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FanEx Analysis
Draft
Review
| Rules | Transactions
Draft Rounds
1 | 2
| 3 | 4
| 5 | 6
| 7 | 8
| 9 | 10
11 | 12 | 13
| 14 | 15
| 16 | 17
| 18
Round 6
   
   
  
 6.01 QB
Matt Hasselbeck
By Tony Holm
 Trade
Analysis
 | Holm gave up QB Bulger + 7.05
| Cannon gave up 6.01
(Hasselbeck) + 6.05
| |
Hasselbeck came via a trade
with Cannon. TC offered his 6.01 + 6.05 for Bulger and my 7.05.
I accepted under the condition that Hasselbeck had to be
available for me to make the trade. Though I didn’t
mention the QB directly. Eight picks later and here we are,
with Hasselbeck available so done deal. Note that I’m
sticking to my "should be" a playoff team
criteria.
Yes I like Bulger over
Hasselbeck but not by a large margin. Hasselbeck had a slow
start to the season but had a very solid second half. In
December he had a 414, 334 and 201 yard passing game,
throwing for 8 TDs and didn’t have a passer rating less
than 99.4. That’s solid production. He then brought his
team two rounds into the playoffs, as he posted a 105.4 QB
rating, completing 78% of his passes to upset the Falcons.
To follow that up, he tossed a 341 yard game against the
Rams albeit a losing effort. Hasselbeck really closed the
season well in 2004.
My hope is that he continues
his play into 2005 and becomes an elite fantasy player. If
he comes into 2005 like his last six weeks of 2004, he
projects out to 30 passing TDs. I for one, would really like
to see that!
The Seahawks signed
Hasselbeck to a long term contract this off season so
everyone is happy coming into camp.
|
 6.02 WR
Anquan Boldin
By Duane Cahill
There are two drawbacks to my
selection of Anquan Boldin as my WR2 in the FanEx FAD.
First is that I already have two running backs who share the
same bye week as Boldin. Hey, it's a long season, and I
can live with a predetermined lineup for one week.
Kurt Warner is the second concern
here. The $64,000 question is whether Warner can return
to form. Last year with the Giants, he threw only six TD
passes in nine starts, although he did surpass the 2000 yard
mark in just over a half season. The good news for
Warner is that he's back in a similar system to the one that
he ran in St. Louis.
But this isn't about Warner.
It's about Boldin. Boldin exploded onto the scene in
2003 as the most highly touted rookie receiver since
Randy Moss. Last year, he sustained the knee injury that
cost him six games, and while his reception and yardage total
were still good, he found the end zone only once. And
that is the reason that I believe he's still available in the
sixth round. He's the same player in a better offense
that was the 10th overall WR taken in the FAD last year, and
at the beginning of the fourth round.
There are a lot of things to like
about a healthy Boldin. He's a gamer. Despite
having Drew 'Holdout' Rosen as his agent, he will
participate in all voluntary workouts with the team and has
promised to be in camp. He wants his contract renegotiated
(deservedly so) but reported to the team because
he has the kind of love for the game that reminds me of
Hines Ward. He just wants to play football and didn't
like being away from it. When asked about his contract
situation, Boldin replied, "If they get something done,
good, if not, good. I'm going to be here playing
football."
It wouldn't surprise me to see
Boldin have a better season than my first WR selection, Nate
Burleson. But I took them in this order because I sensed
that Burleson had more perceived value by the guys drafting
behind my 5.11 selection. An e-mail after the fact from
TC confirmed that Burleson had been his target at 6.1. Had
I taken Boldin at 5.11, Mr. Cannon likely would have selected
Burleson rather than trading out of the pick, and I would have
had to go a different direction with this pick.
Sometimes, it pays to guess good!
|
 6.03 WR
Drew Bennett
By Dolfi | Walls
Walls’ Take – A
wide receiver from Tennessee – yuck. Déjà vu all over again
(see Michael Clayton) This is another case of taking a player
from a team almost devoid of fantasy starters. Drew Bennett
burst onto the fantasy scene last year with a great year with
1,247 yards and 11 TDs. That is a great year for a WR, no
questions asked.
Unlike our
previous selection, however, Drew Bennett was very much hit or
miss for fantasy owners last year. Bennett had 80 receptions,
just like Michael Clayton – but he had 7 games with less than
4 receptions, as compared to 3 for Michael Clayton. Drew Bennett
had some awesome games, but he was very streaky. This is
something you will have to bear in mind if you take Bennett.
It would be
better for Bennett, fantasy-wise, if Billy Volek were the
starter in Tennessee. Steve McNair is the starter, and assuming
that McNair stays healthy – he will be the starter all year.
