CFF Group of Five Best Ball Draft Analysis

For the last 8 years, myself and Fantasy Life’s Thor Nystrom have been gathering 16 of the top CFF minds in the industry to conduct a pair intensive Power Four and Group of Five Only College Fantasy Football Leagues. With the prevalence of Power Four Best Ball leagues this year, this 30-round, 16-Team format allows CFF enthusiasts to see how these longtime College Fantasy experts approach these extremely deep player pools. However the Group of Five teams matter to us as well, so we give them the same respect we afford the Power Four and run a parallel 16-Team, 6-Point Passing TDs, G5 league with the draft order reversed from the P4.

Friendly reminder to start your own college fantasy football league at Fantrax.com/PlayCFF

Group of Five Draft Results

You can sort through the rounds of the draft by using the previous and next buttons at the bottom of the table.

Draft Analysis

Thor Nystrom, Fantasy Life

I had the first pick in the G5 draft. I knew I wanted RB Ashton Jeanty. My one concern with taking him 1.1 in this draft? How quickly QBs fall off in the G5. With this being a six-point passing TD league, and with the QB quality about to fall off a shelf, I was content with the TJ Finley/Brayden Schrager two-step in R2/R3. Both are undisputed starters in high-volume pass attacks. I really like what I did in the first half of this draft. I have no idea about the second-half. I may have taken too many chances, as opposed to building a higher floor.

In the G5 — and maybe this is because I kept getting sniped by them — I think Zach and Joe have dangerous teams. Each took an elite QB followed by an elite WR, and each was still able to put together strong RB rooms.

Mike Bainbridge getting RB Marquez Cooper in R4 was a very strong value – he’s going to put up big numbers for Sean Lews, as he did a couple of years ago at Kent State. I liked Froton’s pick of WR Treon Sibley Jr. at the  end of R15. Liberty is going to throw for 3,000+ yards this year, but the price point of Flames WRs was depressed due to uncertainty about target distribution among the new starters following CJ Daniels’ departure. My favorite pick of my own was RB Nay’Quan Wright in R5. Over his last six games Wright averaged 83 rushing yards and one TD per game. USF runs the fastest-tempo offense in the nation, and almost everyone returns. Wright could take the leap this fall. 

Nate Marchese, Campus 2 Canton

Thoughts on my team:

I didn’t trust the depth of QBs in the G5 like I did in P4, so I went QB early with 2 of my first 3 picks. Both are risky with Chandler Morris and Vasko, but have big upside. I like the early WR options, so I shifted focus there and my RB room really struggled because of this. RB is certainly the weak spot of my roster. I literally have one likely starting RB. My WR room feels really solid with lots of starting options in big time passing systems.

Other teams that stood out:

Moxley: Great WR room depth, nice top tier QBs, good enough RBs

Justice: Love the top QBs, really good RB room and stole a bunch of WRs I wanted

G5 Bargains:

Zeriah Beason 19.03

Anthony Hankerson 11.11

Qua’vez Humphreys 18.11

Chris Kay, Burning The Redshirt Podcast

It’s hard to love your G5 team if you went QB early like I did. The QB group just got so thin so quick that I wanted to lock in that position as well as tight end. I took Harold Fannin in the early second round and didn’t take another until round 21. Doing this allowed me to make up for “waiting” on RB/WR. Ultimately, I like the overall build with a few high upside guys at RB like Dylan Carson, Marion Lukes, and Zach Evans. At receiver, I’m in a great spot if Devin Voisin is the guy at South Alabama. If not then it’s all on Damon Ward and Elijah Metcalf to produce consistely for me. Guys like Mac Dalena, Drew Donley, and Marcus Sanders possess some upside if things fall right, but I’m not counting on it. 

I really liked Andrew’s team in the G5 league. He conceivably has 6 starting QBs and he didn’t take one in the first two rounds. He also locked a tight end early with Tanner Koziol as a stack with Kadin Semonza, someone who had a ton of chemistry with him last season. His running back room might be a tad thin, but you have to sacrifice somewhere in these kinds of drafts, so I don’t see it as a negative. 

The 3 best G5 bargains were Ty Robinson from Ball State, Damon Ward from North Texas, and Justin Lockhart from San Jose State. I think each of these 3 receivers have WR1 potential with high usage coming their way in 2024. Each have minor question marks but come at such a low cost relative to their upside that they’re 100% worth it. 

