X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

2020 RotoBaller Superflex League Draft Recap

Jason Katz breaks down the draft strategies and most surprising picks from the RotoBaller Expert Flex League. He addresses draft values for superflex and tight end premium formats.

For the majority of the summer, I wasn't sure if I was even going to play fantasy football this year. I was pretty adamant that a season wouldn't happen. As August came and went and the NFL's testing protocols proved effective, my optimism began to grow and the idea of sitting out a season just didn't sit right.

With 2020 sure to be a season unlike any other, it is only fitting that the great minds here at RotoBaller came up with a league format unlike any other. The most common format for fantasy leagues is making a move towards QB-WR-WR-WR-RB-RB-TE-Flex. I generally support adding an extra flex spot or two as I like the idea of fantasy managers having maneuverability in terms of how they construct their team and lineups.

For the 2020 RotoBaller Experts' League, we took that concept and cranked it up to 100. While we only have one or two more starting spots than normal, the way we went about it was putting team construction entirely in the hands of each manager.

Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:

 

Extra-Flex League Settings

In this league, all that is required on a team is one QB, one RB, and one WR. That's it. The other seven starting spots are all Flex (with one of them being Superflex). As someone who had never done Superflex before, this presented a unique challenge in not just gauging how to value quarterbacks, but how to determine what players to take when without position scarcity coming into play at all. Other than at QB, it was pretty much just take the highest player on your board.

This also presented a challenge in how to analyze this. After some thought, I decided to go with just a general discussion of roster analysis and what picks surprised me the most (good and bad).

Here is a link to the full draft board for those interested and a video podcast breaking down the first half of the draft along with strategies. I've also included the draft board at the bottom for quick viewing.

 

Quarterbacks

Only three teams left the draft with just two QBs: CMangano33, DennisClausen, and dffornek. They were also the last three teams to get their second QB, taking them back to back-to-back to close out the eighth round. Given that starting more than one QB isn't required, I don't foresee this being a problem as none of their QBs are at risk of losing their jobs. They will have to either find a third QB over the course of the season or start a different position at Superflex during each of their quarterbacks' byes, but it shouldn't pose a serious problem.

Five teams drafted backup quarterbacks. No, not quarterbacks to backup their starter in fantasy - actual real-life backup quarterbacks: Tua Tagovailoa 15.08, Mitch Trubisky 16.02, Justin Herbert 17.04, Andy Dalton 19.10, Jalen Hurts 20.01. I tacked on one more "quarterback" with Taysom Hill at 20.06. While Tua and Herbert are likely to make starts this season, Dalton and Hurts are pure backups with no chance at starting, absent an injury to the starter. Hill is just a hope and a prayer that some nonsense occurs and will likely be dropped after Week 1.

 

Running Backs and Wide Receivers

This is what intrigued me most about this league. I was curious to see the breakdown of running backs vs. wide receivers. In a more standard format, teams will roster five or six running backs and six or seven wide receivers. The ratio will be pretty close to 1. In this format, in theory, a team could draft three of one position and 12 of the other and it would be fine.

Here is the breakdown by roster:

  • CMangano33 (Chris Mangano): 8 RBs, 7 WRs
  • DennisClausen (Dennis Clausen): 3 RBs, 13 WRs
  • dffornek (Dan Fornek): 6 RBs, 8 WRs
  • fammirantetfj (Frank Ammirante): 9 RBs, 7 WRs
  • sgjanik6 (Steve Janik): 7 RBs, 7 WRs
  • steverebeiro (Steve Rebeiro): 3 RBs, 8 WRs
  • Katz13 (Jason Katz): 9 RBs, 6 WRs
  • RichKingFF (Rich King): 7 RBs, 3 WRs
  • FantasyGiant (Frank Dyevoich): 8 RBs, 7 WRs
  • PVCLARK (Phil Clark): 6 RBs, 7 WRs
  • pfunk305 (Pierre Camus): 5 RBs, 10 WRs
  • ThePreSnapRead (Chris Gregory): 5 RBs, 8 WRs

As you can see, team construction varied wildly. In a traditional format, you could never get away with rostering just three running backs or wide receivers, but in this format, you can. It was very interesting to see how managers prioritized players. For me, I had no intention of going so running back heavy, but it just worked out that the players atop my board were consistently running backs. I imagine the reverse is the case for those that went wide receiver heavy.

