Round One
1. Larry Johnson
2. LaDainian Tomlinson
3. Dalton – Shaun Alexander
4. Clinton Portis
5. Jeff – Lamont Jordan
6. Tiki Barber
7. Ronnie Brown
8. Edgerrin James
9. Robby – Steven Jackson
10. Rudi Johnson
11. Cadillac Williams
12. Willis McGahee
Dalton Says: I traded up to get into the top-three, which I felt was worth a hefty price. A fairly predictable first round, although it might have changed had we started it 30 minutes later, when news of Portis’ injury broke.
Best Pick: After the big-three, I’m a big fan of Ronnie Brown this year.
Worst Pick: Well, that Portis injury sure is rough to have happen during a draft. It wasn’t the worst pick, but it was the worst luck. Willis McGahee is a great back, but his situation will make it tough to be worth a top-12 pick.
Robby Says: Pretty standard picks this round. Portis was taken mere minutes before his shoulder injury and probably would’ve slipped a couple of spots had the draft started later. I only liked eight players overall and was glad when Edge went eighth, allowing me to grab Steven Jackson. If Jackson had gone, then I would probably have selected Peyton Manning.
Best Pick: LJ (Duh)
Worst Pick: Edge. I refuse to believe the Cardinals will have a good ground attack.
Jeff Says: For the most part, every pick seemed to go as planned. I was happy to grab Jordan, as Barber’s age and workload scares me.
Best Pick: Shaun Alexander. Forget the Madden curse, I believe he is the safest pick due to Kansas City’s offensive line issues. Tomlinson is no doubt more talented, but his running style leaves him open for big hits as he fights for the extra yard that Alexander sometimes concedes.
Worst pick: McGahee. I realize there weren’t many running backs left, but Willis and the Buffalo O-Line need to show a lot of improvement from last year.
Round Two
13. Steve Smith
14. Domanick Davis
15. Peyton Manning
16. Robby – Julius Jones
17. Brian Westbrook
18. Chad Johnson
19. Terrell Owens
20. Jeff – Randy Moss
21. Torry Holt
22. Chester Taylor
23. Marvin Harrison
24. Kevin Jones
Dalton Says: Since I didn’t have a pick this round, I wasn’t holding my breath too much. Domanick Davis was the big shocker, as I didn’t foresee him going until maybe the late third after his knee issues have become so concerning.
Best Pick: Julius Jones was a solid pick, but I can’t believe Torry Holt fell all the way to No. 21. He’s the No. 1 wide receiver on my board.
Worst Pick: Sorry, but Domanick Davis scares me too much. Although playing in Kubiak’s zone blocking scheme, he definitely has upside when on the field. Just not sure it will occur often enough.
Robby Says: I was hoping Peyton Manning would fall to me but was fine taking Julius Jones. Brian Westbrook’s foot and injury concerns gave JJ the edge.
Best Pick(s): Manning and Chester Taylor, a guy who I like right up there with Westbrook and Jones.
Worst Pick: Domanick Davis’ serious injury concerns make him a late third round pick at best in my book.
Jeff Says: I’ll admit, I broke fantasy laws illegal in most states by selecting players from my favorite team, but I believe that their upside and ADP warrants the selections.
Best Pick: Westbrook. From a value standpoint, I thought he would have been gone two picks ago…
Worst pick: Domanick Davis. Save yourself the headache and let some other bozo lose a draft pick to injury.
Round Three
25. Larry Fitzgerald
26. Anquan Boldin
27. DeShaun Foster
28. Reggie Bush
29. Jeff – Jamal Lewis
30. Dalton – Joseph Addai
31. Willie Parker
32. Reggie Wayne
33. Jeff – Warrick Dunn
34. Antonio Gates
35. Hines Ward
36. Reuben Droughns
Dalton Says: I couldn’t believe both Cardinals’ receivers lasted this long, as I see them as second round values. With no second round pick, it was paramount I went with a back here. Although Fast Willie Parker was tempting, I went with Addai’s upside. Sure, it’s a risk, and I will no doubt need to exercise patience, but no other player going this late has a better chance of being a top-five pick in next year’s draft.
