Fantasy Football Mock Draft: Rounds Five To Seven Recap

Consisting of nine members of the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Staff, along with guest columnist, Ryan Hallam, from Fighting Chance Fantasy, the Bruno Boys Mock Draft was a 14-round affair based on a standard scoring league (Pass TDs 4 points, All Other TDs 6 points). Outside of having to field a starting line-up occupied by 1 QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, 1 TE, 1 K, and 1 D, owners were free to compile their rosters any way in which they pleased. All commentary after each pick is provided by the Bruno Boys staff member who made the pick. The draft was conducted over email and took place from July 13, 2009 to August 3, 2009.

ROUND 5 RESULTS

5.01: Dominic Brown—Joseph Addai (Ind) 

Yes he was one of last year’s biggest busts. Yes the Colts drafted Donald Brown in the offseason. But the truth is, Addai is only one season removed from scoring 15 TDs and going for over 1,000 total yards. And despite a questionable line up front, he’s still on one of the league’s most potent offenses.

5.02: Greg Warnock—Antonio Bryant (TB)

Bryant came alive in the second half of the year last season, finishing 8th overall with 1,248 receiving yards. He has the potential to once again be a WR1 and with what is left on the board, this is tremendous value for my team, who is craving a big time receiver. Bryant is the main target for whoever plays quarterback so I am not worried about the QB problem in Tampa Bay (Note: Bryant injured during preseason and could miss Tampa Bay’s opener).

5.03:  Ryan Hallam—Vincent Jackson (SD)

Philip Rivers finally found a consistent target in the second half of the season with Vincent Jackson.  He scored six TDs in the last 10 weeks of the season.  With no other serious threat at WR on the team, I believe that Jackson will improve on last year’s numbers.

5.04: Jimbo Jones—Aaron Rodgers (GB)

As much as I think Aaron Rodgers will have a great 2009 season, this is a little bit earlier than I wanted to take a QB, since Brees, Brady and Manning have already been taken. Looking at the rest of the RBs and WRs left available, I’ll take my chances to fill out my depth there in the next couple rounds. This gives me the Rodgers-Greg Jennings combo that should connect for many scores in 2009.

5.05: Cory Steger—Santonio Holmes (Pit)

After a great performance in the postseason last year Holmes is ready to break out and become the top receiving option in Pittsburgh. Holmes should enjoy career highs in receptions and yards, but his total touchdown may still be a concern. Nonetheless his explosiveness is too hard to ignore.

5.06: Kyle Smith—Tony Romo (Dal)

Romo played only 13 games last season but was still sixth in the league with 26 touchdown throws. Terrell Owens is gone, but that won’t preclude Romo from his second 30+ touchdown season.

5.07: Chris Ziza—Philip Rivers (SD)

The San Diego Chargers have an outstanding offense which is quarterbacked by Mr. Rivers himself. While he enjoyed his best season to date in 2008, I feel those numbers will fall short to what he puts up in 2009. I am thankful to have him as my starting QB.

5.08: Marc Caviglia—Reggie Bush (NO)

He has yet to put together a full season of success but there is little risk snagging him at the back-end of the fifth round. If Bush produces to his potential he should far out play his draft position. Plus he will enter the season as my backup running back.

5.09: Larry Joseph—Thomas Jones (NYJ)

There are some concerns about Leon Washington and rookie Shonn Greene stealing carries and TDs from Jones this year, but you can’t beat his value in the fifth round as a RB3. Jones was a stud last year when he had 290 carries for 1,312 yards and a career high 13 TDs.

5.10: Michael Whooley—LenDale White (TEN)

Derrick Ward and Knowshon Moreno were tempting here; however, White not only gives me value here (15 TDs in 2008), but he, also, is a great insurance policy for my squad should Chris Johnson, my number one pick, go down due to injury.

ROUND 6 RESULTS

6.01: Michael Whooley—Braylon Edwards (Cle)

Yes, Edwards was one of the bigger busts in 2008, but he’s worth a gamble here. The man will dominate targets in Cleveland with Kellen Winslow traded to Tampa Bay, and you have to remember, he did have 16 TDs just two seasons ago.

6:02: Larry Joseph—Jason Witten (Dal)

Witten had a bit of a down year in 2008 with 81 catches for 952 yards and four TDs. Not a bad down year for a TE, although I would expect more TDs from him this year. He is the Bruno Boys top ranked TE, and he (not Roy Williams) will likely be Tony Romo’s top target this season.

6:03: Marc Caviglia—Kurt Warner (Ari)

Warner grades out as our No. 5 fantasy QB entering 2009 and he should come close to repeating his 4,583 passing yard and 30 TD performance of 2008. With all of his receivers returning and an expected improvement in the running game, Warner should have no problem producing as a high level QB1.

6:04: Chris Ziza—Larry Johnson (KC)

The past few years have been horrid for Larry Johnson, but he still has the talent to produce behind what should be an improved Kansas City Chiefs offense. Now that the offense will be more focused around him, I see big things on the horizon. A solid RB3 that can play as a RB2 in the right match-up.

