Grouse after draft: First off, I'm not going to grade my team because I don't really see the value in doing so in July. Hopefully, everbody likes their team (for the most part) at this point, considering we just finished drafting it!
I will explain my strategy of going RB-RB-RB-RB to open this draft. Every year we've done this, I've opened the draft going 3-straight running backs. Nothing new there. However, despite consistently feeling good and being deep at RB at the close of every 'best ball' draft, somehow I always seem to get into a depth problem at the position. Go figure. What I have discovered doing this 'best ball' format, is that inevitably your lens is skewed drafting in June. There is an overwhelming desire to draft the best starting lineup, and then focus on depth. I would argue, that is a strategy that will get you into trouble come November in this format. There are no injury reports in June, heck, we have barely seen these guys in pads, so inevitably you feel comfortable going into the season with 3 solid RBs. But something strange happens come September. You begin to get this sinking feeling in your stomach when you realize that the games are beginning, guys are getting banged around, and there is nothing, absolutely nothing you can do to your roster to help it. In other words, this league is a war of attrition. After watching a 3-RB strategy consistently come up short, I decided this year that I would try something different and extend it further by going 4-RB. My goal was to get 4 guys who most importantly would get the touches but who also had solid job security. In Westbrook, James, Benson and Lewis, I think I accomplished what I wanted. Will I have enough talent at WR to consolidate any gains I may have at RB is obviously the big question mark for my team. I do not have a 'proven' WR in my stable, but all of my guys have good upside and a lot to prove coming into the 2007 season.
I was especially happy to get Patrick Crayton near the end of the draft. I think being the unquestioned WR3 on a team that features two 30-plus year-old WR starters is a recipe for getting some starts and being a contributor on my team. I don't think it is a question on 'if' Crayton will get starts, it's a question of 'how many'. My QBs should get the job done. Nothing sexy here, but an army of 3 QBs who are all capable of putting up solid numbers on any given week should yield competitive production at this position. The rest of my team is ok, and shouldn't win or lose me the league. Although I am intrigued with Greg Olsen. He's a real talent on a team that desperately needs him to show well. Overall, I got what I wanted in this draft. I did not succomb to 'runs' and basically drafted my own game. Now, I'm really just looking forward to see how it all plays out. And mark my words, if I run into RB depth trouble this year, you can safely assume I'm going RB-RB-RB-RB-RB in 2008
