We’re about halfway through the Fanex Draft. We’re half through the 9th round, but in the remaining 10 and a half rounds, everyone will select two defenses, two kickers and a backup tight end. So in essence, we’re actually about 75 percent done with this draft.
At picks 8.10 and 9.03, I felt kind of locked in. I would have liked to select a second quality quarterback. This is a no-moves league. And it would be nice to add a fifth quality receiver. I’ve got four good ones, but you play four every week and there are byes and injuries.
I selected only one running back in the first five rounds, then added Pierre Thomas at 6.10, so I felt I needed to further bolster that position. Stevan Ridley made it to choice 8.10, so he’s the pick. He’s not a great fit with this format. It’s PPR, and he’s caught only 16 passes in the last two years, which is why he’s still available at the end of the eighth round. But I think he’ll benefit from LeGarrette Blount signing with Pittsburgh. The Patriots run the ball well. Set aside quarterback scrambles and wide receiver end-arounds, and New England’s running backs have run for more yards and touchdowns than any team in the league over the last two years.
The Patriots also have Shane Vereen, who’ll play in the backfield, but there’s room for two there. Vereen is more of a Sproles/Woodhead kind of a guy. Ridley is their RUNNING back. If he can avoid putting the ball on the carpet too often, I think he could run for 1,000 yards and 9 TDs.
They start tight ends in the league, and Kyle Rudolph is the last one I really like. He’s overdue to be chosen, so I had to select him at 9.03. Would like a wide receiver or a quarterback, but will have to put those off. Rudolph was great two years ago, and I think the Vikings will get him back on track. Norv Turner has done nice things with that position. His tight ends the last four years have averaged 1,005 yards and 9.5 touchdowns. Those are individual numbers, those are team totals, but I like Rudolph.
Next four picks likely will include a quarterback, a wide receiver, a running back and one other player.
Notable picks in the eighth and ninth rounds:
At pick 8.05, Duane Cahill went with Justin Blackmon. I guess he feels like Blackmon’s indefinite suspension will be lifted soon, but even if Blackmon were playing all 16 games, I’d still have slotted him behind Riley Cooper, who went a round later.
At pick 9.01, Carlos Panizo went with the first defense, Seattle. He must really like them, because normally the first defense in these drafts tends to go in the 11th or 12th round.
At pick 9.04, Dish Adams took a flyer on Terrance West, the third-rounder who ran for a zillion yards at Towson last year. Adams is banking on West starting some games in front of Ben Tate at some point.
FANEX ANALYSIS DRAFT | |||
---|---|---|---|
Pick | Pos | Player | Owner |
1.01 | RB | Matt Forte | Panizo |
1.02 | RB | Jamaal Charles | Holm |
1.03 | RB | LeSean McCoy | Allan |
1.04 | RB | Adrian Peterson | Adams |
1.05 | WR | Calvin Johnson | Cannon |
1.06 | RB | Marshawn Lynch | Rito |
1.07 | RB | Eddie Lacy | Harmon |
1.08 | TE | Jimmy Graham | Cahill |
1.09 | WR | A.J. Green | Kellogg |
1.10 | WR | Brandon Marshall | Nease |
1.11 | WR | Demaryius Thomas | Dolfi |
1.12 | WR | Dez Bryant | Schauf |
2.01 | RB | DeMarco Murray | Schauf |
2.02 | RB | LeVeon Bell | Dolfi |
2.03 | WR | Alshon Jeffery | Nease |
2.04 | RB | Arian Foster | Kellogg |
