Champions Round MANIFESTO

Welcome to Champions Round, the first and only round-based fantasy football game.

What is round-based fantasy? Well, think of it as the best parts of daily and season-long fantasy put together. We love the short commitment offered by daily fantasy. We are tied to our season long fantasy communities and love competing with our friends. Most of all, we love #DraftSZN. Why not put them all together? That’s essentially what Champions Round is all about.

This season we are introducing our fantasy football product. Four rounds, four drafts, four chances to win. We have split the regular season and postseason into four rounds, which means more drafting, more chances for victory and more opportunities to rub it in your friend’s faces. The path to victory is all on you. Play smart, play hard and bring your A game.

As we build out Champions Round, we will be striving to build the best fantasy products for our users. Speedy mock drafts, incredible scheduling tools and an incredible user interface are on the way. It also means we will be providing content for our users in order to help them win each and every round they play. Round

Since this is the inaugural season of Champions Round and the first time anybody has played a round-based fantasy season, some of the best strategies can be created by you on the fly. We can’t wait to hear what formulas you’ve come up with to win your leagues. In the mean time, let’s explore some

INTRODUCTION

The biggest difference between Champions Round and DFS or season-long fantasy is that our season is split up into four rounds and four unique drafts. So how does that affect your draft strategy? The rounds are split up as follows:

Round Based Drafting

Champions Round Schedule

Champions Round Manifesto

Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Champions Round

Week 1 -Week 6 Week 7 - Week 12 Week 13 - Week 17 Wild Card - Super Bowl

Begins Sept.5 Begins Oct. 15 Begins Nov. 26 Begins Dec. 30

Round 1 ( week 1-6 )For Round 1 the teams with bye weeks are the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts and Oakland Raiders. Now, you may want to draft LeVeon Bell in the first round, but is it worth only having him for 4 of the 5 weeks of the Round? Maybe not. Conversely, if he’s available in the late second-round he may be worth the gamble, especially in Adam Gase’s new offense.

In Round 1 there are only eight teams with a bye, compared to 24 teams in Round 2 and none in Round 3. It may make sense to draft a player with a bye in Round 2, compared to Round 1. At the same time, a player like LeVeon Bell will have a ton of value in Round 2 because he’ll be available for every game.

These are the types of decisions you are going to have to make in your Champions Round drafts. The good news? If you make a mistake in your draft, the round will be soon be over and you’ll be able to take what you’ve learned and apply it to the next round. That’s the beauty of round-based fantasy.

Round 1: Top 100 Players With A Bye Week

Jets LeVeon Bell Robbie Anderson

49ers George Kittle Tevin Coleman Dante Pettis

Lions Kerryon Johnson Kenny Golloday Marvin Jones

Dolphins Kenyan Drake

Bills

Bears David Montgomery Tark Cohen CHI D

Colts Marlon Mack TY Hilton Eric Ebron

Raiders Antonio Brown Josh Jacobs

While selecting a player with a bye during one of the Rounds may prove to be costly, it also may be worth taking one of these players if their value is depressed. Another way you can take advantage of the round system is to select players that play against a weak schedule during a particular round. Conversely, it may be worth passing on good players who face a difficult stretch during one of the rounds.

Easiest Schedules for RB: Lions, Ravens, Colts, 49ers, BengalsEasiest Schedules for WR: Eagles, Rams, Cowboys, Bucs, BillsEasiest Schedule for QB: 49ers, Rams, Eagles, Cowboys, Bills

Hardest Schedules for RB: Packers, Falcons, Broncos, Chiefs, BrownsHardest Schedules for WR: Raiders, Giants, Titans, Dolphins, ChiefsHardest Schedules for QB: Giants, Raiders, Falcons, Dolphins, Packers

Champions Round Manifesto

Players to Watch in Round 1:

Underrated Overrated

Kerryon Johnson Aaron Jones

Mark Ingram DeVonte Freeman

Marlon Mack Philip Lindsay

Matt Breida Royce Freeman

Tevin Coleman Damien Williams

Alshon Jeffrey Nick Chubb

Cooper Kupp Antonio Brown

Robert Woods Tyrell Williams

Brandin Cooks Sterling Shephard

Amari Cooper Corey Davis

Chris Godwin Tyreke Hill

Round 2 ( Week 7-12 )With 24 teams on bye during this round, it means you’re most likely going to have to deal with a player on a bye. However, players like LeVeon Bell, Georgia Kittle, Antonio Brown, TY Hilton and others will be incredibly valuable during this Round.

Round 2: Top 100 Players With A Bye WeekPanthers Christian McCaffrey Cam Newton DJ Moore

