/*-------------------------------------------------------------------- Madden 09 PS2 Fantasy Draft Guide 8/17/08 --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ Table of Contents: 1. Introduction (A1) 2. Version Updates (A2) 3. Common Used Terms (A3) 4. Objective (A4) 5. Fantasy Draft- 11 Rounds (A5) 6. 2008 First Round Rookies to Consider (A6) 7. Others "Long Term Worthy" players to Consider (A7) 8. Other Comments (A8) /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Introduction (A1) --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ This is written for the default rosters on the PS2 version of Madden 09 with salary cap turned off. Peyton Manning gets picked as #1 of 2nd round (due to salary cap for each round) just doesn't seem right to me when the salary cap is turned on. As moochieh pointed out in his Madden NFL 08: Fantasy Draft/Trade FAQ: "... picking players out of the order can change the exact makeup of the draft." Same rule applies here in Madden 09. The key to successful fantasy draft is figuring out when to draft your next player: One of the common mistakes that we make is taking a player way too early in the draft. Draft Antonio Gates in the 1st round makes no sense (even if you're a hardcore Antonio fan) as you can wait until the 8th round and he will still be available. Another common mistake that we make is we do not draft the player we want in time. For example, let's say you drafted a QB in the 1st round and now you need to make a decision on the 16th pick of 2nd round. You decide to draft Dwight Freeney because you "feel" Randy Moss will still be available when you get to 3rd round. Guess what? Randy gets picked as the 1st pick of 3rd round. So if you really want Randy to be on your team then you should grab him not 1st round (too early) nor 3rd round (too late), but 2nd round instead. This example, of course, assumes that you do not have the 1st pick of the 3rd round. At this time, I don't plan to expand Fantasy Draft order to include the draft order of the first 20 or 25 rounds (maybe you can help?). I also don't plan to simulate another draft with salary cap turned on. I apologize for any spelling mistake in this FAQ, especially player names, in advance. /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2008 coke_cola --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ This FAQ may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Version Update (A2) --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ Version 1.0 Initial Draft 8/16/08 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Common Used Terms (A3) --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ Common football abbreviations are used in this guide. /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Objective (A4) --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ The goal when I draft through first 11 rounds is to put together the best "bang for the buck" team that would last me 10 franchise years. This pretty much means that I'll not draft anyone over 25 years old. Let's run through an example first. Assume we go through first 3 rounds with 2 different choices: Choice #1: 1st Round- An accurate QB (rated 92) 2nd Round- 2nd-tier HB (rated 88) 3rd Round- 1st-tier WR (rated 96) Choice #2: 1st Round- Fast QB but not accurate (rated 89) 2nd Round- 1st-tier DE (rated 96) 3rd Round- Bottom 1st-tier CB (rated 93) Which one of the above looks more "exciting" on paper? Probably the first one. However, which choice offers more bang for the buck? Well, let's look at Choice #1: Draft an accurate QB in 1st round is ok. But draft an