I entered the 2007 MFL Draft with the idea that I wasn't going to draft a quarterback until the eighth round (that's the fifth round in our draft, since our 12 teams protect a total of 36 players) and that I wasn't going to pussyfoot around with a bunch of "next-year" theorizing. I wanted players who could contribute, now, and that includes kickers and defenses.
Here's my round-by-round review:
Rules: Only actual points scored in NFL games count, EXCEPT for touchdown passes, which receive four points. Each team may start a QB, two RBs, two WRs, one TE, a kicker and a defense. There is no flex position. There are 12 teams, and just 14 roster spots per team. Each team is allotted three protected slots, but slots may be traded.
Protected players:
CHARLESTON SNOBS: Lawrence Maroney, Cedric Benson, and Javon Walker
Team 2: Marion Barber and Edgerrin James
Team 3: Clinton Portis, Marvin Harrison and Randy Moss
Team 4: Matt Leinart, Larry Fitzgerald and Lee Evans
Team 5: Brian Westbrook and Terrell Owens
Team 6: Drew Brees, Shawn Alexander and Brandon Jacobs
Team 7: Donovan McNabb, Steven Jackson and Travis Henry
Team 8: Peyton Manning, Frank Gore, Joseph Addai and Antonio Gates
Team 9: Willis McGahee, Tom Brady
Team 10: Rudi Johnson, LaDanian Tomlinson, Steve Smith, Chad Johnson
Team 11: Vince Young, Maurice Jones-Drew, Reggie Bush
Team 12: Carson Palmer, Reggie Wayne, Larry Johnson and Willie Parker
A few of these players probably don't belong in the Top 36 -- Matt Leinart, Vince Young and Edgerrin James come to mind -- but it's a pretty good list. My protected RBs are long on potential but -- so far in their careers -- short on production. I'm quite high on Walker.
First round
- RB Adrian Peterson
- WR Torry Holt
- RB Marshawn Lynch
- RB Thomas Jones
- RB Ronnie Brown
- WR Roy Williams
- QB Marc Bulger
- WR Calvin Johnson
- RB Deuce McAllister
- RB Cadillac Williams
- WR Marques Colston
- RB Brandon Jackson
Thanks to two years of patient dealing, I entered the 2007 draft with the enviable position of owning the first and second picks overall. Picking Adrian Peterson was a no-brainer in our league, considering that 19 running back were already protected. If he stays healthy, he could be the foundation of my team for the next three or four years.
The second pick boiled down to either Torry Holt or Roy Williams, whom I consider to be a little under-rated. I flipped a coin. It came up Holt. I would have been happy with either.
So while my protected list wasn't inspiring, I came out of the first round with two No. 2 RBs with upside, plus the top rookie prospect. The strength of my team should be at WR, where I've got two decent No. 1 WRs to start the season.
I actually thought this was one of our saner first rounds. I'm not crazy about Cadillac as the 45th player off the board, but you know -- could happen. And the Brandon Jackson pick works because in a league like ours, you have to over-pay to get a shot at a rookie RB who starts.
Good: Adrian Peterson
Bad: Brandon Jackson
Weird: Flipping a coin for the No. 2 pick.
Second round
- WR TJ Housmandzadeh
- WR Andre Johnson
- RB DeAngelo Williams
- WR Reggie Brown
- RB Jamal Lewis
- QB Matt Hasselbeck
- RB Julius Jones
- WR Anquan Boldin
- RB DeShaun Foster
- QB Phillip Rivers
- TE Vernon Davis
- WR Donald Driver
Since I entered this draft intending to go with the QB Platoon Theory and was three-deep at RB and happy with my two WRs by the end of the first round, I saw the second as an opportunity to go after a difference-making tight end. Davis isn't typically going until the 7th round (third in our system), but since I didn't have a third-round pick, it was 11th in the second or not at all. The selection caused one owner to toss things: His draft strategy involved "stealing" Davis in the third.
Typical, our second round is a great place to pick up talent, but this year I was underwhelmed. I really like Andre Johnson, but most of the other players have more question marks than I like this high. Plus there wasn't a WR who went in the third that I would have traded for Davis. In fact, my only difficulty in picking Davis was that I like Chris Cooley almost as much.
As it worked out, waiting for a QB (the obvious selection in this round) turned out quite nicely for me.
I like RB Foster quite a bit, but he went in the equivalent of the 5th round when he's typically being drafted late in the 8th. That one was a surprise.
Good: Andre Johnson
Bad: Donald Driver. He's all hurt-up.
Weird: DeShaun Foster. Three rounds ahead of his ADP?
