Day 3 Pre NFL Draft Fantasy Football RoundTable

The 2012 NFL draft is upon us. In fact it takes place in less than 4 days but the Fantasy Football fans can’t wait that long to start up their fantasy football rookie drafts.  So, I thought it would be a good idea to start the fantasy football season up a little early for us die hard fans, that can’t stop thinking about football, with this NFL Draft Fantasy Football Roundtable.

I cajoled some of my favorite sites I follow on Twitter, Facebook, the rest of the internet, along with a very good friend of mine to put together a 3 day round table on the NFL draft from a fantasy football players perspective. You will notice some sites are not fantasy football related and I did this so you can see a non fantasy football perspective as well.

The sites included in this roundtable are:

• Pro Football Focus – Jeff Ratcliffe
• Dynasty Football Warehouse – Dan Heins and Jeff Melbostad
• Dynasty League Football – Eric Dickens
• Fantasy Knuckleheads – Greg Brosh
• FantasyTaz – Jim Day
• NFL Draft Geek - Nolan Vasan
• Average Joe – Josh Hreha
• Fantasy Football Help Desk - Mike Novick

I took a general approach to this roundtable which will be followed up after the draft with more concrete fantasy football advise. Once the players are selected we will be able to gauge a lot better how these players will be used and how they will affect your fantasy teams and drafts.

Before I get into the questions I would like to thank all the sites getting involved in this, its much appreciated!

Question no.6: We can all pick the top few at each position but I want you to fill an entire fantasy football roster with the upcoming rookies.

Jeff Ratcliffe – Pro Football Focus – @JeffRatcliffe

Offensively, this is pretty straight forward. The only question I had was at flex, but I went with Wilson because I feel his skill set offers the highest ceiling out of the players I did not choose. At defense, I tried to generically pick a squad, as it is tough without a scoring system. Coples, Ingram, Hightower, Kuechly, and Barron are easy picks, and wouldn’t be surprised if many on this roundtable pick the same guys. But both Kendricks and Allen are flying under the radar right now. I have Kendricks as my No. 2 ILB behind Kuechly, and feel he may offer the better value of the two because he can be drafted much later (even in rookie-only drafts). And Allen is my guy. He’s an in-the-box safety, who could certainly put up fantasy points if he lands in the right place.

Dan Heins – Dynasty Football Warehouse – @Dan_DynastyFW

My big surprise here is Marivn Jones.  I have seen him pick up a little more steam lately, but he has been my overall #3 rookie WR for awhile.  Jones is my sleeper this year.  He will more than likely line up in the #2 and slot positions, and should dominate in the slot.  Amazing hands, great routes, speed is top notch and while he never lived up to his HS recruiting hype at Cal, a little nepotism played a huge roll last year with Cal’s QB, Zach Maynard just happening to be the brother of Cal’s other standout WR, Kennan Allen.  I love this kid.

Jeff Melbostad – Dynasty Football Warehouse – @Jeff_DynastyFW

* – Kendall Wright – A dynamic playmaker that despite a letdown at the combine is the 3rd best WR in this draft

** – Doug Martin – Does everything well and will play immediately for whatever team drafts him

*** – Whomever is drafted into the best situation

**** – Safeties rule the roost in IDP though I think Kirkpatrick may be more talented

I talked about most of the offensive guys already but Kendall Wright and Doug Martin are two solid prospects who will be starters in this league and are both my next best after the players discussed above.  The defensive guys, as always, will depend extremely heavily on the situation they are drafted into.  So much so that my selections are likely to change significantly after the NFL draft.  It’s still fun to rank them though and that is how I see it based on talent alone.

Greg Brosh – Fantasy Knuckleheads – @_Knuckleheads

* - DL – Upshaw, Ingram – These two DL picks would come into play if either of the two players listed above them do not retain DL position status if drafted by 3-4 teams and switched to OLBs.

The entire roster is comprised of the best players as they are currently ranked. Griffin is the starter on this squad because of comments made above. And if I could land Richardson, Martin and Polk, this group of running backs should pay dividends immediately. I didn’t go into detail regarding Kendall Wright, but he improved his draft stock immensely when he went from a 4.61 forty time at the Combine to a 4.43 and 4.46 at Baylor’s Pro Day. Considered by many to be the best natural receiver in the draft, I don’t see Wright making it out of the first round. If the rumors that the Bears will target Wright at No. 19 are true, then we could see a repeat of Roddy White and Julio Jones with Wright sharing duties with newly-acquired Brandon Marshall

Jim Day – @FantasyTaz

Most of the offense will be pretty consistent from most pundits right now but the defensive side of the ball is a different story. The players I have listed are some that I am really high on but it will absolutely depend on where they land, how they are used, and what scoring system is in place for your league. I like Stephen Hill at the flex because if he lands in the right spot should be an instant contributor.

Mike Novick – Fantasy Football Help Desk – @FFHelpDesk

Yep Griffin would be my guy along with some tall WR’s the kind I like. Randle is moving up the draft boards very quickly and will make an impact wherever he goes. Like others have said prior the teams are pretty close in all regards but I was kind of shocked by seeing so many CB’s selected. I honestly can say I have never drafted a cornerback in a draft…. I have added some for depth but drafting them is not worth it especially at the rookie level in fantasy football. Wait and see what they do and then add them. Harrison Smith is moving up boards quickly especially with the cut down on true safety I wouldn’t be shocked to see him land in the first round at this point.