HB in 2nd round is a bad idea because after Chester Taylor is taken in round 1, the next HB that would be taken by CPU is Michael Turner in the 8th round. Not to mention that you can get a fast HB, Darren McFadden, in 13th (or maybe 14th) round. As far as WR goes, you can pick up Calvin Johnson in round 4 instead of wasting a pick in round 3 for a WR. Let's look at Choice #2 from above: You get to draft the fastest QB in the game, one of the best (and young) DEs of the game, and the fastest CB in the game. Sure, you may not have Larry Fitzgerald, but you get to pick a taller, faster, younger WR - Calvin Johnson in the next round. In the next section (A5) I'll also provide hints of how to draft players if you're only interested in playing one season. (where age doesn't come into play) For now, let me break down my drafting strategy if I were to play 10 or more franchise seasons: There are 11 players on offense and 11 players on defense. How many from each side should I pick in the first 11 rounds? Offense: QB- Yes I will pick Vince Young in the 1st round HB- No I will pick Darren McFadden in the 13th round instead WR#1- Yes I will pick Calvin Johnson in the 4th round WR#2- No TE#1- No TE#2 or FB#1- No Offense Lineman(OL)- 4 out of 5 must be picked in the first 11 rounds. From above, we can see that my plan is to pick 6 offensive players in the first 11 rounds. How come HB is not in the top 11 rounds? Because I think McFadden in round 13 is a great pickup instead. Why 4 OLs? To have effective running/passing games, OL must be there to support from day one. You don't want to put 5 rookie OLs on the field and get killed every time your HB tries to run a HB Slam route during your first season. The order for drafting offensive players in the first 11 rounds that I'd suggest: QB -> WR -> 4 OL If you would like to emphasis on defense, I'd pick 3 OLs instead of 4. Use the extra spot from OL to pick a decent DT/DE/OLB instead. Defense: (Assuming 4-3 defense) 2 DT- 1 must be in first 11 rounds 2 DE- 1 must be in first 11 rounds 1 MLB - Yes 2 OLBs- No 2 CBs- Both in the first 11 rounds SS- No FS-No From above, we can see that my plan is to pick 5 defensive players in the first 11 rounds. The goal is to have 2 good players up for the trench fight, 1 good MLB to stop the run, and 2 good secondary players to stop the pass. I consider CB#2 to be more important than FS & SS, as I like to pick FS & SS through future drafts. The order for drafting defensive players in the first 11 rounds that I'd suggest: DL -> CB -> MLB -> DT -> CB Again, if you want to buff up your defense, I'd draft a DT/DE/OLB right before the 2nd CB. /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Fantasy Draft- 11 Rounds (A5) --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 1st Round --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ Drafting Tip: Long term perspective: (if you plan to play for more than one season) 1st Round to me is a no brainier. I'd pick Vince Young ten times out of ten tries because you can find another young/fast HB later on in the draft but no one else will be able to rush like Vince in the QB position. I'd restart fantasy draft if I have the 30th, 31st, or 32nd pick of the 1st round. Short term perspective: (if you plan to play only for one season) As you can see, this is your chance to grab a real good QB/HB. Champ Baily and Randy Moss won't be drafted by CPU until Round 3, so you should pick the best QB/HB available. (I'd lean toward QB) Long Term Pick First Name Last Name Position Age Overall Worthy? 