JD Yonke

My teams aren’t bad for league winners. Kidding. Now, I purposefully faded the early QB strategy in both leagues and feel like that worked in the P4 draft but ended up a bit dicey in the G5 draft, so time will tell if going rogue will pay off. Which, story of my life. I ended up with two RBs (Darius Taylor, Tahj Brooks) and 2 WRs (Elic Ayomanor, Kevin Concepcion) I love, so I’m pleased with that product. The same can be said in the G5 draft (Quinton Cooley and Harrison Waylee at RB, Ricky White and DeMeer Blankumsee at WR) with the difference being the QB depth was supremely underwhelming in that player pool. I suppose my strategy can be defined as “seek a clear advantage at two positional spots, and then figure out the rest from there”.

Andrew Katz and Mike Bainbridge both have a good chance of winning the G5 league in my opinion. Katz grabbed an elite WR1 (Joey Hobert), two stud RBs I’m very high on (Dean Connors and Terion Stewart) while remaining strong at QB and TE. His well-rounded start stood out to me as he didn’t break the bank for any of those guys and the board seemed to fall perfectly to his approach. Drafting next to him was not a pleasurable experience. Bainbridge used a similar approach to me in that he locked up RB (Mario Anderson, Marquez Cooper) and WR (Sean Atkins, Kole Wilson) sports early, but his roster has considerably more upside due to his QBs. He took swings on Zevi Eckhaus at WSU and Dexter Williams II at Georgia Southern, two players locked into QB battles but who play for fantasy-friendly systems and could drastically outproduce their draft capital if things fall right. You need a certain amount of luck to go your way anyway in a 16-teamer with a shallow player pool, so playing into that volatility is a good way to get an edge.

Favorite value from this draft:

RB Tylan Hines, Hawaii – Pick 18.7 – I’m not going to lie, I forgot that Tylan Hines existed until he went in the back-half of the G5 draft. Perhaps I’ve blocked him from my memory after drafting him a ton last year only to get severely burned? It’s been a steep fall from grace for Hines, who posted elite metrics as a true freshman for a terrible Hawaii team two years ago and now is forgotten about in a draft with a shallow pool even. Perhaps he’ll find his rise now that he’s operating primarily as a WR in a fantasy-friendly scheme? Who knows, but he has more upside as a player than nearly everyone being taken this late.

Justice, G5 Hive

What do you think about your team?

I REALLY REALLY like my team. I think my team is a serious contender for the title! I feel like I have good depth at all the positions as well as some high upside options as well!

Other than your own, which teams stand out to you?

I like what Joe DiSalvo from the CFF Site did, I think his QB room is solid and if some of his RB’s and WR’s hit he could be really dangerous. Probably to no one’s surprise I like what my G5 Hive Co-Host Luke Probasco did as well, he recovered nicely from the Holden Willis snafu and got some real steals late in the draft.

Who are the three best bargains of each draft?

• Ty Robinson WR Ball State Round 13 Andrew Katz (Burning the Redshirt), showed great chemistry with Ball State QB Kadin Semonza last season.
• CJ Campbell RB Florida Atlantic Round 17 Luke Probasco (G5 Hive), a P4 transfer that has looked good in the Spring and by all account will lead this room in 2024 for FAU.
• Jack Shields QB Buffalo Round 27 Chris Moxley (Campus2Canton) getting who I think is likely the starting quarterback at Buffalo this late is an absolute steal.

Joe DiSalvo, The  CFF Site

How do you like your team?

Given the G5-only, 16-team format, I’m not sure that there is any one roster that has balance across the three main positions of quarterback, running back, and receiver. There is a much steeper drop off from the high-level talent to average-level talent in the G5 format compared to the P4 format, so the proven commodities were off the board before one-third of the draft was completed. Since passing TDs are worth six points in this format, I felt it was important to secure two quarterbacks early, which I did by drafting South Florida’s Byron Brown and Colorado State’s Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi within the first three rounds.