 

Tight Ends

With this being a tight end premium format without a traditional tight end position, it made valuing tight ends a very uncertain proposition. Travis Kelce and George Kittle went early because they're legitimately WR1s. But for the tight ends that are only valuable because they play tight end, it was difficult to gauge when taking the TE was better than the WR or RB. I struggled with this considerably, which resulted in me taking just one TE.

On the other hand, despite there being no TE requirement, RichKingFF drafted six tight ends, including Blake Jarwin in the 16th round one spot before I was going to take him. It will be interesting to look back on tight end production in this format to see how they match up against the corresponding wide receivers and running backs.

 

Standout Selections

For this section, I just went through the draft board in order and pinpointed a few selections that caught my eye. Given that this is an experts' league, it is no surprise that the draft went quite a while before there were any picks that stood out as great or terrible value.

James Conner 7.06. I would not describe myself as a James Conner fan, but this seems like awfully good value for a running back that has proven he can produce RB1 numbers in a good offense when given the volume. Conner is a replacement-level running back or perhaps slightly above. People often hear that term and get offended. Most running backs are replacement level - give them a good situation and volume and they will produce. If Ben Roethlisberger is healthy and capable of playing near the level we're accustomed to seeing from him and Conner can stay on the field, he will produce far greater than where Steverebeiro drafted him. The risk was definitely worth it in the seventh round.

Deebo Samuel 9.02. This was the first truly questionable selection, brought to us by DennisClausen. We knew the moment Deebo Samuel got hurt that he was going to miss at least the first few weeks of the season. Given all of our experience studying the game of football, we also know full well that Samuel is at risk to miss half, if not all of the 2020 season. That's how these foot injuries go.

The ninth round is way too high for Samuel under normal conditions. In a superflex league during a season that is certain to result in the most missed games from fantasy-relevant players in NFL history, taking a guy that may miss half a season or more in the ninth round is ill-advised.

Raheem Mostert 9.04. I was not going to be the one to draft Raheem Mostert. That was my thinking going into this (and every) draft. It appears as if everyone else had the same thought. Fammirantetfj finally put an end to Mostert's slide in the ninth round. As much as I wasn't going to take Mostert even if he fell to me, I can admit that the ninth round is well worth it to gamble that Mostert can maintain his role in the 49ers' elite rushing attack.

Even when accounting for the abundance of quarterbacks going early due to the format, Mostert shouldn't really make it out of the seventh round. This was a great pick regardless of whether it works out.

Tyler Higbee 10.12. I've been warming to Tyler Higbee lately and have now concluded this was a fantastic selection by CMangano33. In a tight end premium format, even if Higbee is 60% of the guy we saw down the stretch last season, he is sure to be more valuable than guys like Marlon Mack, Alexander Mattison, and the aforementioned Deebo Samuel. Higbee is the starter for the Rams and will be the tight end out there when they run 11 personnel. He's not going to rattle off 100-yard game after 100-yard game again, but at 1.5 ppr, 5-60 goes a long way.

Sony Michel 11.01. Objectively, this isn't terrible value for Sony Michel, but I'm going to say it: Sony Michel is done. This is a league with 20 man rosters and I do not expect Michel to be on anyone's team by the end of September. Fortunately for Dennis, he followed this disaster up with Damien Harris at his very next pick.

Kerryon Johnson 12.06. I'll pat myself on the back quickly for this one. The 12th round is extremely late for Kerryon Johnson, but this is a sneaky smart pick given that I also drafted D'Andre Swift. With 20-man rosters, burning two picks on one backfield is fine. It's hard to imagine a scenario where I don't get value from the Lions' backfield now.

Duke Johnson 14.09. I've gone on record saying I expect Duke Johnson to be relatively useless this year, but in the 14th round of a league where you're basically starting eight Flex players, this is way too late. CMangano33, having already drafted David Johnson, probably should've locked up Duke in the 13th round rather than going with Jerick McKinnon.

Dwayne Haskins 15.05. There's nothing wrong with taking a presumptive starting quarterback in the 15th round of a Superflex draft, but I've never been more sure that a quarterback will lose his job than Dwayne Haskins. Sgjanik6 may find himself swapping out Haskins for ::gulp:: Kyle Allen around midseason.