1 Ladainian Tomlinson HB 29 99 2 Peyton Manning QB 32 99 3 Tom Brady QB 31 99 4 Brian Westbrook HB 28 97 5 Steven Jackson HB 25 97 6 Carson Palmer QB 28 96 7 Drew Brees QB 29 95 8 Ben Roethisbergr QB 26 95 9 Adrian Peterson HB 23 95 10 Larry Johnson HB 28 94 11 Tony Romo QB 28 94 12 Eli Manning QB 27 94 13 Donovan McNabb QB 31 93 14 Fred Taylor HB 32 93 15 Willie Parker HB 27 93 16 Frank Gore HB 25 92 17 David Garrard QB 30 92 18 Willis McGahee HB 26 92 19 Clinton Portis HB 26 92 20 Matt Hasselback QB 32 92 21 Marion Barber HB 25 91 22 Ronnie Brown HB 26 91 23 Maurice Jones-Drew HB 23 91 24 Marc Bulger QB 31 91 25 Jamal Lewis HB 29 90 26 Edgarrin James HB 30 90 27 Joseph Addai HB 25 90 28 Marshawn Lynch HB 22 89 29 Vince Young QB 25 89 Yes 30 Chester Taylor HB 28 89 31 Jeff Garcia QB 38 88 32 Phillip Rivers QB 26 88 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd Round --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ Drafting Tip: Long term perspective: (if you plan to play for more than one season) I'd pick Mario Williams ten out of ten tries. In fact, I'd restart fantasy draft if I can't have Young-Williams as my one-two punch. Tommie Harris would be a good pick too. Short term perspective: (if you plan to play only for one season) Pick the best DT/DE available is the "right" thing to do. However, for the fun factor, I'd pick Randy Moss in this round as he will be gone by the time you get to pick in next round. Long Term Pick First Name Last Name Position Age Overall Worthy? 1 Osi Umenyiora DE 27 97 2 Jason Taylor DE 33 97 3 Aaron Kampman DE 28 97 4 Richard Seymour DE 28 97 5 Albert Haynesworth DT 27 97 6 Pat Williams DT 35 97 7 Jared Allen DE 26 97 8 Tommie Harris DT 24 96 Yes 9 Jamal Williams DT 32 96 10 Julius Peppers DE 28 96 11 Casey Hampton DT 31 96 12 Mario Williams DE 23 96 Yes 13 Kevin Williams DT 28 96 14 Shaun Rogers DT 29 95 15 Michael Strahan DE 36 95 16 John Henderson DT 29 95 17 Dwight Freeney DE 30 94 18 Patrick Kerney DE 31 94 19 Aaron Smith DE 32 94 20 Marcus Stroud DT 30 93 21 Robert Mathis DE 27 93 22 Vince Wilfork DT 26 93 23 Derrick Burgess DE 30 93 24 Aaron Schobel DE 31 92 25 Darnell Dockett DT 27 92 26 Luis Castillo DE 25 92 27 John Abraham DE 30 92 28 Kris Jenkins DT 29 92 29 Kyle Vanden Bosch DE 29 92 30 Justin Tuck DE 25 91 31 Adewale Ogunleye DE 31 90 32 Ty Warren DE 27 90 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 3rd Round --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ Drafting Tip: Long term perspective: (if you plan to play for more than one season) The only "long term worthy" pick is Joe Thomas in this round. However, I'd like to pick CB DeAngelo Hall (CPU will pick him next round) because I know I'd miss him if I didn't pick him this round. Antonio Cromartie's overall rating is the same as Hall, but Hall is the fastest CB in the game (98). Both of them are 24 years old. The major problem with WR/CB in this round is that you cannot find a good combination of age/speed. My cutoff line for (determining "Long Term Worthy" in this round) CB/WR is age 25/speed 95. Short term perspective: (if you plan to play only for one season) Pick the best CB/WR/T available. Check for speed if you're interested in CB/WR. Long Term Pick First Name Last Name Position Age Overall Worthy? 