It's that time of the year again for the annual GSI BLOG Mock Draft. The draft is set up for a 10-team league in yardage+TD, head-to-head scoring format. Over the next couple of weeks we will draft 14-man teams and offer our takes:
1. PREUTH - RB LaDainian Tomlinson - SD
2. CLASGENS - RB Adrian Peterson - MIN
3. HUMBERT - RB Brian Westbrook - PHI
4. BOLTON - RB Joseph Addai - IND
5. DINSMORE - RB Steven Jackson - STL
6. MURDICO - RB Frank Gore - SF
7. SIMS - QB Tom Brady - NE
8. SIMONS - RB Larry Johnson - KC
9. WETZEL - WR Randy Moss - NE
10. FISCHER - RB Clinton Portis - WAS
My Pick: With nearly every fantasy publication out there ranking LT as hands down the No. 1 pick, the real question this year is who's #2? While a strong arguement can be made for a handful of runners no running back perhaps in my 20+ years of playing fantasy football has the upside that A-Pete has coming into his sophomore year. Sure there are risks - the injuries, sharing time with Chester Taylor, and a shaky passing game, but the pros far outweight the cons. For starters, no RB comes without injury risks. Look no at every single back taken in Round 1 here. Every one of them has had to deal with injuries. The Vikings have the league's best offensive line, a top-notch defense and the passing game is improving. Peterson ran for just 177 fewer yards last year despite missing two games, being severly limited in two others, and starting only nine contests. Peterson scored 13 TD's last year depsite receiving just 6 goalline carries, which was tied for 40th in the league.
Biggest Reach: Larry Johnson with the 8th pick was terrible. As if the foot injury wasn't enough to worry about, LJ still runs behind a below average offensive line and has Brodie Croyle under center. I have played with Mike Simon for years and know he covets Chiefs' running backs, but I really feel as if he could have waited until Round 2 (13th pick overall) to grab him if he loved Johnson that much. Personally, I am staying clear of LJ altogether and he should've here.
Final Take: It's no surprise that 8 of the first 10 picks were RB's and after their record-breaking season last year Tom Brady and Randy Moss demand first round attention. However, I don't expect either of them to sniff last season's epic numbers. As much as I love A-Pete, I think this year, like no other in recent memory, is one in which I would rather pick 4-6 rather than 1 or 2.
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