WR
Twitter Follower X	52	Matthew Stafford, QB
JJ Zachariason	53	Danny Amendola, WR
Nik Bonaddio	54	Robert Griffin III, QB
Payom Dousti	55	Greg Jennings, WR
Keith Goldner	56	DeSean Jackson, WR

Because these leagues are smaller than normal (8 teams instead of 10, 12, or 14), you’ll notice immense talent in the mid and later rounds of the draft. In most multiple-quarterback leagues, the caliber passers above would’ve been gone by Round 5. Here, they’re dropping off in rounds 7 and 8. This is just due to league size.

Round 8

Owner	Pick Number	Selection
Keith Goldner	57	Owen Daniels, TE
Payom Dousti	58	Ben Roethlisberger, QB
Nik Bonaddio	59	Pierre Garcon, WR
JJ Zachariason	60	Darren Sproles, RB
Twitter Follower X	61	Torrey Smith, WR
Adam Kaplan	62	Eric Decker, WR
Tom Berger	63	Jordy Nelson, WR
Michael Worthington	64	Greg Olsen, TE

There were 12 passers drafted entering Round 8, and Ben Roethlisberger made it 13. Don’t underestimate Big Ben in Pittsburgh this year. Though he’s lost Emmanuel Sanders in Todd Haley’s pass-efficient offense. Both Ben and Sanders are good value picks this year. In fact, we have Ben as our 13th-ranked quarterback, right where he was selected.

Round 9

Owner	Pick Number	Selection
Michael Worthington	65	Miles Austin, WR
Tom Berger	66	Antonio Gates, TE
Adam Kaplan	67	Vernon Davis, TE
Twitter Follower X	68	Stevan Ridley, RB
JJ Zachariason	69	Mike Williams, WR
Nik Bonaddio	70	Darren McFadden, RB
Payom Dousti	71	Lance Moore, WR
Keith Goldner	72	Brandon Myers, TE

Our Twitter follower got Stevan Ridley in the ninth, the 18th running back to leave the board. In a standard fantasy league, the 18th running back usually leaves the draft board at the beginning of Round 3.

This just goes to show – and I can’t reiterate it enough – that you need to know your league structure and rules before you draft. You may want to snag up all the running back value in a Fanium league, but not so fast, pal: The position is in much less demand than in a normal league.

Round 10

Owner	Pick Number	Selection
Keith Goldner	73	Anquan Boldin, WR
Payom Dousti	74	Tavon Austin, WR
Nik Bonaddio	75	T.Y. Hilton, WR
JJ Zachariason	76	Kyle Rudolph, TE
Twitter Follower X	77	Jared Cook, TE
Adam Kaplan	78	Chris Ivory, RB
Tom Berger	79	Cecil Shorts, WR
Michael Worthington	80	Ryan Mathews, RB

The always-controversial Ryan Mathews was selected by Michael, our CTO, at the end of Round 10. I’m sure some people wouldn’t take him in the 10th in a 12-team standard league, but as the 21st runner off the draft board, it’s not bad value whether you want to believe it or not.

Nik took a flier on T.Y. Hilton, which could pay off big if the Colts realize they’re not doing themselves a favor by playing butterfi…I mean, Darrius Heyward-Bey. A nice late-round choice by our CEO.

Round 11

Owner	Pick Number	Selection
Michael Worthington	81	Eddie Lacy, RB
Tom Berge	82	Eli Manning, QB
Adam Kaplan	83	Ed Dickson, TE
Twitter Follower X	84	David Wilson, RB
JJ Zachariason	85	Michael Vick, QB
Nik Bonaddio	86	Giovani Bernard, RB
Payom Dousti	87	Jermaine Gresham, TE
Keith Goldner	88	Matt Schaub, QB

Matt Schaub is a numberFire.com favorite, and numberFire’s Chief Analyst snagged him here as the 16th quarterback selection. We think he’s got a great shot at 28 touchdowns and 4,400 passing yards this year. As Keith’s second quarterback to Drew Brees, I like it a lot.