1 Randy Moss WR 31 99 2 Champ Baily CB 30 98 3 Steve Smith WR 29 98 4 Chad Johnson WR 30 98 5 Reggie Wayne WR 29 97 6 Terrel Owens WR 34 97 7 Ninamdi Asomugha CB 27 97 8 Joe Thomas T 23 96 Yes 9 Larry Fitzgerald WR 25 96 10 Rashean Mathis CB 27 96 11 Torry Holt WR 32 96 12 T.J. Houshmandz WR 30 95 13 Jason Peters T 26 95 14 Anquan Boldin WR 27 95 15 Terence Newman CB 29 95 16 Lito Sheppard CB 27 95 17 Asante Samuel CB 27 95 18 Matt Light T 30 95 19 Johnathan Ogden T 34 95 20 Walter Jones T 34 95 21 Andre Johnson WR 27 95 22 Braylon Edwards WR 25 94 23 Ronda Barber CB 33 94 24 Marvin Harrison WR 36 94 25 Flozell Adams T 33 94 26 Plaxico Burress WR 31 94 27 Al Harris CB 33 94 28 Mark Tauscher T 31 94 29 Chad Cifton T 32 94 30 Orlando Pace T 32 94 31 Chris McAlister CB 31 94 32 Chris Samuels T 31 94 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 4th Round --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ Drafting Tip: Long term perspective: (if you plan to play for more than one season) There are 5 potential "Long Term Worthy" picks. However, this is my only shot at Calvin Johnson so I won't let him get away (espeically if I drafted Hall in last round). I'd restart my fantasy draft if Calvin is already taken. Antonio Cromarties is already analyzed in the last round. Marcus McNeill is great if you prefer to take T over WR/CB in this round, but that is assuming you have the luxury of picking early in 4th round. Greg Jennings is good player, his 96 speed rating is better Calvin's 95, but Calvin has the advantage of being taller and 2 years younger. Short term perspective: (if you plan to play only for one season) Pick the best CB/WR/T (overall rated 92-94) available. Check for speed if you're interested in CB/WR. If you want the best SS/FS/MLB/OLB, this is the round to make the noise as those guys (overall rated 96 or higher) will probably be gone by the time you get to pick in 5th round. Long Term Pick First Name Last Name Position Age Overall Worthy? 1 Marcus Trufant CB 27 94 2 Bryant McKinnie T 28 94 3 Quentin Jammer CB 29 93 4 Antonio Cromartie CB 24 93 Yes 5 Marcus McNeill T 24 93 Yes 6 Ryan Diem T 29 93 7 Williams Thomas T 33 93 8 Kareem McKenzie T 29 93 9 David Diehl T 27 93 10 Roy Williams WR 26 93 11 Charles Woodson CB 31 93 12 Greg Jennings WR 24 93 Yes 13 Wes Welker WR 27 93 14 DeAngelo Hall CB 24 93 Yes 15 Jammal Brown T 27 93 16 Charles Tillman CB 27 92 17 Nathan Vasher CB 26 92 18 Brandon Marshall WR 24 92 19 Chris Chambers WR 30 92 20 Nate Clements CB 28 92 21 Laveranues Coles WR 30 92 22 Donald Driver WR 33 92 23 Jordon Gross T 28 92 24 Marques Colston WR 25 92 25 Kevin Shaffer T 28 91 26 Calvin Johnson WR 22 91 Yes 27 Hines Ward WR 32 91 28 Ike Taylor CB 28 91 29 Willie Anderson T 33 90 30 Terrence McGee CB 27 90 31 Lee Evans WR 27 90 32 Joey Galloway WR 36 90 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 5th Round --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ Drafting Tip: Long term perspective: (if you plan to play for more than one season) There are 2 potential "Long Term Worthy" picks. At age 23 and with speed of 91, Patrick Willis is the MLB that you cannot pass on if he is available. Don't worry, if Patrick is gone before your turn, you can still draft fastest ROLB in the game, Ernie Sims, who is only 23 years old. The dark horse, who I'd actually pick in this round, is the 6th rounder G Shawn Andrews, rated 97 at age 25. He will be gone by beginning of 6th round. Short term perspective: (if you plan to play only for one season) Pick the best SS/FS/MLB/OLB available. I'd lean toward MLB if you haven't done so already as it's the single most important defense position of the group. If you want a top G, this is the round to make a move as G rated 93+, maybe 92 as well, will probably be gone by the time you get to pick in 6th round. Long Term Pick First Name Last Name Position Age Overall Worthy? 