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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 9
   
  
  
9.01
|
QB Byron Leftwich
QB: Collins
Losman Leftwich RB:
Tomlinson Taylor RBrown WR:
Muhammad TE:
Shockey PK: DT:
|
Kellogg
Analysis
 |
9.02
|
QB Ben Roethlisberger
QB:
Favre Delhomme RB: Alexander
Jackson
WR: CJohnson
Wayne Lelie
TE:
PK:
DT:
|
Houston
Pitzer
Analysis
|
9.03
|
RB Thomas Jones
QB: Culpepper
McNabb RB:
Westbrook Suggs Pittman
TJones
WR:
Fitzgerald Coles TE:
PK:
DT: |
Butler
Analysis
|
9.04
|
RB Correll
Buckhalter
QB:
Green Brady RB: Barber
RJohnson Bennett Buckhalter WR:
Harrison Branch TE:
Gates PK:
DT: |
Tinker
Analysis
|
9.05
|
WR Eric Moulds
QB:
Hasselbeck Vick RB: James
CBrown Staley
LJohnson
WR:
Owens
Burress Moulds
TE:
PK:
DT: |
Holm
Analysis
|
9.06
|
RB Eddie Kennison
QB:
Brooks Pennington RB: McAllister
Dillon Bell Droughns WR:
Walker DJackson Kennison TE:
PK:
DT: |
Hickerson
Analysis
|
9.07
|
 Trade
Analysis
QB Brian Griese
QB: Palmer
Griese RB: James
CWilliams Barlow
WR: AJohnson SSmith RWilliams TE:
Gonzales PK:: |
Hollar
Analysis
|
9.08
|
WR Lee Evans
QB:
Bulger RB:
Portis JJones Bettis Duckett WR:
Moss Evans TE:
Heap PK:
DT: Ravens |
Cannon
Analysis
|
9.09
|
WR Keyshawn Johnson
QB:
Manning RB:
Martin Foster Faulk WR:
Horn Bruce KJohnson TE:
McMichael
PK:
DT: |
O'Leary
Analysis
|
9.10
|
TE Eric Johnson
QB:
McNair Carr RB:
McGahee Lewis Dunn WR:
Holt Clayton Bennett Coles TE:
EJohnson
PK: DT:
|
Dolfi
Walls
Analysis
|
9.11
|
QB Drew
Bledsoe
QB: Bledsoe RB:
AGreen KJones Benson Arrington WR:
Boldin Burleson Mason Chambers TE:
PK:
DT: |
Cahill
Analysis
|
9.12
|
QB Kurt Warner
QB:
Bulger Warner RB:
Portis JJones Bettis Duckett WR:
Moss Evans TE:
Heap PK:
DT: Ravens |
Cannon
Analysis
|
|
 9.01 QB
Byron Leftwich
By Greg Kellogg
Leftwich is another quarterback that is fairly safe to select.
He should start all year. He has a solid receiving corps
that may have gotten better with the selection of Matt Jones.
And he has a solid running game in the personage of Fred
Taylor. Leftwich had
nine games with 30 or more attempts including four with 40 or
more and one with 54. And he missed two games. He
showed solid improvement from his rookie season and should
show more growth in 2005.
|
 9.02 QB
Ben Roethlisberger
By Houston | Pitzer
On the theory that you can never have too many quarterbacks,
Roethlisberger was essentially a luxury pick for us. We hope we
don't ever have to rely on him, but we can envision scenarios in
which our top two quarterbacks, Favre and Delhomme, are not
posting big numbers. If that happens, having a third quarterback
who is assured of starting every game barring injury would be
beneficial.
|
 9.03 RB
Thomas Jones
By Jim Butler
Another
RB1 from last season is ignored due to the crowding of the
backfield by his teams new acquisition. Being a Big 12 fan and
having watched Cedric Benson many times, I think he can be a
great red zone work horse. Rarely have I had a chance to watch
a RB with such a nose for the end zone as Benson. He does have
on lacking quality and that is pass catching. This is one area
that Jones has proven himself.
Last
season while Chicago was playing musical chairs at QB, Jones
was pleasantly surprising all the fantasy owners that grabbed
him last season. He was 12th in scoring in the FAD last year driven
mainly by his receiving skills. He had 56 receptions last
season for 400+ yards along with 940+ rushing yards.
I
think Benson is going to definitely impact Thomas's rushing
stats as well as his TDs, but I don't think he'll
interfere in the passing game. This could lead to even more
receptions this season than last and if the QB situation
settles out in Chitown, he could still be a top 25 back in the
FAD this season.
|
 9.04 RB
Correll Buckhalter
By Brady Tinker
Buckhalter is fully recovered from his season ending injury of
'04 and should split time with Brian Westbrook who went in the
first two rounds...this could be a nice value pick. |
 9.05 WR
Eric Moulds
By Tony Holm
Taking Larry Johnson back with
my 6.08 pick was a calculated risk. I passed on some
"better" WRs to take Johnson and his enormous upside
with the notion that I would be able to efficiently back fill
WR with my next two picks. As I was one of the early teams to
double up on QB, grabbing Matt Hasselbeck and Michael Vick in
the 6th, due to what I saw coming in the tea
leaves, I felt pretty good that there’d be some WRs to pick
through.