Both Eddie Lacy and David Wilson are looking like better fantasy assets every day. Again, it’s strange to see them in the 11th round, but they seemed to leave the board at the right time in this one.

Round 12

Owner	Pick Number	Selection
Keith Goldner	89	Montee Ball, RB
Payom Dousti	90	Lamar Miller, RB
Nik Bonaddio	91	Stevie Johnson, WR
JJ Zachariason	92	Jermichael Finley, TE
Twitter Follower X	93	Jay Cutler, QB
Adam Kaplan	94	Malcom Floyd, WR
Tom Berger	95	BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB
Michael Worthington	96	Martellus Bennett, TE

While Lamar Miller is usually drafted as a low-end RB2 in normal formats, he’s more of a flex to us numberFire geeks. His talent may be there, but the algorithms think he’ll only be the 27th-best running back this season in Miami.

Round 13

Owner	Pick Number	Selection
Michael Worthington	97	Sidney Rice, WR
Tom Berger	98	Denarius Moore, WR
Adam Kaplan	99	Golden Tate, WR
Twitter Follower X	100	Alshon Jeffery, WR
JJ Zachariason	101	Andy Dalton, QB
Nik Bonaddio	102	Brandon Pettigrew, TE
Payom Dousti	103	Kenny Britt, WR
Keith Goldner	104	Josh Gordon, WR

As the draft slowed down, we started noticing the high-upside wide receivers get selected. Golden Tate – who will try to fill the void that Percy Harvin left (if that’s what we call it) – was a solid pick by Adam this late in the draft. Remember, you start four wideouts in these Fanium leagues, so getting Tate at such a cheap cost could be huge.

Keith took a chance with the suspended Josh Gordon, which makes sense given this draft position. Gordon had a nice .68 receiving net expected points per target last season, a metric that shows how many real points a receiver was adding for his team on a per target basis. The big play receiver’s numbers were in line with Pierre Garcon.

Round 14

Owner	Pick Number	Selection
Keith Goldner	105	Emmanuel Sanders, WR
Payom Dousti	106	James Jones, WR
Nik Bonaddio	107	Sam Bradford, QB
JJ Zachariason	108	Daryl Richardson, RB
Twitter Follower X	109	Ryan Tannehill, QB
Adam Kaplan	110	Joe Flacco, QB
Tom Berger	111	Marcedes Lewis, TE
Michael Worthington	112	Rashard Mendenhall, RB

I snagged Rams starting running back Daryl Richardson here in Round 14, which I saw as a “why not” sort of pick. We’re not necessarily high on Richardson here at numberFire, but if his opportunity is consistent for the Rams, he could reach weekly starter levels.

I’m not a huge fan of Tom’s Marcedes Lewis pick, as tight ends Zach Sudfeld and Fred Davis were still on the board. Both of those guys have more upside, while Lewis’ potential is capped in a run-first offense with poor quarterback play.

Round 15

Owner	Pick Number	Selection
Michael Worthington	113	Mohamed Sanu, WR
Tom Berger	114	Alex Smith, QB
Adam Kaplan	115	DeAngelo Williams, RB
Twitter Follower X	116	Zach Sudfeld, TE
JJ Zachariason	117	DeAndre Hopkins, WR
Nik Bonaddio	118	Justin Blackmon, WR
Payom Dousti	119	Brian Hartline, WR
Keith Goldner	120	Fred Davis, TE

Sudfeld is a great late-round pick in this format, as you start multiple tight ends and his ceiling – his potential – is fairly high. The same could be said for Fred Davis, who, if healthy, could be a top tight end in the league.

Round 16

Owner	Pick Number	Selection
Keith Goldner	121	Ahmad Bradshaw, RB
Payom Dousti	122	Carson Palmer, QB
Nik Bonaddio	123	Brent Celek, TE
JJ Zachariason	124	Tyler Eifert, TE
Twitter Follower X	125	Chris Givens, WR
Adam Kaplan	126	Heath Miller, TE
Tom Berger	127	Kendall Wright, WR
Michael Worthington	128	Josh Freeman, QB

One awesome thing about Fanium? No kickers. No defenses. Just the good stuff.