This is the fourth year of this league. It's a bunch of listeners of a podcast about sports videogames, called 4th String, and the host of the show. I've actually run the league the past three years (which is a pain in the ass because people drop out every year and I have to find replacements). I even won the championship 2 out of 3 years ('08, '10 and got 3rd in '09).
Because this league 12 teams, not 20, the teams have a ton more depth.
So here's the entire draft. And here's who I ended up with:
Round 1; Pick #5 - Ray Rice (RB)
- I was pumped to have gotten the 5th pick. I've never had a top 5 pick in the league. I hoped Rice would fall to me, but wasn't sure it would happen due to uncertainty about a few of the other top players. If he'd have been taken I'd have probably gone with Andre Johnson or LeSean McCoy.
Round 2; Pick #20 - Vincent Jackson (WR)
- I was hopeful that Calvin Johnson (from now on referred to as Megatron, as fantasy owners know him) would be around, but he was taken 16th overall. Lame. I went with Jackson because he's a top-flight receiver and has Philip Rivers throwing to him (I despise Rivers, but they love to chuck the ball in San Diego).
Round 3; Pick #29 - Matt Forte (RB)
- This is the 1st time I had not drafted two top tier WRs. I was considering Steven Jackson, DeSean Jackson, and Forte with this pick. I was pleasantly surprised that both Jackson, Steven and Forte had fallen into the 3rd round. Luckily only one of the 3 guys I liked were left, so I had no decision to make. Forte at pick #29 is great value.
Round 4; Pick #44 - Jermichael Finley (TE)
- I might have been able to wait one more round to grab Finley, but I wanted to make sure I got him on my team. I think he'll have a huge year.
Round 5; Pick #53 - Brandon Lloyd (WR)
- I wanted to get my 2nd WR with this pick. Lloyd was the #1 receiver in fantasy last season, but he'd been a disappointment ever year prior; it's thought to be an aberration and this is why he's not being taken in the top 20. I really would've liked Kenny Britt to fall to this spot, but he was gone with pick #47.
Round 6; Pick #68 - Fred Jackson (RB)
- I wasn't looking for a particular position here. I would've liked Tim Hightower (#63), Brandon Marshall (#64), or Auquan Boldin (#65) just slightly more, but Jackson is a solid back-up RB (as long as C.J. Spiller doesn't cut into his touches).
Round 7; Pick #77 - Joseph Addai (RB)
- Mike Tolbert was taken at #72 and there wasn't anyone else I was too excited about at the time so I went with Addai. Like I wrote in my 20 team draft blog, he's a risk (less so because this isn't a 20 team league), but could payoff.
Round 8; Pick #92 - Willis McGahee (RB)
- This was my 3rd straight RB drafted. I'm not sure why I did this, but I like each of the guys I took and it gave me good depth at RB. McGahee is supposed to get the goal line touches in Denver and the Broncos new coach, John Fox likes to run the ball. Also, he's behind oft injured Knowshon Moreno and he could be the starter at some point.
Round 9; Pick #101 - Packers D/ST
- It's not the best idea to take D/STs before the later rounds because, statistically, it's hard to predict who the good defenses will be. However, the Packers are a great defense. They get after the QB and have an awesome secondary. I probably should've taken a WR here (I only had two at this point), but I wanted to own the Pack on at least one of my teams. I also would've considered Matt Stafford, but he was grabbed with pick #95.
Round 10; Pick #116 - Jacoby Ford (WR)
- It was going to be either Robert Meachem or Ford here. Probably Meachem, but he was taken with pick #111. The plan was take Meachem at #116 and Ford a round later at #125. Oh well.
Round 11; Pick #125 - Donovan McNabb (QB)
- Since the Meachem/Ford plan didn't work out, it became 'get a QB' time for me. I planned on taking another QB to pair with McNabb and just go with the better matchup. McNabb doesn't throw too many interceptions so his limited upside (the Vikings are a run-first team with Adrian Peterson) isn't a problem.
Round 12; Pick #140 - Davone Bess (WR)
- I needed a receiver and Davone Bess is a decent bye-week fill-in. He's a possession guy and could get you 60, 70 yards and maybe a TD on a given day.
Round 13; Pick #149 - Eric Decker (WR)
- I'll be honest, I'm looking at my picks and I don't know why I took Decker here. I think I was worried that he'd be drafted since there are a few Broncos fans in our league. Nate Burleson was taken with pick #145. If I remember correctly I wanted him, but I really didn't like any of the receivers 'rated' around this spot so I took Decker and his upside.
Round 14; Pick #164 - DeMarco Murray (RB)
- He's behind Felix Jones on the Cowboys depth chart, but Jones is frequently banged up; the rookie might see some substantial work at some point.
Round 15; Pick #173 - Colt McCoy (QB)
- I'm looking at my draft now and I know that I wanted McCoy as the other QB I would pair with McNabb, but I think that the Decker and McCoy picks should've been switched.
Round 16; Pick #188 - Matt Bryant (K)
- He's the Falcons' kicker. They'll score a lot of points. It stands to reason he will as well. When in doubt, draft the kicker with the good offense.
So that's my drafted team and here's the link to my current team, Quantum of Fila. Quantum of Solace came out the 1st year I joined and I thought it worked well with 'Fila' (which I wanted to incorporate into the name); and now I'm not getting rid of it because it's practically an institution (2 two time champ!).
I've owned Megatron the two years prior to this one and love having him on my team so I immediately worked a deal to get him. My first offer was declined, but he came back at me with Megatron and Jimmy Graham for Ray Rice. I already have Finley so I'm set at TE, but I'm going to trade Graham after someone gets hurt or if he blows up like I think he will.
I also made another trade that day. One of the teams was really hurting for WRs so I offered him Lloyd and Addai for Ahmad Bradshaw and Pierre Thomas. This is a completely even trade. I needed to fill the Ray Rice-void on my team and having Megatron made Lloyd perfect trade bait.
I prefer how my team is constructed now more than the way it was just following the draft.
"Start the Commotion" - The Wiseguys
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