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USATSI

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 now five different FLEX Leagues (two 1QB quarterback, two Superflex and one Best Ball), and I took part in the live, 1QB draft on Saturday in New York. I'm lucky enough to be the defending champion -- thank you CeeDee Lamb, Tyreek Hill and Kyren Williams -- and hopefully, I can repeat this year.

You can see the full draft results here. I had the No. 8 pick, and I'll break down my roster.

As a reference point, our starting lineup is QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, TE and 2 FLEX (RB/WR/TE) and 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.

I knew with the No. 8 pick that I'd be getting one of the top five receivers (CeeDee Lamb, Tyreek Hill, Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase or Amon-Ra St. Brown) or one of the top three running backs not named Christian McCaffrey (Breece Hall or Bijan Robinson). I love this spot in the draft because you're guaranteed one of those eight studs, and I ended up with St. Brown. I would actually draft him as early as No. 6 overall.

In Round 2, I was hoping for a running back like Jahmyr Gibbs, Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Taylor or Williams to be there, but all of them were drafted before No. 17 overall, along with Derrick Henry, which was a surprise. It was unrealistic to expect Garrett Wilson or Puka Nacua to fall there, but my next highest-rated receiver on the board was Marvin Harrison Jr. While it might be risky to draft the rookie at that spot, the upside is immense as the No. 1 option for the Cardinals, and I was thrilled to pair him with St. Brown.

I had a tough choice in Round 3 at No. 32 overall with two running backs that I like a lot in Rachaad White and James Cook vs. Deebo Samuel, who was my highest-rated receiver. Based on the board, I thought there was a better chance White or Cook would come back to me in Round 4, but I knew receivers were in high demand at this point.

It was the right call to draft Samuel since D.J. Moore, DeVonta Smith, Michael Pittman Jr., Cooper Kupp and Malik Nabers were all selected before my pick in Round 4. While White and Cook also went, I was able to land Kenneth Walker III. He's not the ideal No. 1 running back, but he fits with this roster after drafting three receivers with my first three picks. And I'm hopeful Walker will have a breakout season in Ryan Grubb's new offense in Seattle.

In Round 5, I was again faced with the dilemma of drafting a running back or another receiver, and my choices were Tank Dell vs. Zamir White, David Montgomery or James Conner. Again, I thought one of the running backs would come back to me in Round 6, and again, I was wrong. But I love Dell as a flex and am happy with my decision.

In Round 6, I might have been too greedy by drafting another receiver in Chris Godwin, who fills my second flex as a starter, but my running back corps is a little thin. I selected Godwin ahead of Najee Harris and D'Andre Swift, and we'll find out if this worked out.

When I got to Round 7, I now entered my next tier of running backs with Jaylen Warren, Tony Pollard, Tyjae Spears, Chase Brown and Brian Robinson Jr. I decided to gamble that one would make it back to me in Round 8, and I drafted Evan Engram instead. Eight tight ends feel safe this season (Sam LaPorta, Travis Kelce, Trey McBride, Mark Andrews, Dalton Kincaid, Kyle Pitts, George Kittle and Engram), and I like to draft one of those guys if possible.

Warren was the only running back who went before my pick in Round 8, so I once again decided to wait on the position and drafted C.J. Stroud. This was a huge gamble that could decide my entire season.

I got Robinson in Round 9  (he's my favorite Commanders running back) and now had to commit to drafting running backs moving forward. I selected Trey Benson in Round 10, MarShawn Lloyd in Round 11, Elijah Mitchell in Round 13, Tyrone Tracy Jr. in Round 14 and Clyde Edwards-Helaire in Round 16, and hopefully I can find two competent starters and some lottery tickets throughout the season.

My quarterback and tight end are strong, and I should have the best receiving corps in the league (I also selected Dontayvion Wicks in Round 12 and Jalen McMillan in Round 15). But running back will be the position I have to manage the most, and hopefully it works out. It would be an honor to repeat as champion of this league.