Back a few months ago, I took part in a DraftMaster league on MFL. I was excited to do a league like this after all the ones that I did on Xperts...along with DraftMaster Challenge that I put together in 2006. As the season is finally winding down, I went back to look at my picks overall to see how I did. I would have to say not too shabby, but could have done a few things differently. At this point, I am 6-5 with a two-game streak going into the final weeks. For those interested at looking at the league, here is the link...
http://football12.myfantasyleague.com/2007/home/55540As to be part of the league, you were required to write an article on your picks and other whatnots. Here is my article that was completed at the end of the draft...Enjoy the read.
MFLaddons.com Draft Strategy
To open up things, it is always a good idea to educate those around you on where you have came from to the point that you are currently at in a certain environment. My name is James Bebermeyer Jr and I am a Fantasy Football addict and I am not seeking help at this time. I began my first year of Fantasy Football in 2000 with my first league on NFL.com, and honestly I cannot remember one darn player that I had on that team…sorry. Anyway, my Fantasy Football career did not really start until I found XpertSports.com in 2004. That is when I started to become an addict. Anyways, I become a staff member in 2005 and assisted with articles and news posting with the site. I become more versed in the sport each month and assisted with a magazine that XpertSports.com and DogHouse Football. I am currently a member of the staff at The Whiz. I am going into my 8th season of enjoying this hobby that I hope someday will become a career.
I believe the number one spot in any draft is the most crucial in not making a mistake with that first overall pick. As you sit through twenty-two picks before you can take your next player off the board, you watch the top tier players fall to the wayside as you pray to the football gods to allow your guy to stay healthy throughout the season. With this being a point per reception scoring format, the wide receiver and the good hands running back becomes the most important commodity in the game. Without a doubt in the first five-to-six rounds, it is important for me to build a core of skill position players. Key point to note is that quarterbacks touchdowns are only worth four points, so if I do not get either Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer or Drew Brees within the first six rounds, it is best for me just to wait. I will be looking to find the gems that I believe are on the verge of breakout or are currently being undervalued by many a Fantasy owner in the middle of the draft. The real key for my success in this draft and league is to ensure that I have a solid foundation at the running back and wide receiver positions due to the spread between my picks.
Finding the right way to present this article was slightly difficult, but it should be broken down into five stages. This being the first stage of the draft…we will call it the Foundation. As mentioned before the 1.01 pick was to be crucial to my team’s success, the selection of LaDainian Tomlinson was simply too much to miss out on. Agreed, that Tomlinson saw his best season in 2006, but with new head coach Norv Turner at the helm, he should see an even more prolific year in 2007. LT2 is one of the most game-breaking players in the league and letting him move on to another team would have been simply put…criminal. The turn picks, 2.12 and 3.01, are one of the most difficult picks after the 1.01. The reason being that the top echelon of players is quickly becoming depleted. Taking Roy Williams at 2.12 and Andre Johnson at 3.01 were the best selections available. Roy Williams has found himself in one of the most prolific offensive schemes in the NFL with Mike Martz being the offensive coordinator. Even with the arrival of rookie sensation Calvin Johnson, Williams should easily see 100+ receptions and close to 1,200 receiving yards and double-digit touchdowns. Not to mention, the on-the-field rapport that he has with veteran quarterback Jon Kitna makes him a Top 5 potential wide receiver. On the other hand, Andre Johnson is THE top receiver in the Houston Texans offense. The arrival of quarterback Matt Schaub could mean an increased roll for the young receiver, or could spell certain doom for his stats in the first season. Johnson has elite status written all over him, but was never truly taken advantage of with the poor play of quarterback David Carr and the inability of the offensive line keeping the pass rush at bay. Andre can get the job done and should as he builds his connection with Schaub. The final two picks of my first five rounds were a little difficult as I took LaMont Jordan at 4.12 and Carson Palmer at 5.01. The selection of Jordan may stump many, but there is a theory to my madness. Jordan is one year removed from having a 70-reception season with the Raiders, and he was able to post 1,588 yards from scrimmage. With new head coach Lane Kiffin; I can see that Jordan will be utilized as he was prior to the Art Shell debacle of 2006. Jordan is still young and has a lot of tread on his tires, not to mention that his counterpart Dominic Rhodes has been suspended for the first four games and will be in the doghouse with Kiffin and company. Palmer lasting this long was a dream come true. The guy is an entire season removed from a knee injury that could have ended his career. He was one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the 2005 season. With talk from Chad Johnson that he wants to hit the 2,000-yard mark, it makes me salivate on the opportunities that are going to come Palmer’s way in 2007. He should easily be the one of the Top 3 Fantasy quarterbacks this season. The nucleus of my team is in place, now it is time to build this mighty beast of mine.
