As noted in Part I, the run on quarterbacks caused a nearly immediate shift in strategy for The Scooters this year, and halfway through the draft, I was happy with where I was everywhere except tight end and receiver (from a depth standpoint). However, I knew I had to grab a dependable tight end pretty quick after the turn -- especially in a league where the tight end is a mandatory play. I also needed to unearth some middle-rounds wideouts with high upside, with the hopes being that one or more had a breakout year.
All that being said … here’s what actually happened.
9th Round, 118th Overall: Zach Miller, TE, Oakland Raiders
Miller was a guy I was really hoping would fall to me in this spot, because he was a guy I had targeted pre-draft among my “sleepers” picks. The Raiders are going with Jason Campbell at quarterback this year, and he is a checkdown signal-caller who has always been friendly to tight ends. Throw in the fact that Miller is arguably the #1 receiver in Oakland and you can see why I was pretty happy to scoop him up here.
10th round, 135th Overall: Eddie Royal, WR, Denver Broncos
At this point, with most of the pre-draft rankings sources shot or out the window, it was getting harder and harder to tell who did and didn’t represent value. Keeping that in mind, I took Royal, another dude I had circled on my pre-draft wish list. With Brandon Marshall off to South Beach, somebody is going to have to catch a lot of balls, and even though Royal had a huge sophomore slump, he is a talented guy who is dangerous with the ball in his hands. Here’s another spot where I’m hoping the light goes on for a third-year receiver, and Royal can find a way to play more like the 2008 version than last year’s.
11th round, 146th Overall: Kenny Britt, WR, Tennessee Titans
This was a nice spot to reel in another high-ceiling guy, and Britt certainly fills the bill. After putting up over 700 receiving yards as a rookie, he has had an injury-filled offseason, with some questioning his work ethic and passion for the game, so he certainly has some growing up to do. That’s the only reason I can see why he slipped this far, and when he’s right, he’s arguably Vince Young’s top target in Tennessee (totally). Of course, it is Chris Johnson’s team, but a stretch-the-field guy who is a red-zone threat—like say, Britt—could be invaluable for the Titans, and that’s what I’m banking on here. Low risk, high reward, again; that’s a good way to put together a solid draft.
12th round, 163rd Overall: John Carlson, TE, Seattle Seahawks
Having filled out every position but kicker with a starter, I could really start narrowing in on best-value players at this point. I was a bit surprised to still see Carlson here, with him being a proven pass-catching threat on a team full of offensive question marks. Pairing him with Zach Miller (ninth-rounder) gives me a super-solid tight end corps that will give me some flexibility to play matchups on a week-to-week basis -- or even offer up some trade ammo for later in the year.
13th round, 174th Overall: Nate Kaeding, K, San Diego Chargers
The kicker position is traditionally somewhat undervalued in our league, and with a couple having already been snared (somebody took Garrett Hartley in the ninth round, one spot ahead of LT, which sparked some jokes by me about LT with a gun to his head, wondering how the F he got drafted behind some random kicker), I had the guy considered the top kicker by many sources staring me in the face. I usually try to get at least one dude from as many of the top offenses as possible in fantasy football, and I know Philip Rivers is going to put up a lot of points for the Chargers. Feeling pretty good everywhere else at this point, Kaeding helped me continue my value-drafting trend.
14th round, 191st Overall: Brian Hartline, WR, Miami Dolphins
Not too many starting wideouts are still on the board in round #14, so seeing Hartline still lurking was a good sight for me. He put together a very surprising rookie campaign, and with Marshall on the other side and Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams in the backfield, he should be able to build on last year’s solid numbers in 2010. You could certainly do much, much worse for your No. 5 receiver. Plus, I didn’t have a ‘Fin yet!
15th round, 202nd Overall: Texans, D/ST, Houston
Needing a bye-week defense, seeing that most of my opponents had filled out their quarterbacks and not seeing any worthy wideouts, I landed the Texans here. While the suspension of ‘roid-rager Brian Cushing and the injury concerns of Mario Williams certainly won’t help, Houston is rapidly progressing on “D” overall and seem to get a return TD or two every year. Plus, and most importantly, they play Oakland in Week 4, on my starting defense’s bye. I’ll take it.
16th round, 219th Overall: Earl Bennett, WR, Chicago Bears
Did you know Earl Bennett caught 54 passes a season ago? Well, even though he’s been lost in the shuffle a bit behind Devin Hester, Devin Aromashadu and Johnny Knox in Chicago, I think he’s a nice fit for Mike Martz’s new Bears offense. Also, he was Jay Cutler’s favorite target in college at Vanderbilt, which can’t hurt matters. He has a few nagging injuries and could get stuck behind the trio above, but as my sixth and final wideout, I like his upside and the possibilities.
Also, I like to grab a guy from my hometown Bears every year as well.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Yesterday, I dropped Bennett in favor of Javon Walker, who was inked by the Vikes in the wake of injury woes with Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin. But today, I dropped Walker and snared Greg Camarillo, a Dolphins folk hero who was traded to Minnesota for cornerback Benny Sapp today. Camarillo could catch a lot of balls for the Vikings.]
17th round, 230th Overall: Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Seattle Seahawks
At this point, the draft was nearing six hours old, and I was getting tired, bored and pissed. C’mon fellas, these are your backup kickers and defense we’re looking at right now, and as long as they don’t have the same bye week, who are you kidding with the Mel Kiper “war room” action? Grab a guy and call it a goddam day.
Anyway (this signifies the end of the rant), I had been eyeing Josh Freeman of the Buccaneers as my backup quarterback, but when he went off the board a few picks beforehand, I settled on Hasselbeck here. He’s certainly nearing the end, but hopefully he’s rejuvenated with a new offense and a new coaching staff (even if it’s led by the insufferable Pete Carroll) and can click for one more year. Seattle plays St. Louis on my starting quarterback’s bye week, so the stars might align for Hasselbeck to pick me up with a big game there.
18th round, 247th Overall:
He was available. He didn’t have the same bye week as my starter. He has a functioning right leg. He had 28 field goals last year and plays for a shitty offense that will likely stall if it even sniffs the red zone. Sold. Let’s end this thing.
QUICK WRAP:
Despite the initial disappointment in how the quarterback drafting played out, I came away feeling a little better about this haul top to bottom then I usually do. In the second half of the draft, I was able to pull off a lot of value picking, which usually bodes well for the depth of your overall draft.
At first blush, I really like my tight ends, like my running backs and was happy to get consensus top-three players at kicker and on defense. I’ll need one or more of my middle-tier receivers to emerge and a lot of my hopes hinge on Kolb, but again, I like what I was able to pull off.
Of course, that doesn’t mean shite now … ask me again in December.
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