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USATSI

I want the FLEX Leagues championship belt back in the one-quarterback league. And hopefully I built a roster worthy of winning it during Saturday's live draft in New York.

The FLEX Leagues have been around since 2013, and it's the best collection of Fantasy analysts you'll find taking part in a series of drafts. All the credit goes to Jake Ciely of The Athletic, who came up with the concept, and I'm privileged to be part of the FLEX Leagues since its inception.

There are five different FLEX Leagues (two 1QB, two Superflex and one Best Ball), and I won the one-quarterback league in 2023, which was my second title. Joey Wright of Footballguys won the championship for our league in 2024 -- Adam Aizer won the Best Ball championship last year -- and I want my title belt back, which is awesome thanks to TrophySmack.

You can see the full draft results here. I had the No. 6 pick, and I'll break down my roster, which can also be a good blueprint to follow if you have a mid-round pick in your league this season.

As a reference point, our starting lineup is QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 2 FLEX (RB/WR/TE) and one WR/TE FLEX with seven reserves for a 16-round draft. The scoring is 0.5 PPR with six points for all rushing and receiving touchdowns. Passing touchdowns are worth four points. You do not need to use a tight end.

I had a tough decision in Round 1 when CeeDee Lamb and Christian McCaffrey were both available. In PPR, it's easy to select Lamb, who is my No. 3 overall player behind Ja'Marr Chase and Bijan Robinson, and I'm expecting the Cowboys receiver to be dominant once again with a healthy Dak Prescott.

But it's a tougher choice in half-PPR where running backs gain more value, and I love the outlook for McCaffrey this season since he's healthy again. Given that this is an analysts league, I felt there was a better chance that the running back value in Round 2 would be better than the receivers, so I went with Lamb.

I knew McCaffrey wasn't coming back to me in Round 2 (he went No. 10 overall), but Jonathan Taylor (No. 15 overall) and Bucky Irving (No. 17) were drafted sooner than I expected. That pushed A.J. Brown down to me at No. 19 overall, and I was thrilled to get him there.

If you have followed me long enough, you know Hero-RB is my favorite strategy when applicable, and I wanted a running back in Round 3. It made sense after receivers like Tyreek Hill, Tee Higgins, Davante Adams, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Garrett Wilson were all gone, but Kyren Williams, James Cook, Omarion Hampton and Breece Hall were on the board (Kenneth Walker III went right before my pick at No. 29 overall).

I don't want to draft Williams in Round 2, but I'm fine drafting him in Round 3, especially at this spot. For all of his potential flaws, he has 2,443 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns and 66 catches for 388 yards and five touchdowns on 88 targets in his past 28 games. He should still be the lead running back for the Rams, and he's the perfect fit for my strategy.

DK Metcalf was an easy choice for me in Round 4, and I'm expecting a big year for him as the No. 1 receiver for the Steelers and Aaron Rodgers. I could have selected Jalen Hurts with this pick, but I wanted to wait on a quarterback, which will hopefully not be a mistake. Hurts went four picks later at No. 47 overall.

I had a tough choice in Round 5 to either take my second running back (James Conner, D'Andre Swift, TreVeyon Henderson and RJ Harvey were available), or I could have selected Joe Burrow. Instead, I went with Courtland Sutton, and I'm thrilled with that pick given the drop-off at receiver after he came off the board. I would have considered Sutton in Round 4, and I'm expecting him to once again lead Denver's receiving corps as the go-to target for Bo Nix.

The reward of Sutton, however, proved costly at running back, and Burrow also went at No. 63 overall. I figured Conner, Henderson and Harvey would get drafted, but I thought Swift might fall to me in Round 6. I also thought either Kaleb Johnson or Isiah Pacheco would be available at No. 67 overall, but they both got selected.

I didn't love the receivers available at that point (Jerry Jeudy, Chris Godwin and Chris Olave were the highest on my draft board), and it was too soon for Patrick Mahomes. I also didn't want to draft a tight end given the rules, and Sam LaPorta was the best one left.

The running back value was becoming questionable at this point, and I wanted someone who could be a serviceable starter given my roster build. While I'm worried about Tony Pollard's production with Tyjae Spears healthy, and everyone in Tennessee reports that this could be a shared backfield, Pollard was my top running back available so I went with him.

Now, it was time to start stockpiling running backs, so I drafted Pollard, Jaylen Warren, Joe Mixon and Tyrone Tracy with four consecutive picks. And I felt much better about my running back corps.

Warren could be the best running back in Pittsburgh this season, especially if Johnson struggles in pass protection, but Warren could also be a flex in tandem with Johnson. Mixon is dealing with a foot injury, which could linger into the season, but he was a good value pick in Round 8. If he doesn't miss much time in the regular season then this pick could be the steal of the draft.

Tracy could also be a steal since he went two rounds after Cam Skattebo. While the rookie could end up as the best running back for the Giants, Tracy is still the starter heading into the season. And Skattebo is currently missing practice due to a hamstring injury.

I only drafted one other running back on this roster with Jarquez Hunter in Round 12. He should be the handcuff to Williams, and I like having the Rams backfield potentially locked up, although we'll see what happens with Blake Corum during the year.

With running back and receiver mostly covered on this roster, it was time for a quarterback, and I might have reached for Justin Fields in Round 10. He was the No. 7 quarterback off the board, but I like him in this spot where it's four points for passing touchdowns. For example, I drafted him ahead of Baker Mayfield, Bo Nix and Dak Prescott, but Fields has more upside given his rushing ability.

I filled out the rest of my bench with players based solely on their upside, which included Demario Douglas (Round 11), Cedric Tillman (Round 13), Colston Loveland (Round 14), Anthony Richardson (Round 15) and Jalen Royals (Round 16). All of these players could be difference makers as the season goes on.

Douglas is having a strong training camp, and he could be the slot receiver for Josh McDaniels, which is a prominent spot for the Patriots' offensive coordinator. Tillman should start opposite Jeudy, and he is reportedly a go-to target for Joe Flacco in training camp. And Royals might have a surprise start to the season if Rashee Rice is suspended, along with Marquise Brown (ankle) banged up.

I didn't need to draft Loveland, but he could be a flex option. He's having a strong training camp, and Ben Johnson should find plenty of ways to get the rookie tight end involved in Chicago.

As for Richardson, I'm hopeful that he'll win the starting job for the Colts, and he could be amazing in this format given his rushing prowess. And if he loses the starting job to Daniel Jones or struggles then he's easy to drop, and the quarterbacks who didn't get drafted in this league include Jared Goff, Tua Tagovailoa, Michael Penix Jr., Bryce Young, Cam Ward and Matthew Stafford. There are plenty of replacement options available if I need a backup quarterback behind Fields.

This is a tough league filled with amazing analysts, and winning another title won't be easy. But I'm excited about this roster, and hopefully I'll be in the mix for the championship once again.