Industry Expert Draft Review

I have been on the lookout for some industry expert leagues to get into this season to represent FFChamps.com and FFLegend.com. I've found a couple of pretty good ones, and recently I took part in my first industry experts league draft of the year. I am competing in this particular league against 11 other fantasy football outlets, including pros from USA Today, CBS Sportsline, Pro Football Weekly, FFIndepth.com (the organizer of the league) and many others.

This league uses the same rules as the World Championship of Fantasy Football, most notably it's a point-per-reception (PPR) league. Our lineup consists of one quarterback, two running backs, three wide receivers, one tight end, one kicker, one team defense, and a flex position player (WR, TE, or RB).

I had the fifth overall pick, so after Maurice Jones-Drew went No. 1 (mistake!), Adrian Peterson went second, and Matt Forte went third, I was sitting on either Larry Fitzgerald Jr. or Andre Johnson with my pick. Remember, in PPR leagues like this, the popular strategy of taking a running back in the first round does not always apply. Well, as fate would have it, Fitz went No. 4 to PFW so I grabbed Johnson. (Yes, Beavis, that's what I said).

I employed the "do the opposite" strategy and ended up with a team I like a lot, including Johnson, Greg Jennings, and Peyton Manning with my first three picks, and three 1,000-yard rushers (Ryan Grant, Derrick Ward, and Thomas Jones) in my backfield.

For those of you unfamiliar with the "opposite" draft strategy, I invite you to check out the Fantasy Football University class on Fantasy Football Terminology at FFChamps.com. It's free to non-subscribers, like all of the FFU classes.

Here's how my team turned out, ordered by round:

1. Andre Johnson, WR, Texans
2. Greg Jennings, WR, Packers
3. Peyton Manning, QB, Colts
4. Ryan Grant, RB, Packers
5. Derrick Ward, RB, Buccaneers
6. Thomas Jones, RB, Jets
7. Bernard Berrian, WR, Vikings
8. John Carlson, TE, Seahawks
9. Percy Harvin, WR, Vikings
10. Eli Manning, QB, Giants
11. Minnesota Vikings Defense
12. Justin Gage, WR, Titans
13. Earnest Graham, RB, Buccaneers
14. Kevin Boss, TE, Giants
15. James Davis, RB, Browns
16. Jason Elam, K, Falcons
17. Rashad Jennings, RB, Jaguars
18. Ryan Longwell, K, Vikings

According to the FFChamps C3 cheat sheet for PPR leagues, I have the No. 2 quarterback, No. 2 and No. 6 wide receivers, No. 2 kicker, No. 2 team defense, and the No. 6 tight end. Waiting on running backs hurt my depth there, but I still wound up with three top-20 backs. I like my sleepers (Justin Gage and Kevin Boss) and I like Eli Manning's matchup (vs. Saints) on Peyton's bye week. Moreover, my two rookie running backs could surprise and I handcuffed Graham to Ward. I also don't have any bye week issues.

Here is my Week 1 Lineup:
QB - Peyton Manning
RB - Derrick Ward
RB - Ryan Grant
WR - Andre Johnson
WR - Greg Jennings
WR - Bernard Berrian
Flex - Thomas Jones
TE - John Carlson
K - Jason Elam
D - Vikings

All in all, I would say the draft was a success. Let me know what you think of my team.

Overrated Eli

He marched his Giants through the playoffs as a wild card team, winning road games against all odds, even going to Brett Favre's house and taking one from the Packers on the very Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field. He led his team to an unfathomable Super Bowl victory over the previously undefeated New England Patriots that included the most breathtaking play in the game's storied history ("The Escape") and was named Super Bowl MVP. Indeed, Eli Manning had a postseason for the ages, completing 61 percent of his passes while throwing six touchdowns to one interception.

All of which leaves his fantasy football value sky high.

In fact, it leaves his fantasy value too high. Inflation is always a bad thing, whether it's the price of a barrel of crude oil or the cost of a quarterback in your fantasy league. Elisha's postseason heroics have turned a top-15 fantasy quarterback into a top-10 fantasy quarterback on many of the early cheat sheets for 2008, and I may be as guilty as anyone for overreacting and ranking him too high. Actually, scratch that; I'm quite certain I don't have him ranked as highly as fantasy rubes within the greater New Jersey area do. For the record, he is currently eighth on my cheat sheet.

Is Manning really a top-10 quarterback? If you extrapolate his improbable playoff run over a 16-game season, then yes, he absolutely would be. But we all know it's just not that simple. This is a guy who has not thrown for more than 24 touchdowns passes in a season or even come within sniffing distance of 4,000 yards. Maybe, just maybe, his postseason heroics were an indication that he has turned the corner into superstardom and is ready to begin operating at an All-Pro level during the regular season. Then again, maybe Peyton's little brother just had a nice postseason and he is still the same quarterback who has posted virtually identical stats three years in a row and has basically the same supporting cast back with him this year.

For now, I am leaving Eli at number eight in my rankings, but part of the reason for my doing so is that I just don't like most of the other quarterback options. Have you seen what passes as a "starting quarterback" around much of the NFL lately? It's scary. I wouldn't mind hearing from other people how highly they have Eli ranked this year. Please leave a comment and let me know how you feel.