If your fantasy team has been ruined by injuries — or you just did a bad job of drafting — NFL.com gives you the chance to start all over again. And the best thing? Your statistics are retroactive. So if you draft Tom Brady, his first two weeks still count. So stop by the NFL.com draft lobby and start over.
I’m going to re-draft the first three rounds, based on a 10-team league and snake-style draft. This is how I think it would go if I was in the room, watching the draft unfold, taking into account runs on positions, surprise picks and other intangibles that go on with every fantasy draft.
First Round
1. Tom Brady
2. Philip Rivers
3. LeSean McCoy
4. Ray Rice
5. Matthew Stafford
6. Adrian Peterson
7. Aaron Rodgers
8. Drew Brees
9. Michael Vick
10. Calvin Johnson
Analysis: Remember, while you will have retroactive stats, it’s also about the best production going forward. Brady is a no-brainer at No. 1 overall, and Rivers is right behind him. The top RBs take a tumble as Chris Johnson falls entirely out of the first round due to his lack of production. But don’t worry, we’ll see him soon. The age of the pass-catching running back is here, hence the increased importance of McCoy and Rice, who jump “All Day” in the draft. Still, Peterson at No. 6 is a phenomenal value pick. With the early run on QBs, the end of the first round would fall this way with owners not wanting to miss out on one of the top six. I think “Megatron” is a better pick than Andre Johnson to close the round out, considering it looks like there’s more potential for points through the air in Detroit than Houston. Boy, this is fun.
Second round
11. Matt Forte
12. Andre Johnson
13. Larry Fitzgerald
14. Darren McFadden
15. Cam Newton
16. Michael Turner
17. Roddy White
18. Kenny Britt
19. Greg Jennings
20. Wes Welker
Analysis: A couple of surprises here. Remember, if you grabbed a QB in Round 1, you’re looking elsewhere in Round 2. I debated on Newton at No. 11, but figured there’s still enough questions that he would last until mid-round. It’s possible he could have snuck into the top of the first, but there’s better bets right now. He almost is a first-rounder when you consider that teams picking 12-14 already have QBs. Speaking of QBs, seven of the teams have now filled their QB position. Six WRs were taken in Round 2 compared to just three RBs. If McFadden had been more of a goal-line threat the first couple of games, I actually may have moved him up to the final pick of the first round. This is where things start to get interesting, where you see a couple more chances taken.
Third round
21. Vincent Jackson
22. Fred Jackson
23. Steve Smith
24. Peyton Hillis
25. DeSean Jackson
26. Hakeem Nicks
27. Mike Wallace
28. LeGarrette Blount
29. Tim Hightower
30. Ryan Fitzpatrick
Analysis: Well, not what you thought it would be, huh? Gone from the first three rounds of most fantasy draft due to injuries and/or lack of production: Arian Foster, Maurice Jones-Drew, Frank Gore, Jamaal Charles, Jahvid Best and Miles Austin to name a few. Fred Jackson moves up from the eighth round or later in preseason drafts into the third round. Steve Smith up from the fifth or sixth round. Fitzpatrick from undrafted in most drafts to No. 30 overall. Like I said, plenty of these picks are taking a chance at this point due to early season success. Do you believe in the Bills and the Panthers? They each had multiple players selected, whereas the Cowboys have had none.
Happy re-draft!
– Jason Smith
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