For a recap of rounds 1-4, click here.
ROUND FIVE
49. Drew Brees
50. Jerious Norwood
51. Andre Johnson (Robby)
52. Brandon Jackson
53. Calvin Johnson (DDD)
54. LaMont Jordan
55. DeAngelo Williams
56. Marc Bulger
57. Laveranues Coles
58. Darrell Jackson
59. Marion Barber (DDD)
60. Tony Gonzalez
Dalton Says
My Pick: I really preferred Brandon Jackson or Jerious Norwood here, especially after the precipitous drop off for WRs once Andre Johnson was off the board. I love Johnson’s ability, but I hate the risk of drafting a rookie WR so early. The way I see it, if Mike Furrey can catch 100 balls in this offense, Johnson should be good for at least WR3 type numbers. Detroit has a terrible defense and ran the ball the fewest times of any team in the NFL last year. With a downgrade to Tatum Bell, expect the team to be even more pass-happy this season. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Johnson is a consensus second round pick next year.
Best Pick: It pains me, but I’m going with Robby’s pick of Andre Johnson. With Matt Schaub looking like an appreciable upgrade at QB, finally Houston can utilize their best playmaker downfield. This was a steal at this point of the draft.
Worst Pick: Tony Gonzalez was taken too early, but I have zero faith in LaMont Jordan.
Robby Says
My Pick: ‘Dre Johnson, the last of the high-level WRs, slipped into the 5th round, and I was absolutely ecstatic to be able to take him.
Best Pick: “Hey yo ‘Dre drop the verse!” Brandon Jackson is looking more and more like a great flex guy.
Worst Pick: Tony G is the obvious choice. I don’t think D-Jax is going to do a ton this year either.
ROUND SIX
61. Fred Taylor
62. Donovan McNabb
63. Chicago Bears D
64. Santana Moss
65. Hines Ward
66. Vernon Davis
67. Ahman Green
68. Braylon Edwards
69. Chris Cooley
70. Tony Romo (Robby)
71. Joey Galloway
72. Julius Jones
Dalton Says
My Pick: I ended up trading my sixth and seventh round picks for someone’s fifth and eighth rounders, and I selected Marion Barber in the previous round. Part of the trade stipulated me not taking Donovan McNabb, whom I would have otherwise. Instead, I rolled the dice on someone typically going too high in fantasy leagues. Considering Julius Jones is slated to start, it’s definitely a risk. But Dallas looks like an improved team, and Barber is going to get all of the goal-line work. He’s also the superior running back, so I’m hoping talent wins out in the end. He’s one of the toughest ballcarriers to tackle in the game today.
Best Pick: Donovan McNabb, but the Bears’ D also makes sense with our scoring format.
Worst Pick: I try to make a point of not drafting people who were alive when World War II started, so I would have passed on Joey Galloway.
Robby Says
My Pick: No RBs or WRs jumped out at me, so I grabbed Tony Romo, the highest-ranked QB left on my board.
Best Pick: McNabb could be a monster; that was definitely a better value pick than Romo. Julius Jones looks like a better value than Marion Barber to me.
Worst Pick: There was nothing too egregious. I like Vernon Davis, but he probably would have been around at least a round or two later.
ROUND SEVEN
73. Baltimore Ravens D
74. Ladell Betts
75. Matt Hasselbeck (Robby)
76. Ben Roethlisberger
77. San Diego Chargers D
78. Jeremy Shockey
79. Tatum Bell
80. New England Patriots D
81. Chester Taylor
82. Philip Rivers
83. Jon Kitna
84. Mark Clayton
Dalton Says
My Pick: Since my Marion Barber selection, a shocking six QBs fly off the board, something I did not anticipate. Some of my favorite targets like Tony Romo, Ben Roethlisberger, Jon Kitna and Philip Rivers went much earlier than I ever expected. My trade looks worse.
Best Pick: Ladell Betts has the most upside of this group, but I’m going with Big Ben here. Robby will rue the day he passed him over for Matt Hasselbeck.
Worst Pick: Nothing too terrible, but Chester Taylor won’t be appearing on any of my fantasy rosters this season.
Robby Says
My Pick: While the normally brilliant Gregg Rosenthal over at Rotoworld.com has been advocating waiting on drafting a second QB if you get a good first one, I think a second QB is the most important bench spot in fantasy (unless you have Manning or Palmer). No other skill position varies more from week to week based on matchup, and mixing and matching two solid QBs can usually yield results similar to an elite signal-caller. Hasselbeck should bounce back with some solid numbers this year, and his schedule meshes well with Romo’s.
Best Pick: However, the more I think about it, the more I think Kitna was the best QB taken in this round. Damn you Joey! I liked all the defensive picks as well. Team defenses get points for yards allowed and points allowed and thus have significant value in our league.
Worst Pick: I think Rivers was the worst QB taken this round.
ROUND EIGHT
85. Pittsburgh Steelers D
86. Jay Cutler (DDD)
87. Todd Heap
88. Dallas Cowboys D
89. Kellen Winslow
90. Kevin Jones
91. LenDale White
92. Matt Leinart (DDD)
93. Santonio Holmes
94. Deion Branch (Robby)
95. Chris Chambers
96. Eli Manning
Dalton Says
My Pick: Normally I’m left with a top-10 QB option in Round 8 but not so this year. Still, I’m OK with Cutler as my QB1 – although I now have Travis Henry, Javon Walker and Cutler, so if the Broncos have a bad week offensively, I’m in trouble. Pairing him with Leinart with my second pick of the round made me feel a lot better, as hopefully both take major steps forward as sophomores.
