10 team league, off line draft, I had the 7th pick.
QB (Start 1)
Michael Vick
Aaron Brooks
RB (Start 2)
Rudy Johnson
Willis McGahee
Ron Dayne
Mike Alstott
WR (Start 3)
Randy Moss
Rod Smith
Koren Robinson
Rod Gardner
Marty Booker
TE (Start 1)
Tony Gonzalez
Marcus Pollard
K (Start 1)
Jay Feeley
Jason Hanson
D (Start 1)
Carolina
Tennessee
Very, very good, I would say.
You did ok, although if I’m judging your draft a bit my guess is you blew your second pick.
Assuming you picked 7th, you probably had a decent RB left, but going for Moss is fine. But coming back around when you picked 14th, you either picked Rudi Johnson or Vick. In either case, it’s probably too high, but R. Johnson might be a good pick if that’s who you got. If you went for Vick at that position, way too high. If you got Vick as your third pick, that’s still iffy, only because there were probably safer QBs (Vick’s high risk, high reward) still available and I would’ve shored up my RBs.
Vick/Brooks is not bad, but both of them are hit and miss (Brooks is slightly injured btw), so it’s kinda hard to pick which one to start each week. You’re bigger problem is your RBs - McGahee and Dayne are both in a RBBC, and projected second-stringers anyway.
You have nice depth at WR.
Unless your league doesn’t allow waivers, in the future never draft two TEs or two Ks. Waste of roster space. On bye weeks you can always pick one up. Only top tier TEs and Ks are worth worrying about, otherwise they’re basically all the same. Better to have drafted a third QB (like taken a risk on Carson Palmer or Eli Manning) or a rookie RB (I’m sure Kevin Jones etc were all picked, but how about Tatum Bell?).
What I would do right now is two things:
immediately look at the waiver wire and see if you can pick up a sleeper RB/QB/WR. Drop your extra TE and K. Do it now.
Try to package Vick/Brooks and one of your WRs for a 2nd tier RB. You need better RBs.
But for your first draft not so bad, live and learn.
NOTE: Most of what I say above depends on your scoring system and what your starting roster is allowed to be.
Oh I see I missed your starting roster setup. In that case, trading a WR might be iffy, since you have to start 3. But see what you can do. If you can, trade Booker, since he’s now with Miami and Lord knows how they’re gonna pass this year.
Also, in my trade scenario, you will have to find another QB, whether thrown in in the trade or off the WW.
I’d also consider dropping your second D, for same reasons as listed above for TEs and Ks.
Upgrade your Offense!
btw - I do like your RBs, they are a nice selection. But you’ll feel safer with a known starter as a 2nd RB until Dayne/McGahee prove themselves.
Yeah, the RB spot is where I’m nervous, too. I figure RJ should be at least decent, and I picked up McGahee and Dayne in the 10th and 12th round (they seemed like steals, and I had the Lager courage perhaps). Alstott got picked up in the 15th (I figure I can steal a few goalline TD points from him. I don’t think I’ll be getting fat off of his yardage or carries).
I don’t have my list in front of me, but I think my order was something like Moss, Gonzalez, Vick, Johnson, Smith, Robinson, Brooks, Pollard, Gardner, McGahee, Feely, Dayne, Carolina, Booker, Alstott, Tennesee, and Hanson. Draft went 1–>10, then 10–>1, then 1–>10, etc.
Trading should be easy, especially after the first game. Half of the guys in the league get itchy to trade after the first quarter of the 1:00 game every week. The “propose trade” button is like crack to them. Fortunately, our drop/add period for the week is limited to from 8AM Tuesday, to 12 hours before the first game of the week. (Commish disallows any action outside of that window, unless it’s to cover a last minute injury. Last year, we had a leech pick up Anquan Boldin DURING his first big game, which drew wrath from about 8 other teams, hence the drop/add period). I think our roster freezes around week 12, to prevent roster dumps among the teams who don’t make our playoffs.
Thanks for the input, fellas. Hal, any word on your pool? Have I been missing e-mails? I got $35 burning a hole in my pocket, dude.