Grabbing Plaxico Burress and
now Eric Moulds to go along side Terrell Owens, I think is a
solid group for starting the WR collection a little late. Of
course, having TO opened me up to certain luxuries at the
position.
Moulds caught a lot of balls
last season with 88 for 1,043 yards and 5 TDs. His TD total
could definitely be higher but I don’t tend to pay attention
to TDs year to year as I don’t think they’re a predictable
commodity. The fact that he roped in 88 (in a 1 point per
reception scoring system) tells me the guy is still heavily
involved in the offensive game plan and TDs could come this
season.
Naturally, the fact that JP
Losman, he of 5 completions in the NFL, is starting for the
Bills explains exactly why Eric Moulds is sitting here but
looking at the remaining choices I’ll still take a talented
#1 WR with a rookie QB over some of the #2 and #3 WRs.
Moulds signed a 3-year contract
extension which will keep him a Bill through the 2007 season.
The Bills like him, he likes the Bills and I like him here as
my #3 WR.
|
 9.06 WR
Eddie Kennison
By Jerome Hickerson
I
really was beginning to think that Eric Moulds was falling into
my eagerly awaiting hands. And then…. Oh well, adapt, adjust,
design on the fly. So I decided upon Kennison
as my 3rd receiver. This was not an easy choice as
there were several options I considered:
Stokely
– the 3rd option in a high powered offensive
system. Surely he will get many looks in spite of being the 3rd
option.
Stallworth
– the 2nd guy behind Joe Horn in
New
Orleans
.
Evans
– the 2nd option in
Buffalo
behind
Moulds.
Houshmandzadeh
– 2nd guy in
Cincinnati
, up and
coming offense with Palmer starting to come on. Houshmandzadeh
really came on strong late last season.
But
I settled on the often flaky and inconsistent Kennison.
I ruled out Stokely just on a hunch
that maybe Manning won’t duplicate last season’s outrageous
TD numbers. 3rd option might not be the place to be
if the numbers decrease even a little.
Stallworth
was tempting but let’s see… I have Brooks and McAllister
already. How much of the Saints offense would you want on your
team?
Evans….
Well, with a new QB, I was reluctant to bet heavily on the #2
receiver. Moulds I would have grabbed here, but I think I will
let someone else go for Evans.
Houshmandzadeh
and Kennison were the guys it came
down to. I opted for Kennison
because I think Gonzalez and Holmes can’t score all the TDs
for KC. Kennison should serve well
as a #3 receiver. But it was a close call. There are many decent
options at this point of the draft.
|
 9.07 QB
Brian Griese
By Tim Hollar
Trade
Analysis
 | Tinker gave up 9.07
(Griese) + 11.04
| Hollar gave up 10.01 +
10.05
This FanEx draft is one for the record books.
Never in the history of the league, that I can recall, has
such an unprecedented run on quarterbacks - and back-up
quarterbacks - taken place. This selection makes
22 of the first 103 picks a quarterback and as the 15th
quarterback on my board, I think I've got a good one.
Bucs coach Jon Gruden has displayed an uncanny knack for
bringing the best out of his quarterbacks.
Whether it was coaxing the best half season of his
career out of Ty Detmer in Philly, or turning a vagabond,
out of football journeyman like Rich Gannon into an MVP,
there's no denying Gruden has the Midas touch with the
signal callers.
In Brian Griese, coach Gruden has a quarterback who has
enjoyed both periods of great efficiency as well as a
propensity for the untimely mental mistake. And
while showing both in 2004, Griese averaged nearly 240 yards
and 1.9 touchdowns per game in his 11 starts.
Over an entire season, that's 3800 yards and 29 touchdowns.
He also faces little to no competition from Cleveland import
Luke McCown and perennial Gruden whipping boy, Chris Simms.
As our back-up quarterback, we feel B-Grease has an
excellent chance to outperform his 23rd overall quarterback
draft position.
| |
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|
9.08 WR
Lee Evans
By TC Cannon
Actually, teammate Moulds was also my 'target' here. After an attempts to trade up failed, I decided that
Evans was preferred
at this pick over QB2 Kurt Warner and a few other WRs. I know
that Cahill will be snagging a passer prior to my next pick in
this round. But, securing Evens seems more important to gambling
on Warner. Maybe I can get Warner four slots from now. If not, I
will claim a leftover later... maybe even gambling on guessing
the right Lion passer, Harrington or Garcia. But for now, it's
Evans.
With Evans, we get a young stud and a questionable situation.
After a slow start, he was one of the better WRs in the second
half of the season, finishing with 7 TDs over his last 7 games.
But that was yesterday. With Losman as the new passer and a
fresh Moulds head-to-head with him on nearly every play, Evans
projections are questionable. Certainly, he can match his
rookie totals of 50 / 850.
