In a year when many drafted running backs early Fantasy Sharks' Tony Holm zagged where others zigged. He selected Antonio Brown with his top pick, and A.J. Green and Brandin Cooks with two of his next three selections. That trio has helped him secure the first-half lead in our annual Experts Draft League.
These are the leagues we assemble back in May, in order to get them into our magazine. No transactions are allowed after the initial draft, and no lineups to set -- teams get their best lineup from their roster each week. To minimize scheduling luck, each team plays every other team each week. Top score goes 11-0, worst score goes 0-11, etc.
Holm selected a nice quarterback duo of Drew Brees and Deshaun Watson, and his early selection of Sony Michel has worked out (assuming Michel doesn't miss too much time). O.J. Howard and Jared Cook have thus far given him a solid tight end choice most weeks.
Picking 2nd, Mike Clay was fortunate to land Todd Gurley, who's carrying his team (and a lot of fantasy teams). Mid-round wide receivers Emmanuel Sanders and DeSean Jackson have worked out so far. Yahoo's Scott Pianowski is having himself a year. He's leading the Auction League, discussed here earlier in the week, and is 3rd in the draft. Melvin Gordon, DeAndre Hopkins and his quarterback duo of Matt Ryan and Matthew Stafford have been key, as has his late-round selection of T.J. Yeldon and mid-round tight end, George Kittle.
Some teams have been hit hard by injuries. Our own Justin Eleff used two of his top 4 picks on Dalvin Cook and Derrius Guice. Hard to overcome that in a no-transaction league. Jeff Ratcliffe of Pro Football Focus selected LeVeon Bell at No. 1 overall, and the rest of his running back corps with the lone exception of Joe Mixon (who was hurt) is currently hurt.
Full rosters can be seen in our preseason annual and by searching for the Fantasy Index Mock Draft League at this link. Current standings are below.
| EXPERTS DRAFT LEAGUE STANDINGS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L |
| Fantasy Sharks | 58 | 19 |
| ESPN | 52 | 25 |
| Yahoo Sports | 50 | 27 |
| Draft Sharks | 49 | 28 |
| FFMastermind.com | 47 | 30 |
| Extra Point Press | 43 | 34 |
| Footballguys | 34 | 43 |
| Fantasy Index Blackout | 33 | 44 |
| Dynasty League Football | 29 | 48 |
| FantasyPros | 24 | 53 |
| Pro Football Focus | 23 | 54 |
| Fantasy Index Podcast | 20 | 57 |
--Andy Richardson