Billy Volek simply had better stats than McNair, but McNair is a
winner, and is the leader of the Titans. So, while a full year
of McNair at the helm may be bad for Bennett owners – it is
most likely better for Titans fans.
I
don’t see Bennett repeating his yardage from last year, or his
TD total, but I do think he may be more consistent, and is a
worthy #2 WR. We got him as our #3 WR, filling out a very good
receiving corps.
|
 6.04 WR
Roy Williams
By Tim Hollar
Williams was one of four wideouts on the short list during my
considerations for the 5.08 pick. Not actually
thinking he could slide through the labyrinth of receiver-needy
teams back to my 6.04 position, I began efforts to trade up to
secure him.
As these attempts failed, another name began to make it's way
onto my radar: Michael Vick of the Falcons. While never a
fantasy fan of the lefty, suddenly the prospects of two
explosive impact players sliding my way made moving up a moot
point. It simply became a choice of player 1-A or
1-B. When both fell to me, the choice was close, yet
easy - the Roy-Toy.
Before suffering an early season ankle injury, Williams was well
on his way to posting one of the greatest rookie seasons for a
wideout in NFL history. Fast, explosive and
powerful, RW possesses the rare ability of being a big man who
can take any pass to pay dirt. To get him with the
fourth pick of the 6th round was an unforeseen bonanza.
With the Lions organization neglecting their defense to continue
stockpiling on the offensive side of the ball, it wouldn't
surprise us in the least if Roy Williams -- not Andre Johnson or
Steve Smith -- became the Top 10 breakout player of our FanEx
receiver corps.
|
 6.05 QB
Michael Vick
By Tony Holm
I narrowed this selection
down to either Roy Williams or Michael Vick. When Boldin and
Bennett went, I started to worry that I may have to pick one as
that would have been very difficult. Though I was glad to know I
was getting one of the players I had targeted when selecting
Matt Hasselbeck back at 6.01. When the esteemed Mr. Hollar
selected Roy Williams that made the pick a little easier to
make. Sticking with playoff potential teams and I really don’t
like the QB drop-off this year, so I’m going to get a couple
early.
Michael Vick is a tricky one. In
a league where you have to make the weekly decision whether to
start him, good luck with that! But I automatically get his big
games in the FAD so with Hasselbeck in the fold as my good
steady Eddy, I decided Vick was worth the gamble to hopefully
put me near the top in the most abundant QB points category.
Obviously no one is touching the Culpepper/McNabb pairing but
the Hasselbeck/Vick pairing has a shot at placing well.
|
 6.06 QB
Jake Plummer
By Del Pilar | Bonini
Who
We Took and Why:
With many of the top
quarterbacks already off the board we felt we couldn’t wait
any longer to get our No. 1 QB. Usually we’d want a steady
performer like Kansas City Chiefs QB Trent Green, but with Green
long gone we decided to go with a player coming off a career
year in Denver Broncos QB Jake Plummer. Plummer sent career
highs in 2005 in yards and TDs and he has explosive potential
being backed up by Denver’s potent running game.
Other
Candidates Considered:
The only player we really considered at this spot other than
Plummer was New Orleans Saints QB Aaron Brooks, who subsequently
went with the next pick. Brooks is a solid player, but he tends
to disappear at times and we liked Plummer’s upside more than
that of Brooks.
Current
Strategy:
The addition of our first QB puts us right where we wanted
to be after five selections, sitting on three good running
backs, a stud tight end and a very solid quarterback. Now
we’ll need to turn our attention to wide receiver and given
Plummer’s less than spectacular track record we’ll probably
be targeting a backup QB in the near future.
|
 6.07 QB
Aaron Brooks
By Jerome Hickerson
I admit to being less than thrilled with this selection. Three
QBs went in the six picks before
mine in this round, and I had all three higher on my wish list
than Brooks. The FAD scoring system is pretty QB centric. I
would have been happy to have either Hasselbeck
or Vick, especially as a mid 6th round selection.
But Brooks it is.
Brooks
is our 12th QB taken in the draft and finished last
season as the 8th ranked QB in our system. So he
may be regarded as somewhat of a “value” selection. While
his performance on the field last year did not do a lot to
inspire confidence, his fantasy numbers were not terrible.
Over the last six weeks of last season, Brooks was the equal
of QBs such as Favre,
Hasselbeck, Plummer, and McNabb,
and superior to Vick, Brees, Brady
and Bulger. He should be able to
hold his own again this season. After all, he will be throwing
to Joe Horn, and that can’t hurt.
|
 6.08 RB
Larry Johnson
By Tony Holm
If you're going to swing for the
fences, use a big stick. I know ahead of time that this
pick will be met with some unpopularity. Some will see it
and some won't. Not that either side is wrong, I just 'see
it' here.
