Tennessee’s depth has improved over the last few years to the point that we got an idea for Rocky Top Insider Radio on Wednesday of this week.
We thought it would be possible to draft three complete teams from UT’s roster, so we held a fantasy draft on air. We came up with three rosters of 28 position players each – obviously not enough to play a full season, but enough to at least play a game with 11 starters on both sides and a few reserves.
We had to get a little creative with positions and how some players will be used, but here’s what we came up with, along with a brief explanation of our strategy and why we think our team is the best.
Daniel:
QB: Quinten Dormady
RBs: Jalen Hurd, John Kelly
WRs: Jauan Jennings, Tyler Byrd, Brandon Johnson, Cody Blanc
TEs: Jason Croom, Joe Stocstill
OL: Dontavius Blair, Austin Sanders, Dylan Wiesman, Charles Mosley, Jack Jones
DL: Kyle Phillips, Corey Vereen, Kahlil McKenzie, Shy Tuttle, Danny O’Brien
LBs: Darrin Kirkland Jr., Quart’e Sapp, Elliott Berry
DBs: Cam Sutton, Justin Martin, DJ Henderson, Stephen Griffin, Jauan Jennings (playing both ways), Tyler Byrd (playing both ways)
Thoughts: My strategy was pretty simple: Build the best defense of the three rosters, especially upfront. I got a couple cover corners early in Sutton and Martin that will allow me to bring a lot of pressure as well. Offensively, I want to run the ball, that’s why I spent my top pick on Hurd and even took a late flyer on Stocstill, who can play some fullback. I feel like I have enough in the passing game with Dormady throwing to Jennings, Croom and some other young receivers that I can at least keep defenses honest.
Versatility was my other goal. I grabbed players such as Byrd, Croom, Jennings, Mosley and Jones that can play different positions – some of them possibly even on both sides of the ball in this scenario. Overall, I think I have the most flexible roster and when you have a dominant defensive front and a solid run game, you’re going to be tough to beat.
Stephen
QB: Jarrett Guarantano
RBs: Alvin Kamara, Joe Young, Evan Berry (playing both ways)
WRs: Josh Smith, Jeff George, Latrell Williams, Corey Henderson, Vincent Perry
TEs: Ethan Wolf, DeVante Brooks
OL: Drew Richmond, Jashon Robertson, Coleman Thomas, Nathan Niehaus, Marcus Tatum
DL: LaTroy Lewis, Dimarya Mixon, Derek Barnett, Darrell Taylor
LBs: Dillon Bates, Gavin Bryant, Daniel Bituli
DBs: Nigel Warrior, Malik Foreman, Emmanuel Moseley, Todd Kelly Jr., Evan Berry
Thoughts: Although I took Derek Barnett with the first pick overall, my plan was to leave defense alone for a while to focus on making my offense potent. I went Kamara and then offensive line with Robertson and Thomas and I added Richmond for a bargain in the later rounds. Then I focused on more offensive play makers by adding Josh Smith, Ethan Wolf, and the tallest receiver on the team, Jeff George. And although he might not be a WR1, Latrell Williams’ speed was a steal in one of the last rounds.
As for defense, I got what I wanted in the secondary with Todd Kelly and Evan Berry as my anchors. And Berry is versatile enough I’d consider putting him on offense occasionally. My corners aren’t Cam Sutton and Justin Martin, but I think Moseley and Foreman are good enough to get the job done. My linebackers are admittedly struggling. But I felt like having Barnett and a strong secondary would make up for that. Overall, I think my team is the most explosive offensively and would be hard to stop – especially if Guarantano lives up to the hype.
Nathanael
QB: Josh Dobbs
RBs: Carlin Fils-Aime
WRs: Preston Williams, Josh Malone, Marquez Callaway, Sheriron Jones (can play backup QB/gadget RB)
TEs: Austin Pope, Eli Wolf
OL: Chance Hall, Venzell Boulware, Ray Raulerson, Ryan Johnson, Brett Kendrick
DL: Jonathan Kongbo III, Kendal Vickers, Quay Picou, Andrew Butcher, Austin Smith (can play LB too)
LBs: Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Kenny Bynum, Cortez McDowell
DB: Marquill Osborne, Micah Abernathy, Rashaan Gaulden, Darrell Miller, Baylen Buchanan
Utility player: Jakob Johnson
Thoughts: I wish I could sit here and tell you I had a coherent plan for most of this. I did initially. But I was in the middle of the three-man draft, and the middle of any draft when it’s “snake draft” is the worst place to be in my opinion. But I won’t make excuses. It is what it is. I essentially went “best available” for a lot of picks, and I think it ended up working out fairly well.
I got JRM, Dobbs, Gaulden, and Kongbo early, and I was happy with my picks there. I went for receivers earlier than the other two guys, and I think it shows. I have the best receiving corps of the three teams. I also think I have the most versatile offensive line and have the best overall tackles, which was my strategy there. I waited on tight end because outside of Ethan Wolf, it’s not like the Vols have any proven commodities there anyway. I only have one running back, but I plan on using plenty of WR sweeps and running Dobbs as well.
On defense, however, I took some gambles. I got good value on Vickers and Austin Smith, but my secondary is relatively unproven. The most experienced of them all is Gaulden, and he’s not even that proven. I think my secondary has the best upside of any of the teams, but they are definitely young. My front seven is definitely my strength, and that’s how I’d build a defense regardless. I also have Jakob Johnson, who I plan on using as a linebacker/defensive end/tight end/running back. He’s my everything guy.
