ESPN Live Draft Snake Auction Results; 2009 NFL Fantasy Football Advice

Round 1 (Pick 7): Drew Brees
Fantasy football managers commonly neglect quarterbacks in the first couple rounds. With all of the top tier running backs off of the board and it being a little too early to start drafting wide receivers, I liked Brees too much at #7 to pass him up.

Round 2 (Pick 14): Calvin Johnson
Megatron will have a great year even with a rookie behind center. Andre Johnson, and Larry Fitzgerald are off the board, I like Calvin over Moss.

Round 3 (Pick 27): Roddy White
5 of the last 6 picks before this pick have been wide receivers, hard to pass up Roddy White here, did have to pass up Kevin Smith and Ronnie Brown. At this point I'm committed to taking the best player no matter whether that be a WR or RB.

Round 4: Marques Colston
Colston is the best player on the board at this point. All three wide receivers have different bye weeks. I don't target an array of wide receivers before taking running backs, but I can't pass the fantasy trio of Johnson, White, and Colston with some good starting running backs still on the board.

Round 5: Willie Parker
It's time to give up on wide receivers for a few picks. Willie Parker did have some injury issues but will still is a talented starter and should put up some good numbers. McFadden, Addai, and Grant have come off the board since my last pick, I will settle with Parker and get a few more solid starters to rotate in my two RB spots and leave the RB/WR spot for wideouts.

Round 6: Dallas Clark
It was a tough decision, but I took Clark over Larry Johnson. I really like Clark this year and I think there is a large separation in numbers from Gonzalez, Clark, Whitten, and Gates to the rest of the fantasy ends.

Round 7: LenDale White
Question mark running backs with big potential usually fall a few rounds further then they should, White is no exception. Despite the team reportedly being tired of off the field antics, and White possibly being out of shape again, White is entering a contract year and is money in the redzone and knows how to get the ball in the endzone.

Round 8: Santonio Holmes
Since I plan on using all three available spots for wide receivers, I need a good backup with a different bye week, Holmes fits that spot very well and could lead the Steelers in receptions and touchdowns in 2009. Holmes is a great buy at this point in the draft, and could turn into trade bait for a solid running back later in the season.

Round 9: Jamal Lewis
I am not high on Lewis for this year, but it's the 9th round and Donald Brown, Chris Wells, Cedric Benson, and Earnest Graham were the 4 picks before me. Lewis will be good for a bye week or two at the least.

Round 10: Julius Jones
Julius is one of my sleepers for this season. Hasselbeck coming back should greatly improve the offense and open up the run game. Jones should have a comeback year and is worth every penny of a 10th round pick.

Round 11: Willis McGahee
Another cheap starting running back. I'll always take a decent starting back over a good 2nd string back. McGahee is a risky pick, but I know now that I will be OK dropping him if he has a bad first half of the season or struggles with injuries.

Round 12: Donnie Avery
At this point no decent backup quarterbacks are available that I couldn't get off of the waiver wire, and I don't draft backup tight ends, defenses, or kickers, they are a waste of a roster spot due to the fact they will be available when you need them as a free agent. Avery has the most potential on the board, easy pick.

Round 13: Chester Taylor
This is an offensive pick, because the owner of Adrian Peterson failed to lock up Taylor as a backup on their roster. Now I can either hope that A.P. misses a few games, or trade him to the owner of A.P. for a backup TE or WR.

Round 14: Sammy Morris
Morris is slated as the starter. I most likely won't use him, but he's worth the pick as a sleeper.

Round 15: Nate Kaeding
My last two picks will always be a kicker and defense.

Round 16: Packers D/ST

Roster Thoughts: My roster is wide receiver heavy, but I have enough running backs to piece together decent production. Having Brees, White, Johnson, and Colston as steady standouts, this team should contend for the title. Now I need to watch the waiver wire for possibilities at running back and tight end, and start thinking about a bye week QB for Brees.