When the Wizard of Cheeseheads asked me to write here, he told me that I had free reign to write whatever I wanted. He wasn’t even concerned that I write about football. There are no rules at the Whiz! I was pretty happy and started planning articles about beer, Tijuana, strippers, dwarf tossing, oil wrestling. The opportunities are endless!

I feel like Michael Irvin at the Cowboys’ “White House.” I’m like Taz at a steakhouse buffet. I’m like Rock playing Scrabble. Anything goes!

But given that FF Whiz is a fantasy football site, I ought to write a little about football. So here it goes:

Why is Joey Porter punching out offensive linemen at a blackjack table at the Palms in Vegas?

Porter is notoriously confrontational, and the incidents have been colorful and numerous. In December, he made headlines when he referred to Kellen Winslow, Jr. with a homosexual slur. In 2004, he was ejected from a game for beating down running back William Green BEFORE a game between the Steelers and Browns. (How do you get ejected from a game that hasn’t started? ) At first glance, Porter’s arrest seems like typical Joey Porter behavior.

But not so fast with the suspension, Commissioner Dredd. I have a reasonable doubt.

Before we throw the shackles on Joey, we ought to take a look at the other guy; Cincinnati offensive tackle, Levi Jones. The 6’5” offensive tackle is three inches taller and 57 pounds heavier than Porter. The two have a history of mixing it up on the field, and, like Porter, Jones is no angel off the field. In 2004, he was arrested after attempting to wrestle a nightstick from a police officer during the arrest of another patron in a Houston nightclub. But the real reason to suspect that Levi was the instigator? He’s a Bengal.

Sounds like self-defense to me.

A solid receiving corps is the backbone of a successful dynasty team.

In order for a team to stay near the top over a long period of time, it must maintain its WRs.  RBs win championships, we all know that. The problem is that, in order to get the top prospects at running back, you need to finish poorly a couple of seasons to get the early draft picks. This conflicts with the goal of being a top team year after year. As a dynasty champion, and as a dynasty perennial playoff team, an owner should spend more time researching the WRs than any other position. It is likely that the WRs will be the best talent available when it is time to pick in the late 1^st round of a dynasty rookie draft.

That said, there are always a couple of teams that draft early in the 1^st round of the dynasty rookie draft that will take the "can’t miss" WR prospect. This year, that prospect is Calvin Johnson. Yes, I like the rest of the fantasy world am a big time Johnson fan. But before I throw myself into writing the massive amount of Johnson hype that I plan to, let me throw out some names. David Terrell, Koren Robinson, Mike Williams, Charlie Rogers, Peter Warrick… I think you get the idea. All of those players were can’t miss prospects coming out of college, with the same type of hype that Johnson is receiving. My point is, don’t risk an early 1^st round pick on a "can’t miss" WR, because they often do miss. Hopefully you are not drafting near the top of the 1^st round too often.  When you are unfortunate enough to be picking early, you are best served to use that chance to build your RBs. 

So let’s dig in and take a look at this year’s rookie receiving class. There are not a lot of guys that will be able to help you right away. We will primarily be looking for the players that will be the studs of the league in the next three years (Hello Mr. Lasik).

It's time to start taking a look at the 2007 rookie class. Naturally, it is difficult to project how each player will perform in the short term until we find out where they land, but when focusing on dynasty value it is a different story. Many rookies will take some time to develop, and by the time they are ready to contribute they may be in a completely different situation than they were on draft day. When it comes to preparing for a dynasty draft, it is best to look at raw talent and not worry about how much playing time they will see in the first couple of seasons. If the talent is there, they will shine fantasy wise - often sooner rather than later. NFL teams will make sure the best talent gets a chance to show what they can do.

Let's start with the tight end position. The TE is an awkward position in fantasy football. A top tier player will win you some games in fantasy football, but it is not a position that you should rely on to carry your team. If you are looking to draft a TE early, you should make sure that your core positions (QB, RB, WR, and LB) are solid and intact for the future. If you have that luxury, it is likely that you are set to draft in the back half of your dynasty rookie draft. With most dynasty owners of that mindset, the quality TE prospect will usually fall to the late 1st or late 2nd round in a dynasty rookie draft. While the 2007 rookie TE class does not compare to the 2006 class there still are a couple of guys that are worth early 2nd round dynasty consideration. >>Read More>>