Vick's Value... Justified or Too Much Hype?

[Hogskin]

If you are getting Fitz in the 5th round, and he is your 2nd WR, your team is in trouble. He has not gone nearly that early even in any of our $2500 16-team Elite leagues with very, very good competition. You want solid guys for your top 2 WR's, THEN go for the longshots. (and don't kid yourself - rookie WR's are longshots). If you take him in round 5 of a 12-team league, you are bypassing a lot of very solid players like Lloyd, Branch (now #1 in NE), or even Chambers or McCareins in some leagues. Get a solid base, THEN go for good gambles - there will still be plenty out there.

Another suggestion to anyone that is still to draft in a 12-team league. The strategy that came into popularity last year of drafting 2 RB's in the first two rounds no matter what, can be consistently taken advantage of, and beaten. There are a lot of decent RB's out there, and you can gain much more advantage at other positions and still get decent RB points by going with WR's in the first two rounds if you draft late. It worked GREAT for me last year in several leagues, and I just finished a 12-team draft tonight drafting #8 - another high-dollar league with very good, experienced competition. But most of the guys started with the 2 RB strategy last year. This league uses 2 RB's and 3 WR's. Using this strategy, I ended up with Randy Moss, Chad Johnson, Charles Rogers, Lloyd, Pennington, Griffin (and got his backups late) and Kevin Jones, Ravens and Redskins as a nucleus. Another sure playoff team, and will have a great shot at the championship. Most of the other teams in the league will get more points at RB than this one, but we will MUCH more than make up for it at WR and DT.

BOTTOM LINE: If you draft late, DON'T take 2 mediocre RB's in the first two rounds - you will not make the playoffs. If you feel you HAVE to take one, at least get a great WR first.