Fantasy Football

I come to you this week bearing good news regarding the state of fantasy football in June: ESPN is now offering round-the-clock mock drafts. Regrettably I admit that this made me way happier than it had any business doing. You mean I can inconsequentially pick NFL players based on projected statistical output with complete strangers from all over the country? Sign me up!

If you’re a tad OCD about this and don’t have much of a social life, this is the perfect way to waste your time while pretending you’re doing something constructive by “prepping” for your fantasy football draft. This is a total fallacy, obviously, but it makes the act itself seem more dignified. Besides, I think there is a small amount of truth that participating in a couple of these will put you in a better situation when it comes time for your real fantasy draft (this is generally the one you actually invest money in).

I mean, the sample size has to be enormous for it to actually mean anything, plus you probably know the majority of people you’re drafting with well enough that you don’t need a fucking gallop poll to determine which way they’re going to sway. But look: I ended up with my first four picks (8th overall) being Andre Johnson (second best receiver bar none going into this season), Brandon Jacobs (no more Derrick Ward eating up carries), Wes Welker (absolutely primed for a 2007 like resurgence) and Aaron Rodgers (kind of an over-draft, but his numbers last year were gaudy and he’s only going to improve on them).

Beyond that I can’t remember who I took other than Jason Witten in the sixth, Felix Jones, Jay Cutler as my backup QB, Kenny Watson in the fifteenth round, Minnesota’s defense after I had drafted all my other starters, Muhsin Muhammad, Shonn Greene and LeSean McCoy. It’s all pretty meaningless since there were only three people not auto-picking by the fifth round.

But more so than who was drafted where and how that might reflect the draft that I care about two months from now, it gave me a better feel for the 2009 landscape. Right now, virtually every team is running two (and in some cases three) viable running backs. Given the rate of injury and the considerably unpredictable nature of the position,  there is absolutely no reason to dedicate any of your higher picks to running back. In fact much like last year, I’d advocate filling your receiver slots earlier than most, since most would agree that Larry Fitzgerald is so much more of a sure thing than Maurice Jones-Drew (whom I actually like).

Anyways, that’s all I really have for you today. We should be returning tomorrow with some injury/surgery/optional mini-camp news.