2014 Fantasy Season Review

This fantasy football season was full of ups and downs.  I accomplished something that few people have done in competitive fantasy leagues; I won my third Playoff Championship in a row. I did not have remarkable success in all of my leagues.  Both leagues where I possessed the first overall pick saw me not making the playoffs.  I learned many important lessons this fantasy football season. Here is a quick recap of how I performed in each league.

12 Team IDP League

10-3 Regular Season  (13-3 including playoffs)

I finished second in the regular season and won my third playoff championship in a row. I draft incredibly well in this league. The draft is conducted in person. I picked twelfth in the draft.  I come to every draft prepared. I create an Excel Spreadsheet, study scoring systems, then make my picks based off Value Based Drafting principles.  I also benefit from understanding how and when to draft defensive players.  The way in which I draft defensive players is one of the factors that allows me to be so successful.  I understand the scoring system in the league. 5 IDP players are required each week. 3 of any defensive position you want, with 2 players having to be Defensive Back’s.  JJ Watt had 239.96, 1^st among defensive players and 68 points ahead of the 2^nd ranked player. I drafted JJ in the fifth round. Harrison Smith was the best defensive back in terms of fantasy points with 142.50, I took him in the eighth round.

The most important time of the fantasy football season is the draft. If you are in a fantasy league with IDP you need to figure out the leagues scoring system and figure out where to draft defensive players. Plenty of player don’t understand where to draft IDP’s. Only my two quarterbacks, Le'Veon Bell , and Demaryius Thomas scored more points than JJ Watt.  That example should show you the importance of IDP’s. My all time record in this league is 31-8, 40-8 if you include the playoffs. I will admit that other factors played into my success this year. I traded Ahmad Bradshaw for Kelvin Benjamin to shore up my receiving corps while Megatron was hurt, I also chose to abandon Colin Kapernick and picked up Ryan Tannehill off waivers late in the season. My back to back picks of Calvin Johnson and Demaryius Thomas were also extremely important.  I’m hoping to make it four championships in a row next year!

12 Team Flex

5-9 No Playoffs

I had the first pick of the draft and selected LeSean McCoy.  His slow start to the season lost me many games. I had an excellent pick in Le’Veon Bell, he was the second best running back in terms of fantasy points. Multiple things hurt me in this league. My third round pick was Drew Brees who only ended up as the sixth best quarterback. I had hoped for more from Brees. McCoy had an abysmal start to the season. I had a horrible receiving corps. Larry Fitzgerald and Cordarelle Patterson were my starters on opening day…  I did not have good performances from my receivers this year.  It was not my year in this league. If you pick first in the draft and your first pick of the draft does not perform well you are doomed. After picking McCoy I had to wait 23 picks to pick again. Those 23 picks are why I would rather have a later pick. You can get guys who slide in draft position late in the first round.

12 Team Standard

3-10 No Playoffs

I picked first in the draft for the 12 team Standard league.  I once again selected LeSean McCoy.  My other running back was Giovanni Bernard, who I handcuffed by selecting Jeremy Hill.  My biggest mistake was selecting Matthew Stafford in the 5^th round. Stafford ranked as the 15^th best quarterback and was a horrible pick. Selecting Stafford in the 5^th also hindered my receiving corps. My draft day receiving corps was made up of Michael Crabtree, Terrance Williams, and Marques Colston. I lost some close games early in the year. I could have had a few more wins with some luck, but in the end I just did not have a very good team. I told myself never to over draft a marginal fantasy quarterback then I did. This leagues draft was my final draft of the year. I feel as if I made some of my picks in this league based off picks I made in my other leagues. I felt like I wanted a different team than I had in my other leagues. I had the chance to draft Le'Veon Bell but picked Bernard so I would have variety and not have the same back in three leagues. I will not make a mistake like that ever again. You should never have your team in another league influence your decision for a team in a separate league.

I hope everyone enjoyed their respective fantasy football seasons. I will once again be doing a draft guide and posting my draft spreadsheets. I plan to do a ton of research this off season and am hoping to have my best fantasy football year yet. I plan to have a ton of important and useful information on this site to help with next seasons draft. Enjoy the off season everyone! Come here when you start prepping for next seasons draft!