Living in a fantasy (draft) world
Michael Fabiano | Tags: Draft strategies
The last 24 hours have been an absolute whirlwind of fantasy football madness.
Starting yesterday at 11 a.m. PT and ending at 830 a.m. PT this morning, I participated in four different drafts. (Yes, my head is about ready to explode).
The first draft was the OPEN Sports experts league, which was run by my former CBS teammate David Gonos. I ended up with the sixth overall selection and landed Steven Jackson, who some people are still scared to draft. My starting lineup includes Ben Roethlisberger, Jackson, Earnest Graham, Braylon Edwards, Carolina’s Steve Smith, Roddy White, Todd Heap, Mason Crosby and the Cowboys defense.
The second draft was not a full-scale draft, but rather the final six rounds of the FantasyGuru.com experts league. The first 14 rounds were held back in May for their magazine, but there were still some decent names in the pool of available players. When all was said and done, my starting lineup will consist of Derek Anderson or Kurt Warner, Brian Westbrook, Darren McFadden, Chad Johnson, Marvin Harrison, Greg Jennings, Jeremy Shockey, Robbie Gould and the Patriots defense.
With two drafts (or one and a half) in the rearview mirror, it was time for NFL.com’s In-House league. This league consists of 24 teams (26 owners, all NFL employees) and includes two different leagues (AFC, NFC) with two separate drafts. The regular season runs 12 weeks with three preseason weeks. The winners of the AFC and NFC leagues will meet in Week 16 for the ultimate championship. Much to the chagrin of some of my fellow employees, I landed the second overall selection in the NFC league via blind draw (thanks, Adam Rank!).
My starting lineup includes Warner or Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson, Reggie Bush, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Carolina’s Steve Smith, Brandon Marshall (yes, I have the all-suspended wideouts team), Todd Heap, Gould and the Buccaneers defense.
Finally, at 7 a.m. PT this morning, I took part in the Masters league. This league consists of Jim Nantz, Lance Barrow and some of Jimmy’s friends and family. One of the owners is George W. Bush’s spokesman Tom Frechette, who drafted (of course) Reggie Bush.
Being that Lance beat me in the championship last season, I ended up with the eighth pick in this 10-team league. My starting lineup looks like this: Carson Palmer, Clinton Portis, Graham, Matt Forte, Randy Moss, Carolina’s Steve Smith (yeah, I like him this season), Plaxico Burress, Dallas Clark, Gould and the Buccaneers defense.
With this virtual fantasy draft explosion over (I have one more draft this weekend), here’s what I learned that you need to know. First, Willis McGahee and Chad Johnson are falling. Second, you can get good running backs in the third, fourth and fifth rounds. Third, wide receivers will come off the board a lot quicker than in previous years, so take at least one in the first three rounds. Fourth, having four fantasy football drafts in 21 and a half hours can result in an enormous headache (but I still love my work!).



