2012 Fantasy Football Draft Recap

With all 3 of my league drafts behind me, I thought I’d present to our readers the recap of my picks, and a couple notes about each one. It’s my hopes that this can lead to our 12th Men and Women to a more successful, and enjoyable draft weekend.

Let’s start with my San Diego League…

Team Name: Taste the Rainbow (12 Team Non-Keeper League)

Round 1 – (9th overall) – Matt Forte
– It’s always imperative to get yourself a good RB, or two, in the early rounds. With new WR additions in Chicago, the Bears will be able to implement a more balanced offense, which means Defenses can’t just key on Forte. Good for his owners!

Round 2 – (16th overall) – Steven Jackson
– As I noted above, RB is essential to success in Fantasy Football. With 2 RB spots, and a flex position, you’re possibly looking at starting 3 RBs. Getting them early is paramount. But don’t REACH!!

Round 3 – (33rd Overall) – Andre Johnson
– I find it quite the steal when 1 of the top 5 WR’s in the NFL is still on the board. Of course, questions about his health, and a run heavy offense saw him slide a bit. But I feel it’s a great WR1.

Round 4 – (40 Overall) – Hakeem Nicks
– As with Johnson, I went with value here. I addressed need at RB with my first 2 picks. Now let’s build some WR depth. An Andre Johnson/Hakeem Nicks combo can be deadly on a weekly basis.

Round 5 – (57th Overall) – Michael Vick
– It’s funny, the parody in Fantasy Football. Last season, this guys top 10, now I find him around 60. Of course, this pick is made with a bit of reluctance. Can he stay healthy for 16 games? Probably not, so if you do grab Vick, get a quality backup a little earlier than you may have anticipated doing so. If he stays healthy, you’ve got a monster at QB.

Round 6 – (64th Overall) – Reggie Bush
-Sometimes you’ll run into a pick where the answer isn’t so clear. Do I go WR? RB? There’s quality TE’s on the board…well, with a flex position still open, and the ability to start a 3rd RB, I felt that Bush had the biggest potential. I’m aware of concerns regarding Miami’s awful offensive output, but the only output they really have is Reggie Bush, and that can’t be bad for Fantasy Points.

Round 7 – (81st overall) – Kevin Smith
– While I was settled at RB in the starting slots, I felt that the to really have success, I would need depth at the position. Staring me in the face was Detroit’s starting RB. With LeShoure, and Best in the wings, and with a sketchy injury history, Smith wasn’t an easy sell. But at the end of the day, Week 1, he’s the starter. Not a bad 4th RB in my mind.

Round 8 – (88th Overall) – Fred Davis
– RB? Check. WR? Check. QB? Check. Staring at my starting slots I noticed a hole at TE. My philosophy has always been that if you can’t get one of the super TE’s (Gronk, Graham, Gates…etc), then it doesn’t hurt to let this position fall a bit in terms of the pecking order. But when Fred Davis is sitting there in the 8th round, it was hard to pass up. RG3 will be looking for him quite a bit as he acclimates himself to the NFL game.

Round 9 – (105th Overall) – Andrew Luck
– As I noted earlier, with Michael Vick as my starter it was important to grab a quality QB as a backup earlier than usual. I felt that QB would be Andrew Luck. His consistent performance in the preseason has him looking like a seasoned vet, and so I felt comfortable having him as my backup if Vick were to go down. Truth be told, I wouldn’t be surprised if by mid-season he’s my starter, and Vick is a big piece of trade bait. Hopeful, but possible…

Round 10 – (112th Overall) – Greg Little
– Pretty straightforward here. Little is Cleveland’s #1 WR. I need a WR3. All the other WR’s on the board are #2’s on their respective teams. Even with a conservative passing attack, and a rookie at the helm, Little is a huge piece of the pie in Cleveland, and he’ll get more targets than any on his team. I’m stoked for this 10th round find.

Round 11 – (129th overall) – Anquan Boldin
– As was with RB’s, I now needed to build WR depth. With Anquan Boldin staring me in the face, it was hard to pass him up. Baltimore is opening up it’s offense this year, so I expect Boldin to relish in the increased targets. A nice 11th round addition.

Round 12 – (136th Overall) – Alfred Morris
– By scouring the wire for up to date info, I read that Mike Shanahan has gone as far to saying that a young RB named Alfred Morris might be their Week 1 starter. Tim Hightower and Roy Helu are both injured, and Evan Royster seems to follow suit just about every week. So I figure, why not take a 12th round flier on an unheard of RB. Call it the ‘Arian Foster Effect’.

Round 13 – (153rd Overall) – Isaiah Pead
– You’ll consistently hear the word ‘handcuff’ in Fantasy Football, and for years I shied away from it. Little did I know it was a smart idea. Since I drafted Steven Jackson earlier in the draft, and he’s got miles on his tread, why not pick up his backup in the late rounds to help supplement an injury? Makes sense. If you have the ability to do so in your drafts, I would recommend it.

Round 14 – (160th Overall) – Sebastian Janikowski
– I was a bit amazed Se-Bas was still on the board. Most teams will draft Defense and Kicker last, and this is no different. However, Kickers like Se-Bas typically are reached for due to his overwhelming advantage over all the others. So to get him with the 2nd to last pick was a score.

Round 15 – (177th Overall) – Cincinnati Defense
– With all the top D’s off the board, one has to have a gut with their last pick. My feeling here was that the Bengals are young, and strong up front, and have Leon Hall and Terrence Newman in the back-end. They’ve consistently been one of the better Defenses in the AFC, so why not take a flier.

So there’s a brief recap of one Fantasy Draft. I’ll include my other 2 Draft results below, but without comment to save our valued readers from being bored to death by one writers take on 3 drafts. I hope they prove useful, and wish all our 12th Men and Women a successful, and competitive Fantasy Season. Good Luck!

Shoreline League – 12 Team Keeper League

Team Name : Beast Mode

1 (7) Marshawn Lynch (Keeper)
2 (19) Matt Forte
3 (30) Greg Jennings
4 (43) Peyton Manning
5 (54) Demariyus Thomas
6 (67) Jonathan Stewart
7 (78) DeAngelo Williams
8 (91) Seattle Defense
9 (102) Anquan Boldin
10 (115) Jacob Tamme
11 (126) Matt Schaub
12 (139) Alshon Jeffrey
13 (150) LaMichael James
14 (163) Robert Turbin
15 (174) Olindo Mare (Since Cut)

Apple Cup Mania – 14 Team Keeper League (Brutal!)

Team Name: Skittle Reign

1 (4) Darren McFadden
2 (25) Greg Jennings
3 (32) Reggie Bush
4 (53) Peyton Manning
5 (60) Marshawn Lynch (Keeper)
6 (81) Rashad Jennings
7 (88) Darius Heyward-Bey
8 (109) Toby Gerhart
9 (116) Seattle Defense
10 (137) Coby Fleener
11 (144) Sam Bradford
12 (165) Randy Moss
13 (172) Robert Turbin
14 (193) Steven Hauschka