09-10-2019, 10:13 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-15-2019, 10:18 AM by goodvsevil1275.)
Greetings from Iowa, where all our tortilla shells are made of corn! Welcome back to another episode of Taco Tuesday!
For the audience that follows this series you can skip this paragraph, but for new readers asking what the hell Taco Tuesday is, here is the short version. Taco is a character in The League, and he makes boneheaded fantasy picks each season. So, for this I'm looking at the lowest scoring user, AKA Taco, and analyzing their draft to see what went wrong.
Last week we tore through arguably the worst fantasy draft of all time. Because there is zero chance anybody will do worse, we will turn our attention to different user to keep things interesting. Before we do that though, lets take a peak at how our friend Raven is doing with their team of 'sleeper picks' in our recurring segment, "Where are they now?"
Where are they now? - Raven
Go back and look at last weeks episode of this series. Look at the team that Raven threw together. It looks like a blind bird tried to build a nest out of rocks and KY jelly. That lineup is offensive to look at and makes even Scorp look smart. It is no surprise thats-so-Raven is still last in the standings, miles behind everyone else, and he will be there when the season ends. I guarantee it. Place your bets now.
Ok, so now that I've taken a Percocet and calmed down a little bit, I'm ready to dive into the draft of our next special Taco. It does not outdo Raven's, unfortunately, but I doubt any draft from here on out ever will. And now, presenting this weeks Taco:
@TubbyTim69
Sorry, Tim, but you have been selected as this weeks Taco with the second-lowest score of the week. At 466.88 points, all I can say is at least you are over 150 points away from being in last place overall. Let's take a look at Tim's team and see where the weaknesses may lie:
Falconi, A. 111.28
Owens, A. 89
Von Matt, J. 67.1
Mongo ®, H. 53.6
Olsen, C. 28.3
Hank, F. 20
Bobby ®, K. 63
Philadelphia Liberty 34.6
________________________
Total: 466.8
Looking at this team is a breath of fresh air compared to last week, but there are still some glaring holes here at first glance. Mongo is not the worst WR, but there are better options, and Hank should not be picked in any league that you are trying to win. Lets dig a little deeper into the picks themselves to see what could have been done better.
Round 1, Pick 4 - Adriana Falconi, QB
Um, well, not a good way to start. The good news is, Tim wasn't the earliest to draft Falconi, as someone in a different group drafted her 1st overall. Bad news is, a first round pick should never be used on a QB in any fantasy format - IRL or in a sim league. According to ADP (average draft position), Falconi was typically the 3rd QB taken off the board around 17 overall. Out of all of the great players available here, it would have been better to see a RB like Forest Gump or a star receiver like Sunnycursed or Vinny Valentine, as picking a QB puts you in a tough spot when picking the rest of your lineup. Falconi is the 5th best QB in points currently. Next time, try waiting until at least round 4 to pick a QB, as you can find someone just as talented around there.
Round 2, Pick 9 - Ashley Owens, RB
This is a decent pick - Owens was 11 in ADP and all of the better ranked running backs were taken. However, the ADP doesn't tell the full story as the quality of Owens was a bit contentious compared to other drafts. In some he was pick 1 or 2 overall, while in others he was taken past pick 20 and even went undrafted in one. Despite that, I still feel he is a solid RB1 and has proven to be pretty darn good. Sunnycursed and Valentine were available, but I can understand wanting a RB. Here is where you can start seeing clearer why picking a QB early can hurt - it forces you to pick lower tier players to fill gaps later on instead of having more top tier skill position players. Lessen learned, I hope!
Round 3, Pick 16 - Jordan Von Matt, WR
I really like this pick. Von Matt may not be performing as well as he did last season, but he was 9th in ADP and fell this far so taking a shot at him was a great choice. Good value pick. I'm going to chalk this one up to some poor luck for his low fantasy point totals, it is a bummer that Von Matt isn't doing better. In hindsight, there were better players, but I definitely don't blame Tim for this pick at all.
Round 4, Pick 21 - Cameron Olsen, TE
Getting a high-end tight end fairly early is a great strategy that I like to implement into my drafting plans as well, but it seems to have flopped for Tim. Cam Olsen was 15 in ADP and had high expectations, but just isn't panning out at all. Or, so I thought. It appears that his stats have stopped being tracked from week 3 on for Tim even though there are no waiver claims on his team. WTF? Who is going after my boy Tim?! In reality, Cam Olsen has 77.3 points and Tim shouldn't even be the Taco at all! What is this BS? I blame Dermot. I'll continue on despite this revelation as there are still some interesting things to write about...and I really don't want to go back and rewrite everything.
