With the season right around the corner, FFNewsletter is bringing you our 1st annual fantasy predictions list. In this list we are going to
give you all our predictions with various awards for players and teams. Sit back and take our word for it, these are our bold predictions.
Rookie QB of the year:
Cam Newton, QB, Carolina Panthers
Rookie RB of the year:
Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints
Rookie WR of the year:
Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons
Rookie TE of the year:
Lance Kendricks, TE, St. Louis Rams
Rookie Fantasy player of the year:
Mark Ingram, RB, New Orleans Saints
Best fantasy QB:
Michael Vick, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
Biggest Surprise QB:
Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, Buffalo Bills
Biggest Bust QB:
Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears
Best fantasy RB:
Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings
Biggest Surprise RB:
Tim Hightower, RB, Washington Redskins
Biggest Bust RB:
Michael Turner, RB, Atlanta Falcons
Best fantasy WR:
Andre Johnson, WR, Houston Texans
Biggest Surprise WR:
Kenny Britt, WR, Tennessee Titans
Biggest Bust WR:
Miles Austin, WR, Dallas Cowboys
Best fantasy TE:
Antonio Gates, TE, San Diego Chargers
Biggest Surprise TE:
Owen Daniels, TE, Houston Texans
Biggest Bust TE:
Tony Gonzalez, TE, Atlanta Falcons
Most passing TDs:
Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots
Most rushing TDs:
Ray Rice, RB, Baltimore Ravens
Most receiving TDs:
Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions
Biggest sleeper player:
Tim Hightower, RB, Washington Redskins
Biggest bust player:
Michael Turner, RB, Atlanta Falcons
Most Valuable Fantasy Player:
Michael Vick, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
DRAFT RECAP |
OUR FAVORITE PICK
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SURPRISE PICK
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POSITION DOMINATED |
ROUND 1 |
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ROUND 2 |
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ROUND 3 |
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7 RUNNING BACKS |
ROUND 4 |
Jeremy Maclin |
Sidney Rice |
6 WIDE RECEIVERS |
ROUND 5 |
Percy Harvin |
Josh Freeman |
7 WIDE RECEIVERS |
ROUND 6 |
Jimmy Graham / James Starks |
Jimmy Graham / James Starks |
7 RUNNING BACKS |
ROUND 7 |
Matt Schaub |
Brandon Pettigrew |
4 RUNNING BACKS |
ROUND 8 |
Danny Woodhead |
Aaron Hernandez |
5 WIDE RECEIVERS |
ROUND 9 |
Jermaine Gresham |
Colt McCoy |
4 QUARTERBACKS |
ROUND 10 |
Pierre Thomas |
Matt Cassel |
6 RUNNING BACKS |
ROUND 11 |
Jacoby Ford |
T.O. |
4 WIDE RECEIVERS |
ROUND 12 |
Arrelious Benn |
Brandon Tate |
6 WIDE RECEIVERS |
ROUND 13 |
Jordan Shipley |
Tony Gonzalez |
5 WIDE RECEIVERS |
ROUND 14 |
Randy Moss |
Randy Moss |
6 WIDE RECEIVERS |
ROUND 15 |
Nate Burleson |
Jerome Harrison |
4 WIDE RECEIVERS |
ROUND 16 |
Blair White |
Josh Morgan |
4 KICKERS / 4 WIDE RECEIVERS |
ROUND 17 |
Keiland Williams |
Lex Hilliard |
8 RUNNING BACKS |
ROUND 18 |
Javarris James |
Vince Young |
3 RUNNING BACKS / 3 WIDE RECEIVERS |
ROUND 19 |
Seyi Ajirotutu |
Donald Driver |
9 WIDE RECEIVERS |
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Derrick Mason |
Joe Webb |
5 KICKERS |
ROUNDS 11-15
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In round 11 we saw FFNewsletter getting in the trenches and making a trade to move up to get Steve Smith, CAR. after drafting Montario Hardesty out of Cleveland. Now with two Steve Smiths on his team he talked about it over lunch stating the following: "I hate to say it, but one of these guys is going to shine this year. I have faith in both of their talents and its mind boggling how Mr.Carolina had such poor stats last year, I mean even with a poor quarterback, the WR1 should have more than 40 yards per game. We fully expect him to get back in sight of his 2009 numbers and could have gotten one of the steals of the draft as our 6th-7t WR. Hardesty was one of those young guys, where in a dynasty league - you have to pick up young talent. Missing the entire 2010 season was terrible for Hardesty and his owners but Peyton Hillis really ran out of gas towards the end of the season last year. I fully expect Montario to be a big part of the offense in 2011." Two defenses went in round 11 as the Packers went at 11.01 and the Jets were taken by Warriors with the 11.04 pick. Old-timer Terrell Owens also partook in round 11 drafting as Untouchable decided it was time to pull the trigger on old yeller. Owens had a very productive 2010 campaign and impressed most fantasy owners with what he still had to bring to the table. 1,000 yards and 9 touchdowns later he proved that he can still play. With the mess in Cincinnati and emerging WRs, how much room is there left for TO, which team will sign him this year and who will be throwing to him? A lot of questions surrounding him but the same was said last season and look what happened. Dustin Keller, Chris Cooley and Jared Cook got taken in round 11 at picks 6, 11 and 12. The other players taken in this round were Anthony Dixon, Mark Sanchez, Danny Amendola and Jacoby Ford - who we selected as our favorite pick of this round. Ford had some monsterous talent last season as he showed flashes of the type of player he could potentially be. He posted two big 100 yard games and can also run the ball as we saw when he took the handoff and ran it in for a 71 yard TD. As a multi-talented WR, there is room in Oakland for him to produce.