The next five rounds will be crucial, as I will be looking for my value players on the board at this point and playing some gut check here. The 6.12 and 7.01 picks would have to be players that could replace any of my starters on any given Sunday. With the 6.12 selection, I decided on taking wide receiver D.J. Hackett. He has been shining like a mid-summer day sun in training camp and has the organization forgetting all about veteran wide out Nate Burleson. Hackett has the size and skill that will compliment Deion Branch on the other side and make tough matchup problems for opposing defenses that Matt Hasselbeck will fall in love with. The selection of Darrell Jackson at the 7.01 was a gut check for me. His continuing toe problems may hamper him, but he has stated that it is getting better, but still feeling it. It is likely that Jackson will have to suffer through 2007 with the injury, but he is a warrior and if he can be on the field…he will be. He is a unique player that just knows how to get open and having him as my 4WR makes me happy. Coming into the 8.12 and 9.01 selections had me thinking two things, should I move on a running back at this point or hold out at take some guys that could really produce for my team? Taking Matt Hasselbeck at 8.12 stated the obvious. Hasselbeck is my fifth best quarterback this season, and having my number 2 and 5 guys playing for my team is awesome. Hasselbeck has plenty of options with Branch, Hackett, Burleson, Engram and newly acquired tight end Marcus Pollard. If Palmer is down one week, I am sure that Hasselbeck will be able to make up for it and vice versa. With the 9.01 pick, tight end Kellen Winslow Jr was simply a no-brainer for me. I have him ranked third among tight ends this season. I could care less on his current recover from knee surgery, as he will be the second leading receiver in Cleveland this season. His size and speed create a multitude of mismatches for linebackers and safeties, so he will be solid in 2007. The pick at 10.12 was simply a selection to get me back on line with my running backs that will put up decent points. Running back Michael Turner is one of the best backup running backs in the league and having him as my handcuff to LT2 was paramount. It is very likely that there will be some weeks that Turner will outscore some of the running backs in this league that were selected earlier. Also, if LT2 does go down, I have the guy that will replace him enough to keep me competitive.
Now that my team is pretty well rounded, it is time to pick up those guys that have the potential to score big any given week and protect you during those dreaded byes. The selection of Dallas Clark at 11.01 was a part of both worlds. With Peyton Manning being his quarterback, Clark has the potential to score big any given week depending on what the opposing defense is giving the high-powered Colts offense. The next two selections, 12.12 and 13.01, were two that I felt were the best at this mid-way point of the draft. The 49ers defense has been scrutinized the past couple of years, but things are finally falling into place from the signing of cornerback Nate Clements to the drafting of rookie linebacker Patrick Willis. This unit is going to get some heat on the quarterback and turnovers should be the course of the day each Sunday. I was likely a little premature in taking wide receiver Patrick Crayton with the 13.01 pick, but I see this kid being something special this year. Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn are no spring chicks and Crayton has the speed and hands to give safeties and linebackers fits in the middle of the field. As he continues to improve, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will utilize him more and more as the season progresses. With the 14.12 pick, it became evident after the injury to running back Kenny Irons in the first preseason game that the next Kenny in line would get the leftovers from starter Rudi Johnson. Watson has proved himself in the past with his superb receiving skills out of the backfield and will once again be able to put up nice numbers for 2007, as long as he stays healthy. Wide receiver Hank Baskett was an inviting choice at the 15.01 spot. He is coming into his second year in the league and showed his abilities last year with a nice representation with 21.1 yards per reception and two touchdowns in his rookie season. With his 6’4” frame, he can make mismatch problems for some of the best cornerbacks in the league…and it does help that he has good hands. These five selections have the potential to put my team head and shoulders above the competition within this league.
