(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Round 1
1. Team Schottey: Maurice Jones-Drew (RB-JAX) Although Adrian Peterson is the consensus top pick, Jones-Drew is a valuable fantasy starter in his own right—along with being much more durable. It's a fantasy league, this pick will pay dividends when Eben Britton and Eugene Monroe start paving the way.
2. Team Stashin: Adrian Peterson (RB-MIN) This is the obvious pick and no explanation is really needed for this one. AP is a stud workhorse and feature back who is quick as lightning.
3. Team Lorge: Steve Slaton (RB-HOU) Slaton was only 56 total yards behind Matt Forte last season with 61 less touches. In an increased role, "Mr. Uh-Oh" is ready to explode in 2009. I'm still scratching my head on how he was a late third round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, but I'll take him third every time in 2009 Fantasy Drafts.
4. Team Lester: Michaal Turner (RB-ATL) Turner was an absolute beast in his first year as a feature back. I expect his TD numbers to take a step back with the addition of Tony Gonzalez, but he should easily be able to produce 1,500-plus total yards and 12-plus TD.
5. Team Bedinger: DeAngelo Williams (RB-CAR) Last year, Williams split time with high-impact rookie Jonathan Stewart and still rushed for over 1,500 yards and 18 touchdowns. The Panthers will not veer away from their run-first style offense, and I think Williams will have another huge year.
6. Team Waddell: Matt Forte (RB-CHI) The 1,238 yards and 12 total touchdowns that Forte posted last year should increase this year with the addition of a gun-slinging quarterback in Jay Cutler commanding the air. Additionally, Forte’s sub-par 3.9 yards-per-carry should increase as defenses won’t be able to key in on the running game with a true down field threat tossing passes. There is always a fear of a sophomore slump, and recent injury news, but Forte is the only rushing option in Chicago and will build upon his great rookie season.
7. Team Winslow: Chris Johnson (RB-TEN) Johnson was one of the most exciting players to watch last year and with 1,488 yards from scrimmage and 10 total touchdowns as a rookie sharing carries, his fantasy production should only improve. He caught a lot of swing passes and screens last season and had a total of 43 receptions, so he's a good value in point-per-reception leagues as well.
8. Team Williams: Tom Brady (QB-NE) Consternation abounds in the Williams' Camp as Johnson had been high up on the list. With the eighth pick, the Team Williams picks quarterback Tom Brady. While normally one would take a running back in the first round, after consideration of his recovery from injury and past performance, Brady was worth more points than the remaining running backs.
9. Team Anderson: Stephen Jackson (RB-STL) With most of the elite running backs gone, it comes down to the best players on the board. Drew Brees looks like the cream of the crop at quaterback, Stephen Jackson is solid with great potential to be a top five pick, and there's several top flight receivers left. In the end, Team Anderson goes with Jackson who has top 10 touchdown potential and is an easy 1,000 yard rusher. Throw in 400 or so receiving yards and Jackson could turn out to be a steal.
10. Team Nash: Drew Brees (QB-NO) With the 10th pick, you have to go with Brees. Tomlinson would be a nice move too, but his late injury may or may not prove to be an issue this season and that uncertainty makes Brees the best option here. He's been a fantasy juggernaut since arriving in New Orleans—never failing to put up monster numbers, including over 5,000 yards last season with an offense that saw its most elite players spending a majority of time on the injury list. Some could take issue with Brees being picked before Payton Manning, but his durability, productivity, and fantasy scoring potential is hard to overlook.
11. Team Harkey: Frank Gore (RB-SF) With the 11th Pick in the 2009 Bleacher Report Writers' Draft, GM John Harkey selects Frank Gore! So much for the WR/WR strategy that I had thought would come into play this late in the first round. You simply can't ignore the value of a workhorse back like Gore slipping to the bottom. The 49ers feature back has no competition for playing time or goal line carries. New offensive coordinator, Jimmy Raye, loves to pound the rock and Gore will be his weapon of choice all year long. Gore may not have the flash and dazzle of other top backs, but he does have consistency. Since becoming the 49ers feature back in 2006, Gore has averaged 1,277 yards rushing, 431 yards receiving and eight touchdowns per season. Gore's ankle should be completely healed and I expect a healthy Gore to command 20-plus touches per game in a run heavy offense with similar numbers to his career averages.
12. Team Crowe: Larry Fitzgerald (WR-ARI) Drafting last...always fun. Interesting draft so far. Did we skip the first round? MJD going first? Did I miss about 13 picks? Anyway, with the last pick in the first round, Sean Crowe (trademark) selects Larry Fitzgerald. It's a new NFL. Running backs split carries, which reduces the value of late first round running backs. Fitzgerald is a better value than any running back at this spot. He's good for an easy 100 catches, and easier 1,400 yards, and 10-12 touchdowns.
First Round Notes
Nathan Waddel: Love 1.6 Forte—Might be my pick, but you can't overstate the value and 1.9 Steven Jackson—The lowest I've seen him go in any mock this year. Great value. Hate 1.3 Slaton—There's no way Slaton finishes top five in any scoring format and 1.8 Chris Johnson —With this pick, he needs to be a top six running draft. He's in a timeshare and in a league without PPR, he has late first round value. But it's the least of my "hates".
John Lorge: Slaton was the seventh best back in the scoring system we're playing in and he was 15 fantasy points away from being top five...What round were Turner, Williams, Forte, and T-Jones drafted last year (all top five scorers)? Slaton will have an increased work load this year and his team is better. If he plays 16 games and finishes seventh in fantasy scoring again it is a great pick.
Kyle Winslow: I like the Steve Slaton pick, even if it is a slight reach. The Texans offense looked like it was on the verge of being elite last year, and I think if they can limit their mistakes this year, Slaton and Andre Johnson are going to have huge years. Matt Forte is my favorite pick, I would have drafted him with the first overall pick if I'd had it.
John Harkey: Tom Brady selection at 1.08 is not only a reach, but a risk. We are only scoring four points for passing touchdowns in this mock league. This makes Brady a huge reach at No. 8 in the first round with feature backs and elite wideouts still on the board.
Jonathan Williams: Brady is not a reach. He has never been a mobile quarterback. I suspect had the Patriots really had concerns about him they would have hung onto Cassel. This is the same team that dropped Bledsoe for Brady in a similar situation. And to my understanding, Randy Moss still plays on the team.
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