First draft: Getting back into the fantasy groove

Last weekend we held drafts for all four leagues I’m involved in this season. I’ll post all the results over the next few days, but here is how my first draft went and my thoughts about it.

Team A — This is a 10-team, redraft league with team defenses. Starters are 1 QB, 2 RBs, 1 flex (RB or WR), 2 WRs, 1 TE, 1 DEF and 1K. There are seven bench spots. Scoring is pretty standard, with bonuses for longer field goals.

We drafted online, and there were a couple of Tennessee “homers,”? as evidenced by the fact that I got Steven Jackson with the third overall pick after someone took Vince Young with the second (yes, ahead of even Peyton Manning). I can remember my first year of playing fantasy football and how easy it is to fall into the trap of drafting favorite players far too early. Live and learn, or never make the playoffs.

So my picks went like this:

Round 1 — Steven Jackson
Round 2 — Travis Henry
Round 3 — Marvin Harrison
Round 4 — Marshawn Lynch
Round 5 — Larry Fitzgerald
Round 6 — Andre Johnson
Round 7 — Matt Hasselbeck
Round 8 — Adrian Peterson
Round 9 — Eli Manning
Round 10 — Ben Watson
Round 11 — Bernard Berrian
Round 12 — Brandon Jackson
Round 13 — Dallas Clark
Round 14 — Joe Horn
Round 15 — Steelers Defense
Round 16 — Stephen Gostowski

I was pleasantly surprised to see several players still available when I picked them. More often than not on draft day, I’m frustrated come my pick because the couple of players I had my eye on were taken just ahead of my turn. It was a nice change.

Aside from Tennessee homers, there were also quarterback and tight end junkies in the league who grabbed the “studs”? at those positions while passing up on top-tier wide receivers and strong No. 2 running backs. I’d love to have Drew Brees or Tony Gonzalez on my team, but I just can’t bring myself to draft them as early as it takes to get them.

I was also happy that some starters were still available in the later rounds (e.g. Brandon Jackson, Berrian and Horn). Grabbing young running backs was a big priority for me this season, as it seems like the NFL life of running backs is growing shorter and shorter. Lynch, Peterson and Brandon Jackson seemed much more appealing than Jamal Lewis or Ahman Green.

So my starters are pretty much set (Hasselbeck, S. Jackson, Henry, Harrison, Fitzgerald, Steelers and Gostwoski all get the nod), but I’m not certain about which tight end I’ll go with or whom I’ll plug into the flex spot.

Within a day or two of that draft, Brandon Jackson got a concussion and Lynch looked horrible in preseason action against the Titans. Plus, both have week one match-ups against tough defenses, Jackson against Philadelphia and Lynch against Denver. Peterson’s match-up against Atlanta seems much more favorable, but he’ll be behind Chester Taylor on the depth chart and likely won’t get as much opportunity as the other two rookies. The conventional wisdom holds that you should always go with a running back over a receiver, but I’m seriously entertaining the notion of going with Andre Johnson as my flex (against Kansas City). There’s still plenty of time for me to come to my senses, though.

I’m ecstatic about my starting running back and receiver tandems, but I did take a slight hit at quarterback. Since I waited and took Hasselbeck, a low-end No. 1, in the eighth round, I wanted to make sure I got one of the better No. 2 quarterbacks. I look for Eli Manning to finally realize his potential this season and hope he’ll move up into my starting roster a few weeks into the year.

Looking back over the draft, there are a few things I would have done differently. In hindsight, Brandon Jacobs would have been a better pick than Marshawn Lynch in the fifth round, and Vernon Davis was still available when I took Ben Watson. Hopefully, analyzing my picks in this draft will keep me from making the same kind of mistakes in the next three.

Send your draft, lineup, trade and other fantasy football questions to lisakellyeason@yahoo.com