1 Bob Sanders SS 27 99 2 Brian Urlacher MLB 30 98 3 Ed Reed FS 29 98 4 DeMarcus Ware OLB 26 97 5 Lofa Tatupu MLB 25 97 6 Troy Polamatu SS 27 97 7 Keith Bullock OLB 31 97 8 Adrian Wilson SS 28 96 9 Shawne Merriman OLB 24 96 10 Patrick Willis MLB 23 96 Yes 11 Karry Rhodes SS 26 96 12 Adalius Thomas OLB 31 96 13 Lance Briggs OLB 27 95 14 Antonio Pierce MLB 29 95 15 Ray Lewis MLB 33 95 16 London Fletcher MLB 33 95 17 Julian Peterson OLB 30 95 18 D.J. Williams OLB 26 94 19 Zack Thomas MLB 35 94 20 Demaco Ryans MLB 24 94 21 Derrick Brooks OLB 35 93 22 Donnie Edwards OLB 35 93 23 Derrick Johnson OLB 25 93 24 Mike Peterson MLB 32 93 25 Nick Barnett MLB 27 93 26 Will Witherspoon MLB 28 93 27 Chris Hope SS 27 93 28 Brian Dawkins FS 34 92 29 Ernie Sims OLB 23 92 Yes 30 A.J. Hawk OLB 24 92 31 Rodney Harrison SS 35 92 32 O.J. Atogwe FS 27 92 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 6th Round --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ Drafting Tip: Long term perspective: (if you plan to play for more than one season) There are 4 potential "Long Term Worthy" picks, but only 3 if you picked Shawn Andrews in the last round. At age 23, MLB Jon Beason and FS Laron Landry are both "can't go wrong" picks. I value MLB much more because I'd rather use future draft picks to improve my secondary positions, espeically SS/FS. A good MLB is much more effective than a good FS from day one. Jon's speed is rated at 84, decent for MLB. Laron's speed is rated 94, which is #2 in FS. You probably shouldn't pick Davin Joseph, age 24 and rated 92, even though he's also mentioned as potential "Long Term Worthy" picks. The difference between 97 and 92 is much greater than 92 and 89/88, so you might as well pick a good MLB this round and a decent G later. Short term perspective: (if you plan to play only for one season) Pick the best G/SS/FS/MLB/OLB available. I'd lean toward G only if he's rated 92 or higher. Long Term Pick First Name Last Name Position Age Overall Worthy? 1 Steve Hutchinson G 30 98 2 Shawn Andrews G 25 97 Yes 3 Leonard Davis G 29 96 4 Logan Mankins G 26 96 5 Alan Faneca G 31 95 6 Chris Snee G 26 94 7 Kris Dielman G 27 93 8 Vince Manuwai G 28 93 9 Eric Steinbach G 28 92 10 Davin Joseph G 24 92 Yes 11 Brian Waters G 31 92 12 Stephen Neal G 31 92 13 Jake Scott G 27 92 14 Darren Sharper SS 32 92 15 Jonathan Vilma MLB 26 92 16 James Farrior MLB 33 92 17 John Lynch SS 36 91 18 Cato June OLB 28 91 19 Marcus Washington OLB 29 91 20 E.J. Henderson MLB 28 92 21 Jon Beason MLB 23 91 Yes 22 Kirk Morrison MLB 26 91 23 Laron Landry FS 23 91 Yes 24 James Harrison OLB 30 91 25 David Thornton OLB 29 91 26 Jermaine Phillips SS 29 90 27 Antrel Rolle FS 26 90 28 Patrick Surtain CB 32 90 29 Gary Brackett MLB 28 90 30 Ryan Lilja G 26 90 31 Antoine Bethea FS 24 90 32 Ken Hamlin FS 27 90 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 7th Round --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ Drafting Tip: Long term perspective: (if you plan to play for more than one season) There are 6 potential "Long Term Worthy" picks. This is a good time to pick up Jeremy Trueblood since you probably haven't picked up a T. If you prefer to buff up your DL, then pick one of the 3 DLs listed as "Long Term Worthy". Short term perspective: (if you plan to play only for one season) Pick the best G/SS/FS/MLB/OLB available at 89 or higher. Long Term Pick First Name Last Name Position Age Overall Worthy? 