Moving on to round 12 of the 2011 Rookie Collection draft, we saw big Arrelious Benn get picked up by Beast Mode at 12.01, along with other receivers in Chad Johnson (12.03), Brandon Tate (12.04), Steve Breaston (12.08), Lance Moore (12.11), and Deion Branch (12.12). Of these WRs we like Breaston as a free agent if he can land in a place that will utilize him to his full abilities. While Deion Branch may be 32 the day before I turn 26, he still emerged as a big time threat last season with New England posting big numbres from weeks 10-14 including an 8 catch, 151 yard and 2 TD performance against the Bears. There were also 3 backs taken in Tim Hightower, Javon Ringer and LaDainian Tomlinson. The funny thing is none of these picks were handcuffs. Usually you will see the guys with Beanie, CJ2k and Shonn Greene take these players but they didn't go to those owners - this might stir up some trade talk between teams this offseason. We also had two QBs selected; Kyle Orton and David Garrard. You never know what your going to get with either of these qbs. They basically did total opposites last season as Orton started out hot and cooled off late while Garrard started off cold and heated up towards the end. Both are risky picks but could serve well as a bye-week fill in. However, in Logans case - possible starter at QB.
In rounds 13-15 we'll see a lot of 5,6,7th WRs taken and the start of some kickers. To highlight these rounds i've put rounds 13-15 into one paragraph to pick a few players out we have insight on. In round 13 we saw 5 receivers go and none have lost momentum more than Mike Sims-Walker after bursting onto the scene in 2009.
With a bigger 2010 planned, he had 300 less yards than his 2009 performance and is one of the most inconsitant receivers in the league. One week he will get you 150 and a touch, the next 3 catches for 26 yards. Its a headache having to deal with this guy on your roster from week to week. We also saw Tony Gonzalez go in round 13. The once stout TD machine from Kansas City has turned invisible and his numbers have steadily declined since 2008 when he caught 10 TDs, and so have his targets. While he had a couple good games last year, it was mostly 4 catches for 40 yards week in and week out. I would bury him in my TE depth at #3 if i were Warriors, and that looks like what will happen - he is carrying 5 of them on his roster.
Mark Clayton was picked in round 14 by Rosen after a stellar start to the 2010 season and a big injury that cost him dearly. Clayton was ranked among the top of the WRs within the first four weeks of the season in St.Louis after tearing his right patellar in week 5. Clayton was on his way to over 1200 yards at the pace he was going before the injury. That would have put him in the top 5 in receiving yards with company like Andre Johnson, Greg Jennings and Mike Wallace. Pretty amazing stuff and makes you wonder what may have been. The Rams are trying to sign Clayton to a cheap 1 or 2 year deal to hold onto him. If he can make it through rehab and back into NFL shape, it will be interesting to see how his story unfolds. Another WR that went in round 14 was none other than Randy Moss - who was seen taken in rounds 1-2 last year and my how the mighty have fallen. After the fiasco in NE, he went to his old stomping ground in Minnesota where everyone was thrilled to have him back. That didn't last very long as his mouth got in the way of his play. The Vikings released him and the Titans were the only ones that knocked on his door. After they signed him his stats were as follows for the rest of the season: 4 catches, 36 yards. Big risk pick here but could pay off if he finds himself somewhere that can not only get along with him but want to throw him the ball. Brent Celek. With Kyle drafting Owen Daniels early he decided he needed another TE just in case Daniels ends up in a bad situation or gets the case of the injury bug again. Celek was the best available TE to select in the 15th round and he was very happy with his selection: "Celek was up and down all year but found a comfort groove towards the end of the season. In week 16 he had a staggering 12 targets and caught 10 balls for 97 yards. Thats like a Jason Witten game. With Vick under center he can get the ball to anyone on the field whenver he wants and I think he is starting to rely on Celek more and more. I like the chances of Brent being able to match his 2009 contribution with 900 yards and 8 TDs."
