It's the beginning of that time of year in which this blog is actually somewhat active. It's fantasy football season. I just had my first draft of the year last night. This draft is for the Gopher League, currently a 10-team league, created by myself and my roommates a few years back and now populated with a few different friends and relatives of original members. Standard scoring, snake draft. I have pick 8. Let's go.
Round 1 - Demaryius Thomas - WR - Den
All the running backs I really like were gone, as was Megatron. So I decided on another athletic receiver in a high-scoring, pass-heavy offense. I figure, of the guys left, this was the guy with first-round caliber potential that was least likely to tank my season.
Round 2 - Jimmy Graham - TE - NO
I wasn't really feeling running back here, since there were still elite options at QB, WR, and TE available. Peyton was gone, but Rodgers and Brees were available (I'm of the opinion that those three qbs are all equally likely to lead the league in fantasy scoring this year). AJ Green and Dez were gone, but Julio Jones was still available. I thought about doubling up at receiver and trying to win by having dominance at the WR position. Now, normally I'm not a believer in drafting a TE super early, but Jimmy has shown he has the potential to score like a top 5-10 WR. I wouldn't consider him in the first, and I probably would have taken AJ or Dez, but Julio is just a little too injury prone for me to pass on Jimmy. We'll see how this whole "have a weekly advantage at the TE position" thing works out.
Round 3 - Reggie Bush - RB - Det
I don't love this pick. I would have much rather had Alfred Morris, who went one pick before mine. But I needed a RB.
Round 4 - Antonio Brown - WR - Pit
I thought about grabbing another "meh" RB, but decided to grab one of my top ten WRs. I'll take that with a 4th rounder.
Round 5 - Rashad Jennings - RB - NYG
Not a sexy pick, but he should get most of the RB work in this offense which likes to run (and will need to run if Eli is Eli). He looked good last year and is looking good in the preseason, so this could turn out to be one of my better value picks this year. Or he could show everyone why he was never the week 1 starter in his first 5 years in the league.
Round 6 - Roddy White - WR - Atl
I think at this point, Roddy White is officially my fantasy football boyfriend. We've been seeing each other every season for a while now. Hopefully he isn't hiding an injury that will hobble him all season again. He's a big receiver with good hands, who until last year, was one of the most consistent receivers in the league. He might be getting a little old, but I think he should do fine as my flex.
Round 7 - Ray Rice - RB - Bal
Go ahead. I'll wait. Make your woman-beater joke. Whatever. This is the part of the draft where I start stockpiling RB depth. He might be worn out. Or he might look a bit like the old Ray Rice and be productive in Gary Kubiak's offense. We'll see.
Round 8 - Darren Sproles - RB - Phi
Once again, I would have much rather had the unsexy back who went one pick earlier. This time it was Steven Jackson I missed out on. Both guys are on the old side of 30. Both have some potential left. Given the question marks around my current starters, I would rather have the definitive starter and goal line back in Jackson, but alas.
Round 9 - Maurice Jones-Drew - RB - Oak
Maybe I should have gone with some up-and-comer who might emerge at this point, rather than another has-been. That said, the options at this point aren't great. Others I could have had were Knowshon Moreno, Deangelo Williams, Khiry Robinson, Carlos Hyde, Lamar Miller, Chris Ivory etc... That said, MJD did do a lot with only three touches against the Packers the other day, so maybe he won't be total shit.
Round 10 - Tony Romo - QB - Dal
Finally got my QB. I'm pretty happy with the value here. He's got some risks, but also has a ton of upside.
Round 11 - Riley Cooper - WR - Phi
More WR depth. Philly needs a big play receiver. Riley was that guy last year at times. DeSean is gone and Maclin is by no means a lock to stay healthy. Give me the guy who yells racial slurs in the club.
Round 12 - Philip Rivers - QB - SD
Tony Romo is one of those QBs worth backing up. It was Rivers or Cutler.
Round 13 - Nick Novak - K - SD
WTF Bockmed? A kicker before the last round? Hear me out. I will be having the third to last pick. Nobody here really stuck out to me. The few sleepers I like were gone. So I figure I could take my kicker and DST a little early to get something a hair better. I grabbed the kicker first because the two guys picking before my next pick already had defenses.
Round 14 - Cardinals D/ST
They're pretty good, I guess.
Round 15 - Malcolm Floyd - WR - SD
My Starting Roster
QB: Romo
RB1: Bush
RB2: Jennings
WR1: D. Thomas
WR2: A. Brown
TE: Graham
Flex: White
D: Cardinals
K: Novak
B: Rice
B: Sproles
B: MJD
B: Cooper
B: Rivers
B: Floyd
If I had these RBs in 2011, I would have won the shit out of this league. I think my QB is fine and my pass-catching corps might be the best in this league. My only worry is at the RB position. I've got decent depth I think, but my starters look a hair shaky and none of my backups look poised to break out and become stars (again). I think one or two teams look better than mine at this point, and 5 or 6 look about the same and a couple I can say really look worse. Should be an interesting year.
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