1 Jon Runyan T 34 90 2 Sheldon Brown CB 29 90 3 Rich Seubert G 29 90 4 Daryl Smith OLB 26 90 5 Reggie Nelson FS 25 90 6 Jerricho Cotchery WR 26 90 7 Leigh Bodden CB 26 90 8 Javon Walker WR 29 90 9 Leonard Little DE 33 90 10 Haloti Ngata DE 24 90 Yes 11 Randy Thomas G 32 90 12 Cornelius Griffin DT 31 90 13 Morlon Greenwood OLB 30 90 14 Antoine Winfield CB 31 90 15 Mike Brown FS 30 89 16 Levi Jones T 29 89 17 Angelo Crowell OLB 27 89 18 Donte Whitner SS 23 89 Yes 19 Dre Bly CB 31 89 20 Elvis Dumervil DE 24 89 Yes 21 Bart Scott MLB 29 90 22 Barett Ruud MLB 25 89 23 Jeremy Trueblood T 25 89 Yes 24 Gaines Adams DE 25 89 Yes 25 Tanard Jackson FS 23 89 Yes 26 Karlos Dansby OLB 26 89 27 Shaun Phillips OLB 27 89 28 Joey Porter OLB 31 89 29 Trent Cole DE 25 89 30 Keith Brooking MLB 32 89 31 Khalif Barnes T 26 89 32 David Harris MLB 24 89 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 8th Round --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ Drafting Tip: Long term perspective: (if you plan to play for more than one season) There are 5 potential "Long Term Worthy" picks. This is also a tough pick because none of the players stand out in this group. I would pick Tony Ugoh. Dwayne Bowe has speed of 92, a little bit low for my standard to be a WR#2, only pick him if you can live with that. Short term perspective: (if you plan to play only for one season) Pick the best G/SS/FS/MLB/OLB available at 88 or higher. If you want a good TE this is the round to make a move as 92+ TE will be gone by the 10th pick of next round. Long Term Pick First Name Last Name Position Age Overall Worthy? 1 Cullen Jenkins DE 27 89 2 Chris Gamble CB 25 89 3 Tommy Kelly DT 27 89 4 Jacob Bell G 27 89 5 Trevor Pryce DE 33 89 6 Jon Jansen T 32 89 7 Carlos Rogers CB 27 89 8 Rocky Mcintosh OLB 25 89 9 Dan Morgan OLB 29 89 10 Will Smith DE 27 89 11 Deon Grant FS 29 89 12 Leroy Hill OLB 25 89 13 Marvel Smith T 30 89 14 Michael Roos T 26 89 15 Michael Griffin FS 23 89 Yes 16 David Stewart T 26 89 17 Freddie Keiaho OLB 25 88 Yes 18 Tony Ugoh T 24 88 Yes 19 Dwayne Bowe WR 23 88 Yes 20 Vincent Jackson WR 25 88 21 Mike Goff G 32 88 22 Bertrand Berry DE 33 88 23 Greg Ellis OLB 33 88 24 Kyle Kosier G 29 88 25 Kamerion Wimbley OLB 24 88 Yes 26 Corey Williams DE 28 88 27 Marques Douglas DE 31 88 28 Sean Jones SS 26 88 29 Derrick Dockery G 28 88 30 Michael Turner HB 26 88 31 Roddy White WR 26 88 32 Michael Boley OLB 26 88 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 9th Round --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ Drafting Tip: Long term perspective: (if you plan to play for more than one season) This may be a good time to pick up a decent DT, Adam Carriker at #23 or Amobi Okoye (age 21, better choice) from next round. Ben Grubbs is also a good choice. OLB Thomas Howard's speed is 87, take him if you already have decent DL and still want to improve your defense. An interesting pick is Reggie Bush, who is lightning fast with speed of 98. But at this point you probably need to buff up defense instead. Darren McFadden will be available later on if you want a good HB. Short term perspective: (if you plan to play only for one season) Best player as a starting player for your team according to this list. Long Term Pick First Name Last Name Position Age Overall Worthy? 1 Antonio Gates TE 28 98 2 Tony Gonzalez TE 32 97 3 Kellen Winslow TE 25 96 4 Jason Witten TE 26 96 5 Jeremy Shockey TE 28 96 6 Dallas Clark TE 29 94 7 Heath Miller TE 25 94 8 Todd Heap TE 28 92 9 Chris Cooley TE 26 92 10 Walt Harris CB 34 88 11 Justin Smith DE 28 88 12 Maurice Williams G 29 88 13 Thomas Jones HB 30 88 14 Fred Robbins DT 31 88 15 Cory Redding DT 27 88 16 Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila DE 30 88 17 Atari Bigby SS 26 88 18 Mike Vrabel OLB 33 88 19 Brandon Meriweather FS 24 88 Yes 20 Laurence Maroney HB 23 88 21 Gibnil Wilson