FreeBaGeL
Footballguy
Also, I'd like to comment on the stud WR theory for dynasty leagues, since while most here are referencing it as a new idea they're just getting started on trying out, it's something that I'm actually 3 years into right now (I was doing it before doing it was cool 
).
A brief history. I've always been a RB heavy kind of fantasy player, but am more than willing to adjust any of my opinions as time goes on and we all learn more about the trends of this game (for instance I used to treat TEs like kickers and defenses, now I value them more than probably anyone else in this thread). In my main dynasty league a while back I got lucky with some guys working out better than I ever could have imagined and ended up with a studly cast of RBs. For a few years, I rolled with them and had a lot of success. Not just with a good team, rather with a great team that led the league in points every year, broke records, and won championships.
However, it wasn't long before I could start to see the end coming soon for some of those guys (think Portis 2 years ago), and it felt like it was too soon for the run to be coming to an end. So I decided to move most of them (keeping only Sjax) for younger project running backs and, more importantly, stud wide receivers. Right now, my WR core consists of Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, and Calvin Johnson. One of the great things about this is the roster flexibility this affords me, because those are literally the only 3 wide receivers on my roster. I simply don't need anyone else, unless it's someone that I think will have some trade value down the line.
That said, my team has gone from great to consistently good. I still easily make the playoffs every year (which is great, because as we all know anything can happen from there), but rarely feel like I have the strongest team. Unless you're getting numbers like Moss put up in his best years or Fitzgerald put up in the NFL playoffs it's just not enough of a difference maker, and you're still left relying on finding those running backs that really work out. The game to game consistency is fantastic, and that's where the top wide receivers really excel, but when it comes down to one game getting a solid 15 points against your opponent's 11 often just is not enough to overcome MJD going for 180 yards and 2 touchdowns against you, those are the kinds of guys that win championships. The preseason WR1 and WR2 are just as unlikely to finish the season as WR1 and WR2 as the running backs are, if not moreso.
It's no surprise to me that the top two scoring teams in the league right now own MJD, Chris Johnson, Thomas Jones, Cedric Benson, and Ronnie Brown, all top running backs this year. And while it's true several of those guys don't hold a ton of dynasty value, and weren't top dynasty players coming into the year, it is what it is and the top ranked WRs right now weren't all exactly top 5 fantasy picks either.
So, while it's nice to have some sure things about WR that you can just set and forget for the next 7-10 years, I'm not so sure it's worth giving up a stud young RB with a shorter shelf-life for. You're looking at 3-4 years of being great and maybe winning 2-3 championships vs. 7-10 years of being just good and maybe getting a lucky playoff run to win 1 if you take that approach, imo. And with the RBs, you can stretch that out by moving them just before their value really drops, which will be tough because it will have to be before any signs of breaking down. Adrian Peterson should be traded after the season he plays at the age of 27, and can nab a king's randsome at that time, even after riding him out for 5 years on your team.
I think in the end, maybe going after 1 truly stud WR is enough. Having a great WR core as a whole is great, but if your'e talking about trading young stud RBs for them it may be too much. I'm 3 years into it and right now I'm having a hell of a time resisting clicking the accept button on a recent Ray Rice for Calvin Johnson trade that was offered to me, knowing that when it comes down to it in the playoffs I'm going to have to match the scores that guys like MJD and Benson are putting up right now.
Granted, this is all fairly anecdotal.
).A brief history. I've always been a RB heavy kind of fantasy player, but am more than willing to adjust any of my opinions as time goes on and we all learn more about the trends of this game (for instance I used to treat TEs like kickers and defenses, now I value them more than probably anyone else in this thread). In my main dynasty league a while back I got lucky with some guys working out better than I ever could have imagined and ended up with a studly cast of RBs. For a few years, I rolled with them and had a lot of success. Not just with a good team, rather with a great team that led the league in points every year, broke records, and won championships.
However, it wasn't long before I could start to see the end coming soon for some of those guys (think Portis 2 years ago), and it felt like it was too soon for the run to be coming to an end. So I decided to move most of them (keeping only Sjax) for younger project running backs and, more importantly, stud wide receivers. Right now, my WR core consists of Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, and Calvin Johnson. One of the great things about this is the roster flexibility this affords me, because those are literally the only 3 wide receivers on my roster. I simply don't need anyone else, unless it's someone that I think will have some trade value down the line.
