Everyman's Fantasy

While I would have loved to write a real-time running diary that encompassed the comments and shenanigans of the entire league, I soon found that impossible due to a variety of reasons:

1.While the 11 owners congregated in South Jersey (disgusting, I know) I was huddled around my Macbook in Lausanne, Switzerland, six hours ahead, downing Diet Coke in an attempt to stay up through the wee hours of the night.

2.The lack of any sort of reliable internet connection due to the draft host's insistence that bills need not be paid on time, if at all (I gave up trying to Skype after it froze for the twentieth time).

3.The overall revelry and subsequent yelling that occurs when you throw 11 grown men into a room filled with pizza, beer, and a Big Butt Brazil screensaver

4.One league member's constant stream-of-consciousness chatter about the week he spent in the pen, his upcoming trial and the very real possibility that his team name “goin 2 jail with plax” becomes a reality.

Consequently, you're stuck with my opinions on my own draft that happened a week ago instead of amusing anecdotes about how the room went silent when TJ Duckett was picked in the first round and the razzing Baldo got when he picked Bengals back to back. Enjoy!

Pre-Draft Thoughts
Before the draft, I had worked to try to deal one of my three running backs; Steven Jackson, Brandon Jacobs, or Michael Turner for a high-level wide receiver and/or picks. Picking last because I was last year's champion, it was hard to project who was going to fall that late, but there were many more running backs that I was high on than wide receivers. I was hoping to go into the draft with 2 rb's and 2 wr's, and be more flexible when it came my turn to pick. I made two major offers that I hoped would satisfy this.

In the first, I offered Bry Steven Jackson for the #3 pick overall. Since we can only keep 4 keepers, I had to let go of Roddy White if I was going to keep my core of Larry Fitz, B-Jacobs, Sjax, and Turner. If I was able to deal Jackson, I would be able to keep Hot Roddy and pick up a high first round pick, which I felt was enough value to trade away one of the league's best running backs. When Bry turned it down 5 minutes before the deadline for announcing keepers I was stuck, with not even enough time to turn around and deal Roddy to Dave for his 2nd round pick. Bye, bye Roddy, with not even an ounce of compensation. This hurt. I would say I've learned my lesson about dealing with the league's biggest wild card, but sadly, I probably haven't.

After everyone announced their four keepers, at midnight on the Saturday one week prior to the draft, I turned my attention to a new strategy. I started looking for wideouts that would provide me equal value to one of my running backs and pull off a big one for one swap. There was only one: Calvin Johnson, owned by Jesse, who also happened to own two other wideouts, DeSean Jackson and TO, and only one running back, Darren McFadden. I was high on the hope that this trade could work, seeing that he needed running backs, I needed wideouts, and he had mentioned that he was open to dealing Megatron. A consensus top-10 running back like Steven Jackson or Brandon Jacobs was about as good a deal as one could hope for straight up for the stud wideout, but he ended up rejecting the trade, leaving me with 3 backs (albeit very, very good ones) and Larry Fitz heading into the draft.

While I tried projecting the draft prior to Saturday night, it proved difficult. I ranked the wideouts as follows:
1.Roddy White
2.Brandon Marshall
3.Vincent Jackson
4.Braylon Edwards
5.Anthony Gonzalez
6.Hines Ward

I knew my beloved Roddy would be gone (he was, after all, the best player in the draft pool), either to DC at pick #1 or Beiler at pick #2. I also figured that it was a definite that Bry (picks #3 and #7) would be picking at least one wide receiver since he was keeping three running backs and only one wideout. That would be two receivers off the board immediately. Then, there were the teams that could go either way, having kept some combination of players that allowed them to pick the best available. I counted these to be six; Derek at #4, Frank at #5, Knarr at #6, Chill at #8, Daveed at #9, and Beiler at #11. There were no options for me to move up to get the guy I really targeted, Marshall, so I was stuck hoping that Jackson or Gonzalez would fall to me. In the “perfect draft” I wrote out, I picked them back to back at numbers 12 and 13. Real life would prove to be much different:

Rd. 5 (Pick #60)- Brandon Marshall- NO WAY! I hadn't even let myself entertain the thought of landing Baby T.O., but I guess there was just enough tempter tantrum/Kyle Orton baggage (and questionable picks) to let him slip all the way through the first round. I was ecstatic! Being able to land a possible WR1 at this spot, and adding him to Larry Fitzgerald, means that my receiving core is solidified at the top. While his attitude worries me a little bit, its not nearly enough to offset his production the last two years. If you would have told me that five receivers would have gone before my pick and Marshall would be still there, I would have called you crazy. UPDATE: With each punted ball, my enthusiasm wanes.

Rd. 6 (Pick #61)- Phillip Rivers- The pick here came down to two teammates, Rivers and Vincent Jackson. Amazingly enough, Jackson had also fallen through the first round, and the player I would have been enthused about getting at #12 only minutes ago was still on the board. I'm not one to jump early on quarterbacks, usually selecting one anywhere from the 9th to 12th round, with mixed results. Last year was the first season I had a really spectacular one (I scooped Kurt Warner off waivers after week 1) and it had delivered me my first championship. Subsequently, my attitude toward drafting qb's was beginning to change. I assumed that quarterbacks would start coming off the board in the 24 picks I had to wait until I got to draft again, and this gave me pause. If I could guarantee that Schaub would be available in the 7th, I would have taken Jackson, but I thought this was a risky move. Jackson would have made an amazing third receiver, but there was much more depth at that position, and that ultimately swung my vote towards Rivers, who has no reason not to replicate last year's awesome season.

Rd. 7 (Pick #84)- Donnie Avery- After going Rivers last round, I had to snag at least one wideout to fill out my starting lineup. I wanted to go WR-Ahmad Bradshaw, but that sneaky little Baldo snaked him right up from under me two picks earlier. Cotchery was the safer pick here, but I decided to go the high risk-high reward with Avery and then follow it up with one of the league's most consistent wideouts, Donald Driver. I could afford to take a chance on Avery, a player that many have fallen in love with this off-season, because Driver would make a serviceable and reliable WR3 should Avery fail to live up to the heightened expectations.

Rd. 8 (Picks #85)- Donald Driver- With visions of Larry Johnson's 2006 grandeur running through my head, I briefly considered the most ancient 29 year old in the history of the planet...Until I came to the realization that I had just drafted a Rams wideout as my third receiver. Mr. 1,000 and 7 would do just fine.

Rd. 9 (Pick #108)- Jerious Norwood- Did I jump a little too early on Norwood, whose APD is in the 160's? Probably, but with every starting spot on my roster filled out, I went with the “go get the player you like” strategy. Norwood has fallen off the radar this year after being overvalued the past two, and he should be getting picked closer to Sproles anyway (ADP 92). While I'm not a proponent of handcuffing, “The Real Burner” does serve as great insurance should Turner go down, and will even get enough work that he can serve as a bye week flex. Plus, its never too early to think about next year's keepers (a theory that panned out nicely with Michael Turner), and Norwood, the free agent to be, could find himself in a starting role next season.

Rd. 10 (Pick #109)- Kellen Winslow, Jr.- Originally, the plan was to go wideout here to ensure the shakiest part of my team (Donny Avery, third wideout, remember?). I wanted to double up on the Cards wideouts by taking Breaston, but Daveed wisely snatched him up three picks earlier. On the other hand, I was in the midst of a run of TE's, and was worried about who I might end up with. I could go Derrick Mason/Chris Henry with this pick, in which case I was targeting Visanthe “Purple Monster” Shiancoe, Brett Favre's new favorite target, 23 picks later, who I was almost sure would be there. Or, I could go with the ultra-talented soldja who brought the added benefit of playing one game this year in my favorite jerseys of all time, the orange creamsicles, and wait to see what wideouts fell. Luckily, I went with the second option, as both TE's I liked, Big (Shiancoe) and Small (Chris Cooley), were off the board by the the time it came back around.

Rd. 11 (Pick #131)- Laurence Maroney- I needed depth at the running back spot, and this was a man who is only a year removed from being a keeper in this league. Of course, that is about the only good thing I can say about him, and unless I can fit in Bry's Size Large Maroney jersey, he'll probably be my first roster casualty.

Rd. 12 (Pick #132)- Jeremy Maclin- My two least favorite picks of the draft back to back. The choice was down to Maclin, Chris Chambers, or Josh Morgan, and I let my homerism get in the way. Chambers is a #2 in an explosive offense and finally not overhyped and Morgan is a #1, albeit in San Fran, with a ton of upside. Maclin, on the other hand, is a rookie wideout who, at best, is a #3 on an offense who drafted the exact same type of player a year ago in DeSean Jackson. In a perfect world, I'd take my mulligan here and select the smart pick, Chris Chambers, who went next to Beiler.

Rd. 13 (Pick #156)- Ladell Betts- And so begins my absolute favorite part of the draft, the last four rounds. Each year, I come out believing that I came away with the world's best sleepers, and even the disappointments of years past (Michael Bush, year after year) can't diminish my enthusiasm. This year, I had a list a mile long of guys I wanted to pull with my late rounders, and my only regret is that the draft didn't go another four rounds. Three years ago, with four weeks remaining, I tried to grab Betts off waivers, only to see Knarr ultimately end up with him and ride him to his only fantasy title. Surprisingly, after his monster four game stretch that year, Betts resigned with the Skins to continue to back up Portis while multiple teams were clamoring for him to come and be their starter. One of the questions I always ponder is how he would have done had he taken an assignment as a lead back. Regardless, since then, I've been bound and determined not to let Betts slip by me again, and have been 100% certain for three straight drafts that Portis will go down. While I may be too bullish on a few players (I remind you again of Michael Bush), I'd take that over seeing someone else ride Betts once again to a fantasy title. I don't cheer for injuries to anyone who aren't Cowboys or Giants, but I certainly won't be upset if Dr. I Don't Know's alter ego took a plunge.

Rd. 14 (Pick #157)- Bernard Scott- And this is the reason I LOVE THIS PART OF THE DRAFT: While all the other idiots in the draft are busy asking “who's that”, I was busy basking in the euphoria of picking up the “sleeper of the year” once again. What's not to like? Carson Palmer has a man-crush on him, the only person sitting ahead of him on the depth chart is the Gazelle, and his name is Bernard. Sometimes, I think fantasy football is too easy.

Rd. 15 (Pick #180)- Davone Bess- The funniest thing about fantasy football is that there is a very good chance that my round 15 pick, an undrafted free agent out of Hawaii who has the noodle-armed Chad Pennington throwing to him, will end up having a more productive fantasy season than my seventh (Donnie Avery) and 12th (Jeremy Maclin) round draft picks. Bess also served to get the mighty Chilidog to burst out of his Felix Jones-Rashard Mendenhall wet dream and utter “nice pick”, which already makes him worth it.

Rd. 16 (Pick #181)- Glen Coffee- Little did I know that less than an hour after this pick was made, Coffee would make himself the talk of the fantasy world with his 16 carry, 129 yard performance in the Niners second preseason game and quickly become the world's most trendiest sleeper pick (with strong competition from James Davis). I did know, however, that Coffee was backing up Mr. Brittle Bones Frank Gore, a man who has had twenty six knee surgeries, or one more than DC. When you hear that knee pop again in Week 3, get in line, take a number, and watch Knarr grovel at my feet.