This series of five selections are to build on a position that I am currently fairly weak at, which is the running back position. Taking Musa Smith with the 16.12 pick is one of promise as he will likely be the front-runner to backup injury-prone Willis McGahee. Smith is a strong runner that can attack between the tackles, which I believe is a weakness of McGahee. Not to mention, that Mike Anderson is no spring chicken and is starting to show his age. Next on my target list is kicker Robbie Gould at the 17.01 spot. Gould showed some excellent power and nice accuracy on the Chicago Bears stellar season. He missed four kicks all season that ended with an 89% accuracy rate. He converted all his PATs and ended the season with 143 points. The next set of back-to-back selections had me take to guys that have potential to contribute this season. Noah Herron is a guy that is under numerous radars with a wide-open running back competition in Green Bay. He is a third year player that finished the 2006 season with a 4.1 yards per carry average, and has the ability to block, pass catch and run hard. The one knock on him is his speed, but he attempted this off-season to rectify that by working in speed drills, and has a good chance to contribute regularly for the Packers. Another guy that worked hard in the off-season was Jerome Harrison, who I took with my 19.01 pick. Harrison is a hard runner and seems to always get positive yardage and is a good candidate to back up Jamal Lewis. He has excellent hands and runs with power, and as mentioned his pass blocking weakness was improved on extensively this off-season, which gives a chance to supplant James Wright. To round out this group of five selections, the choice of the Washington Redskins DST was a nice luxury pick at this point of the draft. This unit has added some key members with linebacker London Fletcher-Baker and rookie safety sensations LaRon Landry. With defensive coordinator Gregg Williams still at the helm, it can be assured that this unit will improve over last years dismal showing. After feeling weak at the running back position for most of the draft, I feel a bit of relief with the three guys that I got in this block of rounds.
The final five selections of the draft were to obtain players that could easily produce Fantasy numbers this season and could find them moving into a position to actually be productive. Wide receiver Mike Williams was one of the guys that I think will eventually move to a point this season to produce in the Raiders offense. Being reunited with his coach at USC, he will be given the opportunity to make plays in the red zone and could move into the slot position. With the 22.12 selection, I loved getting kicker Ryan Longwell as he will be a great bye week player and will easily have some games better than my starter in Robbie Gould. His playing in a dome and the average performance of the Vikings offense will give him ample opportunities to score. Getting Jason Snelling this late in the draft was a Godsend, as he is looking to be the goal line back for the Falcons based on head coach Bobby Petrino liking the big backs in that situation. Snelling is a bruising back that will make linebackers and defensive backs pay dearly for trying to stop him. With the Vikings receiving corps up for grabs, it seemed only fitting to take wide receiver Sydney Rice with my next to last pick. He is a player that just knows how to make big plays and has a solid advantage over smaller defensive backs. I think that he will make a solid show in his first season. With the final pick of the draft was a simple one; Tab Perry is likely the front-runner to take wide receiver Chris Henry during his suspension. He is a quick receiver that has solid hands and could perform admirably in the coming season. I am looking for some production from these five players, but I am not counting on stellar numbers, just performance in covering when some others fail to exceed.
Overall, I feel that this draft was a success with the talent that I found at each stage of the draft. Building the core of my team early was important and filling in the holes due to bye weeks and injuries was very important. I believe with the help of LaDainian Tomlinson, Andre Johnson, Carson Palmer and Roy Williams, this team has the potential to blow up any given week and give me the championship in this league.
