The biggest draft of all

My fourth draft of the year was the most important. This is where it all started for me, the money league. It’s our sixth year, and I’ll be trying to reach the playoffs for the fifth straight season. It’s also the most fun draft, live and with plenty of trash talking.

This is a 10-person redraft league with team defense/special teams and standard scoring, with the exception that five-point bonuses are awarded for 100 yards rushing or receiving and 300 yards passing. Passing touchdowns are 6 points each. Also, only one add/drop is allowed per week and trading is rare, so draft day become even more important. We start 1 QB, 2 RBs, 2 WRs, 1 TE, 1 K and 1 D/ST.

I drew the eighth spot. My picks:

Round 1—Brian Westbrook
Round 2—Laurence Maroney
Round 3—Larry Fitzgerald
Round 4—Brandon Jacobs
Round 5—Andre Johnson
Round 6—Reggie Brown
Round 7—Todd Heap
Round 8—Jerious Norwood
Round 9—Santana Moss
Round 10—Matt Leinart
Round 11—Fred Taylor
Round 12—Santonio Holmes
Round 13—Dallas Clark
Round 14—Alex Smith
Round 15—Green Bay defense/special teams
Round 16—Jason Elam

I would have preferred to pick earlier and had a top-five running back, but I’ve never owned Westbrook before and am happy with him. I’m also pretty satisfied with the rest of my running back corps, especially considering the growing RBBC trend.

I’m ecstatic about my wide receivers and think they could all five could pan out. I might end up using Brown, Moss or Holmes as trade bait to upgrade at another position.

I’m similarly happy with my tight ends, especially considering the top two, Gates and Gonzalez, were gone by the fifth round.

The defense worries me, and I really took a chance on the Packers. They looked pretty strong at the end of last year and have a young, talented group. They also had some great preseason moments but face Philadelphia in week one, then the Chargers come to town in week three. The Packers might not stay on my roster for long, but surprise defenses seem to emerge every year and I should have no trouble picking one up.