2.05 | RB | Giovani Bernard | Cahill |
2.06 | WR | Julio Jones | Harmon |
2.07 | WR | Antonio Brown | Rito |
2.08 | RB | Doug Martin | Cannon |
2.09 | QB | Peyton Manning | Adams |
2.10 | WR | Randall Cobb | Allan |
2.11 | WR | Jordy Nelson | Holm |
2.12 | QB | Drew Brees | Panizo |
3.01 | RB | Montee Ball | Panizo |
3.02 | RB | Zac Stacy | Holm |
3.03 | WR | Julian Edelman | Allan |
3.04 | RB | Reggie Bush | Adams |
3.05 | TE | Julius Thomas | Cannon |
3.06 | WR | Wes Welker | Rito |
3.07 | RB | Alfred Morris | Harmon |
3.08 | RB | C.J. Spiller | Cahill |
3.09 | WR | Keenan Allen | Kellogg |
3.10 | RB | Bishop Sankey | Nease |
3.11 | WR | Andre Johnson | Dolfi |
3.12 | RB | Andre Ellington | Schauf |
4.01 | RB | Shane Vereen | Schauf |
4.02 | WR | Pierre Garcon | Dolfi |
4.03 | RB | Ryan Mathews | Nease |
4.04 | RB | Ben Tate | Kellogg |
4.05 | QB | Aaron Rodgers | Cahill |
4.06 | WR | Percy Harvin | Harmon |
4.07 | TE | Rob Gronkowski | Rito |
4.08 | QB | Matthew Stafford | Cannon |
4.09 | WR | DeSean Jackson | Adams |
4.10 | WR | Roddy White | Allan |
4.11 | WR | Victor Cruz | Holm |
4.12 | WR | Vincent Jackson | Panizo |
5.01 | WR | Cordarrelle Patterson | Panizo |
5.02 | WR | Michael Crabtree | Holm |
5.03 | WR | Larry Fitzgerald | Allan |
5.04 | WR | T.Y. Hilton | Adams |
5.05 | RB | Toby Gerhart | Cannon |
5.06 | WR | Mike Wallace | Rito |
5.07 | WR | Hakeem Nicks | Harmon |
5.08 | TE | Jordan Cameron | Cahill |
5.09 | TE | Vernon Davis | Kellogg |
5.10 | RB | Chris Johnson | Nease |
5.11 | QB | Andrew Luck | Dolfi |
5.12 | WR | Michael Floyd | Schauf |
6.01 | WR | Terrance Williams | Schauf |
6.02 | RB | Rashad Jennings | Dolfi |
6.03 | RB | Knowshon Moreno | Nease |
6.04 | RB | Joique Bell | Kellogg |
6.05 | RB | Trent Richardson | Cahill |
6.06 | RB | Frank Gore | Harmon |
6.07 | RB | Ray Rice | Rito |
6.08 | WR | Jeremy Maclin | Cannon |
6.09 | WR | Sammy Watkins | Adams |
6.10 | RB | Pierre Thomas | Allan |
6.11 | QB | Nick Foles | Holm |
6.12 | WR | Torrey Smith | Panizo |
7.01 | RB | Fred Jackson | Panizo |
7.02 | RB | Steven Jackson | Holm |
7.03 | QB | Tom Brady | Allan |
7.04 | TE | Jordan Reed | Adams |
7.05 | RB | Danny Woodhead | Cannon |
7.06 | WR | Kendall Wright | Rito |
7.07 | RB | Darren Sproles | Harmon |
7.08 | QB | Cam Newton | Cahill |
7.09 | QB | Matt Ryan | Kellogg |
7.10 | QB | Robert Griffin III | Nease |
7.11 | TE | Jason Witten | Dolfi |
7.12 | WR | Golden Tate | Schauf |
8.01 | TE | Greg Olsen | Schauf |
8.02 | RB | Maurice Jones-Drew | Dolfi |
8.03 | WR | Eric Decker | Nease |
8.04 | WR | Mike Evans | Kellogg |
8.05 | WR | Justin Blackmon | Cahill |
8.06 | QB | Colin Kaepernick | Harmon |
8.07 | QB | Tony Romo | Rito |
8.08 | WR | Marques Colston | Cannon |
8.09 | WR | Rueben Randle | Adams |
8.10 | RB | Stevan Ridley | Allan |
8.11 | QB | Russell Wilson | Holm |
8.12 | WR | Reggie Wayne | Panizo |
9.01 | ST | Seattle | Panizo |
9.02 | TE | Dennis Pitta | Holm |
9.03 | TE | Kyle Rudolph | Allan |
9.04 | RB | Terrance West | Adams |
9.05 | QB | Jay Cutler | Cannon |
9.06 | RB | Darren McFadden | Rito |
9.07 | WR | Riley Cooper | Harmon |
As a reminder, this is a best-ball league with PPR scoring. You draft 20 guys, and that’s what you’re stuck with for the season. You start 3 WRs, and there’s also a flex spot (RB-TE-WR). Guys write little capsules after their picks, and those can be seen at the league website.
—Ian Allan