I feel good about my receivers, especially my top three in Stephen McBride, Jerjuan Newton, and Dalen Cobb, but running back is where I have the most concern going into the season. In order to secure a major piece of the UAB ground game, I handcuffed their projected top two running backs, Lee Beebe and Isaiah Jacobs. Should one emerge as the Blazers’ main back, they should pair nicely with UNLV’s Jai’Den Thomas, who could end up being a bargain as my fifth round pick. I continued to roll the dice with Braedon Sloan, the Ball State running back that transferred from Eastern Kentucky. I have selected Sloan in every league in which I have drafted this year, so consider him my 2024 wildcard in full FBS formats.

Other than your own, which team(s) stand out to you?

Make no mistake about it, the winner of this league will be the owner that nailed the most picks in the second half of this draft, but when I look at the draft grid through eight rounds I feel as though Thor had as good of a start as any owner in the league. You’re going to start off on the right foot when you can secure Ashton Jeanty with your first pick, but I feel he has proven and reliable fantasy production in picks two through seven.

Who are the three best bargains of the draft?

Because there are 16 teams in this league, you do not have to go deep into the draft to find value. With passing TDs worth six points, I was eying Hawaii’s Brayden Schager in round 3, but Thor scooped him up three picks before me. I also think Omari Hayes in round 8 was incredible value in this PPR format, especially if sticks as the Owls’ WR1. I have also been targeting UTSA’s JJ Sparkman, but given my roster needs, I passed on him round after round and he did not go off the board until round 16.

Luke Probasco, G5 Hive

What do you think about your team?

I feel ok about my team. I would have liked to have more high end running backs. However, each time it came to this wide receiver or this running back, I felt like I was reaching at running back. I took a more wide receiver heavy approach at the start. I did have a bit of a snafu with Holden Willis in the 4th round. I have been used to the WR/TE designation. I took Holden Willis at 4.11 and didn’t realize he was a WR only. At this point, I made the choice to just try and find RB values where and when I could.

Other than your own, which teams stand out to you?

Joe DiSalvo, from the CFF Site, had a lot of great picks. He locked up the UAB backfield. He thought he grabbed a nice value on Georgia Southern WR, Dalen Cobb. At cost, I also like his picks of: Sy’veon Wilkerson (RB Georgia State), Vaughn Pemberton (RB – Ball State), and Donerio Davenport (RB Louisiana Tech).

My co-host for the G5 Hive, Justice, drafted a solid bunch of guys. His team has nice depth and will be a force in the league from week to week. Running backs will need to step up for him week to week. Let’s hope the San Jose State QB can produce. He locked up that QB room! Overall, this team looks to be consistent week in and week out.

Who are the three best bargains of the draft?

Justice, from the G5 Hive, grabbed Elijah Canion (Liberty WR) at 24.14. Canion could be that #1 wide receiver for Salter. I am between him and Dante Lee as being the #1 option there. If it is Canion, this is a steal.

Jared Palmgren, from Chasing The Natty, grabbed Alex Perry (Hawaii WR) at 27.08. Given the news out of Hawaii about McBride, this could end up being a great value for his squad.

Nate Marchese, from Campus2Canton, took Jaxxon Warren (Colorado State TE) at 7.09. I am all in on this guy. I can’t stop writing about him. He is 6’7” 245-pounds. Jay Norvell has a track record with some successful TEs: Cole Turner, Trey McBride, and Dallin Holker. I think he can have a huge year!

Chris Moxley, Campus 2 Canton

I hate my team. Ha. I read the draft totally wrong to start out and it bit me hard, especially at the running back position. I don’t think you can win this league with Marshall potential RB1 Ethan Payne, FBS newcomer in Kenessaw’s Max Benefield, and an RB in a pass happy offense in Western Kentucky’s Elijah Young trio leading your team. I’m talking possibly DOA unless I get some injury breaks. 

Quarterback started out beautifully with longtime MTSU starter Nicholas Vattiato and reliable but not sexy Fresno State QB Mikey Keene in rounds 2/3 but quickly fall apart as I didn’t look to address the position until the teens again with Buffalo QB CJ Ogbonna (handcuffed with Jack Sheilds later). I underestimated how quickly this position would thin out even with 16 teams. Do not recommend waiting on QB3 in this format.

Receiver is a place where I think I can make up some ground with Hawaii’s Pofele Ashlock, Washington State receiver Kyle Williams, and Tulsa stud Kamdyn Benjamin. Snagging NIU’s WR/TE Gavin Barnes, Memphis WR Koby Drake, Charlotte’s Jarius Mack and UTEP transfer Jadon Smith give me nice bestball options down the board. 

