j2v Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 I've been in enough BotH leagues to know there's a strong faction of Huddlers out there who like to take a second TE early on and play said TE2 at the flex spot. On our radio show Saturday morning one of the "5 Tough Questions" is in regards to picking at the end of R1/beginning of R2 and going with a Graham/Gronk combo. I know it's short notice, but I'd love for any of you fond of the two early TE strategy to weigh in on the brilliance/insanity of such a strategy. Any particularly salient points I will definitely try to give you some sort of shout-out on the show. 2V Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowboutthemCowboys Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Thews. I think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big John Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Thews. I think Yep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentastic Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 For me it's simple. There are only a few "sure things" in a fantasy draft. Obviously "sure thing" is relative and there really is no such thing. But, each position has a few at most, "sure thing" players that barring injury, should produce elite stats. If I miss out on the top 3 RBs and top 1 WR (only this year because there are many potential top 10 WRs and more uncertainty on some of the usual suspects) it makes a lot of sense to grab the two best TEs assuming you can flex one of them. There are only 3-4TEs this season that are nearly "guaranteed" to get 900+ yards - and that's Gronk, Graham, Gates and probably Hernandez . This is only my opinion and there are plenty of upside TEs too. Hernandez carries more risk this season due to Lloyd but my hunch is that Welker loses touches and not necessarily Hernandez. So adding Hernandez makes it 4 reliable consistent TEs and then about 4 more with a reasonable chance to become elite. If TEs get the .15 ppr then I'm not even thinking twice about going TE/TE early and that includes Gates and probably Hernandez. I usually approach drafts as gaining an edge anyway I can and many times that means zigging while everyone else is zagging. In my 16 team inaugural dynasty league draft, I went with Gronk in round 1 and Gates round 4 (.15 ppr) and snagged Jennings and Smitty as my top 2 WRs. In a .15 ppr, an elite TE is the same or better (in Gronk's case) than Calvin Johnson. So I look at that edge is that I got 3 ELITE WRs (based on points) and at the same time, prevented the other 15 teams from getting one of the handful of elite TEs available. Sure, the Greshams, Finley's and Pettigrews have elite potential but there are only 7-9 TEs with potential for elite stats. I think nearly every WR in the top 30-40 has similar potential for elite stats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 I drew the 10 hole in the FSWA draft and one of the strategies I had lined up was to go TE/TE in rounds 1/2 if the opportunity presented itself...Graham went 1.8 so it didn't and I went with the QB early (Brady) strategy...was going to grab Gronk in round 2 if there but he went 2.2. For me it's simple. There are only a few "sure things" in a fantasy draft. Obviously "sure thing" is relative and there really is no such thing. But, each position has a few at most, "sure thing" players that barring injury, should produce elite stats. If I miss out on the top 3 RBs and top 1 WR (only this year because there are many potential top 10 WRs and more uncertainty on some of the usual suspects) it makes a lot of sense to grab the two best TEs assuming you can flex one of them. There are only 3-4TEs this season that are nearly "guaranteed" to get 900+ yards - and that's Gronk, Graham, Gates and probably Hernandez . This is only my opinion and there are plenty of upside TEs too. Hernandez carries more risk this season due to Lloyd but my hunch is that Welker loses touches and not necessarily Hernandez. So adding Hernandez makes it 4 reliable consistent TEs and then about 4 more with a reasonable chance to become elite. If TEs get the .15 ppr then I'm not even thinking twice about going TE/TE early and that includes Gates and probably Hernandez. I usually approach drafts as gaining an edge anyway I can and many times that means zigging while everyone else is zagging. In my 16 team inaugural dynasty league draft, I went with Gronk in round 1 and Gates round 4 (.15 ppr) and snagged Jennings and Smitty as my top 2 WRs. In a .15 ppr, an elite TE is the same or better (in Gronk's case) than Calvin Johnson. So I look at that edge is that I got 3 ELITE WRs (based on points) and at the same time, prevented the other 15 teams from getting one of the handful of elite TEs available. Sure, the Greshams, Finley's and Pettigrews have elite potential but there are only 7-9 TEs with potential for elite stats. I think nearly every WR in the top 30-40 has similar potential for elite stats. I'm guessing you mean 1.5 PPR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentastic Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 I drew the 10 hole in the FSWA draft and one of the strategies I had lined up was to go TE/TE in rounds 1/2 if the opportunity presented itself...Graham went 1.8 so it didn't and I went with the QB early (Brady) strategy...was going to grab Gronk in round 2 if there but he went 2.2. I'm guessing you mean 1.5 PPR Or .15 ppy. My big money local does a .15 ppy so that's what I'm more familiar with. Same difference basically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTSuper7 Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 I hate drafting my flex spot that early. I like feeling like I can take best player available as often as possible. With this strategy, what do you do if someone like Gates inexplicably falls to you at the 5-6 turn? Draft a bench player with the intent to trade? I generally don't like drafting the same position in back to back rounds to start a draft for this reason. Your flexibility to draft BPA is taken away. I also don't want to make it obvious to my opponents what position I am likely to draft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Holy Roller Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Thews. I think Thews is one of the advocators of TE/TE and he won AY2FDCBM with it. Others mocked him. I thought he was a genius. It's seeing beyond the curve that often makes the