I spent all of last week at an industry conference for fantasy sports. (Yes, there is such a thing. Check out FSTA.org.) It was 250 guys, and about 5 women, who eat, breathe and sleep fantasy sports, not to mention make a living from it. Folks from ESPN, CBS, Fanball, Rotowire and about every other online entity with a stake in fantasy sports were there. A total of 36 participated in what I would imagine was the first non-mock draft of the fantasy football season. With training camp still a few weeks off, a fantasy draft seemed early, but as fun as ever.
Three 12-team leagues drafted in a serpentine format, with almost everyone being some type of fantasy football expert, except for me of course. Two RBs, Three WRs, One QB, One Flex, One Defense and One Kicker. Six points for rushing, receiving, defense and special teams TDs and three for passing. Normal points for yardage and there are points per reception (PPR). No cash entry, but a championship ring on the line for the winner.
The first two rounds shaped up like this:
Round 1
1. LT
2. Adrian Peterson
3. Steven Jackson
4. Tom Brady
5. Brian Westbrook
6. Larry Johnson (Full disclosure: I am a Chiefs fan. In the one of the other leagues I heard him called out at 17th. Yikes.)
7. Joseph Addai
8. Randy Moss
9. Marion Barber
10. Frank Gore
11. Marshawn Lynch
12. Peyton Manning
Round 2
13. Chad Johnson
14. Reggie Wayne
15. Terrell Owens
16. Maurice Jones-Drew
17. Clinton Portis
18. Willis McGahee
19. Braylon Edwards (The experts were all for this one. I got the “Nice pick” from a couple of guys in the room. )
20. Ryan Grant
21. Laurence Maroney
22. Larry Fitzgerald
23. Tony Romo
24. Steve Smith
After that went Marques Colston and Brandon Jacobs as first picks in the 3rd. A few notes from the entire draft:
• QBs - After four rounds only Brady, Manning, Romo, Brees and Palmer were gone. A few were picked up in the sixth but at the 12th round there were still half a dozen Top 15 QBs on the board. Eli went in the 12th round with two Giants fans in the league.
• RBs – After the Top 15 RBs, 13 of which were gone in Rounds 1 & 2, it’s a crap shoot. Look at Ronnie Brown vs. Julius Jones vs. Darren McFadden vs. Michael Turner. Any one of them could be a Top 5 back or not even start. Because of this, handcuffs like Chester Taylor and Justin Fargas are going earlier than usual.
• TEs – Top 3 went in the fourth round. Gonzalez and Cooley in the fifth and sixth respectively. Heap and Vernon Davis in the seventh. Everyone else the 10th or higher.
• DEFs – It took until the 8th but Chargers and Vikings Def got snatched up. Big points possibilities for the 8th round with them a couple of other squads.
• Ks – Do you really care? Vinatieri went in the 13th as the first kicker taken if you do.
• Brett Favre went in the 15th round.
My Roster:
1. LJ – A lot of question marks for a number six pick. Maybe I’m a homer. Maybe I’m very smart. We’ll see.
2. Braylon Edwards – The experts loved this pick in the second. I hated not taking an RB here, but he was far and away the best on the board.
3. Andre Johnson – Huge year for Andre. Mark my words.
4. Kellen Winslow, Jr. – I always believe in a solid TE. The difference from Tier 1 to Tier 2 can be 5+ points per week. Especially in a PPR league.
5. Julius Jones – Not sure who will come out as the starter in Seattle, but I like Jones to have a solid, if not surprising year.
6. Hines Ward – I’ll take Hines Ward as my #3 WR any year. Even in his 11th.
7. Chester Taylor – One knee injury away from putting up big numbers.
8. Minnesota Def – Everything they had last year, plus Jared Allen.
9. Patrick Crayton – Could get to that 1,000 yard mark this year.
10. Felix Jones – I rolled the dice. When there is no money on the line, it’s easy to gamble.
11. Darrell Jackson – With a new home in Denver, he could turn out to be much better than a fifth WR.
12. Vince Young – Targeted Schaub but he went five picks before this spot. We’ll see.
13. Warrick Dunn – Not a lot of competition at RB in TB, if he has anything left in the tank.
14. Stephen Gostkowski – Kicker for the Patriots whose name I couldn’t pronounce. A round early so I’m not stuck scrounging every week.
15. JaMarcus Russell – I hate the Raiders but can see 340 passing, 2 TDs, 2 INTS plus some rushing yards from him on a regular basis. Just look at the pass-catching RBs he can throw to.
Let the season begin. And FYI, RotoHog adds RotoHog League Manager to our arsenal this year. So this season, you can play the RotoHog Stock Exchange game you love in both public and private leagues, as well as manage your traditional private league with friends, having full control on draft style, points, league size and more. No need to play at RotoHog and another site like Yahoo! or CBS. We’ve got all your games right here at RotoHog.com.