Other than your own, which teams stand out to you?

Thankfully I wasn’t the only one who punted QB after my top two. Most of the draft did this! I think JD Yonke did the best job identifying later starters though giving him a nice stable of QBs with both ECU QBs, LT’s Jack Turner and fan favorite, now ULM bound General Booty. Even though we’re talking bottom 15-20 teams in the FBS, these are really smart selections with certainty. 

I think what Mike Bainbridge did early looks really nice in hindsight. Memphis RB Mario Anderson, USF WR1 Sean Atkins, and Kole Wilson in the high-scoring Texas State offense,  is a fantastic start. Add in another one of my guys in Rice TE Boden Groen, his skill-position heavy start is hopefully supplemented by QB play. There’s a lot of upside at the position in general, Washington St’s Zevi Eckhaus and Georgia State QB Dexter Williams could easily outperform this ADP. 

Who are the three best bargains of each draft?

 1.) Naeim Simmons, WR, USF 18.01

 2.) Trey Goodman, WR, UTEP, 18.13

 3.) CJ Beasley, RB, Georgia State 29.08

Andrew P. Katz, Burning The Redshirt Podcast

What do you think about your teams? 

In both leagues my goal was to prioritize quality at all positions but WR and then jam a ton of starting WRs in the back half of the draft. It mostly worked out fine as a strategy in my opinion, though in G5 I’m in numbers at QB and you could argue the quality leaves something to be desired. If I get P4 QB injuries I’m in trouble as well. I really like my P4 RBs but admittedly there is a lot of projection there. I got a lot of my late round targets in both leagues and never felt like I had to look up depth charts, research players or whatever just to get by. I would say these teams came together aligning with my initial vision and are set up for success. 

Other than your own, which teams stand out to you?

It’s so frustrating drafting with Yonke in any format — I always feel like he’s in my head (especially with respect to his affinity for Pacific Coast based players). I thought he lined up the teams he wanted to target and stacks (ECU, Miami) smartly and also took a bunch of the later round players (Eric Rivers, Porter Rooks) I was also considering. 

Who are the three best bargains of each draft?

On the G5 side, Jared taking Mekhi Shaw and Chris taking Ife Adeyi stand out, as there is no reason they can’t be WR1 on their teams and came at significantly cheaper prices than Louis Brown and Noah Smith. Danny O’Neill to Justice in round 25 worries me. No info or anything but it’s easy to see how a couple weeks into the season he could be producing at a Top 5 Round level if AJ Duffy isn’t getting it done.

Zach Hall, Fantasy Points

What do you think about your team?

Quarterbacks dried up FAST in this draft so my first round pick of Liberty QB Kaidon Salter was by far my favorite early round pick. It felt like after those first handful of valuable QBs were picked there was a logjam of about 10-15 guys that didn’t have much separation. I waited for UTSA QB Owen McCown who I think had some of the better upside out of the group of QBs that were going in that range. I also grabbed Conner Bazelak and Camden Orth from Bowling Green. They could potentially give me a few weeks of solid points between the two.

Running back dried up super fast as well. I wish I would’ve gone RB in Rd 2 and 3 instead of 3 and 4 but I was happy with both Jalen White of Georgia Southern and Dreke Clark at Southern Miss. I also grabbed their backups late which feels like a must in a draft like this. I’m still drafting Jordan Houston at Marshall any chance I get. He’s in a battle and the run game will evolve and not be like the Marshall run game of the past but I just like his value. He had a good spring and I think he’ll be utilized in that offense. Ron Wiggins was my favorite late round pick. More on him later.

Receiver was the deepest and I actually feel like I could’ve waited a little longer but I really tried to grab some known commodities. Guys that were able to put up solid points last year. Jalen Pritchett has a chance to be a top WR (might have to hold of Voisin though), Jalen Moss at Fresno should be a top target even though they are going through some coaching changes now, Winston Wright was the start of spring at ECU, Courtney Jackson is boom/bust but can give me some big weeks, and then I tried to fill out the rest of my room with guys who have a chance to be a top WR on their team.

Other than your own, which teams stand out to you?