difference. Or he was just dumblucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Country Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 There are a ton of factors that come into play - lineup, in particular flex rules and scoring system, in particular PPR and if it is graduated or not. In the FFPC format, it is a very viable strategy due to having 2 flex positions (and only 2 required WRs) and because TEs get 1.5 PPR. In this format, TEs make very strong flex plays as when you compare the projected points, they tend to outscore the other positions when comparing similar draft spots. A lot of this has to do with the scoring system obviously, the other has to do with the number of required starters wrapping up all of the viable flex options from the other positions. There are just more than 12 TEs that produce when getting 1.5PPR, and they produce more points than RBs (when you consider the top 24 are marked as RB starters) and comparable if not greater numbers than a lot of the WRs. In this setup, getting a 2 nd top tier TE can be huge as they provide the following benefits: 1. Very strong flex player 2. Strong insurance in case one of your TEs goes down 3. Keeps a top level talent out of your opponents lineup In leagues that don't have tiered PPR or don't have a flex option, a 2nd TE is much less valuable as they are more easily outscored by later RBs and WRs (thus reducing their flex value) and keeping them out of an opponents lineup has less value when they can't also fill a key spot in your lineup. Essentially it boils down to this, the dual TE strategy is extremely league dependent, but can be a very viable and powerful strategy if the right elements are there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 I hate drafting my flex spot that early. I like feeling like I can take best player available as often as possible. With this strategy, what do you do if someone like Gates inexplicably falls to you at the 5-6 turn? Draft a bench player with the intent to trade? I generally don't like drafting the same position in back to back rounds to start a draft for this reason. Your flexibility to draft BPA is taken away. I also don't want to make it obvious to my opponents what position I am likely to draft. This is a good point. I also don't like maxing out the number of players at a given position I can start really early on. Again, because it sort of gets in the way of getting lucky later on. That said, I'm also of the opinion that you should let almost nothing get in the way of taking the guy who you think will be the best player overall off the board at your pick. The notable exception being QB if you've already spent a high pick on Rodgers/Brady/Brees since those guys are about as close to a lock as you're going to find, so the QB you take is almost assuredly going to find the bench all year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTSuper7 Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 The notable exception being QB if you've already spent a high pick on Rodgers/Brady/Brees since those guys are about as close to a lock as you're going to find, so the QB you take is almost assuredly going to find the bench all year. It depends on how active the league is. If I see a team waiting on QB and it's real obvious that I'm the only one standing between them and a steal at QB (and that QB is best available on my board by a lot), I might take the QB. Especially if none of my other options are all that great. I could foresee a situation like this with Vick after the preseason he has had. If the fear of injury pushes him into the 7th round, then what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bostonsoxandy Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 For me it's simple. There are only a few "sure things" in a fantasy draft. Obviously "sure thing" is relative and there really is no such thing. But, each position has a few at most, "sure thing" players that barring injury, should produce elite stats. If I miss out on the top 3 RBs and top 1 WR (only this year because there are many potential top 10 WRs and more uncertainty on some of the usual suspects) it makes a lot of sense to grab the two best TEs assuming you can flex one of them. There are only 3-4TEs this season that are nearly "guaranteed" to get 900+ yards - and that's Gronk, Graham, Gates and probably Hernandez . This is only my opinion and there are plenty of upside TEs too. Hernandez carries more risk this season due to Lloyd but my hunch is that Welker loses touches and not necessarily Hernandez. So adding Hernandez makes it 4 reliable consistent TEs and then about 4 more with a reasonable chance to become elite. If TEs get the .15 ppr then I'm not even thinking twice about going TE/TE early and that includes Gates and probably Hernandez. I usually approach drafts as gaining an edge anyway I can and many times that means zigging while everyone else is zagging. In my 16 team inaugural dynasty league draft, I went with Gronk in round 1 and Gates round 4 (.15 ppr) and snagged Jennings and Smitty as my top 2 WRs. In a .15 ppr, an elite TE is the same or better (in Gronk's case) than Calvin Johnson. So I look at that edge is that I got 3 ELITE WRs (based on points) and at the same time, prevented the other 15 teams from getting one of the handful of elite TEs available. Sure, the Greshams, Finley's and Pettigrews have elite potential but there are only 7-9 TEs with potential for elite stats. I think nearly every WR in the top 30-40 has similar potential for elite stats. THIS is a person that wants their shout out on the radio. I didn't even read it. All I see is numbers, everywhere too scary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furd Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 I'm drafting at nine in a ten team league tomorrow (with one flex position) and I'm considering this. Without ppr though, I'm probably not going to pull the trigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caveman_Nick Posted September 5, 2012 Share Posted September 5, 2012 Totally depends on the league scoring. My local gives 1 PPR to TEs only, so if you had the chance last year to grab Gronk and Graham somewhat early in that draft then you would have had the #9 and #14 scorers in the league, and at an 'off' position to boot. a hugh coup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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