My 2007 FF Squad

Last night I had my FF draft. A couple players backed out so we were down to only an 8 man league. Of course I ended up with the 8th pick, but in a smaller league, it's not as bad. Here's a recap of my draft, let me know what you think.

Rounds 1-2

I hate being the last pick in a bigger league because you usually miss out on the elite players. Since it was a shorter league it didn't make as much of a difference. Of course, I missed out on the consensus top 7 RBs (LT, Jackson, LJ, Addai, Alexander, Gore, W. Parker). Since there weren't any RBs left that were as valuable as Peyton Manning, I took him 1st, then followed it up with the next best RB, Brian Westbrook. I could've gone RB\RB here and gone with Bush or McGahee, but then I also let someone else pair Manning with one of the other top RBs. I was pretty much forced to take him.

Rounds 3-4

Needing to get a second top RB, I went with Thomas Jones. I think he'll be decent with NYJ this year and should be a solid 2nd RB. My other choices here were Travis Henry, Cedric Benson, Deuce McAllister & Edgerrin James, and I think TJ is the safest pick, although if they all stay healthy, I think Henry may put up the best numbers. Only 3 WRs were gone at this point (S. Smith, Harrison, & Holt), so I went for a top WR and took Reggie Wayne. I'm not always keen on drafting two starters from the same team, but when it's Peyton & Wayne, I'll live with that.

Rounds 5-6

I needed another WR and called out Lee Evans name, but quickly retracted that when I realized Evans & Wayne had the same bye week. I was left to chose from Javon Walker, Andre Johnson, & Randy Moss. Even in a bad offense, AJ has put up decent numbers, and I think there's a greater chance he steps it up with Schaub at QB. Walker had the same bye week as well, and I'm not sold on Moss as a 2nd WR. With my other pick, I took Travis Henry who was still sitting there.

Rounds 7-8

The retraction of Lee Evans worked because everyone thought that I had already taken him. So when Round 7 ended and he was still sitting there, I had to take him. To start off the 8th round, I took another Bill, Marshawn Lynch. It was between him & Marion Barber, who did well for me last year, but he's primarily a TD guy, and that's a little too inconsistent for me. Besides, with 3 solid RBs, I was ready to take a flyer on someone.

Rounds 9-10

Needing some more depth at WR, I went with Joey Galloway. I'm hoping that having Garcia at QB will help provide some consistency and give Galloway one more chance at a decent year. In round 10, it was time to take a backup QB. Looking at the Colts' bye week, my best choices were Favre vs. Washington, Leinart vs. Carolina, or Garrard vs. Houston. I went with the one I thought would be the most consistent year round but also the best chance of putting up numbers that week - Leinart

Rounds 11-12

I still hadn't addressed the TE spot, but the top 3-4 TEs were taken somewhere between the 4-7th rounds, and I won't use a pick on a TE that early unless I've got a chance at Gates. I didn't address it here either because there wasn't anyone else that stood out at the moment. Instead, I got a little more depth at RB & WR. I went with Ladell Betts in Round 11 - he played well when the injury-prone Portis was out. In Round 12, there wasn't much for WRs, so I went with Mark Clayton for the Ravens. He's their No.1 target over Derrick Mason, and it's pretty much a make or break year for him. He either does well or becomes someone to drop for a bye week replacement

Rounds 13-14

Time to address the TE spot. The problem was that most of the top TEs left (LJ Smith, Heath Miller, Daniel Graham, Dallas Clark) had the same bye week as my QB, my top two WRs, and my two backup RBs. But the TE spot averages about 4-5 points per week for a decent TE, so even if I have to start him on a bye week it won't make much difference. So I played the "favorite team" game and snagged Heath Miller. In round 14, I almost took a Defense, but again, the top D still available, the Broncos' D, had a bye during the same week. In the end, I took a flyer on Vincent Jackson for San Diego. Someone has to step up at WR in San Diego. However, he's also a chance to be a dud, which allows me to do a drop\add without worrying about dropping a potentially huge stud.

Rounds 15-16

Time to get a Kicker & a Defense. I was hoping that the Dallas D would slip to me but it was taken about 1-2 picks before me. Instead, I was left with the Seattle D, who I'm not completely sold on. I'll probably be rotating waiver-wire Defenses pretty often. I ended the draft by taking the kicker from my hometown team - Neil Rackers of Arizona. Since the Cardinals are notorious for settling for FGs instead of TDs, he should hopefully be a top 5 kicker again this year.

So, to recap, here's my team:

QB: P. Manning, M. Leinart
RB: B. Westbrook, T. Jones, T. Henry, M. Lynch, L. Betts
WR: R. Wayne, L. Evans, A. Johnson, J. Galloway, M. Clayton, V. Jackson
TE: H. Miller
K: N. Rackers
D: Seattle

Positives:

1. I'm set at QB, barring injury
2. I've got 3 of projected top 20 backs (4, as I've seen M. Lynch ranked top 20 also)
3. I've got 2 of the projected top 10 WRs
4. I'm comfortable with my depth at the top 3 positions

Negatives:

1. My top 3 RBs have a decent history of injury concerns
2. Week 6 is a rough bye week for me; I lose Manning, Wayne, Evans, Henry, Lynch, & Miller
3. My Defense isn't consistent & will likely have to be rotated
4. I'd prefer to have players from upper-echelon teams, especially at WR.

I'll probably revise this post in a couple days once our complete draft is posted, and I'll run through players I passed up. Overall, I'm happy with my squad, but we all know anything's possible.