Going For The Repeat! Here's My Draft

Alright, it's the moment I know you've all been waiting for, where I actually put to use all of the purported "knowledge" I dribble out in these threads. I was a little concerned about the CJ2K developments coming into this draft, as I was picking 7th, and really didn't want CJ to drop to me and force me to reconsider my plan. Fortunately, he went 5th, and everything fell into place. I've never left a draft quite so satisfied, and this team and I spent the rest of the weekend whispering sweet nothings to each other in the darkened corners of the beach house, sipping cocktails and preparing for a lovely and profitable 6-month affair. Here she is, in all the glory of her drafted order (12-team, basically standard scoring, but rushing/receiving 25yds/pt and passing 50yds/pt):

Rd.                                Player                              Position

1                            LeSean McCoy                          RB

2                            Roddy White                              WR

3                            LeGarrette Blount                     RB

4                            Mike Williams                            WR

5                            Beanie Wells                             RB

6                            Matt Stafford                               QB

7                            Steve Johnson                           WR

8                            Owen Daniels                            TE

9                            Ryan Fitzpatrick                         QB

10                         Johnathan Stewart                   RB

11                         Michael Crabtree                      WR

12                         Cowboys                                    DST

13                         Thomas Jones                         RB

14                         Matt Bryant                                  K

15                         Donovan McNabb                     QB

16                         Toby Gerhart                              RB

Analysis: I wanted McCoy in the first round, and kind of knew everything was going to be fine when he was there for me. Our first 7 picks went pretty much around expected, with one exception: AP, Ray Rice, Jamaal Charles, Arian Foster, Chris Johnson, and then Andre Johnson, which left McCoy for me. Blount is a guy I've been high on, and he's starting to catch the ball out of the backfield, which could be huge, so getting him in the 3rd is just about the right value for me.Beanie Wells in the 5th is a pick I don't absolutely love, but Ingram and Best were picked directly ahead of me, and I knew I wanted my RB3 to be a guy with a sole-starter job, and he's looked decent in preseason. Plus, Johnathan Stewart in the 10th is a monster value, IMO, who could put up starter's numbers here and there. Thomas Jones is another pick kind of like that, though his upside is considerably lower, unless Charles gets hurt. Gerhart doesn't need much said about him. If AP goes down, I trade him. That's about it.

I knew that I wanted two top WRs, as the field thins quickly after the loaded top two tiers, and I am thrilled with White and Williams, and Steve Johnson is just a huge-upside bonus at WR3.Crabtree in the 11th may have been a low-value pick there, but Amendola had just come off the board, and another WR wasn't picked by anyone until Malcolm Floyd more than 2 full rounds later. As a WR4, I like Crabtree's upside, and I'm hoping to never really need him.

I knew I was going to wait on QB, but a little 2nd-tier run started early, and Stafford wasn't my top choice, but he's been absolutely stellar in preseason; I just have to back him up well in case of injury. So Fitzpatrick has shown great skills, and McNabb could be in line for a Favre-like near-final season in Minnesota, especially if Bernard Berrian can get back to performing at a high level.

I love Owen Daniels coming into this year, he looked like he was back in shape late last season and has looked good in preseason. He was my #2 TE target, but Jimmy Graham got taken a round before, so I still love the value there.

Cowboys' D has potential, but I really only have to start them for the first 3 weeks, until our FA wire opens and I can start streaming DSTs based on matchups.

Matt Bryant is a kicker.

I won this league last year, and have only missed the playoffs twice in 10 years, but this is the best draft I've had yet. I love my chances at a repeat, and if Stafford stays healthy the league has admitted I will be hard to beat. Now let's play some football!

PS. just because I'm seriously stroking my own team here doesn't mean I don't want opinions, criticism, laughs about how I actually did go with the loading up on one bye week strategy after saying it was untenable (week 8 is my gift to the league), etc. Let me have it.