NFL.com has put together a 12-team fantasy football mock draft for the 2008 season. Fantastic! I'm going to spend the next week or so taking apart the first two rounds. Keep in mind these are my pre-NFL Draft views: I reserve the right to change my mind after the Draft.
My baseball drafts are over; it's time to get back to football where I belong. I should probably stretch first though, it's been a while...
OK, here we go.
#1 LaDanian Tomlinson, RB, SD - I guess you have to go with him at #1 for now, though I wouldn't say he's an absolute lock for that position. He should produce at 2007 levels (~1400 rush yds, ~15 TDs) as opposed to his insane 2006 production of 1815 rush yds and 28 TDs. Don't draft him assuming 2007 was a "down" year.
#2 Adrian Peterson, RB, Min - This is the first time (but not the last time) that I say this: there is no freaking way Peterson is the #2 overall pick. No. Way. Peterson had seven games with 70 or fewer rushing yards, with a total of 3 touchdowns in those seven games. In weeks 7 through 10 he finished with 63, 70, 296 and 45 yards respectively. An average of 118 rush yards per week blows your mind, but with that production your team is probably 1-3 over that period. Peterson is too inconsistent at this point in his career to be worth the #2 slot.
#3 Tom Brady, QB, NE - This is why most FFL mock drafts and rankings are useless, because differences in scoring rules between leagues are so important. Depending on your league scoring, Brady may or may not be worth the #3 slot. For example, if your league awards 1 pt per 20 pass yds and 6 pts per pass TD, then Brady's 2007 stats (4806 yds, 50 TD) would've been worth more than TWO LaDanian Tomlinsons last year. If your league awards 1 pt per 25 pass yds and 4 pts per pass TD, then he would be worth 27% less. In a league like the first example, Brady would be the first pick overall. In the latter example, he might be worth #5 or #6. No matter how your league scores QBs, expect a drop from last year's production.