Round 15 we are going to highlight Jacob Tamme. We all know the story - Clark goes down i week 6 and Tamme saves the day for the Colts and many many fantasy teams after they picked him up. From week 8 on, Peyton Manning had trust in Tamme to get the job done. And anyone that Mannig has trust in is usually going to get the ball and get it often. Tamme may not have been such a stud in non-ppr situtaions but at 7 catches a game, that is as good as a TD per game. Consider this guy to be a savior to many owners in PPR leagues including his 7 catch, 80 yard and a TD performance in Championship week 16 of the NFL. I don't expect Tamme to disappear at all from their gameplan, but they do have a ton of receivers to get the ball to in Indianapolis and if Clark has any type of setback, Logan has some huge trading bait all season long.
- ffnewsletter |
ROUNDS 8 - 10
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Some stand-out picks from round 8 were guys like Joe Flacco and Danny Woodhead. Flacco has all the weapons to put together some stellar seasons. He has underachieved to our standard as we were HUGE Flacco fans last season. We believe he has the talent to be a top 5 QB in this league one day. In a dynasty league half the battle is getting guys who will develop into or stay in superstar mode. Flacco still has a little ways to go for that. Owner Todd had this to say on Flacco : " I traded up to get into this position to take Flacco. I had him ranked 10th on my QB list and after him, I didn't really like any of the remaining QB's. His past two seasons have been very similar stats-wise. Averaging 3618 passing yards, 23 TD's passing, and 11 INTs. Not too shabby for my QB2. I'm now set at the postion and can focus elsewhere." Danny Woodhead surprised everyone last season as he dashed onto the scene in week two with 10 points. He ended up being a rather consistent back to fill a hole on any given week. He ended up with just under 1000 total yards and 6 TDs. He could be a sneaky pick in the 8th round with this being a PPR league. Tashard Choice got picked up by Beast Mode at the 10th pick in the 8th round. Choice has always seemed like the bridesmaid, never the bride. He has always been waiting in the weeds. He got the rock 19 times in week 13 against the colts and racked up 100 yards and a TD. (his season total in rushing was 223) If or when given the chance, Choice could start for many teams in the NFL. For now he is stuck behind Felix Jones in Dallas.
Round 9 brought us Rob Gronkowski who had one particular monsterous game in 2010 against the Steelers where he snapped up 3 TDs and 75 yards. With a total of 9 TDs compared to Aaron Hernandez's 6, he had become a large redzone target for Tom Brady. It's tough to pick these two apart and tell which one will flourish in the future and which one will fade into the background. Or will both players remain steady in their current roles? Matthew Stafford went at 9.02. "Stafford gets injured, we get it. But the fact of the matter is; he has all the weapons. From Best in the backfield to Pettigrew at TE and Burleson / Calvin Johnson combo on the outside. If he can stay healthy Matthew would have a good season." Brandon Jacobs's name was called at 9.08 by Pierce & Pierce. There have been rumors flying around that Coughin wanted to get the ball into Jacobs hands more often. He feels he has a lot more gas in the tank and not much wear on the tires. Not to mention, he is a hummer. Jermaine Gresham was a solid pickup by Beast Mode in round 9 with the 12th pick. He showed promise in 201 catching 9 balls for 85 yards and a TD against the Colts in week 10. As Gresham grows into the offense he will become a much larger playmaker and could top Cody's TE chart in a couple years. Todd on his Robert Meachem pick: " I really like Robert Meachem. He is only 26 years old, doesn't drop passes, plays in an explosive offense, and he's going to be the man in the bayou when Colston breaks down again."
