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 - Running Back #2 By Committee (Jeff Pasquino)
- WR3BC - Wide Receiver #3 By Committee (Jeff Pasquino)
- TEBC - Tight End By Committee (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 5-12. 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.....
So using the suggestions in the articles and some tweaks based on current ADP, here are the suggestions to build your very own version of Team Platypus:
| Round | Pick Range | ADP | Selection |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 to 12 | RB1 (w/early 1st rounder); TE1 (Graham) or WR1 | |
| 2 | 13 to 24 | WR1 (w/early 1st rounder) or WR2/RB1/TE1 (w/late 1st rounder) | |
| 3 | 25 to 36 | RB2 / WR2 or TE1 | |
| 4 | 37 to 48 | RB2 / WR2 or TE1 | |
| 5 | 49 to 60 | 64 | RB2BC #1 - Joique Bell |
| 6 | 61 to 72 | Best RB/WR/TE available | |
| 7 | 73 to 84 | 87 | RB2BC #2 - Lamar Miller |
| 8 | 85 to 96 | 95 | QBBC #1 - Jay Cutler |
| 9 | 97 to 108 | 101 / 117 | WR3BC #1 - Dwayne Bowe / Cecil Shorts |
| 10 | 109 to 120 | 122 | WR3BC #2 - Rueben Randle |
| 11 | 121 to 132 | 127 / 138 | TEBC #1 - Charles Clay / Ladarius Green |
| 12 | 133 to 144 | 147 | QBBC #2 - Eli Manning |
| 13 | 145 to 156 | Best Player Available | |
| 14 | 157 to 168 | 178 | TEBC #2 - Delanie Walker |
| 15 | 169 to 180 | Best Player Available | |
| 16 | 181 to 192 | >240 | DTBC #1 - Indianapolis Colts |
| 17 | 193 to 204 | >240 | DTBC #2 - Tennessee Titans (Pittsburgh Steelers) |
| 18 | 205 to 216 | Kicker |
Table 1: The Ultimate Team By Committee (UTBC) Blueprint for Standard 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 Joique Bell and Lamar Miller. Bell (ADP 64) will definitely make it to the end of Round 5, but will not last much further. Grab him in Round 5, then take Miller in Round 7 with his ADP of 87, which again should be a safe plan. You could take Miller in Round 6 to be very safe, but that keeps you from getting a much better player there and still getting Miller a round cheaper.
- Quarterback - (QBBC): For QBBC the good news is that Chase Stuart outlines a ton of options. I actually love his pairing of Jay Cutler and Eli Manning. Taking Cutler (ADP of 95) in Round 8 sounds like a safe plan, and then come back and pair Eli Manning with him in Round 12. Manning has an ADP of 147, 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 Dwayne Bowe and Rueben Randle. Bowe's ADP is 101, which makes him a risk to last through Round 9. That means we need to have an alternate plan if Bowe does not get to your pick in Round 9, and that is Riley Cooper (ADP 106) and Cecil Shorts (ADP 117). Clearly you want Bowe, but if you have to settle for a Cooper / Randle pairing you are going to have Pair #11 in the WR3BC approach (versus Pair #4 in Bowe and Randle). The Shorts / Randle Pair is even lower as Pair #35. All of that sounds bad until you look at the projected points. Pair #4 (Bowe/Randle) is projected to score 126 points, while Pair #11 (Cooper/Randle) is just 0.2 lower than Pair #4 at 125.8. Pair #35 is six points below these pairs at 119.8, or less than a half point a week. Not too bad as a "Plan C", but clearly you want Bowe or Cooper in Round 9.
- Tight End - (TEBC): The tight end story has is pretty straightforward and right according to the original script. Take Charles Clay in Round 11 and then grab Delanie Walker in Round 14. The only risk here is Clay's ADP of 127, which means someone could grab him right out from under you in Round 11 before you can lock him up. If that happens, Ladarius Green is a strong backup plan with his ADP of 138. Clay / Walker and Green / Walker are almost identical in value, so both are strong TEBC options.
- Team Defense - (DTBC): The team defense duo is still Indianapolis and Tennessee, and the good news is that all of the desired committee players are available above Round 15 - so taking the Colts and Titans in the final three rounds (along with a kicker) are still a strong option. Both have ADPs beyond 240, so just take the Colts first as you can then take the Titans or Steelers if someone decides to take Tennessee. Leave that last pick for your kicker.
The good news is that we have numerous options this year to form the Ultimate Team By Committee (UTBC). The top RB2BC, QBBC and defense options are available, and both the TEBC and WR3BC have good opportunities to also be unchanged. If either the first player changes for tight end or wide receiver, the chart above gives you a solid alternate draft strategy.
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.
