Went over to my man J. Heinz's place for my fantasy football draft this evening. Good times were had. Drinks were drunk, food was ate, poker was played, and 19 rounds of sweet, sweet fantasy football were drafted. I drew the third pick, in a ten team league, with the following positions:
1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 K, 1 DEF, 1 DL, 1 DB, 7 BENCH
The first two picks were Tomlinson and Peyton. In odd numbered rounds I had pick #3, and in even numbered rounds I had pick #8, as the draft snaked. I made the following picks -
Rd Pos Pick
1 RB Shaun Alexander - Best non-QB on the board. Quite happy.
2 RB Kevin Jones - Excited about this pick. KJ is awesome and slipped too far.
3 RB Rudi Johnson - Couple of mediocre backs taken instead of Rudi, I benefited.
4 QB Matt Hasselback - Best QB on board after Peyton, Culpep, and McNabb.
5 WR Hines Ward - Waited a little long for this pick, but happy with him in Rd. 5.
6 TE Jason Witten - Several TEs had already gone, but Witten was #1 on my board.
7 WR Drew Bennett - The great white hope was the best remaining WR on my board.
8 QB Tom Brady - Maybe a little early here, but QBs are most valuable pos in this lg.
9 K David Akers - First big mistake, should have taken DB Ed Reed.
10 RB Cadillac Williams - With Reed gone, and top tier DEFs gone, went back to offense.
11 DB Ronde Barber - Best DB on my board after Reed. Little risky, getting old.
12 WR Rod Smith - Big steal here, he slipped way too far.
13 DEF Chicago Bears - Best good defense left, couldn't let DEF slip any further.
14 DL Keith Bullock - Best D player on my board, very happy with this pick.
15 DL Donnie Edwards - 2nd best D player on my board, similarly happy.
16 WR David Givens - DG. Good pick here in 16th round, could have big year.
17 DB Dunta Robinson - 2nd DB, was very good in rookie season last year.
18 WR Brandon Lloyd - SF #1 receiver, good value here because of that.
19 TE Ben Watson - Waiting for the breakout, lots of potential.
All in all, I am very happy with this draft. My position grades:
QB: A Hasselback, Brady
RB: A Alexander, Jones, Johnson, Williams
WR: B- Ward, Bennett, Smith, Givens, Lloyd
TE: A Witten, Watson
K: A Akers
DEF: B CHI
DL: A Bullock, Edwards
DB: B+ Barber, Robinson
I don't think I had the best WR draft from a talent standpoint, but I believe I got good value for the rounds in which I drafted them. At QB, RB, TE, K, and DL, I got at least 1 player in my top 3, which is astounding. Either I got lucky or I have a warped sense of value, because no one should get that many of their top players. I'm looking forward to this season a great deal, and think I have a great squad at the outset of the season.