In the 10th round we saw Pierre Thomas go with the 3rd pick and Emmanuel Sanders with the fourth. FFNewsletter was looking to pickup Thomas with this pick and Hail Mary later showed interest in Emmanuel Sanders. Maybe something can be worked out in the future involving these two players. Thomas plays extremely well when not injured and catches a lot of passes. Sanders is a big up and coming WR for the Steelers. People say he is farther along than Mike Wallace was at the same stage. Both of these players could be big values in round 10 of the draft. Right after Thomas, Sanders and Fred Jackson went - Logan selected Christopher Ivory with the 10.07 pick. Ivory showed big flashes of talent throughout the season last year. Ivory does not catch passes but canbe a bruising out of the backfield. In 2010 he averaged 5.2 YPC and scored 5 times. Back again in round 10 was FFNewsletter snapping up 2nd year back Ben Tate. "Take has 0 miles on him so far, but an injury that overlaps any milage. As long as recovery is good, he should win the #2 job in Houston and this was basically a handcuff pick to Arian Foster." The last pick in round 10 was Tim Tebow as the Hooligans decided to take a chance on the Denver jersey seller and card collectors dream. In his two starts at the end of the season Tebow scored two rushing TDs and two passing. He also threw for over 300 yards in week 16. Could this be the beginning of a dynasty stud?
- ffnewsletter |
ROUNDS 6 AND 7
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In round 6 we found Beat Mode in line for the first pick and snapped up Shonn Greene. Greene was our pick of the year last season, but soon found out how much we were wrong. LaDainian Tomlinson took over the show and left Greene eating his dust. Greene only ended up with 700 yards and 2 touchdowns. He will take over the number 1 role, but when? After Beast Mode; Deangelo Williams, James Starks and Sam Bradford went. Starks was a huge target of FFNewsletter coming into this draft but those dreams were shattered once Hail Mary's pre-draft list populated the Starks name.
Washington RB Ryan Torain was selected with the 5th pick in round 6 followed by Chris "Beanie" Wells. Next up was Logan who decided he wanted Jimmy Graham. We thought this was a terrible pick and would have never selected Graham at any point in this draft. In fact, I suggest TCW drop him all together. But when we talked to Logan, he apparently was pleased with his selection: " Once again young talent that will play now. Shockey was just released by the Saints, now Jimmy gets the start. This kid is huge and has all the skills to be a mismatch on the field. His size will create havoc in that explosive offense with Drew Brees. Not many numbers can be shown to justify the pick, but he has opportunity and talent. I like that combo."Pierre Garcon, Reggie Bush and CJ Spiller were next in the 6th round. All three players have question marks. Garcon has a lot of company but made his place for a starting spot in the Colts WR corps. Reggie Bush is always injured but is an electrifying playmaker; and CJ Spiller is coming off an un-impressive rookie campaign with the Bills but has the ability to shine in PPR leagues given the reps. Speaking of Spiller, we caught up with Todd and he gave us some insight to his pick: "This is admittedly a high risk/high reward pick. A lot of RB's were coming off the board in round 6 and I needed an RB3. I decided to target Spiller over guys like Lynch, Benson, and Grant because of youth and PPR league potential."Giants WR Steve Smith was selected by FFNewsletter with the 11th pick in the 6th round. "We were looking for a WR that can get us points in this scoring system. In the games he played in 2010 Smith averaged 6-7 catches per game and had a big 107 total catches in 2009. If he can get back to similar status with the Giants in 2011, we're in good shape but we realize there are other playmakers on that WR field at the same time." After Smith went the once #1 TE in the league, Dallas Clark. With the emergence of Jacob Tamme, can Clark come back to the Colts offense and the dominate target he once was with Peyton Manning?
In round 7, Hooligans led the charge and took the Law-Firm, BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Evil Pandas then had their sights set on Zach Miller so they worked out a deal with FFNewsletter to trade up to get him. Big Ben and Austin Collie went right afterwards. Roethlisberger was some good value here in the 7th round as Your Opponents was able to fill some other areas before his qb position and that added depth and value to his team overall. " I needed a QB. For years my strategy has been to wait on QB's and then grab two in the middle rounds. I has VERY happy that Big Ben was still on the board, as I had him ranked as my 8th QB. I couldn't hit the draft button fast enough. If you do the math, a full 16 games from him last year would've equaled a season of about 4200 passing yards, 22 TD passes, and only 7 INTs.... In the 7th round? Thank you very much." Todd said after the selection. Collie was in FFNewsletter's sights for a few rounds and just wasn't able to pull the trigger on him. Warrios snapped him up with the 4th pick in round 7 but soon traded him away to Hooligans. Brandon Pettigrew, Cedric Benson and Marshawn Lynch were selected after Collie. With Lynch running hard in the playoffs, its a questionmark as to how well he will play in the 2011 season. Could he explode like he did against the Saints?
