by Chris Mooney

Ok, one more draft down, one more to go. I had the #2 pick on my last draft which I wrote about. Since I had the #10 pick last night, I thought I’d write about my strategy for that and who I ended up with.

This is a 10 team league, PPR (Points Per Reception), and starts 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 K, 1 D

Here’s my team:

QB - Donovan McNabb, Matt Schaub
RB - Rudi Johnson, Laurence Maroney, Marshawn Lynch, LaMont Jordan, Julius Jones, Warrick Dunn
WR/TE - Andre Johnson, Lee Evans, Bernard Berrian, Bobby Wade, Vernon Davis, Brandon Marshall, James Jones
K - Neil Rackers
D - San Diego, Green Bay

Rounds 1 and 2 - I knew RB’s would fly off the board, but I knew I’d get two good ones with the 10th and 11th pick. In a PPR league I was not surprised to see Westbrook go 4th, but I was surprised that Reggie Bush went 8th and after Willie Parker (who went 7th). I was happy to get Rudi Johnson with the 10th pick and partner him with Maroney. Rudi’s backup, Kenny Irons, is out for the season and people say Rudi looks leaner and faster…and oh yeah, has improved his pass catching abilty. Maroney, in my mind, was the best RB available. I thought about taking a stud WR, but decided against it for Maroney’s upside if he can stay healthy. I figured some good WR would be available coming back to me.

Rounds 3 and 4 - Here’s where I knew I wanted to grab two good WR’s. I was pleasantly surprised that Andre Johnson made it to me. I think he’s going to have his best year yet. Schaub and Johnson seemed to have clicked right out of the gate. Here some WR’s drafted before Johnson that surprised me: Roy Williams, Javon Walker, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Marques Colston, Anquan Boldin. Anyway, I got Lee Evans with the first pick in the 4th round. I think he’s another that will post some good numbers and was the best WR available.

Round 5 and 6 - The top QB’s were taken ending with Jon Kitna being the last taken. McNabb was available at the end of the 5th round, so I took him. His knee makes we a little nervous, but he’s looked good so far and I think is a great value at the end of the 5th round. The first pick of the 6th round is where I wanted to target a 3rd RB. This is where I took Marshawn Lynch. The jury is still out on him, and people seem to be cooling their high expectations of him. He’s not a great back, but he’s my #3, he’s better than Anthony Thomas, and he’s a starter. That’s enough for me.

Rounds 7 and 8 - Gotta go get my #3 WR with the last pick in the 7th round. Well guess who fell to this Bears fan??? Yes, Bernard Berrian. This guy has a huge upside and can produce #1 WR like numbers. Some WR’s who went before Berrian were: Isaac Bruce, Chris Chambers, and Jericho Cotchery. I was thrilled to get Berrian, and this was not a “Homer” pick either. With the first pick in the 8th, again, looking for best available and you can never have enough RB, so I got LaMont Jordan. He’s looked pretty good, Dominic Rhodes is serving a 4 game suspension, and even in the preseason, Jordan has outplayed Rhodes. Could also be a steal and good trade bait.

Rounds 9 and 10 - Remember what I said about RB’s…can never have enough and if can get a starter in round 9 or later..take him! That’s what I did in drafting Julius Jones. Sure Marion Barber is there and will steal TD’s, but Jones is a viable back playing for a contract. I have no problem taking Jones as my #4 RB. For the first pick in the 10th round I took Bobby Wade. Sure the Vikings won’t score like the Colts, but Wade has distinguished himself as the #1 WR in Minnesota.

Rounds 11 through 18 - These rounds were spent filling up with the best available players along with my Defenses and Kicker. It finished like this:

11th - Warrick Dunn , 12th - Vernon Davis, 13th - Brandon Marshall, 14th - Chargers D, 15th - Neil Rackers, 16th - Matt Schaub, 17th - James Jones, and 18th - Green Bay’s D

Overall, I’m pleased with my draft. Every RB I drafted is a starter. Every WR I drafted, with the exception of rookies Brandon Marshall and James Jones, is or will end up as the #1 receiver on their team. McNabb is a bit risky, but if he stays healthy, he’ll give me a lot of points. If not, Schaub is a decent backup. (I bet the Falcons are kicking themselves now).