Browns Odell Beckham Jr. Nick Chubb Jarvis Landry David Njoke Baker Mayfield

Steelers Juju Smith-Schuster James Conner Vance McDonald

Buccaneers Mike Evans Chris Godwin Ronald Jones Oj Howard

Ravens Mark Ingram

Cowboys Ezekiel Elliott Amari Cooper

Falcons Julio Jones DeVonte Freeman Matt Ryan Calvin Ridley

Bengals Joe Mixon Tyler Boyd

Rams Todd Gurley Cooper Kupp Robert Woods Brandin Cooks Darrell Henderson

Saints Alvin Kamara Michale Thomas Latavius Murray Jared Cook Drew Brees

Broncos Philip Lindsay Royce Freeman

Texans DeAndre Hopkins DeShaun Watson Will Fuller Duke Johnson

Jaguars Leonard Fournette

Patriots Sony Michel James White Julian Edelman Josh Gordon

Eagles Zach Ertz Miles Sanders Jordan Howard Alshon Jeffrey Carson Wentz

Redskins Darrius Guice

Packers Aaron Jones Aaron Rodgers Davante Adams

Giants Saquon Barkley Evan Engram Sterling Shephard

Seahawks Russell WIlson Chris Carson Rashad Penny Tyler Lockett

Titans Derrick Henry Corey Davis

Cardinals Kyler Murray David Johnson Christian Kirk Larry Fitzgerald

Chiefs Patrick Mahomes Damien WIlliams Tyreke Hill Travis Kelce Sammy Watkins

Chargers Melvin Gordon Austin Ekeler Keenan Allen Mike Williams

Vikings Dalvin Cook Adam Theilen Stefon Diggs

Easiest Schedules for RB: Ravens, Rams, Titans, Steelers, CardinalsEasiest Schedules for WR: Jaguars, Panthers, Cardinals, Bears, BillsEasiest Schedule for QB: Cardinals, Rams, Jaguars, Ravens, Seahawks

Hardest Schedules for RB: Lions, Eagles, Chiefs, Chargers, BengalsHardest Schedules for WR: Steelers, Jets, Texans, Eagles, BengalsHardest Schedules for QB: Redskins, Browns, Chiefs, Bengals, Eagles

Champions Round Manifesto

Players to Watch in Round 2:

Underrated Overrated

Mark Ingram Kerryon Johnson

Todd Gurley Jordan Howard

Darrell Henderson Miles Sanders

Derrick Henry Damien Williams

Dion Lewis Melvin Gordon/Austin Ekeler

James Conner Joe Mixon

David Johnson AJ Green

DJ Moore Tyler Boyd

Christian Kirk Juju Smith-Schuster

Allen Robinson Robbie Anderson

Trey Burton DeAndre Hopkins

Kyler Murray Will Fuller

Jared Goff Baker Mayfield

Nick Foles Patrick Mahomes

Lamar Jackson Carson Wentz

Russell Wilson Alshon Jeffrey

Round 3 ( Week 13-17 )No teams have a bye week in this round, which means we don’t have to factor that in to our draft plans. However, injuries will most certainly wreck havoc during Round 2 and will alter the landscape of the draft.

Drafting players that will have to play in weeks 16 and 17 is going to be important. You don’t want to draft Toddy Gurley in the first round of this draft if you know he’s not going to play weeks 16 or 17 because the Rams have a commanding lead in the division.

One of the best parts of the Champions Round concept is not only that there are four drafts (which everyone knows is the best part of fantasy football), but it’s that each draft has its own flavor and vibe. Round 1 is your kickoff draft, Round 2 is all about finding the best players without a bye week and Round 3 is about maximizing playing time and health coming down the stretch. The Champions Round, where the cream rises to the top, is a whole other beast.

Easiest Schedules for RB: Patriots, Browns, Jaguars, Rams, EaglesEasiest Schedules for WR: Giants, Cowboys, 49ers, Dolphins, TitansEasiest Schedule for QB: Dolphins, 49ers, Colts, Bengals, Panthers

Hardest Schedules for RB: Cowboys, Titans, Bills, Colts, PackersHardest Schedules for WR: Eagles, Jets, Jaguars, Raiders, ChargersHardest Schedules for QB: Vikings, Chiefs, Raiders, Packers, Steelers

Players to Watch in Round 3:

Underrated Overrated

Sony Michel Ezekiel Elliott

James White Derrick Henry

Nick Chubb Dion Lewis

Baker Mayfield LeSean McCoy

Todd Gurley Marlon Mack

Darrell Henderson Aaron Jones

Miles Sanders Zach Ertz

Sterling Shephard Robbie Anderson

Evan Engram Antonio Brown

Amari Cooper Keenan Allen

Dante Pettis Mike Williams

George Kittle Kirk Cousins

Corey Davis Patrick Mahomes

Jimmy Garrapollo Derek Carr

Cam Newton Aaron Rodgers

Champions Round Manifesto

One of the most unique aspects about Champions Round is that it incorporates the NFL Playoffs.

I have personally spent many years playing season long fantasy - and I love it. I love the camaraderie, the trash talking, the football and the challenge of trying to out-duel your friends. But when the season gets to about Week 13, it’s basically over.

Here’s the deal: 33 percent of all fantasy players get to play in games that matter in Week 15. 16 percent of all fantasy players get to play in Week 16. Once the clock turns to 2020, you’restuck playing in DFS leagues with professionals who are most likely going to take your money and laugh while doing it. What’s the fun of that?

Champions Round is changing all of that by incorporating the playoffs into the final round of the season.

The trick in Round 4 (Champions Round) is not only to select players who will perform well on the field, but also to pick players who you believe will go deep into the playoffs. The more games you play, the more points you’ll put up….usually. In some cases, it may be better to draft a player who you know will crush it in the wild card round and divisional rounds but probably won’t make the Super Bowl. It’s up to you to decide which players will help you put up the most points over the NFL’s final four weeks.

During the 2018 playoffs, a trio of Patriots led the NFL in passing yards (Tom Brady), rushing yards (Sony Michel) and receiving yards (Julian Edelman). While Michel and Edelman did outscore all other players at their positions, Brady did not lead the league in points from a QB.

In the long run, playing more games will lead to more fantasy points,

Champions Round

especially from top players. But don’t forget about the 6-seed who could play in two games and put up big points. Those players WILL be valuable to your team during the Champions Round.

Hopefully this draft “guide” will inspire you to join Champions Round, become a commissioner and create a league. If your draft goes well, great! Hopefully you win the round. If not, no worries. There will be a new round in just a couple of week! That’s the beauty of Champions Round. Season long experiences without the season long commitment.

Enjoy the season and good luck with your squads!

- Champions Round