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WHEN THE BRITISH naturalist George Shaw received a weird specimen from Australia in 1799 - one with a mole's fur, a duck's bill and spurs on its rear legs - he did what any skeptical scientist would do: He looked for the stitching and glue that would reveal it to be a hoax. "It was impossible not to entertain some distant doubts as to the genuine nature of the animal," Shaw wrote of the seemingly built-by-committee creature, which he eventually named "platypus".

Over the past few years, there have been two very popular articles written by our very own Chase Stuart that look at an interesting approach to building a fantasy team with late value picks. Based upon the theory of using both Strength of Schedule ("SOS") and taking two players as a combination to build one very good player, he has discussed both Team Defense by Committee ("TDBC") and Quarterback by Committee ("QBBC") as a general fantasy league strategy. In general I think that this is a wise move because very early on in fantasy drafts there are a ton of RB and WR prospects to go after to build a great team. While there are a few studs at QB and also a few choice defenses, I do not see a huge need in leagues to pursue either too hard in the beginning stages of a fantasy draft.

So with this in mind, I started to think about what else can be done with the committee approach. Tight end? Perhaps. Wide receiver? A possibility, but it might be better to look at third WR options than any other option. What about running back? Hmmm, that might work. What if I could put together all of this and make a total team using committees? Would that even be possible?

Yes, Virginia, there is a Team Platypus.

With all of these concepts discussed here:

• QBBC - Quarterback By Committee (Chase Stuart)
• RB2BC (PPR) - Running Back #2 By Committee (PPR) (Jeff Pasquino)
• WR3BC (PPR) - Wide Receiver #3 By Committee (PPR) (Jeff Pasquino)
• TEBC (PPR) - Tight End By Committee (PPR) (Jeff Pasquino)
• DTBC - Defensive Team By Committee (Chase Stuart)

I've taken a good shot at putting together an Ultimate Team By Committee (UTBC). For the Mike Hermans of the world, I hope you don't mind that I will pass on the kicker by committee. Leave that one for some else to think about.

Let's address what we need here in Rounds 5-14. We want to get RB2BC, WR3BC, TEBC and QBBC established. Looking back at the articles highlighted above we can now modify our earlier RB2BC and WR3BC recommendations if necessary in order to secure all the committee duos we want to roster.

IF IT WALKS LIKE A DUCK.....

Table 1: The Ultimate Team By Committee (UTBC) Blueprint for PPR Leagues  

Some of you may notice that there's a bit of inconsistency in Rounds 5 through 12. That's a good observation, and I can explain. Based on the combinations of QB, WR, RB and TE committees I had to tweak the selections to fit everyone onto the roster. I'll go over these tweaks, position by position, including the comments.

• Running Back - (RB2BC): This one goes right according to the script of Gio Bernard and Tevin Coleman.  The only tweak I had to do was to move Coleman into Round 6 to both ensure that we get him and also to make room for the WR3BC picks in Rounds 7 and 8.  Bernard (ADP 62) should easily make it to the end of Round 5, but will not last much further.  Grab him in Round 5, then take Coleman in Round 6 with his ADP of 81, which again should be a very safe plan.   

• Quarterback - (QBBC): For QBBC the good news is that Chase Stuart outlines a ton of options. I happen to think that his choice this year is very solid by pairing Sam Bradford and Jamies Winston.  Taking Bradford (ADP of 119) in Round 10 sounds like a safe plan, but if you have a late Round 10 pick I see no reason to worry yourself and just take Bradford in Round 9 if you like.  After securing Bradford, come right back and lock up Winston in Round 12.  The rookie Tampa Bay QB has an ADP of 148, which means he should pass through into Round 13 most of the time, but not by much.  Take him in Round 12 to be safe.

• Wide Receiver - (WR3BC): For WR3BC the original plan is still the goal, which is Brandon LaFell and Anquan Boldin.  LaFell's ADP is 93, which makes him about a 50% chance or less to last until the end of Round 8.  The problem comes with getting Anquan Boldin (ADP of 100) also in Round 8, so that means taking LaFell in Round 7 and Boldin in Round 8.  Considering this pair is worth a combined and effective WR2, this is still great value.    

• Tight End - (TEBC): The tight end story also remains unchanged as both tight end choices are great value picks this year.  Heath Miller is super-cheap with his ADP of 171, projecting him as a Round 15 pick.  Do not wait too long to snap him up as he has a ton of value, even in Round 13.  Round 14 is still reasonably safe, but if you have a late Round 14 pick I might suggest taking Miller in Round 13 and relaxing a little.  Oddly enough, his less-valuable committee pairing has a higher ADP.  Austin Seferian-Jenkins is going around the end of Round 12, so select him between your QBBC selections in Round 11. 
   
• Team Defense - (DTBC): The team defense duo is still Indianapolis and Jacksonville, and the good news is that all of the desired committee players are available after Round 15 - so taking the Colts and Jaguars in the final three rounds (along with a kicker) are still a strong option.   Both have ADPs beyond 200 (Colts at 227, Jacksonville over 240), so just take the Colts first as you can then take the Jaguars in either Round 19 or 20.  Use that other last pick for your kicker. 

The good news is that we have numerous options this year to form the Ultimate Team By Committee (UTBC).  Unlike past seasons, all five committees are ripe for the picking with barely any changes to the five plans needed at all.  That means 10 of 20 picks are already done for you, so you can focus on the first four rounds and then value picks in Rounds 9, 13 and 15-17. 

No plan is infallible, so that is why we have so many alternate backup scenarios planned out before the draft. Eliminate surprises and plan for contingencies. That's what we do - we adapt. Darwin would be proud.

Best of luck this year. 

Questions, suggestions and comments are always welcome to pasquino@footballguys.com.

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