I am a huge fantasy football fan. I am thinking of somehow incorporating that into my blog. Everywhere you look now a days you can see some "expert" giving out fantasy football advice ranging from when to draft a quarterback to what not to name your team. I don't want to be another one of these assholes who just regurgitates the same shit like "always draft a
RB with your first two picks" so i have to walk the very fine line between trying to offer good, sound original info and becoming some pretentious asswipe saying the same shit everyone else is.
That said here is one thing I've noticed so far. The
WR talent pool is ripe with deep sleepers that can have very productive if not superb years. I've noticed this over the past few weeks in the countless mock drafts I've done on espn.com and the couple real ones i did. What i like to do is grab a certifiable, proven, WR stud early on then fill out the rest with some of these sleepers while focusing on adding depth to my RBs. Now I'd be an asshole to say this and not give examples so here they are, in the order i think they should be drafted along with an explanation which at the end of i list the round and pick nbr they were drafted in the real live draft i was doing on espn.com while i was typing up this entry.
The following 3 WR should be available in rd 5-6
Steve Smith - because of his 2 game suspension you can get a player with 2nd rd talent in the 5th-6th rd. if Delhomme is completely recovered and picks up where he left off last year look for monster numbers in only 14 games. RD 6 #59
Anquan Boldin - Surprisingly enough he is getting drafted with regularity behind less proven WR's like Santonio Holmes and Roddy White. Should be available in the in the 5th rd. I guess people like to have happy wide outs on their fantasy team to boost morale. Rd 5 #46
Jerricho Cotchery - prime for a monster year. he'll benefit equally as much from the addition of Favre as he will from the subtraction of Pennington because of the love affair that Chad and Coles had with each other. overall a great skill set for a receiver and working in an improved offense he should get the ball his way a lot more and won't disappoint. and this is coming from a Jet hating Dolphin fan. In 2007 had 82 catches and 1130 yards but is overlooked cuz he only caught 2 TD's, expect that to change. Rd 6 #55
Most if not all of the rest of these WR will be available in rd 8 or later. Again, listed in the order i think they will be selected.
Bernard Berrian -#1 receiver with deep threat speed, great oline, and one of the best backfields in the NFL. Had Favre got his wish and went to Minnesota he would be an easy 3rd rd pick.
Rd 9 #81
Donald Driver- still has enough left in the tank to have 1 more descent fantasy year even on a Favre-less Packer team. RD 10 #92
Chris Chambers - number one receiver in a good offense. good redzone skills. a full training camp to get acclimated to the offense and a slowed down version of Antonio Gates by the nagging toe injury should result in more targets. RD 13 #122 I could not believe this. I actually just checked to see if he got hurt today and i haven't heard about it yet but no he is fine. How does a #1 wideout out last to rd 13?
Anthony Gonzalez - take a faster Brandon Stokley and add it to Marvin Harrison's increasing age and decreasing health and you have a recipe for a big, break out year. Rd 10 #97
Nate Burleson- the departure of DJ Hackett and injuries to Bobby Engram and Deion Branch leave him the #1 target in a pass happy spread offense. he should shed the label of being a disappointment is Seattle and emerge as a go to receiver and serious deep threat. RD 10 # 94
Patrick Crayton- TO isn't getting any younger but still commands the defenses attention at all times. he becomes the #2 guy in an offense that will score enough TD's to keep everyone happy. look for an increased amount of targets with TO and Witten drawing double coverages and safeties cheating up to keep the beast that is Marion Barber at bay. RD 11 #106
Javon Walker - Maybe its just his name that makes me like him, but he should be around when you get into the double digit rounds. If you can get him in rd 11 or later why not take a flier on him. A good running game should help him have a descent season even if he is just 75% of what he use to be. RD 13 #129
Bryant Johnson - This one is my personal favorite. He should be available in rd 13 or 14 of your draft. A former 1st rd draft pick who never lived up to expectations in Arizona. He has a change of scenery but stays in the division. Has a fresh start and is looking to prove his detractors wrong. Great size and will emerge as the #1 target in a Mike Martz pass happy offense. Undrafted but Roscoe Parrish, Isaac Bruce, Amani Toomer, Muhsin Muhammad and Sidney Rice were (in that order).