Round 5, pick 28 - Hugh Mongo, WR
I love Hugh Mongo/spec as a person and a teammate, but looking at this objectively, it was quite a reach. Mongo went undrafted in most leagues and was not expected to do very much this year. He has done better than expected, I'll give him that, but this wasn't a great pick. At 46 in ADP, there were other options available that would have been better, specifically at running back, but looking back there weren't many other receivers to choose from. Again, this is how picking a QB that early can really hamstring a team. A comparable QB in Havran would have been available here.
Round 6, pick 33 - Farley Hank, RB
This pick is leaving me scratching my head more than the rest. At 74 ADP, and only drafted in this group, this is the biggest reach in my opinion, and his fantasy output is proof it was a poor selection. Was this one of Raven's famous "sleeper picks?" I'm sure inexperience with the league may be a factor in this, so my advice would be next time ask your team LR or a veteran for some help if you are unsure of who to pick. Mako Mendonca would have made an excellent handcuff behind Owens. Looking at the other options, though, there wasn't much else out there, as Tim was put in a tough group with other very active vets of the league. That definitely has to be a contributing factor in some of these picks.
Round 7, pick 40 - Liberty D
As we come to the end of the draft, we get to defenses and kickers, and both are a total crapshoot and usually not big contributors to any team unless they have an insane year. The Liberty's defense was 41 in ADP, so this is right on par with where they were typically drafted across the league. Unfortunately, they just have not played well.
Round 8, pick 44 - Kicky Bobby, K
With the last pick, we have our kicker. The wraiths were expected to have a good offense, and with kickers you generally want one that is on a good offense as that gives them more opportunities. He hasn't scored the most, but he hasn't been bad either. This was a good way to round out the draft as Bobby was 43 in ADP, near where he was drafted here.
In conclusion, between some reaches, bad luck, and being in one of the toughest groups, Tim didn't have a terrible draft but could have been better in some areas, especially with his first pick. I would love to see the reason why Tim hasn't gotten all of the points he should be receiving from Olsen, as that is the main reason he has the second lowest score right now. I hope that gets corrected, and I hope Tim rises through the ranks after the halfway point of this season. Best of luck the rest of the way out!
That'll do it for another episode of Taco Tuesday, tune in next week for more analysis on another one of the worst of the fantasy drafts this season!
For the audience that follows this series you can skip this paragraph, but for new readers asking what the hell Taco Tuesday is, here is the short version. Taco is a character in The League, and he makes boneheaded fantasy picks each season. So, for this I'm looking at the lowest scoring user, AKA Taco, and analyzing their draft to see what went wrong.
Last week we tore through arguably the worst fantasy draft of all time. Because there is zero chance anybody will do worse, we will turn our attention to different user to keep things interesting. Before we do that though, lets take a peak at how our friend Raven is doing with their team of 'sleeper picks' in our recurring segment, "Where are they now?"
Where are they now? - Raven
Go back and look at last weeks episode of this series. Look at the team that Raven threw together. It looks like a blind bird tried to build a nest out of rocks and KY jelly. That lineup is offensive to look at and makes even Scorp look smart. It is no surprise thats-so-Raven is still last in the standings, miles behind everyone else, and he will be there when the season ends. I guarantee it. Place your bets now.
Ok, so now that I've taken a Percocet and calmed down a little bit, I'm ready to dive into the draft of our next special Taco. It does not outdo Raven's, unfortunately, but I doubt any draft from here on out ever will. And now, presenting this weeks Taco:
@TubbyTim69
Sorry, Tim, but you have been selected as this weeks Taco with the second-lowest score of the week. At 466.88 points, all I can say is at least you are over 150 points away from being in last place overall. Let's take a look at Tim's team and see where the weaknesses may lie:
Falconi, A. 111.28
Owens, A. 89
Von Matt, J. 67.1
Mongo ®, H. 53.6
Olsen, C. 28.3
Hank, F. 20
Bobby ®, K. 63
Philadelphia Liberty 34.6
________________________
Total: 466.8
Looking at this team is a breath of fresh air compared to last week, but there are still some glaring holes here at first glance. Mongo is not the worst WR, but there are better options, and Hank should not be picked in any league that you are trying to win. Lets dig a little deeper into the picks themselves to see what could have been done better.