Third round
- TE Jeremy Shockey
- RB TJ Duckett
- DT Chicago Bears
- RB Tatum Bell
- TE Todd Heap
- WR Plaxico Burress
- RB Chris Henry
- WR Hines Ward
- RB Michael Turner
- WR Dante Stallworth
- TE Chris Cooley
- RB Ladell Betts
My selection of Davis started a mini run on TEs. Laugh at the Bears selection if you wish, but they're the only defense I would have considered in the 4th. In our league they outscored most No. 2 running backs last season. The Chris Henry pick was an enormous reach, but the Michael Turner pick paid dividends immediately: the smart owner who drafted him has already traded Turner for a second-round pick in 2008.
Good: Chris Cooley
Bad: TJ Duckett
Weird: Chris Henry.
Fourth round
- WR Laveranues Coles
- RB Jerious Norwood
- RB Kevin Jones
- WR Vincent Jackson
- QB Tony Romo
- PK Adam Vinatieri
- WR Santana Moss
- WR Deon Branch
- WR Jerricho Cotchery
- RB Ahman Green
- PK Nate Kaeding
- WR Bernard Berrian
Good: Vincent Jackson
Bad: None.
The player I had on my list for this round was Vincent Jackson, who paid off for me nicely down the stretch in 2006. When he went the pick ahead of mine, I departed from my QB strategy and picked up Tony Romo, who had dropped a full two rounds from his ADP. My choice was between Romo and Cutler, and I decided Romo was the most likely to put up good numbers in 2007, though Cutler is a great long-term pick.
Had Ahman Green been available at the No. 11 I'd have taken him with my second 4th rounder, but when that didn't turn out I decided to focus on building a roster rather than stockpiling depth. So I went with my "safe" kicker, Nate Kaeding.
Kaeding finished second among kickers in 2006 in a year when he kicked 58 extra points. Turn a few of those into field goal attempts, and you'll understand why I like his chances to be the No. 1 guy at his position. Yes, Robbie Gould was still on the board, but I decided I really didn't want to put all my eggs in the Bears basket (I had Cedric Benson and every intention of drafting Rex Grossman).
The 8th round is generally considered too high for kicker picks, but you've got to draft according to your league rules. With only actual scores counting in our system, kickers are far more important than they are in yardage leagues.
Fifth round
- TE Kellan Winslow
- DT San Diego Chargers
- PK Robbie Gould
- QB Jay Cutler
- TE Tony Gonzalez
- QB Eli Manning
- WR Darrell Jackson
- RB Warrick Dunn
- WR Braylon Edwards
- PK Jeff Wilkins
- WR Mark Clayton
- RB Lamont Jordan
By selecting my defense in this round I was clearly taking a risk at wide receiver depth. However, none of the players drafted in the fifth round struck me as crucial to my 2007 season, and I ranked the Chargers as one of only three defenses worth drafting in a basic-scoring league, bumping them above the Ravens based on my assessment of KR Darren Sproles. I think he's good for at least two return TDs this year, and if the Chargers defense gets just a couple more scores on defense than they did last year, I'll be quite satisfied with this one.
Realistically, the choice cost me RB Lamont Jordan, and he would have only started for me if I had injury problems.
Sixth round
- PK Shane Graham
- RB Vernon Morency
- RB Lendale White
- WR Ronald Curry
- QB Brett Favre
- WR Chris Chambers
- RB Chester Taylor
- WR Joey Galloway
- DT Baltimore Ravens
- WR Kevin Curtis
- RB Fred Taylor
- WR Brandon Jones
Given the fact that my three RBs (Maroney, Benson and Peterson) are all unproven guys with injury histories, I felt I needed to get a legitimate No. 4. After missing on Ahman Green and passing on Lamont Jordan, I knew there was only one legitimate RB prospect left: Fred Taylor, who despite all the hype remains the 1A starter in the Jaguars RBBC. I was also afraid he wouldn't last until the 11th pick, so I tried to trade into the round but got no takers. When Chester Taylor went at No. 7 I got even more nervous, since he was my fallback.
That Taylor was available this late was really just a stroke of luck for me. He had almost 1,400 combined yards in 2006 and six TDs. Not bad for a guy in the equivalent of the 9th round.
Good: Fred Taylor
Bad: Vernon Morency
Seventh round
- DT New England Patriots
- QB Rex Grossman
- QB Jon Kitna
- QB Jeff Garcia
- TE Owen Daniels
- WR Terry Glenn
- QB Jake Delhomme
- WR Santonio Holmes
- WR LJ Smith
- WR DJ Hacett
- WR Muhsin Muhammad
- QB Ben Roethlisberger
All my analysis of ADP data suggested that the 7th round (10th in other systems) would be the key to my draft. I entered it with two picks and a willingness to deal a 2008 pick to acquire a third selection if enough of my targeted players were available.