I really like what Justice did. Quarterback and Running Back dried up fast and he was able to capitalize in the early rounds for those positions. He ended up with Jordan McCloud, transfer into Texas St, as well as Tucker Gleason who is another QB I’m pretty high on and don’t have as much as I want in drafts this year. Western Michigan RB Jalen Buckly and Tulsa RB Anthony Watkins were his top 2 running backs and both of those guys should see plenty of usage this year to be valuable here. I also liked a few of his later round picks. Kam Shanks at UAB had a great spring and while he might be a year or two out from WR1 in that offense he could give Justice a few solid weeks. WR Elijiah Canion and Liberty is interesting. We don’t know who that top WR will be and Canion could be the guy.

Who are the three best bargains of each draft?

My pick of Ron Wiggins in Rd 12 was my favorite pick after round 10. He should be the starting RB in that offense and he went as the third RB from Jacksonville St. Andrew picking Anthony Simpson in Rd 14 was also such a great value. His ceiling isn’t elite but the guy averages 8 targets a game. You aren’t’ finding that many guys in RD 14 getting that many targets. Josh might’ve gotten some great value with Jonah Panoke in Rd 22. He drafted him before the Steven McBride news hit but Panoke could be a guy that takes over that role in the Hawaii pass game. 

Justin Leo from Volume Pigs

What do you think about your teams?

I was happy to get Zeno as the QBs were off the board very early in that one. There’s some interesting ideas on this team, like FAU’s Omari Hayes, and Utah State’s Jack Hestera, who appear to occupy some historically productive positions in CFF. Frank Peasant at MTSU could be in for a big workload this year under the new staff, was happy to take a shot on him.

Other than your own, which teams stand out to you?

In the G5 one, I thought Justice did a good job. He got a bunch of high upside WRs that could easily be top 10 CFF WRs if they hit this season. Getting Anthony Watkins in the fifth was a nice pick too at RB.

Who are the three best bargains of each draft?

Gevani McCoy in the 10th is a good value in my opinion. Given how people prioritized QBs in this draft, potentially getting a starter who could be in for a big year playing G5 opponents is good work.

Mike Bainbridge, The CFF Site

What do you think about your teams?

This roster can win the league IF quarterback competitions work in my favor as I punted the position until Round 6. And that’s a big if. Not what I sought out to do, but the QBs flew off the board in Round 1 and I didn’t have an option that was first-round worthy at that point. Max Brown (Charlotte) is the only QB on my roster that is guaranteed to win a starting QB1 job in 2024, the remaining options are either in competitions or handcuffs – Zevi Eckhaus (Washington State), Dexter Williams (Georgia Southern). No complaints about the skill positions, landing a pair of top 10 CFF options at their respective positions in Mario Anderson and Sean Atkins, while potentially the WR1 at Texas State in Kole Wilson in the first three rounds. My standing in this league all depends on the QBs.

Other than your own, which teams stand out to you?

Zach Hall has the most balanced roster of the bunch in my opinion, all while landing the best quarterback of the G5 teams in Kaidon Salter. Very few holes to poke in his draft selections from rounds 1-15, with a combination of high floor with upside selections throughout. CarpG926 has arguably the deepest QB room of the league should things work out in his favor in a few ongoing competitions – which could win this league given the dearth of QB options available. Would have liked to see him handcuff Jase Bauer and Logan Smothers later on in the draft if possible as there’s potential that neither is the starter Week 1.

Who are the three best bargains of each draft?

Won’t give Andrew Katz full credit because this news occurred post-draft I believe but getting Tylan Hines in the 18th round after moving to slot receiver in fall camp will aid his team immensely given that this is a full-point PPR league and Hines is eligible at RB. He won’t challenge Pofele Ashlock for targets, but the second slot receiver in this scheme has been relevant in the past if everything is clicking. Justice landing Zeriah Beason (Troy) in the 19th round looks to be a bargain given the recent news that former projected WR1 Chris Lewis will not play in 2024. Beason, a former Oregon State transfer, got plenty of pub in spring camp. Jared was paying attention to the news in Round 21 where San Diego State released a pre-fall depth chart that had Mekhi Shaw listed as the starting X-receiver. The WR1 under new head coach Sean Lewis has played in that spot in eight of the last nine years with multiple 1,000-yard seasons and Jared landed him very late. Nice work. 

