The End Of The Draft
At the end of most fantasy drafts there seems to always be
those "wasted" picks by teams to just get the thing over. With all the
injuries in the NFL all picks should be considered important for your
teams success. To be a smart team owner understand what late round
players will have some value and what backups may see more playing time
than others.
1) The age factor: We all see that when
players get to a certain age their production declines as does their
playing time. We knew that Stephen Jackson was someday going to replace
Marshal Faulk but it happened earlier than expected. Jackson as the
year went on saw more and more time at the expense of Faulk and proved
to be a value pick late in the drafts. With that being said Curtis
Martin will be 32 this season so Derrick Blaylock would be someone who
should be a late round consideration. Blaylock will see more playing
time than most backups to minimize the hits and to keep Martin as fresh
as possible for the year.
2) The injury factor: For
whatever reasons some players are just more injury prone than others so
their backups are some to keep an eye on. Larry Johnson showed his
worth once Priest Holmes was again lost to injury. Stephen Davis and
Deshaun Foster always seem to find an injury and Nick Goings proved to
be a valuable player. This season Johnson should still have a lot of
value as well as Verron Hayes from the Steelers. The jury is still out
on the return of the Bus and Duce Staley is a small back who does take
a lot of punishment. Ohter bakups to keep an eye on are:Jay Fiedler
backing up Chad Pennington ..Az-Zahir Hakim backing up Charles
Rogers..Billy Volek backing up Steve McNair.
3) The confidence factor:
Sometimes through the course of a season a coach losses confidence in a
player or a player just for some reason take some steps backwards. It
seemed last season Jay Fiedler was the Dolphin whipping boy and he was
in and out of the lineup all year. AJ Feely by no stretch was a star
but it does show that these things do happen. This season expect Najeh
Davenport to see increased time with the Packers. Ahman Green is
without a doubt the starter but we all saw how his fumbling problems
affected his play last year.Davenport did prove some worth last season
and he was re-signed to stay a Packer. Also the line grew a little
shorter in Detroit with the signing of Jeff Garcia.How long will the
Lions stay with the inconsistent play of Joey Harrington? Others that
could see some increased time this season are Maurice Hicks backing up
the ever inconsistant Kevan Barlow...Kelly Holcomb backing up JP Losman
and Joe Jurevicius backing up Koren Robinson.
4) Remember the injuries!:
We all have such short memories from year to year but players that lost
significant time due to injuries always seem to drop the following
year. These are the players that are going to provide some late round
worth to your picks.Players that will fall in drafts that are more than
worthy are Steve Smith(Carolina)..Ben Watson(New England Patriots)..Rex
Grossman(Chicago Bears) and Marcel Shipp(Arizona Cardinals).
In the NFL the unexpected always seems to happen. It is rare to see
players not get injured at some time during the season and opening the
door for others to step in. A pick in any draft is important so never
sell that selection short.
Sheamus
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