I participated in my 1st mock draft of the fantasy football season at Mock Draft Central this morning. The decision to do so was spur of the moment, and I barely had an idea of whch players I wanted later in the draft i.e. sleepers and who could be decent (800 yards) WRs to fill-out a couple of bench spots.
I selected third and hoped for Minnesota Vikings' RB Adrian Peterson to drop to me. Despite several touts claiming Philadelphia Eagles' Brian Westbrook as the second-best fantasy RB, Peterson was not available. Westbrook was, so I took him. Coming back, I decided to grab a top WR and see what was there in the third round.
Could this be the year Jacksonville RB Fred Taylor finally succumbs to age? My guess is it will be. I grabbed Maruice Jones-Drew on that hunch. What's the worst case scenario if it is wrong? 10 TDs?
The rest of my draft continued with a risk-taking/playing-hunches kind of draft. I'm not convinced it works, but I know it makes my initial team more interesting because it is filled with players I think will do well while not being a slave to the analytical side of a game, which frankly, doesn't lend itself well to the statisical measurements that baseball and basketball do.
Here is the team I drafted in my 1st go-round in prepping for the 2008 fantasy football season.
| Pick | OA | Pos | Name | Team | Bye |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | 3 | RB | Brian Westbrook | PHI | 7 |
| R2 | 17 | WR | Larry Fitzgerald | ARI | 7 |
| R3 | 23 | RB | Maurice Jones-Drew | JAX | 7 |
| R4 | 37 | QB | Drew Brees | NO | 9 |
| R5 | 43 | WR | Calvin Johnson | DET | 4 |
| R6 | 57 | WR | Lee Evans | BUF | 6 |
| R7 | 63 | TE | Jeremy Shockey | NO | 9 |
| R8 | 77 | RB | DeAngelo Williams | CAR | 9 |
| R9 | 83 | QB | Brett Favre | NYJ | 5 |
| R10 | 97 | WR | Patrick Crayton | DAL | 10 |
| R11 | 103 | RB | Chris Johnson | TEN | 6 |
| R12 | 117 | WR | Devin Hester | CHI | 8 |
| R13 | 123 | WR | Robert Meachem | NO | 9 |
| R14 | 137 | K | Phil Dawson | CLE | 5 |
| R15 | 143 | DEF | Tennessee Titans | TEN | 6 |