Josh Chevalier, Fantasy Points

What do you think about your teams?

I thought I did a solid job of locking up quality skill position players early on in the G5 draft. I paid a steep price to draft Washington State QB John Mateer in the second round then failed to handcuff him with Zevi Eckhaus before he was scooped up in the eighth round. If Mateer starts the entire year, then I’ll be fine. If not, this team is doomed with my lack of depth at the QB position. After round 5, the quality of players dropped significantly in this draft. It was a fun overall draft. I’m fascinated to see the roster construction of the manager who wins this league.

Other than your own, which teams stand out to you?

The two G5 teams that stick out to me the most are Zach and Luke. While both selected good players early, I thought they were also able to find some good gems late that could be difference-makers in a league with limited depth.

Who are the three best bargains of each draft?

The three best bargains in the G5 draft were Chris Marshall, George Pettaway, and Jonah Panoke. Chris Marshall and George Pettaway were both blue-chip recruits coming out of High School who should greatly benefit from a drop in competition at a new school. With news that Steven McBride is indefinitely suspended, Jonah Panoke is potentially the next man up at Hawaii and was selected in the 22nd round.

Eric Froton, Fantrax/NBC Sports

What do you think about your team?

I am happy with the QB1/2 of Matthew Sluka, UNLV and AJ Duffy, SDSU, but I definitely should have hedged Duffy with Danny O’Neil who could take that job later in the year. Grabbing Royals early on put me behind on the RB front, so I feel like I could have depth concerns if one the “Brock and Chalk Connection” were to lose their jobs. Micah Davis hitting the portal after former HC Blake Anderson’s departure from Utah State really hurt my WR depth, so guys like Naiem Simmons, Junior Vandeross and Yulkeith Brown will have to produce if i’m going to compete. Toss in a middling TE group and i’m luke-warm on my G5 teams chances.

Other than your own, which teams stand out to you?

Justice did a nice job playing the board and plucking value where it presented itself. I also think Josh’s team is well positioned to make a run if Malachi Nelson holds onto the Boise State gig.

Who are the three best bargains of each draft?

1 – Anthony Landphere, TE, Memphis: 8.08

2 – Mekhi Shaw, WR, SDSU: 21.08

3 – Tylan Hines, RB, Hawaii, 18.07

Jared Palmgren, Chasing The Natty/C2C

What do you think about your teams?

things got dodgy even more quickly at the quarterback position. The fact that I feel lucky about taking Dylan Morris, QB – James Madison as my 2nd QB in the 6th round should tell you how desperate things got. Once again, I found myself in the position of drafting two backup QBs in systems I like for my final two QBs. I don’t love going into the season with the only 4 starting QBs when others have 5 or 6, so in a future draft I’d prioritize the position more in the middle rounds. Overall, I like my teams as much as you can in a 16-team league with half the player pool. I’m particularly a fan of my strategy of just aiming for systems I like with WRs and for running backs trying to hit some “next guys up” should the guy ahead of them go down.

Other than your own, which teams stand out to you?

I’m a fan of what Chris Moxley was able to do. After loading up at WR and QB the first 5 rounds, I was impressed by the run of running backs he went on in round 6-10. Benefield, Young and Bennett in particular are fun values as all three are under-appreciated for one reason or another and have the potential to have the best rushing season their program have seen in years. 

Who are the three best bargains of each draft?

I was a big fan of some of the values people were able to find at receiver. The best examples I saw are Caleb Medford (13.14), Jameson Tucker (16.07) and Jack Hestera (22.10). So much of the CFF world isn’t buying into Bronco Mendenhall hitting the ground running at New Mexico year 1, but many forget to ask: What if they did? Well, Medford seems like the primary beneficiary of a much more competent passing game with the Lobos and could explode against the Mountain West. Many in the CFF world also seem to forget that the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers gave us a 1,000 yard receiver last year in Sam Pinckney and his replacement, Jameson Tucker may be even better. Lastly, Jack Hestera was a late addition to the Utah State Aggies roster, but he’s quietly assuming the slot position that gave us Terrell Vaughn last year and Deven Thompkins a few years ago. Be on the lookout for him being a great bang for your buck in the later rounds of drafts.