6:05: Kyle Smith—Anthony Gonzalez (IND)

Taking over the starting role opposite Reggie Wayne, Gonzalez has improved in each of his first two seasons. Now, he’ll have more opportunities than ever.

6:06: Cory Steger—Chad Ochocino (Cin) 

After all that’s gone on the past few seasons a lot of people forget just how good Chad Ochocinco is, and I expect him to start to return to that level this season with a healthy Carson Palmer at the helm.

6:07: Jimbo Jones—Hines Ward (Pit)

Despite Santonio Holmes’ strong postseason last year, it is Hines Ward who benefits the most in this offense. He should lead his team in receptions in 2009 and find the end-zone enough to make him a good WR3 on my team.

6:08: Ryan Hallam—Derrick Ward (TB)

With Jonathan Stewart as my No. 2 RB, I need another back that appears to be solid.  I worry about Ward’s ability to be the primary back, but he is likely the best guy left.  There are a few other guys who deserve carries in Tampa, but they brought in Ward for a reason and he will be the main man.

6:09: Greg Warnock—Antonio Gates (SD)

I need a WR2, but I can’t pass up the value here with Gates. He produces WR2 numbers, so why not grab him before the tight end run begins? I may be weak at WR, but I drafted value. I believe this gives me the second best QB, RB, and TE in fantasy football on my team.

6:10: Dominic Brown—Donovan McNabb (Phi)

Waiting on a QB worked out better than I expected. McNabb comes with a history of injuries but with an improved O-line and the addition of new weapons Jeremy Maclin and Lesean McCoy, he is poised for a huge season.

ROUND 7 RESULTS

7:01: Dominic Brown—Chris (Beanie) Wells (Ari)

Wells gives the Arizona Cardinals the one thing they need, a solid running game. And he gives my team a good core of running back depth. Even in a pass first offense, he’ll be utilized at the goal line a plenty. He’s 235 lbs and can run the 40 in 4.5. Translation, rookie of the year.

7.02: Greg Warnock—Santana Moss (Was)

Moss represents the best value at WR on the board at this pick. For a team looking for its WR2, I feel fortunate to be able to get him at this spot. I will have a problem in Week eight, when Moss and Bryant are both on a bye. But being extremely weak for one game isn’t terrible and is one of the many ways you can go about handling bye weeks..

7.03: Ryan Hallam—Jay Cutler (Chi)

OK, so he doesn’t have the weapons in Chicago he had in Denver, but he has a hell of a running game that should soften up the defense and he has one of the best arms in all of football.  Hopefully he can turn one of those stiffs into real receivers. 

7.04: Jimbo Jones—Tony Gonzalez (Atl)

While I think that this year there’s a lot of depth at tight end and you can wait to draft them, I couldn’t pass on Tony Gonzalez in the seventh round. He’s one of the top three elite tight ends heading into the season, and now on a much better offense.

7.05: Cory Steger—Knowshon Moreno (Den)

Needing to get some solid RBs to back up my starters I settled on Denver rookie Knowshon Moreno, who is a great runner and NFL ready. Not to mention the new coaching staff in Denver loves Moreno  (Moreno suffered an MCL sprain and could miss regular season action).

7.06: Kyle Smith—DeSean Jackson (PHI)

Jackson was last season’s top rookie wideout, and the unabashed No. 1 guy in Philly, even with a healthy Kevin Curtis. This is a player I could get third-round production out of, should he take a step forward in his second season in the league…

7.07: Chris Ziza—Willie Parker (Pit)

With a lot of people in this league having yet selected a RB3, I am going to grab my fourth in the draft by running with “Fast” Willie Parker. If he stays healthy, grabbing Parker in the later parts of the seventh round will be a huge steal as he has the talent to be a solid RB2 during most weeks. With LT, Jacobs, LJ and now Parker, I shouldn’t have any worries at this position.

7:08: Marc Caviglia—Dallas Clark (Ind)

Clark is the main RZ target for Peyton Manning and the loss of Marvin Harrison will only increase his role in the offense. He is the last of the elite TEs on the board and snagging him at the bottom half of round seven is ideal.

7.09: Larry Joseph—Bernard Berrian (Min)

Berrian finished 2008 with just 48 catches, but he totaled 964 yards for an outstanding 20.1 yards per catch with seven TD’s. He did this on a team whose primary offensive focus is running the ball and with less then stellar quarterback play. Berrian makes a nice high-end WR3, especially if Brett Favre ends up with the Vikings, which seems highly likely (Favre actually just signed a two year contract with Minnesota).

7.10: Michael Whooley—Lee Evans (Buf)

Many think T.O.‘s arrival to Buffalo diminishes Evans’ value. In fact, it does the opposite. For once, opposing defenses will be forced to pay attention to someone else in the Bills passing game, meaning Evans will find himself with plenty of opportunities against single coverage—perfect recipe for success for a deep ball threat.

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