Fantasy files: One Yahoo in Twelve

A fantasy football-related blog would be nothing without some self-congratulatory posts about one's own drafts. I got into a work-related league and the draft was last night. Responses ranged from "cool" to "what's football?" I tried to get as many guys in the latter category involved as possible. We had to rush to draft because one guy's wife is due to give birth like tomorrow. He's a big University of Florida fan so I expected him to take Rex Grossman in the first round.

I signed up for Yahoo because I've used it for countless baseball leagues. The highlight was the entire draft page crashing a minute into the first pick. Once we collected ourselves and reconnected, the draft took off. We started with a bang, finishing the first two rounds in ten minutes. I thought the pace would slow, but the entire draft was complete in 84 minutes.

I had pick four and I knew who I was going to get. I debated taking Chris Johnson, even to the point of discussing it with my ever-patient wife. Her response to my worries about holdouts getting hurt was a curt "that sounds like superstition." Yeah, she hit the right buttons.

With the possibility of CJ being a wasted roster spot, I wondered if I would have to reach for another RB in the second round. My first sign that running backs would fall in the draft was the selection of Philip Rivers at 1.07. He did get Darren McFadden in the second round. Running backs falling in the draft would be a theme.

I got LeSean McCoy in the second round. I would have taken him at pick 1.06. In the third I took Mike Wallace over Miles Austin. Miles Austin feels like that good slice of pizza that's good mainly because it's pizza. No excitement there.

Continued strange picks: first team D was Green Bay in the third round. At this point I knew that I could wait on players I liked. The problem with knowing that players are going to fall is that you have to pick someone.

My fourth-round pick was Mike Williams of the Bucs. That felt like stealing money. I had Mark Ingram queued up for that pick and felt fortunate to get him in the fifth. I never expected to get three running backs in the first five picks. What the heck; I assumed that I'd catch up on wideouts later.

In the sixth, the WTF pick was Michael Crabtree. Even if he's completely healthy this would be a reach. I started referring to the guys who made those picks as "stretch". I took Vernon Davis. He was the last of the so-called stud tight ends, although like when I took Jimmy Graham in my keeper, few tight ends went off the board in the next three rounds. Kenny Britt in the seventh? Too soon?

In my last mock draft, I took Josh Freeman and Matthew Stafford at the 8/9 turn. I did not think this could happen in real life. QBs flew off the board until Tony Romo in the fourth round then it slowed down. I could have waited on Stafford until the 10th but I was glad to get a solid QB duo and did not feel the need to take another.

After I took three running backs early, they stayed on the board for ages. Fred Jackson went in the 10th, after Ryan Torain. Jonathan Stewart was pick 10.11. Joseph Addai also went in the 10th. I took Ryan Williams. Lance Moore and Jacoby Ford were my next two picks. I thought about Beanie Wells in the 12th but passed. Eric's going to be so pissed.

I thought the final six rounds would be slow, but again the pace was insane. Kickers flew off the board, as did defenses and receivers I thought would be on few if any fantasy rosters like Louis Murphy and Kevin Walter. I took McGahee in the 13th, Chris Cooley in the 14th, Greg Little in the 15th, Javon Ringer in the 16th, the Rams D in the 17th and scored with Alex Henery as my kicker in the 18th.

Another one of my favorite moments, the bad trade offer, came this morning. Marshawn Lynch and Mike Sims-Walker for LeSean McCoy. Is that two nickels for a quarter, or two dimes?

If holdouts do not continue, I will be starting Josh Freeman, Chris Johnson, LeSean McCoy, Mark Ingram, Mike Wallace, Mike Williams, Kenny Britt, Vernon Davis, the Rams D and Alex Henery. Oh, I see the Eagles are playing the Rams. Yeah, it's time to hit the waiver wire.