I'd hoped to emerge from the round with Rex Grossman and Santonio Holmes, and both were considerations in my earlier decisions. I think Grossman will put up low No. 1 fantasy QB numbers this year, and platooning him should help out with his occasional duds. I think Holmes will be a decent play as a No. 3 or 4 fill-in, and I liked him enough after the preseason to pass on bigger names. My third targeted player, if he was there: Ben Roethlisberger.
But like the Romo pick in the 4th, Jon Kitna was just too valuable to pass up at the top of the seventh, so I traded for the No. 3 spot (giving up my sixth rounder next year to acquire it) and picked Grossman and Kitna back-to-back. This one really got a reaction, from my buddy Andy who was also trying to trade up to get Kitna, to my rival Chris, who was shocked that Grossman even got drafted (to be fair, Chris is an idiot, bless his heart).
Drafting Kitna meant passing on Roethlisberger, who's going to have a good year. But it's hard to look at Kitna's 2006 numbers and 2007 weapons and not at least take a chance on the guy. Result? I'm going to be platooning in 2007 with guys who are actually stand-alone starter types. And that feels pretty encouraging.
Good: Jon Kitna
Bad: Jeff Garcia
Eighth round
- RB Brian Leonard
- RB Rueben Droughns
- PK Neil Rackers
- QB Daunte Culpepper
- RB Michael Robinson
- PK Jason Elam
- TE Ben Watson
- RB Tony Hunt
- PK Olindo Mare
- WR Dwayne Jarrett
- WR Matt Jones
- QB Joey Harrington
I sat out the 8th, but there were players I'd have loved to acquire in this group: Brian Leonard, Neil Rackers and Tony Hunt are all really nice pickups. Everything I see tells me Leonard is going to be a quality NFL player for a long time.
I used the round to work a deal that sent my last two picks (10th and 11th) to a team without enough picks to complete a roster (I got a 2008 8th rounder in exchange).
Good: Neil Rackers
Bad: Matt Jones
Ninth round
- WR Joe Horn
- QB Alex Smith
- QB Brady Quinn
- RB Michael Bush
- RB Greg Jones
- RB Anthony Thomas
- QB Trent Green
- TE Jason Witten
- WR Devery Henderson
- WR Jerry Porter
- TE Heath Miller
- TE Dallas Clark
I considered taking WR Devin Hester at this spot, but with WRs reliably plentiful and hard to distinguish statistically, I looked around for a QB, TE or RB with a good chance of having a breakout season. From remaining players, only Alex Smith of the 49ers fit that criteria. I think he's capable of putting up starter numbers this year, and he played so well in stretches last year that I was able to trade him for a pick.He'll be better this year.
Jason Witten and Dallas Clark would have been nice picks, too, but in a basic scoring league, a tight end who doesn't score at least seven times is just kinda background music.
Good: Devery Henderson
Bad: Trent Green. Why bother?
Weird: Brady Quinn. It was a homer call.
Tenth round
- DT Pittsburgh Steelers
- DT Denver Broncos
- WR Mike Furrey
- QB Tarvaris Jackson
- TE Randy McMichael
- TE Marcus Pollard
- WR Greg Jenning
- WR Brendan Marshall
- PK David Akers
- RB Adrian Peterson (Chi)
- WR Chris Henry
- PK Josh Brown
Good: Brendan Marshall
Bad: Marcus Pollard
Weird: Chris Henry, who is suspended for half the season. However,
under our current rules, Henry won't count as a roster spot until he
comes off suspension, so he makes sense as a second-half player. Nice
pick.
I didn't get the 11th (and final) round written down. But really, at this point everybody is just guessing.
My resulting roster
QBs: Tony Romo, Rex Grossman, Jon Kitna, Alex Smith
RBs: Laurence Maroney, Cedric Benson, Adrian Peterson, Fred Taylor
WRs: Javon Walker, Torry Holt, Santonio Holmes
TE: Vernon Davis
PK: Nate Kaeding
DST: San Diego Chargers
What I think it means:
I'm deep at QB, which is comforting and potentially profitable, particularly if the position suffers its usual rash of injuries in September. The RBs have potential to be good, but will probably just be OK. My WRs are good, but I need another. Maybe a QB trade? And then I'm strong at TE, PK and DT.
I'd probably rank my team third or fourth to start the season, with potential to surprise and move up.
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