That said, my team has gone from great to consistently good. I still easily make the playoffs every year (which is great, because as we all know anything can happen from there), but rarely feel like I have the strongest team. Unless you're getting numbers like Moss put up in his best years or Fitzgerald put up in the NFL playoffs it's just not enough of a difference maker, and you're still left relying on finding those running backs that really work out. The game to game consistency is fantastic, and that's where the top wide receivers really excel, but when it comes down to one game getting a solid 15 points against your opponent's 11 often just is not enough to overcome MJD going for 180 yards and 2 touchdowns against you, those are the kinds of guys that win championships. The preseason WR1 and WR2 are just as unlikely to finish the season as WR1 and WR2 as the running backs are, if not moreso.
It's no surprise to me that the top two scoring teams in the league right now own MJD, Chris Johnson, Thomas Jones, Cedric Benson, and Ronnie Brown, all top running backs this year. And while it's true several of those guys don't hold a ton of dynasty value, and weren't top dynasty players coming into the year, it is what it is and the top ranked WRs right now weren't all exactly top 5 fantasy picks either.
So, while it's nice to have some sure things about WR that you can just set and forget for the next 7-10 years, I'm not so sure it's worth giving up a stud young RB with a shorter shelf-life for. You're looking at 3-4 years of being great and maybe winning 2-3 championships vs. 7-10 years of being just good and maybe getting a lucky playoff run to win 1 if you take that approach, imo. And with the RBs, you can stretch that out by moving them just before their value really drops, which will be tough because it will have to be before any signs of breaking down. Adrian Peterson should be traded after the season he plays at the age of 27, and can nab a king's randsome at that time, even after riding him out for 5 years on your team.
I think in the end, maybe going after 1 truly stud WR is enough. Having a great WR core as a whole is great, but if your'e talking about trading young stud RBs for them it may be too much. I'm 3 years into it and right now I'm having a hell of a time resisting clicking the accept button on a recent Ray Rice for Calvin Johnson trade that was offered to me, knowing that when it comes down to it in the playoffs I'm going to have to match the scores that guys like MJD and Benson are putting up right now.
Granted, this is all fairly anecdotal.
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Although, if I'm being perfectly honest with myself, "borderline toolish" is actually somewhat apt. 
Two years ago or so I had grouped you with LHUCKS and switz as guys that are very hard to listen to, but may be worth it. 
). Massaquoi had almost as many receiving yards in one game as Braylon has in 8. It's just really, really hard to get excited about Braylon Edwards. On the other hand, it's not the slightest bit hard to get excited for Sims-Walker. I'm not as down on Garrard as many around here, and all Sims-Walker has done so far is produce (last week notwithstanding). The fact that he's cheaper and 2 years younger is just icing on the cake.
Hey, if you want to crown his ###, then crown it. Personally, I think Mendenhall is who I thought he was, and I'm not going to let him off the hook.Also, for what it's worth, this is spoken as a Mendenhall owner. I have him in a keep-3 league where keeping players requires you to forfeit a pick 2 rounds higher than what the player cost this year. As a result, the best keepers in the league are guys like Colston, MJD, Wayne- guys who were kept ages ago because they were borderline starters with a ridiculously low cost who then developed into NFL studs but kept their ridiculously low cost. I've made a living in that league out of speculating on young RBs buried on the depth chart who might one day become starters- I unearthed MJD, Chester Taylor, Michael Turner, Marion Barber, and Steven Jackson. Mendenhall is just the latest in a long line for me. I drafted Mendenhall in the 17th because I realized it was a near-certainty that he'd be a starting RB next year, and now that he's broken out, he's practically untradeable, because if he becomes a perennial top-20 RB with that keeper price he'll pair with MJD to pretty much secure me many championships to come. I'd say he's one of the 6 or 7 best keeper prospects in the league right now. I turned down a trade where I gave Brady/Mendenhall/Desean and got Manning/Wayne (the only potential keepers involved are Mendenhall, who keeps for a 15th, and Wayne, who keeps for a 6th), mostly because I thought that Desean was as good as Wayne this year and Mendenhall was a better keeper. So it's not like I think that Mendenhall is a bum or a terrible prospect. I just think he's an unspecial RB. I'd love Moreno just as much as a keeper prospect if I could keep him for a 15th next year, too. Like I said, there's a dearth of special RBs right now, and as a result, a lot of unspecial RBs are getting ranked pretty high. That doesn't mean they're suddenly special players just because of their high ranking.