Jacksonville Jaguar's TE Marcedes lewis and San Diego Charger Malcolm Floyd were then drafted by Pierce & Pierce and FFNewsletter. "Floyd showed promise when healthy last season and has one of the top dynasty quarterbacks throwing to him in Philip Rivers. If Floyd can keep his feet underneath him, we think we have a real gem here in round 7." said Kyle. Hail Mary grabbed another good QB value in Matt Schaub with the 7.10 pick and Pedigree's pre-draft list kicked in taking Ryan Grant with the very next pick. Can Grant come back from a season ending injury and the emergence of James Starks? Eli Manning rounded out the 7th round. With the targets that he has in New York we think he is still one of the better QBs in the fantasy world.
- ffnewsletter |
ROUNDS 4 AND 5
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With three rounds down, the fourth got underway, and right out of the gate went the first TE taken off the board in Antonio Gates. Mr. Gates had some problems last season with injuries but when he played he put up MONSTER numbers. After Gates went Brandon Marshall Peyton Manning, and Tony Romo. The second TE off the board was Packer Jermichael Finley who showed big promise last season before ending up on IR. He will be good to go for the 2011 season and back onto the field catching passes for Beast Mode's team. After Finley went we saw three more Wrs go in the likes of Vincent Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson. Between both Maclin and Jackson, it will be tough to know who will have the better season but Maclin seems to have a leg up in consistency. TCW took Maclin and here was his reasoning: " Young talent at the wr position that will play right now. This offense is stacked at the skill postions, and they all produce good numbers. DJax spreading the field with Maclin makes covering both nearly impossible. Maclin might not have the bigger games like DJaX , but will have less bad games and more good not great scoring days then DJaX. Make sense? Does to me."
The third TE off the board was Jason Witten who went to Warrios at pick 4.09. Witten had a strong season last year and really came on at the end in the fantasy playoffs for a lot of teams. Expect a lot of the same in 2011 with Romo back at the helm. The last three picks in the 4th round we saw Sidney Rice, Ahmad Bradshaw and Wes Welker go. Rice has tremendous upside given the right situation. He is a big receiver with some of the best hands in the NFL. Ahmad Bradshaw proved he can produce with RB1 status last season early on. As the year went on he had some fumbling problems and was replaced by Brandon Jacobs as the starter. Even so, Bradshaw is a PPR type back and will be valuable in this league. The slot machine Wes Welker has come back from his knee injury in 2009 and put on a decent showing last year. He was not exactly back to his normal self but could be on the way. Either way , he too is a PPR machine and has a guy named Tom Brady tossing him the ball, he should be just fine.
Round five brought us one of the bigger surprises of the draft with Hooligans snapping up Josh Freeman as his dynasty quarterback. We were ok with this pick to be honest. With Alvin not drafting again for basically two rounds, he would find out soon after that Freeman would be selected. If there is a player you want, go get him we always say. And thats just what he did. With Freeman, he has a young, talented group of receivers to get the ball to and a pair of legs that will get you a lot of TDs and yardage on the ground. Shortly after Freeman went we had a three player run on receivers with Britt, Holmes and Lloyd. All three are risky picks with big rewards. Britt and Holmes seem to have a lot of off-the-field troubles and Lloyd finally came on last year after his 8th year in the league. This is very interesting because he had never had this kind of production in his career. The closest he came was a 700 yard, 5 TD season back in 2005. Is Lloyd for real? Will John Fox keep them soaring downfield with the football or bring a run-first mentality to the Broncos team? Will Decker and Thomas bite into any reps from Brandon Lloyd? We don't think so because he has finally proven himself worthy of WR2 status in fantasy.
The fifth round continued with Matt Ryan, Steve Johnson and Felix Jones. After selecting Johnson with the 5.06 pick Logan sent us this memo : " More young talent that will see the field at WR on their team this season. 132 targets 82 receptions 1073 yds 10 tds. He has upside that will play now and years to come. (plus he went to UK)". Michael Crabtree then got selected and we wonder what this guy could do if he had a quarterback to get him the ball or a offensive scheme that included him at all! He has huge potential at his position and could flourish if they get him the right tools. Marques Colston, Vernon Davis, Percy Harvin and Anquan Boldin rounded out round 5 of the 2011 Rookie Collection draft.