We’re still on…we still have seven slots open, but I’m expecting stragglers to fill them out by the end of the week. I have a few people who have said “if you can’t fill it out, let me know and I’ll join”, so I have them as backup. Still, I’d rather have people who are really into it, rather than “if I have to”.
If you know anyone else who may be interested, by all means, spread the link around. One way or another, it’ll be filled out and I’ll be sending out the final setup info at some point next week.
I’ve got to disagree. I think you made a few mistakes which are going to haunt your team.
You drafted Tony Gonzalez much too early. He’s the best available TE, but he’s definitely not worth a high second round pick – the thirteenth overall, no less! You likely could have picked him up in the 5th or later. This would have been an ideal spot to grab a stud RB.
You waited on RBs until the 4th round, and then took McGahee, Dayne, and Alstott. Generally speaking, RB is the most reliable and highest scoring position in a fantasy league, which is why a first round tends to contain only running backs (with Randy Moss making the occasional appearance). The key is to focus on how many points a player will get for you over the course of the year, and to look at how big of a drop there is from top players at that position. Hypothetically speaking, if a 1st round RB can get you 300 points over a season, but a 4th rounder can only get you 100 points, and a 1st round QB can get you 250 points and a 4th rounder gets you 200 points, it makes sense to target RBs early and fill in the other positions with average-to-good players later.
Vick is fun to watch but unreliable as a fantasy player. At that position, I prefer someone who’ll put up 250 yards and 2 TDs a week to someone who may get <100 yards and 2 picks, or a handful of rushing TDs. Favre, although old, is still a reliable fantasy producer and is often available late (or even as a free agent).
Basically, if I were matched up against you, I’d only worry about Moss and Gonzalez. There’s no one else on your team that looks like they can put up a good amount of points. (Rod Smith? Old, and with Sharpe gone, Lelie struggling, and Watts a rookie, there’s no one else to take the pressure off of him. Plummer isn’t going to be able to deliver the ball accurately enough. Koren Robinson’s a good second WR, Rod Gardner’s going downhill, and Marty Booker … well, given the trade, that’s all up in the air now.)
If I were you, I’d wait until after the first game and find someone unhappy with his stud RB and see if you can get a good deal. That’s the position I’d shore up immediately.
A couple thoughts from a recent fantasy football virgin:
[ul]
[li]1st pick: Moss. Eh, may have been a little early as Edge, Jamal Lewis, S. Alexander, or Harrison would have been available.[/li][li]2nd pick: Gonzalez. Too early. 3rd round at the earliest for a TE.[/li][li]3rd pick: Vick. A good pick in some eyes, a reach to others. Personally, I feel Vick is too inconsistent for a high round pick. I’d take Culpepper, Manning, or a top WR here.[/li][li]4th pick: Rudi Johnson. I’m surprised he lasted this long as he’s usually listed around the 12th RB and a 2nd round pick. A good pick for you, but tough as it’s your first RB.[/li][/ul]
A possible remedy is to drop Pollard & one of the kickers and pick up 2 RBs that may get a starting job. Tatum Bell, Mo Williams, Dorsey Levens (just signed with PHI), Garrison Hearst, Amos Zereoue, etc. If one of these guys gets a near-featured role then you’ll be okay at RB. As it stands now you’ll be getting 50 yds and 0 TDs each week from your #2 RB. Not good. Also, you may want to drop Alstott. The one good week he’ll have, he’ll be riding your bench. You’re better off taking a chance on a rookie starter. They may blossom into something whereas Alstott plods along getting marginal points.
You didn’t pick up your 2nd RB until Round 10?!? And someone who’ll be splitting carries and NOT getting the goalline carries?!?
Rule #1 of fantasy football is Runningbacks, runningbacks, runningbacks. You’re simply not going to win very many games with no stud RBs. You drafted a lot of potential, which is fine. But you don’t draft potential until you’ve drafted sure things.
To fix things, I’d trade both of your QBs off for upgrades at RB. Try to get someone like Bledsoe or Favre in return (older QBs who’ll still put up points).