Final Strategy For ESPN Gridiron Playoff Challenge

For the past two weeks, I’ve been highlighting which players are the most valuable in the ESPN Gridiron Playoff Challenge. The basis of the challenge is to select a team with an allotted $50M among nine players. To have the best team, it was a requisite to spend your digital cash wisely — looking not only at point projections, but cost-benefit analysis. But with the final week of the competition combining Championship and Super Bowl weekend, the strategy is quite simple: pick players from the teams advancing to the Super Bowl because they’ll have two games played compared to just one, though there are minor exceptions.

That’s easier said than done though. The Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers are looking to upset the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks respectively. The Colts are hot right now, and the Patriots showed enough bend against the Baltimore Ravens that they might break. The Seahawks also showed vulnerability at least in the first half to the Carolina Panthers as did the Packers against the Dallas Cowboys.

Where does that put you and your prospective roster? If we’ve seen anything from this year’s playoffs, it’s that aside from the Colts win, the favorites win. In this case, we’d be seeing the two No. 1 seeds in the Patriots and Seahawks in the title game.

Now, who do you comprise your roster of? Well, you have two QB slots, so by default you select Tom Brady and Russell Wilson. The RB situation is a little more stiff because of the Patriots’ lack of a run game, so go with the Marshawn Lynch from the Seahawks as your first selection. This is where the exception comes in picking a player not going to the Super Bowl. You have the choice between the Colts’ Dan Herron and Packers’ Eddie Lacy. The Packers have a better shot at the Super Bowl than the Colts, and Lacy is looking fantastic and could have a huge game upwards of 20-plus points.

As for your WRs, the Seahawks receiving corps isn’t one that produces too much; and when you look at the body of work Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman have, it’s a clear decision to go with the Patriots’ duo, as is selecting your one TE as Rob Gronkowski. And though the Legion of Boom from Seattle seems to be in full gear, I’d advise going with the Patriots defense considering how many weapons will be attacking Seattle such as the last three players I mentioned the Seahawks may not be of too much value. Furthermore, go with Seattle kicker Steven Hauschka as the Patriots defense will be allowing primarily field goals at least in the Super Bowl.

So to reiterate, unless you find that there’s a very weak position among your two Super Bowl contending teams (as I mentioned with the running backs), go with players from those two teams to give you a better body of work. There may be a big game out of one player who doesn’t advance, but it’s safest to stick with championship contending players.