Fantasy Football, Take 2

Tonight was (finally) the draft for Skidoo's league, including such esteemed bloggers as the aforementioned commissioner, myself, Schaubs, meanhappyguy, NumbBono, and others (I don't know any of the other bloggers in the league). Since it was a 12 team league, I changed my draft strategy a bit. Overall I'm not completely happy with my team but I think I'll do alright. Here's a recap:

I ended up with the 5th draft slot and was left to choose between Joseph Addai & Stephen Jackson. I chose Addai because I think he'll be featured more in Indy's offense this year & because of health reasons too, despite Jackson being the better receiver.

In the 2nd round, there were still a handful of good running backs around (Jacobs, MJD, McGahee, McFadden, & Parker), most 2nd-tier WRs (Burress, Colston, Fitzgerald), but still one top-3 QB left: Romo. That gives me two leagues, two starting QBs named Romo. I hate the fact that I have to cheer for him every week now but I'll manage.

In the 3rd round, I took Willie Parker over other RBs like Jamal Lewis, Reggie Bush, Michael Turner & Earnest Graham. Lewis is the most proven but I'm not certain he can replicate what he did last year. Bush is still living on potential, as is Turner. I like Graham but chose to go with Parker because I think he'll get the yardage but also more than two TDs with Najeh Davenport out of the picture. Plus, being a Steelers fan, it was a no-brainer.

With two RBs and no WRs, it was obvious what I would have to do in the 4th & 5th rounds. In the 4th round, I chose Santonio Holmes over Roy Williams & Boldin because I think he's going to be the featured WR in that offense (as well as being a Steeler too). In the 5th round, the WR pool was getting thin, and I had to settle with Greg Jennings as my 2nd WR, over options like Roddy White, Chris Chambers, and Lee Evans.

Here's where things got a little bit tricky. This league starts three WRs and two RBs, which still left me short 1 starter in the main positions. However, by round 6, there really weren't any WRs that stood out for me. So, I used back to back picks to add some depth to my RBs with Edgerrin James & Chris Perry. I probably could have waited on Perry as it seems like others had him rated lower than I did.

I grabbed my other WR in round 8 with Bernard Berrian. I still needed a TE, but most other teams had their TEs already, and I was fine with my choice of Owen Daniels, Ben Watson or Tony Scheffler, so I used my next picks to build more depth, selecting DJ Hackett & and a backup\bye week QB in Matt Schaub. I also grabbed my defense in Round 9 with Seattle.

Surprisingly, a couple other teams started drafting backup TEs, so with Watson & Daniels now gone, and one other team still needing a starter, I was forced to grab Scheffler in Round 12. I was hoping to wait another round and grab a sleeper like Chris Johnson, or deepen my WR corps with Drew Bennett or Derrick Mason, but I couldn't wait.

After picking up Ronald Curry in Round 13, I started getting indecisive and grabbed my kicker the next round in Rob Bironas. It was pretty much slim pickings at that point so I didn't really care. Since this was such a deep league, I went for the handcuff and drafted Dominic Rhodes in Round 15.

The last two round were meaningless; I timed out in Round 16 and got a backup TE in Zach Miller (Go ASU!) then added more depth to WR with Shaun McDonald.

So, to recap, here's my roster with starters in bold:

QB: Romo, Schaub
RB: Addai, W. Parker, E. James, C. Perry, D. Rhodes
WR: S. Holmes, Jennings, Berrian, R. Curry, S. McDonald, DJ Hackett
TE: Scheffler, Z. Miller
K: Bironas
D: Seattle

Looking back, I think I might have been better off passing on Romo and going RB-RB-WR. I could have gone Addai-Parker- and Fitzgerald, Housh, or Holt, still grab Holmes or Boldin in the 4th, and go with Big Ben, Palmer or Hasselbeck at QB. I think Romo is still a Top-3 QB this year but the difference between him & the othe QB's I mentioned may not be as big as the difference between those WRs and Greg Jennings.

So instead, my WR corp is thin and lacking a proven scorer. I expect Holmes to improve upon last year, but Jennings & Berrian as my other starters leave a lot to be desired. Since I don't really have any horses I can just run each week, I might have to play the matchups & put Curry or Hackett in there more often than just as bye-week replacements.

The one thing I do like about my team is my depth at RB. I've got a good 1-2 punch at RB with Addai & Parker (I expect Parker will get more than 2 TDs this year) and I have two starters backing them up (although Perry is probably more of a timeshare with Kenny Watson). Plus I have my handcuff in the event Addai goes down, and Rhodes has performed well when plugged in as a starter.

Overall, I'm satisfied but not ecstatic with my team. Maybe I should have let Romo slide, but then again, if he's still there in the 3rd, it's even harder justifying a WR over him at that point, so I won't beat myself up about it.

I've got one more draft, but it's Saturday morning, so I might just let that one run on autodraft. Either way, I won't be recapping that one. Good luck to everyone else in their FF leagues this year (that excludes anyone in Skidoo's league).