Best Pick: I have too many to name this round. If I was forced to pick just one, I’d go with Reggie Bush. That sick 44-yard reverse-field scamper is tough to ignore when looking at his upside.
Worst Pick: Jamal Lewis. Admittedly, he looked pretty good in his first preasaon game, but he’s been going much later in most drafts. The jury is still out on just how much prison time truly affected him.
Robby Says: Due to my trade with Jeff, I didn’t pick in this round and was dismayed to see a lot of guys I was hoping could slip to me in the fourth get snagged.
Best Pick: There were a lot of good picks this round but Antonio Gates at the end of the third is a pretty solid steal.
Worst Pick: Jamal Lewis. He may bounce back but he’s not a top-20 back in my book.
Jeff Says: Contrary to Robby and Dalton’s concerns, I am confident that Jamal has his swagger back. After a full offseason of rehab, Jamal looked sharp Friday night, while Mike Anderson seemed pedestrian in his new environment. It was tough passing up Willy Parker for him, but I stick to my guns. Warrick Dunn will serve has a solid RB3. Though he won’t produce games with multiple touchdowns, his consistent yardage totals will be welcomed by my flex position.
Best Pick: Reggie Bush. Despite how much I like Jamal Lewis, I was holding out hope that Bush would drop one more spot. I thought Bush would have gone in the second round.
Worst pick: Joseph Addai. I firmly believe that Tony Dungy will not give Addai a large enough workload to be a weekly starter.
Round Four
37. Roy Williams
38. Corey Dillon
39. Thomas Jones
40. Robby – Tatum Bell
41. Santana Moss
42. Chris Chambers
43. Dalton – Plaxico Burress
44. Robby – Donald Driver
45. Frank Gore
46. Dalton – Andre Johnson
47. Jeremy Shockey
48. Darrell Jackson
Dalton Says: Since I had two picks this round and entered without a receiver yet, I was targeting two wideouts with my picks. Although it was frustrating to see Chris Chambers go one slot in front of me, I was happy with my Burress and Johnson selections.
Best Pick: I think Roy Williams is going to take a huge leap this year. He’s scored 16 touchdowns the last two years basically without ever practicing. Now he calls Mike Martz his Offensive Coordinator. He’s going to enter next year’s draft as a top-five WR option, mark it down.
Worst Pick: Honestly, I don’t dislike any picks this round all that much, but since I am big on Laurence Maroney (more on that later), I guess I’ll take the old, increasingly brittle Corey Dillon.
Robby Says: With two fourth round selections I wanted to grab the best back and wide receiver on the board. Three running backs in Denver is certainly worse than two, but I have a hard time believing Tatum will get anything less than 12-15 touches a game, which should be enough to make him a good flex play most weeks. I felt there was an appreciable dropoff in RB talent after him as well. I was bummed when Chambers went because I thought he was the last real good receiver available. I debated between Dre Jonhson and Donald Driver, two guys with stellar playoff schedules.
Best Pick: Chambers loses a pass-happy coach but should get improved play from his quarterback.
Worst Pick: Corey Dillon is done for. I like Maroney a lot more.
Jeff says: I sat out this round and watched Anthony Wright drop dimes. Seriously though, I felt it was important to get my 3 RBs early and I didn’t like my potential fourth round options. I am pleased with the way my draft has gone so far.
Best Pick: Tatum Bell. I was tempted to get him with the second of my two third round picks. I agree that 12-15 touches will be more than serviceable, especially considering our league rewards points for longer touchdowns.
Worst Pick: Frank Gore. Although Gore currently has the advantage over Kevan Barlow, I am not convinced that his two surgically repaired knees can withstand a full workload, not to mention he plays for a team that is likely to be playing from behind quite often.