- ffnewsletter
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ROUNDS 2 AND 3
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As the first round of the 2011 inaugrual draft for the Rookie Collection league came to an end, the second and third rounds flew by. Leading the charge for round two was The Rosenblatters who banked on Michael Vick to have a repeat 2010 season. With the weapons that the eagles have in the receiving game, Vick should be well worth this selection. Hakeem Nicks got snapped up by Beast Mode only to get traded away to The Rosenblatters for some big moves up in the mid rounds of the draft. We then saw running backs Frank Gore and Rashard Mendenhall jump off the board going to Hail Mary and Evil Pandas. With Gore having the season ending injury towards the end of last season, his value has dropped but when he is healthy his productivity is endless. Mendenhall is a young back who seems to get better and better every year. 2011 should be no different.
After the two big backs went, we saw a big run on receivers. Pencil in Roddy White, Dez Bryant, Larry Fitzgerald and Greg Jennings. All four of these receivers are worthy of their spot. White has been a monster the last few years and is one of the best young WRs in the NFL. Bryant is coming off an impressive rookie campaign that didn't end the way he imagined. But the outlook for Bryant is big. Many expect him to take over as the #1 WR in Dallas; infront of Miles Austin. Will there be enough balls to go around with Witten's 90+ catches? We think his big play-making ability will make up for it. Larry Fitzgerald is a tough one to figure out right now. With Warner gone, he went from polished to dull. Fitzgerald had moments where he shined but overall the lack of a good QB put a damper on his fantasy stats. With questionmarks surrounding who will be the Cardinals starting QB in 2011, one can only hope they find one to get the ball to the best play maker on their team. Hell, just get someone to throw it in his area and he will do the rest of the work. We caught up with Logan who drafted Larry and here is what he said: "Horrible season last year but it was not his fault. Poor offense from all positions and contanst double teams killed his numbers. Wissenhunt's job is on the line, so he has to make free agent moves to win NOW. QB's are availible on the market and got to think they get one. " Super Bowl Champion Greg Jennings is probably in the best situation for a WR in the NFL. Aaron Rodgers is a Green Bay Packer, and for as long as he stays a Packer, Jennings is going to put up some big, big numbers. With both being young of age, they are huge dynasty league factors.
The last four picks of the second round went to two QBs and two RBs. Tom Brady got picked with the 9th pick in the 2nd round by Warriors and drafted himself none other than MVP of the NFL in 2010. You know what Brady will give you year in and year out. With the departure of Moss, Brady's numbers didn't take a hit - he found other players to get the ball to and made up for it. Consider Brady a very nice QB to anchor that position on your dynasty team. The other QB taken was San Diego Chargers franchise QB Phillip Rivers. Rivers is considered by many as a top 3 dynasty QB. At 29 years old, Rivers has thrown for three straight 4,000 yard seasons including last years 4700 yd campaign. With 30 TDs a season, Kyle can't go wrong with this dynasty phenom. The running backs that were taken at the end of round two were Your Opponents with Matt Forte and Hooligans who selected Michael Turner. Forte can be a monster and he can be a scared little girl at times. That being said, he finished in the top 10 last year. He was hot out of the gate in receptions with 7 in week 1 and 5 in week two but fell back after taht to an average of 2 per game. Forte is a multi-threat type of runner who can beat a defense with the run or catch. A sneaky pick here in the 2nd round that just might pay off for "YO". Here is what he had to say: " He's not typically a guy I go for but I was reading up on him and in the past three years he is 5th in overall yards from scrimmage. His production makes him a borderline RB1 is PPR leagues. I had originally intended on grabbing a WR with this pick, (Wallace, Bowe, Austin, D-Jax etc.), but with so few sure fire RB's remaining, I figured this had to be the right move. Michael Turner was taken by the Hooli's. "Burner Turner" Was introduced to us in Atlanta in his first year as their full-time back. He is not known for catching the ball out of the backfield but can bruise a team in the redzone and dominate the line of scrimmage. Turner got bumped out of the top 10 in 2010 but still ended up with 11 TDs and over 1400 rushing yards, enough to warrant him a late second to early third round pick in a PPR league.
