Earlier this month, 12 RotoBaller writers came together to do a live dynasty league startup on the internet. This article is the third in a series of articles on RotoBaller that will analyze the results of the draft to give readers a look into current dynasty values, and discuss the best and worst values in the draft.
Today we take a look at round seven through 10 of the draft, and provide our analysis of the picks. You can check out the rounds 4-6 analysis here.
For full draft results, click here.
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Dynasty Draft Recap - Rounds 7-10
Best Pick - Danny Woodhead
The middle rounds are very important to the overall success of any season-long fantasy team. Selecting a player like Danny Woodhead in the ninth round is very sneaky, and in hindsight, one of the best picks of the draft. In 2015, he caught 80 passes, gaining over 750 yards through the air, which is great for a wide receiver, let alone a backup running back.
With that kind of pass-catching ability, Woodhead has RB1 upside in 2016. While Melvin Gordon will likely take over for the most part as far as rushing is concerned, the Chargers are going to force the ball to Woodhead through the air. This pick comes with a lot of upside in the here and now, along with some upside in the next couple of seasons.
Worst Pick - C.J. Prosise
C.J. Prosise has been having quite a few issues regarding his hip and hamstring since being selected 90th overall in April. The Seattle Seahawks plan to use him as a third down running back, and while he does have some upside going forward, it is going to be the Thomas Rawls show this season.
Prosise was actually ‘on the bubble’ to make the Seahawks’ roster back in the beginning of August according to Curtis Crabtree of KJR Seattle. That kind of risk does not warrant a selection so high in the draft, especially with running backs like Jordan Howard left on the board. Overall, this was simply a reach that comes with a bit too much risk.
Riskiest Pick – Josh Gordon
Josh Gordon has been suspended from the NFL around one million times since entering the league in 2013. He is one wrong move away from getting banned from the NFL for life, something that is a realistic possibility, especially if Gordon continues to hang out with the wrong group of people.
Honestly, the Cleveland Browns’ stud wide-out never really did anything too serious, but Roger Goodell is no fan of the devil’s lettuce, so Gordon will have to do a better job of hiding his tendency to smoke it. With first-round upside, the 6’3”, 225-pound monster of a football player is well worth his selection in the seventh round, but he is definitely a risk.
Biggest Upside Pick – Sammie Coates
Honestly, the biggest upside pick is Josh Gordon. He has the biggest risk, but he also has the biggest upside. Those two tend to go hand in hand, but in an effort to not be repetitive, Sammie Coates gets nominated in his place. Coates caught one pass in 2015, but he has ridiculous speed and upside for the Pittsburgh Steeler this season and beyond.
In his third preseason game, he caught two passes on the same number of targets for over 60 yards and a touchdown. He is currently playing behind Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton, and Eli Rogers, but he has so much potential, that he is worth the mid-round selection. If he finds the field, he will likely also find the end zone.
General Analysis
The middle rounds of this draft went according to plan for the most part. A few quarterbacks were selected, which is to be expected, as taking a quarterback closer to the ninth and tenth round is a strategy used by many veteran fantasy football owners. Due to the nature of a dynasty league, a lot of high-upside, but not yet NFL ready, players were taken. For example, the prior mentioned C.J. Prosise, Paul Perkins, and the also prior mentioned Sammie Coates. A couple of veterans were also selected, which shows a commitment to winning in the here and now. For example, the ninth round saw Torrey Smith and the tenth round saw Frank Gore come off of the board.
As far as very surprising selections go, there were none. Josh Gordon was finally selected in the seventh round, which is significant because fantasy owners are having trouble deciding when to draft the ex-troublemaker. It will be interesting to see if he returns to form, shapes up, and dominates in the NFL for the next five seasons, or gets kicked out for drug use, yet again.
A couple of the highest upside players not yet mentioned include Travis Benjamin, who was selected in the seventh round, and Derek Carr, who was selected in the ninth round. Carr went in the round after Marcus Mariota and the same round as Ben Roethlisberger and Jameis Winston. The Oakland Raiders potential savior has a ton of upside, while the San Diego Chargers’ newest toy for Philip Rivers, Travis Benjamin, has elite speed and potential. Benjamin could provide fantasy value this season, as well as for the next five years. That was another very credible selection that deserves a little bit of recognition.
Overall, the middle rounds of the draft went smoothly. There were not too many surprises, and there were no outrageous draft selections. This is what to expect from an ‘expert’ fantasy league.