Strategy wise I don't pick again for a great long while so I
figured it doesn't really matter where I take someone here, it's
just looking at the next 24 players or so and picking your
favorite. WR Jerry Porter is a
perennial favorite of mine and he was the other choice for me.
I decided to make this a positional draft pick in that looking
down 24 WRs from here there are still some great gems and
bargains. So erring on the side of caution and predicting
the next 24 picks will be a WR (yeah right!), I'm still liking
the selection. Since it's unlikely all 24 will be WRs,
I'll be able to fill out the WR group nicely without having to
posture for
a backup QB or #3 and #4 RBs.
Priest Holmes just concerns me this year. He's stated
he'll be playing through pain and he is not getting any younger.
What to me was a tip-off that Larry Johnson may be more than
your casual backup, was the fact that Priest Holmes has no idea
how the Chiefs plan to use Larry Johnson. He
"hoped" to see them in two back sets and was
"sure they'd find a place for him somewhere", are not
statements made by someone who knows what the real story is.
The Chiefs haven't told Holmes what the real story is and there
could be more of a preseason battle for this job than you think.
Given by what we saw last season in Johnson and the fact that
the Chiefs pronounced early this offseason that the two backs
will split carries, it sounds fairly positive that LJ will have
an opportunity.
Larry Johnson was the #1 fantasy player across all positions the
last 6 weeks of the 2004 FAD. In other words, no player
scored as well or performed as well. Larry Johnson is much
younger and if the Chiefs really
do have a younger LaDainian Tomlinson on their hands, it makes
me wonder where Priest Holmes fits in.
|
 6.09 WR
Jerry Porter
By Del Pilar | Bonini
Who We Took and Why:
We were pleasantly surprised to see Porter not get selected
in the two picks following our selection of Broncos QB Jake
Plummer. Porter has tons of upside and is coming off the best
year of his five-year NFL career. Considering that the Raiders
added arguably the NFL’s most dangerous receiver in WR Randy
Moss there should be plenty of open space and single coverage
for Porter to work with. We smell a potential breakout season.
Other
Candidates Considered:
The main argument at this choice was between consistency and
upside as this was our first receiver selected. We heavily
discussed taking Green Bay Packers WR Donald Driver here, but
felt there was at least a decent chance of him falling to us at
our next choice. Plus, we also felt there were a couple of other
“safe” options to be had with our next pick even if Driver
were off the board.
Current
Strategy:
The
selection of Porter over Driver is something we wouldn’t have
been able to do without the earlier trade that allowed us to
have four selections in a short period of time. However, because
we are up again so quickly we felt we could take an upside
receiver first and we’ll go after a consistent receiver with
one of our next two selections.
|
6.10 WR
Larry Fitzgerald
By Jim Butler
With
Coach Green's history of offense while in Minnesota as well as
the gunslinger Kurt Warner being named the starter, I think
Fitzy is going to get plenty of chances to better his 780
yards and 8 TDs from his rookie campaign. With Boldin healthy
and back in the fold, they could easily be the best 1-2 WR
punch in the NFL.
|
 6.11 TE
Todd Heap
By TC Cannon
Trade
Analysis
| Houston | Pitzer gave up
6.11 (Heap) + 8.11 + 18.11
| Cannon gave up 7.05 + 8.01
+ 18.01
| |
When he is healthy, Heap is one of the top fantasy TEs,
He has demonstrated the athletic potential and opportunity to
be a 10 touchdown player. If Heap is fully recovered when
training camp starts, expect him to be drafted as a top three
tight end.
|
 6.12 WR
Mushin Muhammad
By Greg Kellogg
Muhammad surprised the fantasy world by leading the league in
receiving yards and receiving TDs. He also finished with
93 receptions, good for sixth in the league. This was far
and away the best fantasy season of his career, and most feel he
has virtually no
chance of repeating those numbers. I tend to agree which
explains why he fell to me this low in the draft. But I
also like the move to Chicago.
Most people think the move will hurt Muhammad but I believe had
he stayed in Carolina, he would have suffered more due to the
return to health of Steve Smith and the continued development of
second-year WR Keary Colbert. Remember, Carolina is not a
pass dominated offense. In Chicago, Lovie Smith is trying
to install a Rams-like offense. Muhammad will immediately
become the top receiver in Chicago and should Rex Grossman go
down with injury this year, the options at quarterback are much
better than in 2004.
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