ROUND 3:
Round three brought us a bunch of solid RB2 backs. Right out of the gate went Knowshon Moreno at 3.02 to the handsome FFNewsletter guy Kyle. "When I looked at what was available I went with our scoring system. The league is PPR and Moreno is a big threat out of the backfield with screens and dump offs. What got me excited about Moreno this year was the addition of John Fox. This guy came from Carolina and you all know what went down there the past several seasons. I know that Fox likes a bigger back but he will push Moreno for all he's worth. I'm just hoping he's the next McFadden." Several other running backs went in round three including the likes of second year players Ryan Mathews (3.05) and LaGarrett Blount (3.06). Both of these guys had on and off rookie campaigns. Mathews didn't see the number of caries to warrant him a starter on fantasy teams last season and was also hit with the injury bug midseason. His numbers were average and only managed four total touchdowns. We figure that Mathews will be a star in this league but it will take a little time; which is perfect for this type of league. It will depend on the workload that San Diego wishes to push on him in 2011. LaGarrett Blount was let go by the Titans early last season and scooped up by Tampa Bay in which they turned him into their starting running back midseason. Blount had a couple big games, but most note worthy was his week 8 stomping of the Arizona Cardinals for 120 yards and 2 TDs. Blount went over 100 yards four times last season and with a full year under his belt, we believe there is a chance he could finish the 2011 season as a workhorse for yards and grinding out TD after TD. We see his style as a Michael Turner type runner and really think he will turn into something special. Price said this about his 3rd round pick : " Only really played half a season and still managed over 1,000 yards with 6 TD. Only 5 receptions due to Caddy in the backfield but, he is likely gone to test the FA market. Young talent that will see 75/25 split with whoever is the backup this season in the backfield. Not many RB can say that in a RBBC league. Major upside. "
Another second year back went in the 3rd round who we call Jahvid Best. After a HUGE, and i mean HUGE week 2 of the 2010 season, Best fizzled out as he was nagged by toe injuries and was only on the field for half of the game most games. Not only that but he was getting stuffed left and right every time he ran the ball. It was tough to watch after his 230 total yards, 3 TDs and 9 catch performance. He had stayed a tiny bit steady but that was due to his ability to catch the ball. As a league where PPR is a huge advantage, Best was well worth the spot taken here. The other three backs taken in round three were Jonathan Stewart (3.07), Peyton Hillis (3.09) and Steven Jackson(3.12). All three have the abillity to shine and produce top 10 fantasy numbers when in the right situation but all three have monkey's on their backs. Stewart can't shake Williams enough to become a legit RB1 in fantasy football, Hillis showed us last year that he cannot handle that kind of work load in Cleveland and Steven Jackson always seems to be riddled with injuries. If any one of these players can overcome their individual problems, they will be a big value pick in the 3rd round.
Wide receivers taken in round 3 were Mike Wallace, Dwayne Bowe, Reggie Wayne, Miles Austin and Mike Williams from Tampa. The youngsters Wallace and Williams are the future of the NFL with their big playmaking abilities that they have shown flashes of in each game they have played. Look for both players to dominate for years to come. Bowe, Wayne and Austin are all proven vets. Bowe had a stretch of games last year that blew my mind, in three games last year he racked up over 460 yards, 7 TDs and 32 receptions - that is enough to match Earl Bennett's yearly totals through 16 games. When asked, Todd had this to say about Bowe: " Didn't I say something about not usually picking players from my favourite team? Oh well. I needed a WR. That, I was sure of, the question was, who to take. I had four WR's I was considering here. Bowe, Austin, D-Jax, and M Williams (TB). As much as I didn't want to take a second Chief in my first three picks, I felt Bowe was the best WR available. Austin has to fight for receptions with Dez (who I really like a lot), not to mention Witten. D-Jax has Maclin (who I like almost as much), plus D-Jax makes me nervous. He seems banged up a lot. I ended up deciding that Williams is too high risk/high reward for him to be my WR1. Bowe has no real competition for passes in KC and he's a big red-zone target. " Reggie Wayne is his usual self with top 5 targets from one of the best QBs in the game Peyton Manning. Wayne will always be good for a top 10 finish and in 2010 he posted his second highest receiving yardage season of his career. Look for another 1200 and 6 from him in 2011. Miles Austin is a tricky one to predict in 2011 for a couple reasons: 1. He really flatlined at the end of the 2010 season and we could only count on TDs to get us fantasy points. 2. Dez Bryant could emerge as the Cowboys number 1 fantasy receiver in the very near future. What does this mean for Austin's?
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ROUND 1
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The draft is underway as the inaugural selection for the Rookie Collection league was none other than Adrian Peterson. When asked about his selection, Hooligans (AKA Alvin) had this to say; " Next years schedule favours AP and the fact that getting a healthy Ben Tate and Owen Daniels for the Texan's may take away overall touches for Adrian Foster."
Not to be outdone, FFNEWSLETTER (Kyle) came right back with Foster with the 1.2 pick. "I looked at all my options out there and Foster had the stats to back it up in every category. There were other guys I was looking at but couldn't match the TD or reception totals like Foster did. He finished over 60 points in front of anyone else in the league last year according to our scoring. I want a guy like that, on a team like mine."
