 |
| "Pockets ain't empty, cuz. I gots me Sam Bradford." |
IN LESS THAN 80 MINUTES, the draft was over. It took us an average of 32 seconds per pick (we were given 90), meaning what could have taken up to 3 hours and 45 minutes was over in a little over an hour.
Going into the draft, there were several unanswered questions. In a league with two quarterback starters, who would tempt fate by waiting till late rounds to draft their second QB? Who would draw laughs by picking a kicker several rounds too early? Why are there two Steve Smiths? What the heck is a Fartsicle?
Well, we now know two out of four of those answers. That means it's time to put 90 seconds on the clock and do a fast and furious draft recap.
Biggest Steal: Kevin Kolb, Round 7 (Tom)
We'll know for sure after the season is over, but it could be Tom's drafting Kevin Kolb in the seventh round. Kolb was still on the board when Carson Palmer, Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb, Vince Young, and Matt Ryan were drafted. Kolb has some nice weapons in Philly, but his relative lack of pro-level experience apparently scared some other teams. Check back after Week 6 to see just how smart this pick was.
Honorable mention: Kyle Orton, Round 17 (Josh L.). Orton was the 14th-best fantasy QB last season, but he was the 28th QB taken in our draft. Yes, even Sam Bradford went before Orton.
Strangest Pick: Ryan Longwell, Round 9 (Josh L.)
Every year this award has to go to the first person who picked a kicker. I'll keep saying that until the year comes where everyone waits till the last round or two to pick a kicker. I'm guilty, too, since I picked mine in Round 13.
But Round 13 is at least double digits. Let's look at Round NINE where not one but two teams picked a kicker. The first to do so was Josh L., so he gets this year's "honor" after picking Ryan Longwell.
Longwell's average draft position on ESPN is 123rd, but Josh L. apparently was so concerned with his kicker that he picked Longwell at 85. For the record, Don's pick of Stephen Gostkowski at 87 is only slightly better. Gostkowski's average draft poisition is 118.
Of course, I'll be eating my words when I lose to Josh L. because Longwell explodes for 16 points (his season high last year) in a single week.
Best Top Two RBs: Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson (Aaron)
These two guys are pretty good. They finished second and fourth among fantasy RBs last season, and together they were responsible for an average of 30.8 points per game. Solid.
Not-So-Best Top Two RBs: Ricky Williams and Justin Forsett (Josh H.)
These two guys are just OK. Josh H., who has three really good receivers and (for some reason) two elite tight ends, waited till Round 8 to get his second running back. By that point, Josh L. was already deciding which kicker he wanted! Compare Aaron's top two backs to Josh H.'s top two, and you're looking at more than 10 points per game difference. That's huge, but Josh H. could more than make up for it in WR points. Or he could trade one of his two top TEs for a running back. The trading blocks are open, people!
Bye Week "Oops": Andrew and Josh H.
In a two-QB league where you only can have three QBs on your roster, it's important to make sure that none of your signal callers have the same bye week. Andrew, though, has two QBs with Week 9 byes: his No. 2, David Garrard, and his bench QB, Alex Smith. And Josh H.'s top two QBs, Peyton Manning and Matthew Stafford, both take a break in Week 7. In other words, look for Stafford and Smith on the waiver wires during those weeks.
That's it! All in all, it was a great draft with lots of different strategies for who to pick when. Nobody knows whose selections will reign supreme, though, until we play the games. So good luck!
