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I like Cotchery more -- a lot more. Coles has sat out most of August, which hurts him. And Cotchery is a downfield receiver, so he does better when he's got a quarterback with a strong arm. Pennington, I believe, has the weakest arm of any starting quarterback in the league -- maybe any quarterback period. So when he was at quarterback last year, Cotchery averaged only 12 yards per catch. When Kellen Clemens, with a stronger arm, was at quarterback, Cotchery was up at 16.8 yards per catch. Now, they've got Favre, who's getting up there in years but can still fling it. I expect Favre to turn Cotchery into another Greg Jennings; they'll probably hook up for at least three touchdowns from 40-plus yards. I saw Favre and Pennington play their exhibition games back-to-back on the weekend. Both were impressive, but a remarkable difference in velocity. Favre's passes get their awfully quick, while Pennington, with the wet-noodle arm, is trying to pick and peck with little short passes.

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I like Warner. I am not, however, ready to put him ahead of guys like Eli Manning, Jay Cutler and Matt Hasselbeck. He's 37 years old. He's had a lot of injuries (hit him, and he'll get hurt). And I don't think it's realistic to expect Warner to play at the same level. And can you count on him playing more than 13 games? Ken Whisenhunt maintains that he's not even sure Warner is going to be the starter ahead of Matt Leinart. Despite his big numbers at the end of last season, there are some flaws with Warner's game. He actually turned the ball over more often than any quarterback in the league last year -- an average of one turnover per 21 plays, which was #1 among guys who handled the ball at least 300 times on passing and rushing attempts. And Warner hasn't been a winner; he's gone 2-8, 1-4 and 5-6 as a starter the last three years. I'm intrigued by Warner's upside, but there is substantial risk involved.

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Josh Cribbs has a high ankle sprain. Could be out until October, and he might not have his usual explosiveness for most of the year. That's huge -- on par with the Bears losing Devin Hester. Short of Hester, we had Cribbs as the top return guy in the league. It's also becoming apparent that the Browns are going to have one of the worst secondaries in the league.

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Rankings for keeper and dynasty leagues are notoriously difficult. How does one, for example, measure production today versus production two years from now? Kevin Smith and Matt Forte, for example, will outproduce Rashard Mendenhall this year. But Mendenhall should be better two years from now and have a more productive career overall. I suppose we should handle the players just like stocks -- maybe discount future stats by 10 percent per year (making the stats for this season more valuable). But there's also a wide variety of scoring systems and league rules. In some dynasty leagues, for example, you get to keep everybody. In others, you keep only three guys. And is there any penalty for keeping players? That would affect how they were rated as well. I think you're starting to see why we don't publish a Dynasty Rankings product. As for your league, I would look at this year for Brees and Romo. It's unusual to protect a quarterback in a league -- it's a relatively easy position to fill -- so I would assume that there's an 80 percent chance that player won't be on your team next season. As for Owens, he is an older guy, so I'd rather select a younger player who has more productive seasons left -- Braylon Edwards, Larry Fitzgerald, Brandon Marshall.

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I don't think Jackson's holdout is going to be a significant factor. He'll have had almost three weeks to get ready. He should be fine. If you're locked into selecting a running back with that pick, Jackson should be your guy.

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I'm a Pierre Thomas fan. I had him higher than McAllister for most of the offseason. But it doesn't look like it's going to play out that way -- at least not early in the season. Thomas has been generally unimpressive in the exhibition games, and he now appears to have fallen behind Aaron Stecker on the depth chart. McAllister, meanwhile, seems to be the clear No. 2 (actually, the clear co-starter with Reggie Bush). Plus, he's one of the leaders of that team. Last week, President Bush was in New Orleans, and the Saints had Drew Brees and McAllister greet him and pose for photos. It would be kind of weird, wouldn't it, to use a player in that kind of role, then cut him two weeks later? Thomas may develop into something at some point this year, but I expect to have only a minimal role in September.

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The Cowboys will play an easier schedule as well. Durability looks like a wash -- they're both high-contact runners who are unlikely to make it through 16 games without getting hurt. Maybe you should trade down a spot or two? You might still be able to get Barber a few spots later, and perhaps pick up an 8th-round draft pick?

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I find myself being drawn to Hightower as well. He looks like a real nice player, and he's in a good spot. I get the feeling that one way or another (injury or lineup change) Hightower will be a starter at the end of the season.

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I'd go with Brady. And I would not take two running backs with picks 2.10 and 3.03. I think you'll be better if you select a butt-kicker wide receiver. You will be able to get an adequate running back down at 4.10 or 5.03. I did a 12-team draft on Sunday with the guys at fanexfootball.com (actually, I had a guy draft for me off a list, since I was working on the update). I went with three wide receivers in the 2nd through 4th rounds. The running back I selected with pick 5.02 to be my second running back is Kevin Smith. I think he'll be OK. Other running backs I've seen selected late-late in the fourth or early in the fifth include Matt Forte, Selvin Young, Thomas Jones and Michael Turner. I think you need to avoid being overcome a running back panic attack. Stay true to your board -- you'll get an acceptable second running back.

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If I were in your shoes, I would select Rashard Mendenhall. Good franchise with a history of success. And he should be a good player for them for a lot of years. I will concede, however, that there's a chance that you'll live to regret passing on Hightower. If Hightower and Mendenhall both had been selected in the second round, you definitely would select the Arizona back.

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I like the Henry pick. I'd rather have a high-upside guy like Henry than a lower-level start that you know will never finish with more than 800 yards or 5 TDs. If Johnson gets sidelined and Henry is plugged into that spot, I think you'll have yourself a legit starting receiver. Too bad he's got to sit out the first four games with the league suspension.

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I'll sign off on that trade. Marshall might be better than Owens, and Jacobs definitely blows away McAllister.

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I'd go with Jerod Mayo No. 1. He was the 10th pick of the draft, and he's going to a team that know how to develop and utilize linebackers. I imagine Bill Belichick and the boys will turn him into a solid player. The Jets selected Vernon Gholston with the 6th pick. He's the best pass rusher in this draft; we'll just have to see if the Jets can get him dialed in. The other rookies I'd be looking at would be Keith Rivers, the linebacker selected by Cincinnati, and Leodis McKelvin of Buffalo, a cornerback with return ability.

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