So there you have it. The 2011 Rookie Collection draft is underway, but.. not "officially" until Saturday. For now, with the timer turned off and the lights down low - who will go third overall?
That spot went to Jamaal Charles, RB, Chiefs. Charles showed a ton of flash last year averaging a huge 6.4 YPC. If Charles can get to over 300 caries in 2011 - watch out. In a recent interview with Your Opponents, he had this to say about the Charles pick: " With Peterson and Foster off the board, Charles was my top ranked RB. Haley has stated he'd like to be more conservative next season which benefits Jamaal. He's a good receiver out of the backfield which is a plus in PPR leagues. There's not a lot of mileage on him either. But really... Charles, Chris Johnson, Rice, even McCoy... how could I go wrong? "
Our number four selection was Chris Johnson. He calmed down a little bit after his record breaking year in 2009 but still has amazing value in PPR leagues. Johnson has been seen going anywhere from number one overall to seven. With a new coach in Tennessee that has said they want to run the ball, I think they will.
LeSean McCoy impressed me last year after being a non-believer in his abilities. He compliments the Eagles ground game and passing attack very nicely and I expect him to mature even more and mesh with Vick for some big big numbers in 2011.
We caught up to Logan after he had made his first round selection of Ray Rice and this is what he told us: " With Willis McGahee unlikely to return to Baltimore Ray Rice is set for more touches if he can stay healthy. He was injured for the first time in his career but still managed to have a top 6 running back season in a PPR. Potential for top RB SPOT in fantasy football ,PPR and STANDARD."
Right after the Rice pick, Tyson (aka Pedigree) snapped up one of the NFL's most talented receivers in Calvin Johnson. We selected this pick as our favorite pick of round 1. Johnson has it all; youth, size, speed and overall talent at the WR position. He will dominate games and has done so the past couple seasons without his franchise QB Matthew Stafford. Just thinking what could happen with a healthy Stafford in there at the helm gives this pick a lot of value. Tyson sent us this statement after the Johnson pick: " It was tough picking 7th, all the top running were off the board, so the choice was down to taking a stud WR or QB. I wanted to take someone who is already a stud but young enough that they can be a lock for the starting line-up for the next 5+ years…. Calvin was the ideal choice, a young receiver who’s proved he can play at this level and can only get better. The Lions look to be on the way up with plenty of room for Johnson to his yards and TD’s (especially if Stafford can stay healthy!)"
And right after the first WR fell off the boards, so went the first QB. Rodgers is by far the number one dynasty quarterback you could have on your team. Super Bowl Champion status and tons of weapons, there is no reason he will slow down in 2011. Expect Rodgers to anchor Pierce & Pierce for years to come.
Andre Johnson has led receivers in most categories for the last several years. He is getting older but his talent is still at the top of the league. With Calvin off the board, Andre was a big pick up and a huge start to the Panda's WR Corps.
My how the mighty have fallen. Maurice Jones-Drew has been sitting atop fantasy drafts for a few years now but a nagging injury last season will cost him dearly in 2011. In our view, only 25 years old - he has taken a beating over the last couple years but still has a half tank of gas left. He had a streak of 6 straight 100 yard games toward the end of the 2010 season. Jones-Drew will still be the focal point of the Jags offense in 2011 and we still expect him to put up close to top 5 numbers.
Darren McFadden was a player that FFNewsletter stated he would have loved to have fall to him in round 2 but was snapped up quickly by the Rosenblatters at pick 11 in the first round. McFadden was a player guys had to pick for some kind of depth at the RB position last season. What they ended up getting was an every week starter on any fantasy team. McFadden had a monster year finishing in the top 8 running backs and had two games in which he had 3 and 4 TDs.
To round out the first round Pedigree decided he needed another pick in the first round and traded up to nab Brees with the 12th pick. We thought it was a tiny bit early for him but if you want a guy - you better go get him. Pedigree on Brees: " The move up into 1.12 was aimed at locking in a top QB, thankfully this was achieved without having to sacrifice too much in the middle rounds where the ‘fringe’ players can make or break your team. Having seen my alternative to the 1.07 go the very next pick (Rodgers) it suggested that the top QB’s could be gone by the time Pedigree was back on the clock. Brees has the exact pedigree this team is looking for, a star at the position and a base for which this team can be built around. "
There we have it fellas. The first round is over and the second and third have already begun. We will wrap up the 2nd and 3rd round highlights on Thursday night!
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