We’re into the 17th round in the Fanex Analysis Draft (just three more to go). I’ve added a trio of players since I last checked in. At 15.06, I went with Vernon Davis as my second tight end. The thinking there is that he was great two years ago (13 TDs) and there’s some bounce-back potential. They’ve got a new offense, and he’s also in a contract year.
At 16.07, I selected the Kansas City defense, becoming the first franchise with two defenses. This wasn’t my intention going in, but on my board I’ve got St. Louis and Kansas City as the two best defenses in the league after the Bills. They’ve both got top-3 pass rushes (I think), and I’ve got them both in my top 3 in kick returns. Kansas City focuses a lot of energy on returns, and it’s paid off for them – 6 TDs on kick returns in the last two years.
With selection 17.06 I chose Dan Herron. I would have liked to take a good kicker here, but Herron is just too tempting to pass up. I think he might be better than Frank Gore (who should begin the season as the starter). Gore is 32, and I’m not sure he can really play anymore. Herron is better in passing situations; you may recall him catching 18 passes in their two playoff wins last year.
But for today’s report, I will focus less on my own team and more on what others are doing. Specifically, here are what I feel have been the best picks by the other 11 owners in each round so far …
1.09 Dez Bryant
I’m of the school of thought that pass catchers are really valuable in this format. It’s PPR and you can start four receivers. So I saw Bryant as more of a top-5 pick.
2.05 Julio Jones
He’s the No. 2 wide receiver on my board, and I think he should have been selected in the top 5 overall. Instead he went with the 5th pick of the second round.
3.05 Emmanuel Sanders
I think he’s pretty much interchangeable with teammate Demaryius Thomas, who went with the first pick of the second round. Thomas will catch more long balls, but Sanders will work out of the slot and maybe catch more passes (and this is a PPR format).
4.11 Golden Tate
The only player in the round who wasn’t overdrafted. Tate should catch 80-plus balls, making him about a round better than this draft position.
5.07 Brandon Marshall
Marshall had injury problems last year, but he’s healthy now and he’s still a baller. With Chan Gailey orchestrating things, I expect the Jets will have one of the league’s most improved offenses, and we’ll all look back and agree Marshall should have been picked two rounds earlier.
6.04 Greg Olsen
He’s the No. 2 tight end on my board – ahead of Jimmy Graham. Thought he should have gone two rounds earlier.
7.12 Brandon LaFell
I regret selecting Cam Newton at 7.06 when I could have gone with LaFell. I already have three other wide receivers, but you can play four in this format. LaFell is the #21 wide receiver on my board – should have been selected four rounds earlier, I thought.
8.04 Joique Bell
Ameer Abdullah was selected back in the third round, but Bell is higher on my board. He knows the offense and the pro game and isn’t adapting out of a spread system. Should have been selected over three rounds earlier, I thought.
9.03 Michael Floyd
The #31 wide receiver on my board. Should have been selected over three rounds earlier.
10.03 Anquan Boldin
Most of the values are turning out to be wide receivers. I had Boldin going in the fifth round, and here he is early in the 10th.
11.07 Marques Colston
Similar to Boldin. Proven, veteran pass catcher who should have been selected almost four rounds earlier.
12.05 Rueben Randle
I’m not a big Randle fan, but I don’t think Victor Cruz can be counted on to make it back to an impact role. I think Randle is the No. 2 receiver in that offense, meaning he should have been selected back in the seventh round.
13.01 Buffalo Bills
I hate the way they score defenses in this league, with meaningful bonuses for shutting down opponents only if they are held to 5 or fewer points. That’s really hard to do (to me, I like seeing a defense like the Seahawks or Jets getting nice bonuses consistently for holding teams to 10-14 points). But whatever, defenses still tend to get undervalued, making the Bills a nice value here.
14.11 Dwayne Allen
If you look at the Colts tight ends in only the games that both were healthy, Allen was way better than Coby Fleener last year. Should have been picked over three rounds ago.
15.08 James White
All along I’ve been planning to select White as my fifth running back. I think they’ll plug him into Shane Vereen’s old role, and he should be very productive. He’ll catch a lot of passes and probably be a better runner than Vereen ever was. On my board, White is higher in this format than LeGarrette Blount, who was selected with the last pick of the 6th round.
16.04 New York Jets
They signed three starting cornerbacks to upgrade their secondary, including Darrelle Revis, and they have those three monsters on the defensive line.
I’m not selecting a top pick for the 17th round because it’s only half over, and I think the best value selection is yet to come.
To follow along with this draft (and see the comments posted by the various participants) go to MyFantasyLeague.com.
—Ian Allan