Hope Is In The Air
- Commish
- Aug 27
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 1
Er, at least it was. There's no question the days and weeks leading up to the draft are some of the most exciting for fantasy football owners. You're planning and scheming about the myriad ways you're going to assemble a squad that no one can beat - the 1972 Miami Dolphins of fantasy.
"Should I try to snag CMC and King Henry?"
"If I go that route, I should probably shore up my receivers with AJ Brown and CeeDee Lamb to be on the safe side."
Seems like a sound strategy to me. And certainly one that's possible in a 16-team league with keepers and an auction draft.
But mere minutes after the opening bell sounds and the auction begins, your entire plan goes out the window - along with every ounce of pre-season hopefulness you held. You soon find you've been outbid on every player you targeted, you somehow ended up with three D/STs despite a league positional restriction of two, and you find yourself asking the league if you can reverse your last pick.
Don't worry, you're not the only one that came away from the draft with a completely different roster than you planned. That's the standard, not the exception. Which is why owners aren't nearly as excited after the draft as they are before.
To help us uncover some of the interesting and questionable moments of the drafts, we'll turn this post over to our sideline reporter, Snap Sutherland.
Ctrl+Z and Confusion: The Draft That Nearly Self-Destructed
By Snap Sutherland
This year’s Sagebrush Cactus League Draft was less of a well-oiled machine and more of a blender full of marbles and regret. The 16-team auction was supposed to be a test of preparation, strategy, and precision. What we got instead? Chaos, confusion, and a good-deed-gone-wrong for the ages.
It all began innocently enough - bidding wars erupted, sleeper picks flew, and some stayed busy securing a backup kicker. Then came the request that would send shockwaves through the league: a team asked to reverse their draft of Jalen Hurts.
The Commish, normally harder to move than a sofa stuck in a stairwell, caved against his better judgement. With one click, he reversed the pick…as well as a string of other draft selections in the process.
Suddenly, Ashton Jeanty vanished, Jonathan Taylor was let loose, and I believe D'Andre Swift was auctioned four times in under three minutes. Some owners lost players they thought they had secured; others found themselves bidding on ghosts. Meanwhile, I myself spent five minutes thinking I was bidding on a player named "Zoom Settings."
It was a digital disaster of such magnitude that one team actually said, “Did Alvin Kamara just Thanos-snap out of my lineup?” only to learn he’d been caught in the algorithmic undertow.
Despite the pandemonium, the draft soldiered on - battered, bruised, and beautiful in its own way.
Best Bargains and Bold Blunders
Best Value Pick:
Bucky Irving – $1 (Reek Squad)
Locked in like a coupon clipper at closing time. RB1 production at RB99 pricing. Brilliance.
Sneakiest Steal:
Tyreek Hill – $31 (Cerebral Ballsy)
Hill should come with a speed warning label. Getting him for $31 was slicker than a greased up armadillo on an airboat.
Draft Day Theft:
Brandon Aubrey – $6 (MaxxCasualties)
This one raised eyebrows across the desert. Either everyone forgot Aubrey existed, or the Commish’s system was haunted. Either way, a K for the price of a gas station chimichanga.
Head-Scratchers and Heat Checks
The "Wait… What?" Award:
Christian Watson – $13 (Badazz Bri)
A gutsy keeper for a guy who didn’t top most cheat sheets. Time will tell if this was genius or just overcaffeination.
Most Confusing Roster Strategy:
Deez Nuts
Started with Austin Ekeler ($9) and Jameson Williams ($11)…then filled out the rest like a mystery box on clearance.
Boom-or-Bust Moves:
Pork Chop Express leaned all the way into uncertainty with Baker Mayfield ($1) and Jordan Addison ($6). If it works? They'll be frying bacon in December. If not? Might need to reroute the caravan.
Keeper Kudos
Best Keeper Stack:
Golden Tate Warriors – J’Marr Chase ($68) & Lamar Jackson ($47)
Costly? Sure. Flashy? Definitely. But if those two cook, this team will be torching scoreboards from Tate's Retirement Retreat to the finals.
Most Efficient Keepers:
Blue Ribbon – Ladd McConkey ($5), Matthew Stafford ($6), & Saquon Barkley ($72)
McConkey at that price feels like daylight robbery with polite manners.
Final Thoughts from the Sideline
This draft had everything: thrilling bids, heartbreaking reversals, $1 miracles, and multiple moments where someone said, “Am I dreaming, or did we just reverse our way into a completely different draft?” The true winners won’t be known for weeks, but the owners who stayed calm in the chaos, hunted value in the margins, and didn’t hit “undo” on a QB1 may have the last laugh.
As for Me? I'm still trying to find out who drafted Jaxson Dart and why.
Solid reporting, Snap. Though some of your observations confuse me. I might argue Trevor Etienne for $4 is a better Draft Day Theft than Brandon Aubrey.
Enough about the individual picks. What you're here for is an answer to the question: "How did I do, Commish?" To answer your question: yes.
Without further delay, here is this year's SCL Draft Report Card:
Before you get yourselves all worked up about your grades and flood my inbox explaining why they're wrong and "this is definitely the year Kyle Pitts breaks out" or "Kenneth Walker won't miss a game all season", please understand these are not based on my opinion of your team.
OK, maybe my bias factors in a little. But they're also backed by a broken calculator, a stack of expired fantasy magazines from 2011, and whatever the hell ChatGPT spat out after 3 AM. And I may or may not have consulted with a suspiciously confident Uber driver named Skip who claims he's from the future.
Regardless, they are what they are and your performance throughout the season will determine their accuracy. It's up to you to prove them wrong...or right.
Good luck this season!
Commish
P.S. - If you need me to reverse any of your draft picks, hit me up.
GOLDEN TICKET CHALLENGE
We currently have 6 valid Golden Tickets submitted. Be sure to get your lineup submitted before kickoff on Thursday, 9/4.
Also, I've opened up the responses so they're visible by everyone in the league. If you wish to change your picks based on what others have chosen, just submit another form. But be careful - if you do it too close to the NFL season kickoff, I might not have time to alert you if there's an error and your ticket is invalid.
PIGSKIN PICK'EM
We've officially hit 50% - 8 of 16 teams have registered for the Pick'Em contest. Smash that button below to join the fun.
ELIMINATOR CHALLENGE
Somehow, someone signed up for Pick'Em but not Eliminator. We currently have 7 of 16 teams registered to play.
POWER RANKINGS
Here they are: the pre-season Power Rankings. Remember, these rankings are as volatile as a toddler with a Red Bull and bag of Skittles throghout the first few weeks.
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