SS 26 88 22 Thomas Howard OLB 25 88 Yes 23 Adam Carriker DT 24 88 Yes 24 Terrell Suggs OLB 25 88 25 Jason Brown G 25 88 26 Ben Grubbs G 24 88 Yes 27 Shawn Springs CB 33 88 28 Santana Moss WR 29 88 29 Mike McKenzie CB 32 88 30 Bobby Engram WR 35 88 31 Deuce McAllister HB 29 88 32 Reggie Bush HB 23 88 Yes /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 10th Round --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ Drafting Tip: Long term perspective: (if you plan to play for more than one season) Take Okoye if he's available. Otherwise this may be a good time to pick up Ryan Cook if you need one more starting T. If you have an early pick and want to go with a CB, I would select Dunta Robinson as my #2 CB, with speed rating of 96. I didn't include Bernard Pollard in my "Long Term Worthy" list because his speed is only 86. Short term perspective: (if you plan to play only for one season) Best player as a starting player for your team according to this list. Long Term Pick First Name Last Name Position Age Overall Worthy? 1 Mike Wahle G 31 88 2 Deion Branch WR 29 88 3 Kelly Jennings CB 27 88 4 Amobi Okoye DT 21 88 Yes 5 Deshea Townsend CB 32 88 6 Chad Greenway OLB 25 88 7 Cortland Finnegan CB 24 88 8 Robaire Smith DE 30 87 9 Ryan Cook T 25 88 Yes 10 Ben Hamilton G 31 87 11 Derek Anderson QB 25 87 12 Shaun Smith DT 27 87 13 Roderick Hood CB 26 87 14 Igor Olshansky DE 26 87 15 Kelvin Hayden CB 25 87 16 Rudi Johnson HB 28 87 17 Marc Colombo T 29 87 18 Bernard Pollard SS 23 87 19 Anthony Henry CB 31 87 20 Vernon Carey T 27 87 21 Travis Henry HB 29 87 22 Justin Smiley G 26 87 23 Kynan Forney G 29 87 24 Gerald Hayes MLB 27 87 25 Stephen Cooper MLB 29 87 26 Bradie James MLB 27 87 27 Sam Madison CB 34 87 28 Paul Spicer DE 32 87 29 Brian Williams CB 29 87 30 Damien Woody T 30 87 31 Brandon Jacobs HB 26 87 32 Darrelle Revis CB 23 87 Yes /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 11th Round --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ Drafting Tip: Long term perspective: (if you plan to play for more than one season) Any of the "Long Term Worthy" guys. You may want to go with a Center instead as CPU will start taking in the beginning of the 12th round. Nick Mangold will be gone by around 12th pick of 12th round. If you want another young fast WR as WR #2, Santonio Holms with 95 speed is a good choice. If I need defense help, I would probably pick the fastest LOLB, Manny Lawson, with speed of 89. Short term perspective: (if you plan to play only for one season) Best player as a starting player for your team according to this list. Same as above, you may want to consider a Center as well. Long Term Pick First Name Last Name Position Age Overall Worthy? 1 Ken Lucas CB 29 87 2 Travellie Wharton G 27 87 3 D.J. Hackett WR 27 87 4 Ellis Hobbs CB 25 87 Yes 5 Thomas Davis OLB 25 87 Yes 6 Ryan Grant HB 25 87 7 Cooper Carlisle G 31 87 8 Michael Huff FS 25 87 Yes 9 Fakhir Brown CB 30 87 10 Pisa Tinoisamoa OLB 27 87 11 Alex Barron T 25 87 Yes 12 Derrick Mason WR 34 87 13 Dawan Landry SS 25 87 14 Charles Grant DE 29 87 15 Fred Smoot CB 29 87 16 Kelly Gregg DT 31 87 17 Santonio Holms WR 24 87 Yes 18 Matt Schaub QB 27 87 19 Alge Crumpler TE 30 87 20 Brian Russell SS 30 87 21 Dunta Robinson CB 26 87 Yes 22 Chris Naeole G 33 87 23 Madieu Williams FS 26 87 24 Alex Brown DE 29 86 25 Rosevel Colvin OLB 30 87 26 Takeo Spikes OLB 31 87 27 Greg Olsen TE 23 87 Yes 28 Ian Gold OLB 30 87 29 John Tait T 33 86 30 Stacy Andrews G 27 86 31 Robert Geathers DE 25 86 32 Kawika Mitchell OLB 28 86 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- After 11th Round --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ If you haven't pick an HB yet, be sure to lock up Darren McFadden in 13th round. He is usually picked up by CPU as #29 pick in round 13. However, I have seen McFadden fall as far as 21st pick of 14th round when I manually picked the first round and let the computer simulate the rest. You could play a couple of times and see when is the best time to pick him up. Other important notes: CPU starts to draft Centers by beginning of 12th round. CPU starts to draft Kickers/Fullbacks by beginning of 17th round. CPU starts to draft Punters by beginning of 18th round. /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. 2008 First Round Rookies to Consider (A6) --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ You cannot pick the best player from every position in the fantasy draft, but you can pick valuable rookies in later rounds as long as you know what's coming up next. Jake Long- Good strength rating (92). Chris Long- Rounded RE. Darren McFadden- 9/10 times that I'll use him as my start HB. Sedrick Ellis- Good strength rating (94). Derrick Harvey- Excellent acceleration for a rookie. (90) Keith Rivers- 2nd highest speed (88) for ROLB. Rodgers-Cromartie- Super fast speed (97). Good for #2 or #3 CB. Jeff Otah- Good strength rating (93). Chris Johnson- Tie Reggie Bush as the fastest HB. He's my start HB if I decided to skip McFadden. Dustin Keller- Among TEs, he's 3rd in speed (88), 5th in ACC (88), and best CAR rating, Kenny Phillps-Decent speed (91) for a FS. Only 21. Long Round/ Term Pick# First Name Last Name Position Age Overall Worthy? Jake Long LT 23 85 Yes 14/19 Chris Long RE 23 85 Yes 15/8 Matt Ryan QB 23 82 Darren McFadden HB 21 86 Yes 13/29 Glenn Dorsey DT 23 84 Vernon Gholston ROLB 22 83 Sedrick Ellis DT 23 84 Yes 25/17 Derrick Harvey RE 21 83 Yes 20/11 Keith Rivers ROLB 22 82 Yes 22/21 Jerod Mayo MLB 22 82 Leodis McKelvin CB 23 83 Ryan Clady LT 22 80 Jonathan Stewart HB 21 84 Chris Williams LT 23 79 Branden Albert RG 22 83 Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie CB 22 81 Yes 28/5 Gosder Cherilus RT 24 77 Joe Flacco QB 23 79 Jeff Otah RT 22 79 Yes 31/18 Aqib Talib CB 22 82 Sam Baker LT 23 77 Felix Jones HB 21 81 Rashard Mendenhall HB 21 82 Chris Johnson HB 22 79 Yes 30/21 Mike Jenkins CB 23 82 Duane Brown LT 23 75 Antoine Cason CB 22 78 Lawrence Jackson RE 23 80 Kentwan Balmer LE 21 79 Dustin Keller TE 23 79 Yes 24/15 Kenny Phillps FS 21 81 Yes 22/20 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 7. Others "Long Term Worthy" players to Consider (A7) --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ JaMarcus Russell- Pick him if you don't pick Vince Young as your start QB. DeSean Jackson- Super fast with speed rating of 98. Not another Randy Moss as he's only 5'10". Devin Hester- Fastest player. Deserves to be your #3WR and #1KR/PR. Aaron Sears- Good strength (91). Chilo Rachal- Good strength (92). Samson Satele- Young Center with overall rating of 86 already. Marshal Yanda- Another good young player. Justin Durant- Fast speed for LOLB (86). First Name Last Name Position Age Overall Round Pick# JaMarcus Russell QB 23 83 19 30 DeSean Jackson WR 21 81 22 8 Devin Hester WR 25 83 19 9 Aaron Sears LG 23 85 14 12 Chilo Rachal LG 22 82 20 26 Samson Satele C 23 86 12 16 Marshal Yanda RT 23 82 22 23 Justin Durant LOLB 22 84 16 10 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------- 8. Other Comments (A8) --------------------------------------------------------------------*/ If you have ideas of how to improve this FAQ, please e-mail me at gettio@gmail.com