Other WR selection options were Stallworth, KRobinson, and
rookie Williamson. I semi-expect to later get one of that group
on the roster for a lesser cost.
|
 9.09 WR
Keyshawn Johnson
by Shannon O'Leary
Keyshawn
Johnson would be the greatest player on earth if he played like
he talks. He has not been stellar, but is worthy of being my
fourth receiver. I had considered taking my back up quarterback
with this pick or taking another chance on a running back. I
watched as Leftwich and Roethlisberger were both taken along
with Thomas Jones. I thought about snagging Travis Henry here,
but thought he might slide. This would later prove to be wrong.
Anyway,
I had Keyshawn on a short list from the receivers I had looked
at in the 7th round and decided to take him since he
was still here. I do think the Cowboys will be a better
offensive team this year, but expect similar numbers to years
past from Johnson. The one thing I am counting on is 3-4 big
days this year where he will help bolster my overall points on
the year.
|
 9.10 TE
Eric Johnson
By Dolfi | Walls
Dolfi’s Take –
Mr. Walls had the pleasure of packing all of his
belongings into boxes he appropriated from the back of the
nearest liquor store and moving this weekend.
I had the pleasure of making our 9th round
selection – and I have to say, it wasn’t as hard a decision
as I originally thought.
We have 3 RBs
already, and 3 solid ones at that.
There are still a few worth taking a flyer on, but not in
the 9th round, and we’ll have a chance at them
later. We have 3
WRs, and while I’d love to bolster that crew a bit, I didn’t
see any WRs that stood out above others that I can get next
round or even the round after.
We picked 2 lackluster QBs, but I couldn’t bring myself
to draft another one – even if it probably is needed.
There will be time to address that later.
It’s just waaaaaay too early for a Defense or Kicker,
too – so I’m passing on those as well.
That leaves me
one option – Tight End. Most
of the stud TEs are off the board at this point, as you can
expect them to be in any TE required leagues.
While a couple names sparked my interest, I felt none had
shown the production that Eric Johnson did last year for the
49ers. Now, don’t
get me wrong – I don’t like San Fran’s
offense, but I do like Johnson.
This kid
managed to catch 82 balls last season.
That’s nice production from a fantasy TE – especially
in leagues where you get points for receptions.
(By comparison, even Antonio Gates caught one less pass
than Johnson last season.)
Now Johnson only found the end zone 2 times, which is why
he fell this far – but at this point in the draft I think
Johnson is head-and-shoulders above the next tier TEs.
And while I’m not expecting the 49er offense to
suddenly start putting up TDs on the board in rapid succession
– I do think Johnson can put up more than 2 scores this
season. I’m
thinking 5 TDs and 80 receptions/850 yards or so.
Those numbers look real nice to me at 9.10.
|
9.11
QB Drew Bledsoe
By Duane Cahill
Welcome to today's FanEx
vocabulary lesson. Today's words are as follows:
strategy (n) - A plan of
action intended to accomplish a specific goal.
backfire (v) - To produce
an unexpected, undesired result.
And that, boys and girls is what
hit me upside the head in this year's draft.
When I discovered that I would
be drafting near the end of the line, I decided that I would
try to get four running backs if I had the opportunity to
get four starters. Then when I got to my round 5 pick,
only eight quarterbacks had been taken. There were
plenty more, so I took my first two receivers. Nine
more signal-callers went in rounds 6 and 7, but the guys I
figured I'd get in later rounds were still safely on the
board - Carr, Roethlisberger, Leftwich, Griese - not great
names, but opportunities to excel beyond their fantasy draft
positions in 2005. So I took two more receivers in
rounds 7 and 8 figuring to get the guys above.
Then Kellogg started a panic.
At the 8-9 turn, he takes two quarterbacks, giving him a
total of three on his roster. Suddenly owners who
might have been putting off their backups for another round
or two changed their plans - or so it seemed to me.
I watched as the very players I
had targeted fell off the board in round nine. An
unexpected five-QB run that left me with Drew Bledsoe.
I wish I could analyze this pick
and tell you I'm happy to get Bledsoe. But I doubt
he'll throw more than 24 TDs at best. His interception
total will be high. The best thing you can say about
him is that he's not Vinny Testaverde. Even Vinny
threw for over 3500 yards last year (only 17 TDs and 20
picks), but you'd have to expect that Bill Parcells will be
eager to run the ball more with Julius Jones and allow
Bledsoe to merely not lose games. That's not who you
want as your #1 guy.
But a backfired strategy has me
here and it is what it is.
|
 9.12 QB
Kurt Warner
By TC Cannon
Happy. Happy. Happy.
Happy. --- Let me translate that... Happy Boldin and Happy
Fitzgerald and Happy Bryant greet Happy Warner as the new
Cardinal starter.
Forget the Giant Season (PLEASE!). The elder Warner (and wife)
will now have young highly skilled receivers, a positive
schedule, and plenty of passing opportunities with the 2005
Cardinals. While Warner has not started and finished a season
since 2001, I see him as acceptable support for QB1 Bulger.
(After all, it's a reunion of the once teammates.) The Cards
will need the ball in the air to compete. This should benefit
both the FF hobby and Warner's production.
Hey. It's a longshot.
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