OK... I have seen a lot of dynasty talk around here but not a lot of redraft yet. If this post is a honda in anyway PLEASE provide a link for me. No rankings are out yet, the draft has yet to take place, but I still feel it is time to start the debate. Seems to me that there are 3 players that could be considered the #1 right now... Larry Johnson, Shaun Alexander and LaDanian Tomlinson. That being said I personally rank them in the following order...
#1 Larry Johnson
Positives: what an end stretch for this guy. He ended up #2 in fantasy points with starting only 9 games. Despite the fact that the team and OL is aging they still seem to be staying together. Johnson seemed to be running with both vision and speed last year and seems to be the most obvious pick at #1 this year.
Negatives: How will a new coach affect the play calling? From what I have been reading Herm Edwards is a pretty conservative play caller and this could hurt LJ's red zone opportunities. Age of OL is a concern. I still can't help worrying about former uberstud Priest Holmes. Until his retirement is officially announced I will worry about this one (was it announced and I missed it?). Will LJ be the obvious stud he seems to be this year, or could he be the next McGahee or Kevin Jones? Here is a link to some dynasty discussion on LJ if you would like to read some good discussion http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index...howtopic=235833.
#2 Shaun Alexander
Positives: Just finished a record breaking year for TD's and has been one of the most consistent performers in fantasy football over the last three or more years. Seems once again to be the "safe pick" for 2006. Last year Alexander definitely showed vision, speed and power with his running. I could easily be convinced to take him #1 over LJ.
Negatives: The most obvious negative this year is the loss of all pro tackle Steve Hutchingson. No one can really how much this will affect Alexander's numbers even though it seems obvious that it has to affect them some what. This will be the year we find out how talented Alexander really is or is he a product of the system. Another negative I see is his contract. Last year he was running like he had something to prove. Does he have anything else to prove this year?
#3 LaDanian Tomlinson
Positives: One of the most versatile backs in the game today. He runs with vision and speed and can score TD's. He can also catch the ball out of the backfield (and even throw the occasional pass). Tomlinson has been the consensus #1 pick the last two or three years in fantasy football.
Negatives: Tomlinson seems to be the back with the most negatives this year to me. First, there is basically a rookie QB taking over for the Chargers this year. Some may argue that this will help him by getting more check down passes this year. I can't see this as anything but a negative! Teams will key on Tomlinson this year. That being said Tomlinson still has a ton of talent and can make things happen. Second, Tomlinson has been somewhat injury prone the last couple of years. Looking at stats he played in all the games last year and 15 the previous year. Still it seems like he has been playing nicked up the last couple years. Looking at stats though this may be a false statement. Third, the emergence of Antonio Gates takes away from LT in the redzone. Gates is now the number one TE in fantasy football. This has to affect Tomlinson's red zone opportunities.
OK, that is my take on the #1 this year. I really feel that any of the above players could be #1 this year. Let's here your arguments for and against players. There is always a lot of discussion about LJ, so it would be great to get some discussion going about Alexander and Tomlinson. That's it for me...have at it!
#1 Larry Johnson
Positives: what an end stretch for this guy. He ended up #2 in fantasy points with starting only 9 games. Despite the fact that the team and OL is aging they still seem to be staying together. Johnson seemed to be running with both vision and speed last year and seems to be the most obvious pick at #1 this year.
Negatives: How will a new coach affect the play calling? From what I have been reading Herm Edwards is a pretty conservative play caller and this could hurt LJ's red zone opportunities. Age of OL is a concern. I still can't help worrying about former uberstud Priest Holmes. Until his retirement is officially announced I will worry about this one (was it announced and I missed it?). Will LJ be the obvious stud he seems to be this year, or could he be the next McGahee or Kevin Jones? Here is a link to some dynasty discussion on LJ if you would like to read some good discussion http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index...howtopic=235833.
#2 Shaun Alexander
Positives: Just finished a record breaking year for TD's and has been one of the most consistent performers in fantasy football over the last three or more years. Seems once again to be the "safe pick" for 2006. Last year Alexander definitely showed vision, speed and power with his running. I could easily be convinced to take him #1 over LJ.
Negatives: The most obvious negative this year is the loss of all pro tackle Steve Hutchingson. No one can really how much this will affect Alexander's numbers even though it seems obvious that it has to affect them some what. This will be the year we find out how talented Alexander really is or is he a product of the system. Another negative I see is his contract. Last year he was running like he had something to prove. Does he have anything else to prove this year?
#3 LaDanian Tomlinson
Positives: One of the most versatile backs in the game today. He runs with vision and speed and can score TD's. He can also catch the ball out of the backfield (and even throw the occasional pass). Tomlinson has been the consensus #1 pick the last two or three years in fantasy football.
Negatives: Tomlinson seems to be the back with the most negatives this year to me. First, there is basically a rookie QB taking over for the Chargers this year. Some may argue that this will help him by getting more check down passes this year. I can't see this as anything but a negative! Teams will key on Tomlinson this year. That being said Tomlinson still has a ton of talent and can make things happen. Second, Tomlinson has been somewhat injury prone the last couple of years. Looking at stats he played in all the games last year and 15 the previous year. Still it seems like he has been playing nicked up the last couple years. Looking at stats though this may be a false statement. Third, the emergence of Antonio Gates takes away from LT in the redzone. Gates is now the number one TE in fantasy football. This has to affect Tomlinson's red zone opportunities.
OK, that is my take on the #1 this year. I really feel that any of the above players could be #1 this year. Let's here your arguments for and against players. There is always a lot of discussion about LJ, so it would be great to get some discussion going about Alexander and Tomlinson. That's it for me...have at it!

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