Round 1, Pick 4 - Adriana Falconi, QB
Um, well, not a good way to start. The good news is, Tim wasn't the earliest to draft Falconi, as someone in a different group drafted her 1st overall. Bad news is, a first round pick should never be used on a QB in any fantasy format - IRL or in a sim league. According to ADP (average draft position), Falconi was typically the 3rd QB taken off the board around 17 overall. Out of all of the great players available here, it would have been better to see a RB like Forest Gump or a star receiver like Sunnycursed or Vinny Valentine, as picking a QB puts you in a tough spot when picking the rest of your lineup. Falconi is the 5th best QB in points currently. Next time, try waiting until at least round 4 to pick a QB, as you can find someone just as talented around there.
Round 2, Pick 9 - Ashley Owens, RB
This is a decent pick - Owens was 11 in ADP and all of the better ranked running backs were taken. However, the ADP doesn't tell the full story as the quality of Owens was a bit contentious compared to other drafts. In some he was pick 1 or 2 overall, while in others he was taken past pick 20 and even went undrafted in one. Despite that, I still feel he is a solid RB1 and has proven to be pretty darn good. Sunnycursed and Valentine were available, but I can understand wanting a RB. Here is where you can start seeing clearer why picking a QB early can hurt - it forces you to pick lower tier players to fill gaps later on instead of having more top tier skill position players. Lessen learned, I hope!
Round 3, Pick 16 - Jordan Von Matt, WR
I really like this pick. Von Matt may not be performing as well as he did last season, but he was 9th in ADP and fell this far so taking a shot at him was a great choice. Good value pick. I'm going to chalk this one up to some poor luck for his low fantasy point totals, it is a bummer that Von Matt isn't doing better. In hindsight, there were better players, but I definitely don't blame Tim for this pick at all.
Round 4, Pick 21 - Cameron Olsen, TE
Getting a high-end tight end fairly early is a great strategy that I like to implement into my drafting plans as well, but it seems to have flopped for Tim. Cam Olsen was 15 in ADP and had high expectations, but just isn't panning out at all. Or, so I thought. It appears that his stats have stopped being tracked from week 3 on for Tim even though there are no waiver claims on his team. WTF? Who is going after my boy Tim?! In reality, Cam Olsen has 77.3 points and Tim shouldn't even be the Taco at all! What is this BS? I blame Dermot. I'll continue on despite this revelation as there are still some interesting things to write about...and I really don't want to go back and rewrite everything.
Round 5, pick 28 - Hugh Mongo, WR
I love Hugh Mongo/spec as a person and a teammate, but looking at this objectively, it was quite a reach. Mongo went undrafted in most leagues and was not expected to do very much this year. He has done better than expected, I'll give him that, but this wasn't a great pick. At 46 in ADP, there were other options available that would have been better, specifically at running back, but looking back there weren't many other receivers to choose from. Again, this is how picking a QB that early can really hamstring a team. A comparable QB in Havran would have been available here.
Round 6, pick 33 - Farley Hank, RB
This pick is leaving me scratching my head more than the rest. At 74 ADP, and only drafted in this group, this is the biggest reach in my opinion, and his fantasy output is proof it was a poor selection. Was this one of Raven's famous "sleeper picks?" I'm sure inexperience with the league may be a factor in this, so my advice would be next time ask your team LR or a veteran for some help if you are unsure of who to pick. Mako Mendonca would have made an excellent handcuff behind Owens. Looking at the other options, though, there wasn't much else out there, as Tim was put in a tough group with other very active vets of the league. That definitely has to be a contributing factor in some of these picks.
Round 7, pick 40 - Liberty D
As we come to the end of the draft, we get to defenses and kickers, and both are a total crapshoot and usually not big contributors to any team unless they have an insane year. The Liberty's defense was 41 in ADP, so this is right on par with where they were typically drafted across the league. Unfortunately, they just have not played well.
Round 8, pick 44 - Kicky Bobby, K
With the last pick, we have our kicker. The wraiths were expected to have a good offense, and with kickers you generally want one that is on a good offense as that gives them more opportunities. He hasn't scored the most, but he hasn't been bad either. This was a good way to round out the draft as Bobby was 43 in ADP, near where he was drafted here.
In conclusion, between some reaches, bad luck, and being in one of the toughest groups, Tim didn't have a terrible draft but could have been better in some areas, especially with his first pick. I would love to see the reason why Tim hasn't gotten all of the points he should be receiving from Olsen, as that is the main reason he has the second lowest score right now. I hope that gets corrected, and I hope Tim rises through the ranks after the halfway point of this season. Best of luck the rest of the way out!
That'll do it for another episode of Taco Tuesday, tune in next week for more analysis on another one of the worst of the fantasy drafts this season!