Best Pick: Heap is pretty good value this late, especially when compared to when other TEs went.
Worst Pick: I’m fine with all of them, actually.
Robby Says
My Pick: I know Dalton isn’t a fan, but I think Deion Branch and his neon green gloves are going to put up some solid flex numbers against weaker opponents.
Best Pick: I kind of like Chris Chambers, AKA, the worst wide receiver in the history of the NFL to come back with a vengeance. Seriously.
Worst Pick: With no IR, I don’t want Kevin “Dead Weight” Jones languishing on my roster all year.
(Dalton’s Note: I’ve criticized Branch in the past, it’s true, but in Round 8, I’m all for it, especially with D.J. Hackett’s lackluster preseason.)
ROUND NINE
97. DeShaun Foster
98. Jacksonville Jaguars D
99. Denver Broncos D (Robby)
100. Philadelphia Eagles D
101. Mike Bell (DDD)
102. Jake Delhomme
103. Daunte Culpepper
104. Vernand Morency
105. Alge Crumpler
106. Ronald Curry
107. Vincent Jackson
108. Warrick Dunn
Dalton Says
My Pick: I waited long enough and had to take Bell here as Henry insurance. And now, in honor of Henry.
Best Pick: Vincent Jackson – hands down. Although I really like the Curry pick as well.
Worst Pick: Again, nothing jumps out at me for being too off. Culpepper will typically go later, but he could surprise in fantasy leagues, despite remaining turnover-prone.
Robby Says
My Pick: I had to grab a defense, and the Broncos were the best one in my book, although I was extremely tempted to draft Mike Bell and torture Dalton with Travis Henry knee jokes for the duration of the season.
Best Pick: Crump Diesel should be OK even without Vick. Good value pick.
Worst Pick: Vernand Morency. Yuck.
ROUND TEN
109. Bernard Berrian
110. Jerricho Cotchery
111. Minnesota Vikings D
112. Chris Brown
113. J.P. Losman
114. Alex Smith
115. Devery Henderson
116. Donte’ Stallworth (DDD)
117. Chris Henry
118. DJ Hackett (Robby)
119. Ben Watson
120. Terry Glenn
Dalton Says
My Pick: I was pretty excited to get Donte’ Stallworth here. He’ll no doubt miss a few games with a hamstring injury, but so will Randy Moss, and being the No. 1 option in NE’s passing attack should be pretty rewarding. The guy averaged a ridiculous 19.1 yards per catch last season.
Best Pick: Berrian was good value, Henderson has nice upside, and Watson is my favorite TE to target late.
Worst Pick: Chris Henry isn’t looking too good right now.
Robby Says
My Pick: DJ Hackett. I don’t think that I could’ve lived with myself if Hackett outperformed Branch on someone else’s team.
Best Pick: Well, I couldn’t make it through all ten rounds without giving Dalton some sort of kudos and, truth be told, I really wanted Stallworth. I think he has a pretty decent chance of outperforming Randy Moss this year.
Worst Pick: I’m not a big fan of the Alex Smith or Chris Henry picks
Final Rosters
Dalton’s Team:
QB – Matt Leinart, Jay Cutler
RB – Travis Henry, Brandon Jacobs, Marion Barber, Mike Bell, Leon Washington, Cecil Sapp
WR – Reggie Wayne, Javon Walker, Calvin Johnson, Donte’ Stallworth
TE – Jason Witten, Randy McMichael
K – Neil Rackers
Def – Green Bay, NYG, Tampa Bay
In hindsight, I would have been better off with a later draft pick since I was targeting Henry. Still, I’m happy with my squad. But it’s not without question marks, especially at the QB and Def spots. However, watch out for the emerging defensive unit in Green Bay, a sleeper to be sure. I’m a little shallow at WR, but it’s a pretty strong four at least. If one of Leon Washington, Marion Barber or Calvin Johnson pans out big, then I’ll be sitting pretty.
Robby’s Team:
QB – Tony Romo, Matt Hasselbeck, Matt Schaub, Jason Campbell
RB – Joey Addai, Edge James, Cadillac Williams
WR – Terrell Owens, ‘Dre Johnson, Deion Branch, DJ Hackett, Brandon Marshall, Patrick Crayton
TE – Owen Daniels
K – Olindo Mare
Def – Denver, Miami, Indianapolis
One thing that jumps out about my team is that 10 of my 18 players are quarterbacks or wide receivers. With three running backs entrenched as starters (albeit two of them are terrible), I decided to take late round gambles on wide receivers with upside instead of going the backup running back route. I’m hoping that Schaub or Campbell pan out and serve as trade bait for a team with less quarterback talent.
Miami’s defense plays three inept offenses during the weeks when Denver has a bye or plays against offensive juggernauts. The Colts defense has a home date with Houston during the fantasy Super Bowl and showed the most promise of the few remaining units late in the draft. I kind of dropped the ball with tight end, and I probably should have taken a proven guy in the eighth round instead of Deion Branch. However, I think Owen Daniels could really impress this year. I owned Olindo Mare during his record-breaking year (a long, long time ago) and have always had a soft spot for the little guy.
Leave a Reply