Jalen Hurd 19.02. It's damn near impossible to find anything wrong with a 19th-round pick, but Jalen Hurd tore his ACL so DennisClausen literally just threw this pick away. But to be fair, the likelihood that any of us gets value from a 19th-round pick is almost zero. With that being said, if given the choice between rostering an out-for-the-season Hurd or a fully-healthy JJ Arcega-Whiteside, who Dennis took at 18.11, I'd rather have Hurd.

Devin Duvernay 20.07. For a 20th-round pick, this one has some serious upside. The Ravens' wide receiver depth chart is wide open behind Marquise Brown. Devin Duvernay is, by far, the second-most talented wide receiver on the team. Miles Boykin can't play. Willie Snead is merely a placeholder. There's definitely a path for Duvernay to end up with a starting role. In this league, even WR4 value would make him a tremendously useful asset.

 

Final Thoughts

Unsurprisingly, a league full of experts didn't provide the usual comedy of errors that you'll see a typical home league. It also didn't provide much in the way of screaming values because everyone knows what they're doing. I had a lot of fun drafting this team and am looking forward to a crazy season in a crazy format with all of these wonderful people.



Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App

Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!

More Fantasy Football Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Griffin Conine

To Have Shoulder Surgery On Tuesday
Luke Keaschall

Twins Prospect Luke Keaschall Suffers Broken Forearm
Logan Gilbert

Leaves Friday's Start With Forearm Tightness

Vikings Select Tai Felton To Finish Day 2

Seahawks Select Quarterback Jalen Milroe With The 92nd Pick Overall

Browns Select Dillon Gabriel 94th Overall

Packers Pick Savion Williams At No. 87 overall

Steelers Snag Kaleb Johnson In Round 3

Broncos Select Wide Receiver Pat Bryant With The 74th Overall Pick

Texans Select Jaylin Noel With 79th Pick

Lions Select Wide Receiver Isaac TeSlaa With The 70th Overall Pick
Jack Leiter

To Start On Sunday

Patriots Add Wide Receiver Kyle Williams In Round 3

Browns Draft Harold Fannin Jr. With 67th Pick
Garrett Mitchell

Makes Early Exit
Luke Keaschall

Removed Early On Friday
Blake Snell

Likely Avoids Major Injury
Cole Ragans

Dealing With Mild Groin Strain

Broncos Add RJ Harvey To Backfield With 60th Pick

Raiders Select Jack Bech With 58th Pick

Chargers Add Wide Receiver Tre Harris In Round 2
Detroit Lions

Lions Acquire 57th Pick From Broncos

Seahawks Draft Elijah Arroyo 50th Overall
Carolina Panthers

Panthers Acquire 51st Pick From Broncos
Arizona Cardinals

Cardinals Snag Will Johnson At No. 47

Jets Add A Pass-Catcher With Mason Taylor At No. 42

Rams Select Terrance Ferguson With 46th Pick
Houston Texans

Texans Acquire 48th Pick From Raiders, Draft Aireontae Ersery

Saints Snag Tyler Shough At No. 40
Brenton Doyle

Out For Personal Reasons On Friday
Brandin Podziemski

Not On Injury Report For Game 3
Jimmy Butler III

Warriors Optimistic About Jimmy Butler III Playing Saturday
Jae'Sean Tate

To Remain Out Saturday
Jock Landale

Unavailable For Game 3
Terry Rozier

Out On Saturday
Jrue Holiday

Ruled Out For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Orlando
Kevin Love