Round Five
49. Javon Walker
50. Cedric Benson
51. Dominic Rhodes
52. T.J. Houshmandzadeh
53. Jeff – Carson Palmer
54. Dalton – Laurence Maroney
55. Tom Brady
56. Matt Hasselbeck
57. Robby – Joey Galloway
58. Joe Horn
59. Tony Gonzalez
60. Marc Bulger
Dalton Says: I would have gladly taken either Walker or Houshmandzadeh if they fell to me, but I was left with uninspiring WR options instead. I went with Maroney, a pretty big risk for a fifth rounder. In Addai and Maroney, I have quite a bit of upside mixed with a reality of current backups. I may have a hard time winning games in the beginning of the season, but man, did you see Maroney’s first game as a pro? Dude looked like a future star.
Best Pick(s): If Walker’s healthy come fantasy playoff time, watch out (at SD, at Ari, Cincy). Same goes for Palmer. I’m big on Bulger as well. Some great value at QB this round.
Worst Pick: Considering I’m banking on Addai unseating Rhodes sooner rather than later, I’ll go with Rhodes.
Robby Says: I was targeting Laurence Maroney this round, as I think he should unseat Corey Dillon pretty quickly. Dalton stealing him from me ranks right up there with Talladega Nights as my biggest disappointment of the last week. I’m seriously thinking I should’ve taken Chambers/Maroney in the fourth instead of Bell/Driver. Oh well, hopefully Joey Galloway still has some gas left in the tank after last season.
Best Pick: Maroney and Carson Palmer/Tom Brady, two guys going a round or two earlier in most other drafts.
Worst Pick: Nothing too egregious, although I’m not too high on Joe Horn’s comeback.
Jeff says: I did not think Brady or Palmer would last this long, and I had the opportunity to draft either one. No coin flip necessary though; I like the reports of Carson’s rehab and his upside entices me more so than Brady. It doesn’t hurt having Chad Johnson and TJ Houshyourmama to throw to either.
Best Pick(s): Palmer and Brady. Great value for top tier QBs.
Worst pick: I can’t hate on anything in this round. I probably would have steered away from Tony Gonzalez, due to the Chiefs’ problems on the offensive line.
Round Six
61. Alge Crumpler
62. Donovan McNabb
63. LenDale White
64. Robby – Nate Burleson
65. Mike Bell
66. Todd Heap
67. Dalton – Eli Manning
68. Robby – Greg Jones
69. Kurt Warner
70. Deuce McAllister
71. Jake Delhomme
72. DeAngelo Williams
Dalton Says: I usually like to wait on QBs, but this felt like the right time to go after one, as I believe Eli will make the leap this year. I better hope so, considering I have both him and teammate Burress on my team. I thought about drafting DeAngelo Williams and completing the rookie trio of Addai, Maroney and Williams, but decided to pass.
Best Pick: McNabb is healthy and has something to prove. Although losing T.O. is obviously a minus, look for McNabb to reestablish himself as one of the NFL’s best signal callers this year. Don’t underestimate just how debilitating that sports hernia was.
Worst Pick: I always liked LenDale White at USC, but I also felt the same way about Mike Williams. Slow, fat and lazy is no way to go through life.
Robby Says: I was pretty pleased to grab Burleson, who should be a major piece of a high-powered offense regardless of Darrell Jackson’s health. I’m buying the Greg Jones hype. Plus, watching the monster hit he put on Dexter Reid is way more fun when you own the guy.
Best Pick: Todd Heap. The more I think about it, the more I think Heap has a very good shot at being the second best fantasy tight end this season.
Worst Pick: Deuce McAllister. Not a terrible pick until you realize that this team already has taken four running backs. Umm, what?
Jeff Says: Once again, I sit back on the couch and check out the Bengals-‘Skins game. Chad Johnson better stick with the Wesley Snipes look from “Demolition Man.”
Best pick: Mike Bell. With mostly post-injury backs available (McAllister, Ahman Green), Mike Bell presented the most potential among the remaining RBs. Do I think he will be the top dog in Denver? No, but like Tatum Bell, Mike can be useful with 12-15 touches, with the potential for goal line carries.
Worst Pick(s): Alge Crumpler, Deuce McAllister. Reports out of Atlanta indicate that Crump is battling multiple injuries. I would have gone with Cooley instead. I think Deuce will have plenty of looks at the stripe this year, but five running backs in a row? Either this guy is on drugs, or he has plans to trade some of these backs for value players.
Leave a Reply