Every fantasy owner from Caribou to Canoga dreams of the perfect
draft, no not the dreams where the wonderful women of the Atlanta
Gold Club are rubbing your cheatsheets all over their scantily clad
bodies, but the dreams where each pick is the best pick of that
round. A draft so good that finding help on the waiver wire is silly
and your team goes 16 or 17-0 with opponents doomed to weekly humiliation.
Dream no more. We will guide you by the hand to draft pick heaven.
If you've already drafted, well you can weep if this doesn't match
every one of your picks or do a little Ickey Shuffle if it comes
blindingly close. Strap on the cup, we are coming in low and hard.
Round One
If you have the first pick, exhale slowly and take Edgerrin James.
After No. 1, it is a murky swamp full of hungry beasties. Marshall
Faulk has disaster written all over him. He has a bad knee and plays
12 times on artificial surfaces, including lovely Veteran's Stadium.
If you get the second pick, and can't trade down, take Faulk and
make sure to take the rest of the Rams backfield. With the shortage
of quality backs this season, owners are better off drafting later
where they might get two running backs in the first and second rounds.
The best pick for the money is Ricky Williams. With his talent,
and the talent around him, he could challenge James in total yards
and scores. Stephen Davis could have a nice year, as well. Half
of the first round players will be disappointments and it would
be a shock if all three quarterbacks play to their projections.
The first round is not the end all as you cannot win the league
in round one, but you can lose it.
Round Two
Round two is a mix of running backs and wide receivers. With Tony
Gonzalez slipping in somewhere. At the top of the round, you want
whatever good running back is left. Curtis Martin and Corey Dillon
fit best but watch the injury news on Ahman Green because, if healthy,
he could be a monster. Terrell Owens and Marvin Harrison fit here
also but we avoid wide receivers for bigger game. Owens and Harrison
are the triggering point for drafting Tony Gonzalez. Once they are
gone then consider it open season on Gonzalez. If you are at the
top of the round pass Gonzo by but once into the middle, Gonzo should
be No. 1 on your Most Wanted List. Late in the round, if Gonzo hasn't
slipped past the knuckleheads, take another back.
Round Three
If you are following along, the team has either two running backs
or one back and Tony Gonzalez. If not, the task has gotten harder
as running backs are less reliable with each succeeding pick. Early
drafters in round three may find one of the Rams receivers left
behind and that will be a temptation but a third back here is sweet.
Yeah most leagues only allow two starters but a third back does
two things. It means that you are likely to start two good backs
every week and it thins the pool out for everyone else. There may
be 15-20 decent backs in every draft, now you have three, and everyone
else is fighting to get two. The wide receivers are already flattening
out so waiting to round four probably doesn't throw your team off
one bit. Only later in round three where the backs have become see-through
should an owner entertain drafting a wide receiver. Forget quarterbacks
as once the big three are gone; it is a bit of a rat's nest. Best
players here are: Warrick Dunn, Duce Staley, Ricky Watters, Eric
Moulds, and Jimmy Smith.
Round Four
You now have a minimum of two backs, possibly three, and Tony Gonzalez
or a wide receiver. And, of course, you are chomping at the bit
for a quarterback. Chill. At this point, we have left the running
back zone and have entered the wide receiver/quarterback area. If
a back, like Tiki Barber, has snuck through, we'd suggest taking
him. Other than that, leave the rest - Denver backs, Oakland backs,
and Frisco backs to people that like to guess. Guessing is for losers.
Take the best wide receiver available, especially early in the round
where they have kept their form. Moulds, Smith, Tim Brown, all solid
receivers could be around, as well as David Boston, who is a major
talent looking for the breakthrough to the top-10. Wait for a QB
but if Rich Gannon is available at the end of this round grab him
and grab a WR on the bend.
Round Five
Someone is going to take a TE in this round; it had better not be
you. Wait on the tight ends because the difference between Sharpe
and the rest of the pack is slight. It is advisable to be back in
the pack. Forget running backs here as they have plateaued. This
is still wide receiver/quarterback country. I would wait on a QB
unless one of the better guys have slid, especially Gannon, and
maybe Brooks, but if it is Brooks be prepared to grab Jeff Blake
as a backup. Brett Favre may sneak back here but he does not have
the troops to pull off a big season so avoid him and let someone
that remembers the good old days waste a pick. If your team defense
is yards and points against-based then it is time to start plotting
where they will go and if you are at the end of this round it might
be nice to grab one before you are fighting over the leftovers.