To Miss Saturday's Game
Jaylen Brown

Available For Friday Night's Game 3 Against Magic
Gary Payton II

Iffy For Saturday's Action
Jayson Tatum

Officially Available On Friday For Game 3 Against Magic
Will Smith

Back From Injury On Friday
Luke Kennard

Questionable For Game 4 On Saturday
Darius Garland

Listed As Questionable For Game 3
Ja Morant

To Miss Game 4 On Saturday
Rui Hachimura

Available For Game 3 In Minnesota
Aaron Ekblad

Available To Return Saturday
Erik Swanson

Ryan Burr Progressing
Daulton Varsho

To Return On Tuesday At The Latest
Max Scherzer

Takes Positive Step On Friday
Aleksander Barkov

Questionable For Saturday
Gabriel Landeskog

Set For Larger Role In Game 4
Calvin Pickard

To Start Game 3 For Oilers
Randy Arozarena

Resting For First Time This Year
Jonas Siegenthaler

To Play Limited Minutes In Game 3
MLB

Red Sox-Guardians Game Postponed On Friday
Luke Hughes

Remains Out On Friday
MLB

Tigers-Orioles Postponed On Friday
Patrik Laine

A Game-Time Decision Friday
Yainer Diaz

Out On Friday Against Royals
Iván Herrera

Ivan Herrera Hopes To Start Rehab Assignment Next Week
Salvador Perez

Sitting Out For First Time This Season
Jaylen Brown

Questionable For Game 3 On Friday
Brendan Donovan

Back In Action On Friday
Jimmy Butler III

Could Miss Game 3 On Saturday
Coby Mayo

Getting On A Roll At Triple-A
Carlos Prates

Looks To Remain Undefeated In The UFC
Ian Machado Garry

Set For UFC Kansas City Main Event
Cade Cunningham

Collects Double-Double In Loss
Jalen Brunson

Drops 30 Points In Game 3
Karl-Anthony Towns

Leads All Scorers In Game 3 Victory
Zhang Mingyang

Scheduled For Co-Main Event
Anthony Smith

Set For His Final UFC Bout
David Onama

Set For Featherweight Bout
Giga Chikadze

Looks To Bounce Back
Abus Magomedov

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
Michel Pereira

Returns To Action At UFC Kansas City
Nicolas Dalby

An Underdog At UFC Kansas City
Randy Brown

A Favorite At UFC Kansas City
Andre Muniz

Set To Open Up UFC Kansas City Main Card
Ikram Aliskerov

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Sergei Bobrovsky

Shuts Out Lightning In Game 2
Cam Fowler

Finishes Thursday's Win With Five Points
Robert Thomas

Posts Four Assists In Game 3 Win
Pavel Buchnevich

Celebrates Hat Trick During Four-Point Performance
Dylan DeMelo

Battling An Illness
Marcus Johansson

Exits Early Thursday
Aleksander Barkov

Hurt In Game 2
Jrue Holiday

Tagged As Questionable For Friday
Jayson Tatum

Likely Out Again On Friday
Anthony Cirelli

Good To Go Thursday
Andrei Vasilevskiy

Looks To Bounce Back In Game 2
Rasmus Ristolainen

To Miss Training Camp
Jonas Siegenthaler

Returns To Practice
Aliaksei Protas

Traveling With Capitals
Gabriel Vilardi

Still Out On Thursday
Max Pacioretty

Set To Join Maple Leafs Lineup For Game 3
Cam Davis

Looking For Better Fortunes At TPC Louisiana
Adam Svensson

Making Third Apperence At Zurich Classic
Max Greyserman

Aiming For Similar Success At TPC Louisiana
Lee Hodges

A High-Upside Player In New Orleans
PGA

Nico Echavarria Looks To Ride Off Of Elite Putting In New Orleans
Gary Woodland

A Player Worth Watching In New Orleans
Max McGreevy

Returns To The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans
Rasmus Hojgaard

In Search Of Consistency Ahead Of Zurich Classic
Sam Stevens

A Boom-Or-Bust Candidate In New Orleans
Nicolai Hojgaard

Looking To Turn Season Around At Zurich Classic
Christiaan Bezuidenhout

Looks To Sway A Hot Putter In Teams Favor At Zurich Classic
Akshay Bhatia

Looking To Bounce Back At TPC Louisiana
Carson Young

Looks To Turn Things Around At TPC Louisiana
Erik Van Rooyen

Looking For Momentum In Louisiana
Andrew Novak

Making Start At TPC Louisiana After Near Miss At Harbour Town
Ben Griffin

Making Third Career Start At Zurich Classic
Taylor Moore

Competing With A New Teammate In New Orleans
Wyndham Clark

Making Return To New Orleans
Kurt Kitayama

Teeing It Up Again In New Orleans
Collin Morikawa

Back At Zurich Classic For Fifth Time
Thomas Detry

Making Third Appearance At New Orleans Team Event
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF