The Slip Draft strategy is about drafting the players who have slipped down the ranks in fantasy football this past year due to their high level of riskiness for this season. This strategy is centered around three distinct players. These guys include Le’Veon Bell, Todd Gurley, and Antonio Brown.
At their highs they were the best in the league and really its arguable they are all still the best in the NFL. With the Steelers Runningback Le’Veon Bell was averaging 1,067 rush yards, avg 8 Total Touchdowns, avg 62 catches, and avg 532 receiving yards a season over a 5 year span. Since 2013 Wide Receiver Antonio Brown has had at least 100 receptions a year, his worst receiving yards for a year was 1,284 yards (best was 1,834 yards in 2015), and avg 12 TDs a year ( Honestly his stats are insane, just look at them here https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/13934/antonio-brown ) Gurley is no different. He has been a Touchdown machine with 19 Total TD’s alone in 2017 with over 1,300 rush yards and 64 receptions, and 788 rec yards in that year as well; and then 21 Total TD’s in 2018, over 1,800 total yards in 2018 and 59 receptions.
However, there are reasons these three players have been down graded this season. Bell hasn’t played a full year, and he was picked up by a team that needs improvement on the O-line. For Gurley, it’s the fact that he is highly injury prone, and coming off the super bowl, it looked like he was not the same player. Finally, for Brown, it’s his off the field issues, the fact that he is no longer with a Hall of fame Quarterback (Ben Roethlisberger), as well as how we just don’t know how compatible he will be with the Oakland Raiders (although given how talented he is it would be quite stupid to not go to him at least 10 times a day).
The specific draft strategy involves picking Le’Veon Bell in the first round, Todd Gurley in the second round, and Antonio Brown in the third.
This can definitely be accomplished in a 8 team league and is still doable in a 10 and 12 team league, but it is very unlikely. The only way possible to accomplish these picks in a 10 or 12 team league would be to draft at the 8th or 9th position, and hope that Bell doesn’t get taken then hope that nobody reaches for Gurley or that Brown is taken in the 1st or second round.
I’m not saying it isn’t possible, it would just be highly unlikely seeing as how good these players are. However, you could just do 2 out of 3 ( take Bell and Brown or Gurley and Brown, or Bell and Gurley) however, I feel like it would be more fun and more exciting for you as a manager to have the chance to grab all three of them just because of how high their ceiling could be.
Overall, this is a very exciting draft strategy to be apart of if possible. However with such high rewards be warned the risks are high as well with drafting these players. But hey, what’s Fantasy football without a little risk! If any of these players don’t work out there is still the waiver wire you can turn to, so be sure to check out @bullseyefantasy on twitter for my weekly waiver wire pickups every Monday Night during the NFL regular season!