Rounds Six through Eight
It is going to get confusing. Assuming no one has grabbed a quarterback,
teams in the early part of the draft may have three backs and two
receivers, the middle guys may have two/three backs, Tony Gonzalez,
and a receiver, and the owners that sat in the back to begin may
have two/three backs and two/three receivers or a defense. All three
will need a quarterback and should get one in the next few rounds.
Anyone with only two backs should be poised to take another, and
soon. If defense is important, grab one now but if it is based mainly
on touchdowns, forget it. The best quarterbacks are Elvis Grbac
- won't last past round six - Vinny Testaverde - seventh round -
and Matt Hasselbeck - eighth round, at the latest. The best running
backs are probably the leftovers from Denver and San Francisco,
also the Cardinals duo and maybe Travis Henry - could be moving
up the ladder quickly - but team Henry with Sammy Morris. James
Jackson could be here, as well, but Superman couldn't run behind
that line. Forget the Patriots backs until round nine, or later.
Wide Receivers have really gone stale and the best will be players
that don't get in the end zone, will catch a bunch of balls, and
are the No. 1 on their team - Wayne Chrebet, Derrick Mason, and
Darrell Jackson. Muhsin Muhammad may be there early in the sixth
and Jerry Rice late in the eighth and both fit in those spots. Forget
tight ends. Take a kicker and you will be drummed out of the fantasy
football universe. There are only eight defenses worth grabbing,
if defense is important. They are Baltimore, Tennessee, Tampa, New
Orleans, Philadelphia, New York Giants, Miami, and Oakland. If you
miss that bus, shame on you. Steel yourself to the fact that a team
defense is in the immediate future.
Rounds Nine through Fourteen
You have one QB - if you have two, it was probably a mistake --,
three/four backs, two/three receivers, a defense - if the scoring
forces you to - and Tony Gonzalez. These rounds are for depth, for
backing up scary areas, and for grabbing your one tight end, stop
giggling, - if you don't own Gonzalez. If you don't have a QB, you
might steal Jeff George here but the rest are hunch plays, like
Jake Plummer or Doug Flutie, or dead in the water guys like Drew
Bledsoe. Backing up risky players, like Aaron Brooks with Jeff Blake,
will be important and, of course, grabbing a second QB. If defense
is important, don't wait any longer. The Chargers are a good hunch
play for those that missed the first wave. If it isn't important
then wait until the end. For running backs and wide receivers, these
rounds are about grabbing sleepers. Players that are starting for
the first time - Lavernaues Coles -- or are starters on poorer NFL
teams - Troy Brown, Rob Moore, Darnay Scott -- fit. Starters that
have slipped through for whatever reason - Ike Hilliard - also will
be found. Starting running backs are all gone and this is about
guessing which ones will be starters later in the year. This should
not be a worrisome spot as most of you have three starting backs
at this point. Sammy Morris, any last pieces of Denver and San Francisco,
Doug Chapman, and Tony Richardson are the best. Time to grab a tight
end. Cam Cleeland, Byron Chamberlain, Desmond Clark all fit as well
as a host of others. Work down the cheatsheet until you find one
that you like and - bam - grab them. Don't take two; there will
be plenty on the free agent list.
Rounds Fifteen and Sixteen.
The last two rounds are for kickers and defenses. Take a kicker
round 15 and a defense round 16. It doesn't matter which ones and
there will be plenty to choose from if those don't work out.
The Last Roundup
Ideally, you have 2 QBs, 11 RBs/Wrs, and 1 TE, K, and Def. Yep,
you are thin at four of the six positions. Those are the positions
most likely to have players come from nowhere and you'll be ready
to jump because you've invested little to begin with. If you are
uncomfortable with only two QBs, then take one, instead of a receiver,
late as a pacifier. I've often pared down to one, during the season,
to grab another back that may get some love. Comfort is important
but I'd rather win. Get out there and kick some ass.
Mark Bond can be found,
most days, listening to Stevie Ray Vaughn, eating hot sausage sandwiches
topped with BBQ chips, chili, and coleslaw, slapping back Cuervo
shooters, and rambling on about those warm evenings spent with Janet
Reno. He is not related to James Bond but has the same air of sophistication
of Sean Connery. Mark is currently annoying his workmates at Jackpot
Sports, home of the first daily fantasy baseball game, the Reggie
Jackson Fantasy Baseball Challenge, plus weekly and seasonal Fantasy
Football games.
